THE ORIGIN OF PEOPLE OF MUDIRAJ
HOME ( <- Click here to go to Home Page for more information)
BRIDEGROOMS ( <- Click here to go to Bridegrooms Page for more information)
01. Yayathi - Puru - Ravaddevaraju origins <--Click here for more Info
02. Kalchuri Origins <--Click here for more Info
03. Panduvamsi Origins <--Click here for more Info
04. Matsya-Chedi Origins <--Click here for more Info
05. Koli-Bhil Origins <--Click here for more Info
06. Suryavamsi Origins <--Click here for more Info
07. Kalbhra Origins <--Click here for more Info
08 Bant / Bunt Origins <--Click here for more Info
09. Bhillala - Bhallala - Vellala Origins <--Click here for more Info
go TOP
01. YAYATI - PURU - RAVADDEVARAJU ORIGINS:
Origin of Mudiraj through Yayathi's son Durvasu.
According to the legend, Devayana was the daughter of Sukracharya, the priest of daityas ( demons and giants ), one day went to a well with Charmanishta, the daughter of daitya king. There arose a querrel between two of them, and Charmishta pushed Devayana into a dry well. Then she was luckly rescued by king Yayathi.
Sukracharya complained to Daitya king, who made his daughter ( Charmanishta ) become a servant to Yayathi's wife ( Devayana ). By her marriage, Devayana bore two sons to Yayathi. Subsequently Yayathi became enamoured of Charmanishta, by whom he had an illegitimate son puru. Hearing this Sukracharya cursed Yayathi that he should be subject to old age and infirmity.
Yayati got two sons from Devyani 1. Yadu and 2. Turvasu.
Yayati also got three sons from Sharmishtha 1. Druhyu 2. Anu and 3. Puru.
Yayathi then asked his children to take on this curse on themselves, but all refused except his illegitimate child Puru. Yayathi accordingly cursed his legitimate sons born to Devayana that they should only rule barren land overrun by kiratas. One of the cursed sons, Durvasa by name, had seven children who were specially favoured by Goddess Ankamma. According to this, the mudiraj people are the children of Durvasu, who was the son of Devayani and Yayathi.
Nahusha --> Yayathi ---> Durvasu
After a time, however, they were persuaded to worship Maheswara instead of Ankamma. This made the Goddess Ankamma angry, and she caused all flower gardens to disappear except her own. Flowers being necessary for the purpose of worship, the perverts stole them from Ankamma's garden, and were caught in the act by the Goddess Ankamma. As a punishment for their sin, they had to lose their lives by killing themselves on a stake.
One of the seven sons had a child named Ravadeviraju, which was thrown into a well as soon as it was born. The Naga Kannikas of nether regions rescued the infant , and tended it with a great care. One day while Ankamma was traversing the Nagalokam ( world of Nagas ), she heard a child crying, and sent her vehicle, a jackal ( Nakka) to bring the child, which however, would not allow the animal to take it. The Goddess accordingly carried off.
Nahusha --> Yayathi ---> Durvasu --> Ravaddevaraju
Ravaddevaraju => Ravadeviraju
The child grew up under care, and eventually had three sons named Karnam Raju, Gangi Raju, and Bhuapathi Raju, from whom Mutharasas are descended. In return for the Goddess for protecting and bringing up the child, she is regarded as a special tutelary diety of the people of Mutharacha ( Mudiraj ) caste.
Origin of Mudiraj through Yayathi's son Puru.
It is slightly a different Version dealing with the origin of Mudiraj. According to this, the mudiraj people are the children of Puru, who was the son of Sharmishtha and Yayathi. This story seems to be more authentic as Ravaddeva or Raudrasva can be seen under this lineage of Puru.
Yayati was a Puranic king and the son of king Nahusha. He was a great scholar of Vedas. He had five brothers, Yati, Samyati, Ayati, Viyati and Kriti. He had two wives, Devyani and Sharmishtha. Devyani was the daughter of Shukracharya, the priest of Asuras (the demons). Sharmishtha was the daughter of the Demon King Vrishparva. Sharmishtha was a friend and servant of Devyani.
Nahusha --> Yayathi
Yayati was a king of the lunar dynasty, a descendent of Pururava. He was out on a hunt, and stopped at the well for a drink. He saw Devyani struggling in the water and pulled her out. It was love at first sight and the two got married immediately.
One day as Devyani and Sharmishtha along with the hoard of servants were amusing themselves in a park, King Yayati happened to pass by. Devyani had been secretly in love with Yayati as he had once rescued her from a dry well. Devyani and Sharmishtha introduced themselves to him and Devyani confessed to being in love with him and asked him to marry her. Yayati said, "Unless your father gives you to me in marriage I will not accept you as my wife." Shukracharya gave in to his daughter's request and agreed to give her away in marriage to King Yayati. As dowry he gave away Sharmishtha. He however warned Yayati that he should never let Sharmishtha share his bed. Sharmishtha was given a place to live in a shaded glade called Ashok Vatika. One day Yayati happened to pass by Ashok Vatika where Sharmishtha lived. Seeing him, Sharmishtha confessed that she too was in love with the king and wanted him to marry her. She told him that she belonged to a royal family and Yayati could marry her. Yayati agreed and they wed in secret. They continued to meet and hid the fact from Devyani that they were married.
Yayati got two sons from Devyani 1. Yadu and 2. Turvasu.
Yayati also got three sons from Sharmishtha 1. Druhyu 2. Anu and 3. Puru.
When Devyani came to know about the relationship of Yayati and Sharmishtha and their three sons she felt shocked and betrayed. Devyani went away to her father's house. Shukracharya was displeased with the king, and cursed that he would lose his youth and become an old man immediately. As soon as Shukracharya uttered his curse Yayati became an old man. Shukracharya also said that his curse once uttered could not be taken back and added that the only concession he could give was that if Yayati wanted he could give his old age to someone and take their youth from them. Yayati was relieved at the reprieve he was given and confident that his sons would willingly exchange their youth with him. Yayati went back to his kingdom. Yayati requested all his five sons one by one to give their youth to him to enjoy the worldly happiness. All the sons except Puru rejected his demand. So Yayati took the youth of Puru and enjoyed all the subjects. Puru became the successor of king Yayati.
Nahusha --> Yayathi ---> Puru --> Raudrasva ( Raudeviraju = Ravadeviraju )
All the people used to call thier king Puru as modi raja, (Mudisali raja or Mudi raja) because he became old at his young age, Like this he ruled his kingdom rest of his life as Mudiraja (Old king) all his children (santati) called as Mudirajas. That's what our caste name came.
The name Mudiraj refers to Telugu speaking people of Mutharacha. Some people very inteligently tried to make a shortest possible connection of Mudiraj to Yayathi by linking Mudi word in Mudiraj to Yayathi's Mudusali (old age) curse . Their main intention is to say a pauranic fact that they are the descendats of Yayathi.
( There seems to be some fact in this story as Sukracharya was a Daitya guru and he was well known in the story of Balichakravarty. Bali Chakravarty is said to be a Banarasa or Vanarasa, A lot of Bana kings who ruled Pudukottai region are said to assumed the title of Muttarasa. Videlvidugu Kadupatti Muttarasar is said to be a Bana king who assuemed the title of Muttarasa. )
Mudiraj people are related to Pauravas.
Prince Puru was married to Princess Pausthi. Before the youth exchange with his father, his sons were called Pauravs. Some Mudiraj people are having Pandava / Pandavula gotram. The Paurav dynasty was carried forward by Kuru and the Kuru descendants, Kaurav and Pandav, carried forward Kuru dynasty. On the other hand, Yadu's dynasty was called "Yaduvanshi".
King Yayati distributed his kingdom amongst his five sons. Prince Puru received the great Prayag, the capital, situated between southern regions of Ganges and Yamuna; Prince Yadu received the south western teritories which included Charmvati ( chambal ), Vetravati ( Betva ) and Shuktimati ( Keyn ). Prince Druhu received western regions of Yamuna; Prince Anu got the city of Kanyakubj and Prince Turvasu received the south eastern teritories of Riva.
Creation of Kalchuri race
After some years, all the lands from the generations of King Yayati and his second wife, Queen Sharmistha: Puru, Anu and Druhu - were acquired by King Sahibindu and King Mandhata. Mandhata was a koli king and descendant of Manu.
Due to the rise of Kroshta Yadav King Sashibindu, - the Haihai Yadavs had a wrong impact on society as well. Under the leadership of King Arjun Kirtivirya ( Sahastrabahu ), the Haihai Yadavs forced the Bhargav Bramhins of Narmada River to leave Kanyakubj and attain shelter in Ayodhya. The Haihai took the Kamdhenu cow of Rishi Jamdagni by force. This was the primary cause of the enimity between Haihai Yadavs and Bramhins. Under the leadership of Parshuram, son of the Rishi Jamdagni, the Bramhins attacked the Kshatriyas twenty one times. Every time, the kshatriyas lost. Therefore, they accepted the defeat as their ill fate and the Bramhins over took the ruling.
Aryan kshatriyas established Jainism in association with native dravidian warrior tribes to counter the influence of Aryan brahmins. The new race of Indo-aryans resulted due to matrimonial alliances between dravidian Indian tribes and Aryan chedis came to be known as Kalachuris. The South Indian Kalabhras who invaded and imprisoned the Chola, Chera, Pandya adhirajas are said to be either Kalachuris or a variant of Kalachuris.
KalaChedis => Kalacheris = Kalachuris => Kalchuris
Later on, the Turvasu dynasty also drifted from Bharatvarsh. Only Yadu and Puru dynasty remained in Bharat and completely transformed the face of Bharatvarsh in time to come. Yadu and Puru dynasty remained the central point of source of Bharatiya history. King Puru was great grand father of King Dushyant and had a son named Bharat. It is from Bharat that the country got its name and came to be known as Bharatvarsh. King Kuru was born during King Puru's time, whose offsprings were Kaurav and Pandav. These were the same renowned Kaurav and Pandavs who fought the epic battle of Mahabharat. The dynasty of king Yadu - Andhak, Vrasni and Bhoj, under the leadership of Shree Krishna, helped the Pandavs win the battle.
Ravaddeva or Raudrasva origin of Mudiraj
Puru begot on Pausti three warrior sons. Pravira, Isvara, Raudrasva. Pravira was the dynast. This king had a son by name Suraseni, hero is Manasyu, who became the lotus eyed herdsman of four cornered eart. He had three sons by Sauviri - Subhru, Samhanana and Vagmin, who were all warlike champions.
The Raudrasva, the son of king Puru and Pausti could be the Ravaddeva or Ravideva about whom there is a mention in story narrated by ballads during Ankamma Kolupu performed by many Mudirajas in coastal Andhra Pradesh
Raudrasva => Raudresva => Raudreva => Rauddeva => Ravaddeva => Ravadeviraju
Ravaddeva = Raudrasva
Raudrasva had ten sons by an Apsara ( Ghritaci ), great archers all, who became warriors and patrons of sacrifices, rich in offspring and widely renouned, experts on all sorts of missiles and devoted to the law - Recepu, Kaksepu, mighty Krkanepu, Sthandilyepu, Vanepu, warlike Sthalepu, strong Tejepu, and wise Satyepu, whose provess was like Indra's. Dharnepu and lastly Samtanepu, puissant like a God. Those sons, by Anadhrsti offered up the Royal consecration and the horse sacrifice. HRITACHI - An Apsara or celestial nymph. She had many amours with great sages and mortal men. She was mother of ten sons by Raudraswa of Kusa-nabha, a descendant of Puru.
The Hari-vansa asserts that Ghritaci had ten daughters as well as ten sons by Raudraswa. F.E Pargiter tried to trace the actual historical descent of Dattatreya, linked to king Arjuna Kartavirya. One Prabhakara ( called Atri or Atreya ) married the ten daughters of Bhadrasva or Raudrasva and Ghrtci.
According to the VAyu PurANa (1.59), the earliest Atri RSi was PrabhAkara, who married the ten daughters of a PUru king BhadrASva or RaudrASva, and had ten sons from whom all the Atri clans are descended.
Reference of Ravaddevaraju in the story narrated by ballads during ankamma kolupu and the offering of goats as sacrifice to Goddess Ankamma during kolupu are perfectly in line with the characters of the children of Ravaddeva & his Apsara wife mentioned above.
Rcepu had a sage son by the name Matinara, who himself had four sons of boundless might. Tamsu, Mahat, Atiratha and the incomparably lustrous Druhyu. Among them it was the poweful Tamsu who carried on the line of Pauravas; he won the blazing fame and conquered the earth. Tamsu begot Ilina, who was a great conquerer and won all the earth. Ilina fathered on Rathantari five sons, like the five elements, Dushanta, Sura, Bhima, Pravasu and Vasu.
Localisation of Ravaddevarajus ancestry to Kalyana Kingdom
In this version of story, the ballads localized the origins of Ravaddevaraju. He is said to the son of one local chief / chieftain, Chodachari belonging to Mudiraj community. This is apparently done by ballads with the intention of making the ancestry of Ravaddevaraju simple to understand by illiterate masses of Mudiraj and at the same to to pass on the message that Ravaddevaraju was their ancestor. It is definetly difficult and also meaningless to explain to the illiterate masses about the ancestry of Ravaddevaraju starting from Nahusha Yayathi Puru - and so many generations till Ravaddevaraju
During the worship singers recite historical stories. In those stories, there is a reference to one Dharma Choda Chari and his six brothers belonging Devagiri City. Devagiri was a capital city of Yadava kings in Maharastra.
Chodachari& brothers belonged to solar race : The Mudiraj brothers were initially Shiva worshippers with vibhoothi (ash) on their foreheads. Shiva was basically the God of Tribal Dravidian Indians. THese brothers were also known as Maaraacha Rajas. They were said to belong to solar race kings. A large section of kolis belong to solar race (surya vamsham). The hero of this story (version no.2 ) narrated by ballads during Ankamma Kolupu could be from a different section belonging to solar race kings under Chalukya kingdom in Maharastra / Karnataka. The Chalukyas are believed to belong to solar race kings of Ayodhya who migrated to South and established Chalukya kingdom.
Maaraacha => Maharacha => Maharaja = Maharaya => Maharayars
The story narrated by ballads indicate that the Mudiraj brothers were initially professional docoits like Valmiky. They fed up with their profession and wated to become rich before saying good bye to their profession. One day they went out to loot the treasury of the neighbouring king of Ujjala. When they broke open the huge metal box, which they brought out into a jungle, they became greatly disappointed to see the article of worship of Mother Goddess in stead of gold & silver in it. It is said that they became blind when they wanted to desert the box and go away leaving the box in the forest. Then all the seven brothers heard the voice of goddess Ankamma. The eldest brother Dharma Choda Chari agreed to take the box containing article of Mother's worship to Devagiri and worship her as their family deity.
With the worship of Mother Goddess Ankamma, the seven brothers became reformed and also rich with their good hard work. They became rich and honourable citizens of Devagiri. They soon became proud and egoistic and slowly neglected the worship of Mother Goddess Ankamma. They became the worshippers of Shiva Linga (Lingayaths ?). They also owed not to worship a woman in the rest of their life.
Goddess Ankamma became angry and decided to bring them into her worship by teaching a bitter lesson to these maaraacha brothers. Goddess Ankamma created such situation where all the seven brothers were put under captivation in a known kingdom
The wife of Dharma Choda Chari was a pregnat woman when the brothers were kept under captivation. Choda chari's wife gave birth to a warrior son who was named Rava Ddeva Raju.
Rava Ddeva Raju => Ravadevaraju = Ravadeviraju
Rava ddeva Raju who grow up and came to know the plight of his father and six uncles pledged to his mother to get all them released from captivity. Rava Ddeva Raju became a stounch worshipper of Goddess Ankamma. Rava ddeva raju with his heroic activity got released his father and all his uncles. Later Rava Ddeva Raju and his father Dharma Choda Chari joined the court of Palnati Brahma Naidu.
One day when Goddess Ankamma entered the court of Brahma Naidu as a worshipper of Shiva, Brahma Naidu bowed to Ankamma. Seeing such a great king bowing to Shiva Yogini, the Mudiraj warriors Dharma Chari and his son Rava Deva Raju too bowed to her. The Shiva Yogini suddenly grew into huge figure to show her real avatar of Ankamma. She reminded Dharma Choda Chari about his owe that he would never worship a woman. Dharma Choda Chari accepted his mistake and agreed to worship mother Goddess Ankamma. The king Brahma Naidu requested Goddess Ankamma to remain in his kingdom at Karamchedu town and accept the worship from him and his citizens.
Deva Raja => Deva Raya
The name of Rava Deva Raju sounds similar to Krishna Deva Raya and Kampila Deva Raya. " Deva Raya" was a common name in the names of many kings of Bellary region.
Kolis are a caste or tribe of Western India. They are known as fishing community in West India and also as an agricultural laborer. They form the main part of the inferior agricultural population of Gujarat, where they were supposedly formerly notorious as robbers, but they also extend into the Konkan and the Deccan. A variant of kolis are known as Naiks.
This too indicate the connection of Mudiraj to Maharastra.
The Dynasty of Puru
This chapter describes the history of Puru and his descendant Dusmanta. The son of Puru was Janamejaya, and his son was Pracinvan. The sons and grandsons in the line of Pracinvan, one after another, were Pravira, Manusyu, Carupada, Sudyu, Bahugava, Samyati, Ahamyati and Raudrasva. Raudrasva had ten sons--Rteyu, Kakseyu, Sthandileyu, Krteyuka, Jaleyu, Sannateyu, Dharmeyu, Satyeyu, Vrateyu and Vaneyu. The son of Rteyu was Rantinava, who had three sons--Sumati, Dhruva and Apratiratha. The son of Apratiratha was Kanva, and Kanva's son was Medhatithi. The sons of Medhatithi, headed by Praskanna, were all brahmanas. The son of Rantinava named Sumati had a son named Rebhi, and his son was Dusmanta.
Dusmanta = Dushyantha ( of Shakunthala )
Emperor Bharata
Puru had by his wife Paushti three sons, Pravira, Iswara, and Raudraswa. Amongst them, Pravira was the perpetuator of the dynasty. Pravira had by his wife Suraseni a son named Manasyu. Manasyu had for his wife Sauviri. he begat upon her three sons called Sakta, Sahana, and Vagmi. Raudraswa begat upon the Apsara Misrakesi ( GHRITACHI ?? ) ten sons. They all had sons. They are Richeyu, Kaksreyu Vrikeyu, Sthandileyu, Vaneyu, Jaleyu, Tejeyu, Satyeyu, Dharmeyu and Sannateyu the tenth.
Amongst them all, Richeyu became the sole monarch and was known by the name of Anadhrishti. Anadhristi had a son of the name of Matinara who became a famous and virtuous king and performed the Rajasuya and the Ashwamedha. Matinara had four sons viz., Tansu, Mahan, Atiratha, and Druhyu. (Amongst them, Tansu of great prowess became the perpetrator of Puru's line). Tansu begat a son named Ilina. Ilina begat upon his wife Rathantara five sons with Dushmanta (Dushyanta) at their head. They were Dushmanta, Sura, Bhima, Pravasu, and Vasu (Vasu is mentioned as the founder of Chedi Kingdom). The eldest of them, Dushmanta, became king. Dushmanta had by his wife Sakuntala an intelligent son named Bharata who became king.
The lineage of Puru to Bharata : Puru --> Janamejaya --> Prachuvan --> Praveera --> Namasyu --> Charupada --> Sudyu --> Bahugava --> Samyati --> Ahamyati --> Raudrasva --> Riteyu --> Ranthibhara --> Sumati --> Raibhya --> Dushyantha --> Bharatha ( Dushyanta married Shakunthala, the daughter of Viswamitra and Menaka )
Apsaras - Misrakesi & Ghritachi
GHRITACHI - An Apsara or celestial nymph. She had many amours with great sages and mortal men. She was mother of ten sons by Raudraswa of Kusa-nabha, a descendant of Puru, and the Brahma Vaivartta Purana attributes the origin of some of the mixed castes to her issue by the sage Viswa-karman. The Hari-vansa asserts that she had ten daughters as well as ten sons by Raudraswa. Another legend represents her as mother by Kusa-nabha of a hundred daughters, whom Vayu wished to accompany him to the sky. They refused, and in his rage he cursed them to become deformed; but they recovered their natural shape and beauty, and were married to Brahma-datta, king of Kampila.
In many of the stories related in the Mahabharata, Apsarases appear in important supporting roles. The epic contains several lists of the principal Apsarases, which lists are not always identical. Here is one such list, together with a description of how the celestial dancers appeared to the residents and guests at the court of the gods:
" Ghritachi and Menaka and Rambha and Purvachitti and Swayamprabha and Urvasi and Misrakesi and Dandagauri and Varuthini and Gopali and Sahajanya and Kumbhayoni and Prajagara and Chitrasena and Chitralekha and Saha and Madhuraswana, these and others by thousands, possessed of eyes like lotus leaves, who were employed in enticing the hearts of persons practising rigid austerities, danced there. And possessing slim waists and fair large hips, they began to perform various evolutions, shaking their deep bosoms, and casting their glances around, and exhibiting other attractive attitude capable of stealing the hearts and resolutions and minds of the spectators." (Book III: Vana Parva, Section 43.)
Other Miscellaneous information about Raudrasva ( Ravaddeva )
I) King Janamejaya was born of this dynasty of Puru. Janamejaya's son was Pracinvan, and his son was Pravira. Thereafter, Pravira's son was Manusyu, and from Manusyu came the son named Carupada. The son of Carupada was Sudyu, and the son of Sudyu was Bahugava. Bahugava's son was Samyati. From Samyati came a son named Ahamyati, from whom Raudrasva was born. Raudrasva had ten sons, named Riteyu, Kaksheyu, Sthandileyu, Kriteyuka, Jaleyu, Sannateyu, Dharmeyu, Satyeyu, Vrateyu and Vaneyu. Of these ten sons, Vaneyu was the youngest. As the ten senses, which are products of the universal life, act under the control of life, these ten sons of Raudrasva acted under Raudrasva's full control. All of them were born of the Apsara named Ghritaci ( Misrakesi ?? )
II) The son of Puru was Suvira, and Manasyu his son, and the king named Abhayada was the son of Manasyu. In like manner Abhayadas` son was named Sudhanvan, a lord of the earth. His sons were Subahu and Raudrasva. Raudrasvas` ten sons were Dasarneyu, Krikaneyu, Kaksheyu, Sthandileyu and in like manner Sannateyu, Riceyu and Jaleyu and the exceedingly strong Sthaleyu, Dhaneyu and Vaneyu and ten female children. Those ten daughters were Bhadra, Shudra and Madra, Salada, Malada, Khalada and then Nalada and Surasa besides, in that manner Gocapala and Striratnakuta. Tala was also said to be one of the ten daughters of Raudrasva. The inspired poet born in the genealogy of Atri, Prabhakara, was their husband. Bhadra begot the beautiful son Soma.
III) The son of Ca-rupada was Sudyu, and the son of Sudyu was Bahugava. Bahugava's son was Sam.ya-ti. From Sam.ya-ti came a son named Aham.ya-ti, from whom Raudra-s'va was born.
IV. The Hindu mythology affirms that Kaksheya is one of the ten sons of Raudraswa and Unnati. Kaksheya is a descendant of Puru.
Nov 7, 2008 - One of the Indian(Sanskrit) records of this king Manasyu and his ancestry states according to the reading.'Puru' has by his wife 'Pausti', three sons, Pra-Vira,Ishwara and Rudreswara, all of whom were mighty Charioteers. Amongst them Pra-Vira had by his wife 'Acchura Seni'a son named 'Manasyu'of the line of Prabho ( Pharaoh ) the royal eye of the Gopta ( kopt or Egypt ) and four ends of the earth.
Manasyu => Manu => Man
Nov 7, 2008 - 'Manasyu' by wife Su-vira,beget three sons Shakta, Samhana and Vagma,all were heros and mighty chrioteers ( Radhis => Redhis => Reddis ). Here fortunately preserved to us in the Indian epic ( Mahabharata ), the concentrated tradition of the Aryan king Manasyu as Pharaoh of Gopta ( Egypt ), all in nutshell. His genealogy fully authenticated back to his grand father PURU II who is Puru-Gin of the Sumerian Isin lists and his Egyptian inscriptions and URU-TA GINA,in his Mesopotamian mouments.
Radhis = chrioteers
Radhis => Redhis => Reddis
From these godly beings, the great royal dynasties descended on the earth, dynasties like the Kurus, Yadus, and Bharatas, as well as the great dynasties of Yayati, Iksvaku, and many other saintly kings. Thus by the power of the Sun and his descendants, many civilizations flourished and found a home in this world.
Reddy name can be seen among surnames of Mudiraj such as Vemareddy. The Reddis seems to be a branched off group of people from ancient Mudiraj Royal community.
Webmaster
Kokolu Anka Rao
Nagpur, Maharastra, India
Date : 01 / 12 /2008
go TOP
02. KALCHURI ORIGINS:
Kokolu and Alugu are two surnames that belong to the people of Mudiraj community in Andhra Pradesh. These two surnames seems to be derived from the names of Kalchuri Royal clans who once ruled Central India, Maharastra, Karnataka and also Andhra Pradesh. Kalchuris were Lunar race clans who descended due to matrimonial alliances between Aryan Chedis and Indian Tribal Dravidians.
The Mutharaiyars of Kondubalur (8th to 11th Century AD) are believed to be the descendants of the mighty warrior race of Kalabhras. Some historians regard that Kalabhras were a predatory people belonging to the uplands of Karnataka (Hampi Region => Pampa Region) on the strength of a reference in Tamil literature to the rule of a Karnata king over Madura.
Prof., Ramaswami Ayangar asserts that the valiant Kalabhra kings of South India (ancestors of Muthuraja) were one time the devoted followers of Jainism. He proved it on the basis of copper plate of Veluikudi and Painyapuranam of Tamil language. Some historians believe that Kalabhras were descendants of Kalchuris of Decaan India. Shri Ayangar presumes that these Kalabhras were a branch of Kalchuri clan. Basically, Kalchuri kings were supporters of Jainism. Jainism flourished after their reaching in Tamil country. Kalchuri kings of M.P. were supporters of Jainism. The evidence on this is that they were closely related to Rashtrakuta. The Rashtrakuta kings had their faith in Jainism. The influence of Jainism during reign of Kalchuri kings of Kalyani was perceptible. The prominent king Vijjala of this clan and his several statesmen had adopted Jainism. Rechmayya, the minister of Kalchuri State set up the image of Tirthankar Shantinath at Shravanabelagola.
The earliest reference to the Chedis is made in the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas and the most ancient Hindu text. Occasional references to the Chedis are found in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas (ancient Hindu texts), as well as in Buddhist and Jain scriptures.
The Kalchuri kings who ruled some parts of our country, having the longest rule between A..D..550 to A.D. 1740 and which was the royal family having a continuous long rule withstanding all destructive efforts, during even the Moghul period, took great pride in claiming their descent from the Somavamshiya SAHASRARJUNA. The kalachuri king kumara gangeyadeva had claimed the descent from the haihayas who had survived the ancient assault of the bhargavas (Parasurama). Bengal was also colonised from the west by the Chedies & Haihayas.
Kalchuris were the Indo_aryan warrior people of central India came into existence due to the bloody war that broke out between two social sections of Ayan race i.e Aryan Brahmins lead by parasurama and Aryan Kshatriya lead by Sahasrarjuna. Parasurama, who owed to eliminate the Aryan Kshatriya Races from the face of the earth, conducted his killer attacks on kshatriyas for 21 times to fulfil his owe and avenge the death of his father Jamadagni. The Aryan Kshatriyas who were unable to bear the onslaught of Parasurama ran into forests and sought the protection of Indian Dravidian Tribal warriors who were experts in archery and commando fights. The friendship that started between Aryan Kshatriyas and Dravidian warriors lead to matrimonial alliances and creation of a new breed of warrior race of Kalchuris. These warriors who were black also called themselves as Chedis. They were thus kalachedis (Black chedis).
Kala = black
chedis = descendats of chedis (haihayas)
kala + chedis = kalachedis = Black chedis
Kalachedis => kalacheris => kalachuris => kalchuris
Gupta in the Allahabad pillar inscription, when detailing his conquests; and it refers no doubt to chiefs of this region, some of whom may possibly have been Haihayas. In the sixth century the Kalachuris must have become a ruling clan of some importance, as the Badami king Mangalisa records his victory over Buddha Varman Kalachuri of Chedi; and tle Brihat Sanhita, written at the same period, mentions the Chaidyas as an important Central Indian tribe. During the latter part of the seventh century the Kalachuris rapidly acquired the sovereignty of the whole tract, which came to be called after them Chedidesa or the land of the Chedis. Their chief stronghold was Kalinjar, and their proudest title KalanjaradhTshwara, or ' lords of Kalinjar.' During this period the Chandels were rising to power in Bundelkhand, the Paramaras in MALWA, the Rashtrakutas in Kanauj, and the Chalukyas in Gujarat and Southern India. The records of these clans relate many of their contests and alliances. The Kalachuris received their first blow at the hand of the Chandel chief Yasovarmma (925-55), who seized the fort of Kalinjar and its surrounding district, he and his successors assuming thenceforth the ancient Kalachuri title of 'lords of Kalinjar.' The Kalachuris were still, however, a powerful tribe and continued to hold most of their possessions until the twelfth century. After the advent of the Muhammadans had broken the power of the Kalachuris, the country fell to the Bhars, Chauhans, Sengars, Gonds, and other clans; and there is no proof that the Baghelas entered the region before the thirteenth century.
There are two dynasties with the name of Kalachuri who had a secession of dynasties from the 10th-12th century AD, one ruling over areas in Central India (west Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan ) and were called Chedi or Haihaya (Heyheya) (northern branch) and the other southern Kalachuri who ruled over parts of Karnataka. They are disparately placed in time and space. Apart from the dynastic name and perhaps a belief in common ancestry, there is little in known sources to connect them. The Kalachuri kings were called the Kalachuris of Chedi or Chedis.
Northern Kalchuri Dynasty :
First dynasty:
Some historians identify several Kalachuri ruling families in Tripuri, , Ratnapur, Rajpur (eastern ) regions of central India. They established their kingdom in Madhya Pradesh with their capital at Tripuri near. Kokalla I was the founder of the dynasty. The present day Jabalpur was the capital of Kalchuri dynasty in Central India. The origin of Jabalpur goes back to ancient times. Situated on the banks of the Narmada, the fifth largest river in India, Jabalpur is a famous historical city. Inscriptions indicate that the ancient name of the city was Jabali Pattan. In ancient times, the region of Jabalpur was under the suzerainty of the Chedi kingdom.
It was then known as Tripuri and was governed by Hayahaya (Kalchuri ) rulers. The famous Jain doctor, Hemchandra, who enjoyed the patronage of Kumarpala Chalukya of Anhilvara (1143-1172), mentions Tripuri as Chedi-nagari (Chedi's city) in his celebrated work, Haimakosa. The ancient Indian epic of Mahabharata has references to his city. It is one of the major cities of Madhya Pradesh and it is a historic city. It became a part of the great Mauryan and the Gupta Empires. In ad 875, it was taken over by the Kalchuri dynasty who made Jabalpur their capital. It was a pleasure resort and capital of the Gond Kings during the 12th century, Jabalpur was later the seat of the Kalchuri dynasty. In the 13th century, the Gonds seized it and made it their capital. By the early 16th century, it had become the powerful kingdom of Gondwana. For a long time it was ruled over by the Kalchuri dynasty. Numerous inscriptions belonging to the Kalchuri kings establish the genealogy of these kings from Kokalla I (875 AD) to Kokalla 15 (1180 AD), the last Kalchuri king. One of the most important rulers of Kalachuri dynasty was Gangeyadeva. He tried to make the Chedis the paramount power of Northern India. He was succeeded by his son Karandeva. The Kalachuris dynasty declined by 1181 AD.
Kokalla => Kokala => Kokola => Kokolu
The most famous regime with which Jabalpur and its adjoining areas are associated is that of the Kalchuri Dynasty. The Kalchuris ruled from the 6th to the 13th century, making theirs the longest reign in the history of the Indian subcontinent. In the pre-Christian era, the Kalchuris were associated with the Chedis, the Haihayas, and with the legendary Sahasrajunas. In the course of their journey through history, the Kalchuris proved their remarkable resilience by moving from Mahismati (modern Maheshwar) in Avanti to Tripuri in Dahala, Tummana and Ratnapura in Daksinakosala (modern Chhattisgarh in Madhya Pradesh) and Kalyana in the southwest, setting up great imperial capitals.
Silver coins were found in two earthen pots from a pit in village Nandapuri near Ramtek. The coins have been identified as those issued by Kalachuri King Krishnaraj of Mahishmati region in Madhya Pradesh, who ruled from 550 to 575 AD. It is well-known in history that in the post-Vakataka period (fifth/sixth century), the Vidarbha region was ruled by the Kalachuris of Mahishmati through Swamirajas (deputed rulers).
While the exact line of descent of the Kalchuris of Tripuri from the early Chedis is not clearly defined, Tripuri does not appear to have been their capital till the end of the 7th century a.d. According to early records, Mahismati (modern Onkar Mandhata on the River Narmada,) was the Kalchuri capital. Rajshekhar, a courtier in Kannauj's 9th century Pratihara ruler Mahendrapala I's court, also describes Mahismati in one of his written works. However, the ruler Vamaraja transferred the Kalchuri capital from Mahishmati to Tripuri at the end of the 7th century. Vamaraja's name is invoked by all later Kalchuri kings of Tripuri as the founder of this branch of the dynasty.
After firmly establishing themselves at Tripuri, the Kalchuris divided themselves into two branches. One of them settled in Sarayupura (north of modern Ghogra in Gorakhpur, Varanasi), and the other made Daksin Kosala (modern Chhattisgarh and adjoining Orissa up to Cuttak district) its home.
The early king Vamraja made Kalanjara his chief religious centre. He assumed the title of Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja (Great King of Kings, Supreme Lord), which indicates that he was an authoritative ruler. With Vamraja's death, Sankaragna and Lakshmanraja, two kings of little significance ascended the throne in quick succession in mid-9th century a.d.
Here we may note that king Vamraja assumed the title Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja. This may be pointing to the beginning of the usage of titles such as Maharaja, Mudiraja and Muthuraja which means the line of Great Kings of Kalchuri clans.
Maharaja = Adhiraja = Mudiraja = Muthuraja = Great King
An inscription found in Karitalai near Jabalpur mentions Lakshmanraja's rule over these areas. The inscription is dated 594 of the Kalchuri Era, which is equal to a.d. 841 (the Kalchuris started an era that came to be known as the Kalchuri Era). After Lakshmanraja, Kokalla l (reigned a.d. 850-90) became the ruler of the Dahala branch of Kalchuris; he extended the boundaries of his kingdom, defeating the rulers of the mighty Rashtrakuta and Pratihara dynasties.
According to epigraphs, this branch of Kalchuris produced no less than 14 kings. There were several great rulers in the Kalchuri dynasty, but the names of Yuvarajdeva l (reigned a.d. 915-945), Gangeyadeva (reigned a.d. 1015-41) and Lakshmikarna (reigned a.d. 1041-73) stand out amongst them. Yuvarajdeva built many temples and mathas (Hindu seminaries) in Bilhari.One of the most important rulers of Kalachuri dynasty was Gangeya Deva. He tried to make the Chedis the paramount power of Northern India. He was succeeded by his son Karan Deva. Gangeyadeva assumed the title of Vikramaditya and took under his protection the holy cities of Allahabad and Benares.
Gangeyadeva was succeeded by his son Lakshmikarna, a chakravartin (universal emperor), who successfully launched many military campaigns. He was also a great builder. Besides building the Karna Meru Temple in Varanasi and the Karna Tirtha Temple in Prayag (Allahabad), he established a settlement of Vedic scholars.
Lakshmikarna did much to revive traditions associated with the empires of Harsha (7th century a.d.) and Bhoja I, the Pratihara king of Kannauj (9th century a.d.). He conciliated the rulers of Bengal through matrimonial alliances and extended his sway southwards, as far as Kalinga in Orissa. Had he lived longer, he might have found himself in the happy position to unite the extremely fragmented Hindu kingdoms of North India and erect an effective barrier against the advancing Turks. But by this time, Lakshmikarna's growing power and influence sent the rulers of Gujarat, Malwa, Bundelkhand and the Deccan into a tizzy. The Turk advance could be foiled in due time, but a threat from such close quarters was a little unnerving. These rulers teamed up and formed a coalition whose main objective was to ensure that Lakshmikarna's territorial expansion was curtailed. As a result, Lakshmikarna was defeated and killed by the united might of the four rulers, bringing to end a rule which could have united the Hindu forces against the dreaded invasions from the west.
Second dynasty
After the decline of the -, Laksm Karna (1041-1072) of Kalachuri dynasty of Tripuri, who came to power, brought under his control almost the entire region covered by the present district of . But his son and successor Yash Karna (1073-1120), was unable to check the process of disintegration. The Kahla inscription indicates that Sodha Deva, a feudatory of another branch of Kalachuri dynasty, had proclaimed his independence in a portion of Gorakhpur district. During the same period the Kalachuri rule was supplanted by that of the of Kannauj over this region.
Southern Kalachuri Dynasty- Southern Kalachuri Kingdom (1130 - 1184) at their peak ruled parts of the extending over regions of present day northern Karnataka and parts of Maharastra.According to a record pertaining to the year 1174, the founder of the family was Soma, who was a disciple of Ashwathama (the heroic character of the ). According to legends, he grew a beard and a moustache to conceal his visage, in a bid to escape the wrath of the fiery (another famous character of the ). Thereafter his family and kinsmen came to be known as Kalachuris. However, the later records of the dynasty claim that they descended from , the Creator of the universe.
Here it is to be noted that Kalchuris were Chedi descendants and they were hunt by Parasurama for 21 times. Parasurama owed to eliminate all Kshatriyas from the face of the earth to avenge the killing of his father Jamadgni by the sons of Sahasrarjuna. The Kalchuris were a new blend of Kalachedis resulted due to matrimonial alliances between Aryan Chedis and Black Tribal dravidian Indians.
Historians have also pointed out that several Kalachuri kings were related to Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas by matrimonial alliances and had ruled from places like Tripuri, Gorakhpur, Ratnapur, Rajpur. They migrated to the south and made or Mangalavedhe (Mangalavada) their capital. They called themselves Kalanjarapuravaradhisvara, which indicates their origin. Their emblem was Suvarna Vrishabha or the golden bull. They started out as modest feudatories of the Chalukyas of Kalyani.
The Kalachuris of the south were Jains and encouraged Jainism in their kingdom. The first notable chief of the Kalachuri family of Karnataka was Uchita. While there were several kings who followed him ruling as feudatories of the Kalyani , it was Jogama who became an influential vassal of , being related to the great Chalukya king by matrimony.
Kalachuris, who overthrew and took the place of the Chalukyas of Kalyana in the early part of the twelfth century, had a relatively short but stormy rule. The period threw up two striking personalities: An energetic, if somewhat wicked, adventurer who flouted the authority of his Chalukya master and achieved the Kalachuri independence - Bijjala. Another figure of eminence was Basaveshvara who marshaled a virile, revolutionary movement of religious and social reform, which goes by the name of Virasaiva Movement. A new sect called the or sect was founded during these times. A unique and purely native form of literature-poetry called the Vachanas was also born during this time. The writers of were called Vachanakaras (poets). The various Kalchuri clans of Kalyani were : Uchita, Asaga, Kannam, Kiriyasaga, Bijjala I, Kannama, Jogama, Permadi, Bijjala-II (1130 1167)proclaimed independence in 1162, Sovideva (1168 1176), Mallugi --> overthrown by brother Sankama, Sankama (1176 1180), Ahavamalla (1180 1183) , Singhana (1183 1184).
The kingdom went into decline after the assassination of Bijjalla. The rulers who followed were weak and incompetent, with the exception of Sovideva, who managed to maintain control over the kingdom. The Kalachuris are the principal characters in the Andhra epic The battle of Palnadu.
Palnadu Kalchuris of Andhra Pradesh:
Palnadu is the northern region of in the state of . Also known as Pallava Nadu, it occupies an important place in Telugu history. The war of Palnadu in the 12th century is marked in legend and literature as 'Andhra '. The battle is narrated in the Palnati Vira Charita of Srinatha. It was a battle between two factions of the Kalachuris (Haihaya).
Nalagama Raju was the son of Alugu Bhupathi Raju of the Palanati Kalachuris. His step brother was Malideva Raju, who was married to a princess of the Kalyani branch of Kalachuris. Dodda Naidu and Brahma Naidu were vassals of the (Vassals of the Chola-Chalukyas and responsible for the administration of their Andhra territories) and tried to usher in a new era in which caste distinctions would be abolished. Nalagama was against this and tried to check their progress. He was supported by Nagamma, a female statesperson who became his chief adviser. Nagamma belonged to clans of kalchuri-haihayas. The differences in ideology led to Brahma Naidu leaving with his supporters, including Nalagama's half brother Malideva and set up an independent court in Macherla.
There are Mudiraj fishermen in Telangana with surname "Alugu" and this points to the descendancy of some sections of Mudiraj people in Telugu speaking lands to Kalchuris.
Mutual suspicion and rivalry reached a high pitch between the two courts and Nagamma, under the pretext of Malideva's defeat in a cock-fight, exiled them for 7 years from Palnadu. After 7 years Brahma Naidu sent Alaraja, the son of Kalchuri Kommaraja of Kalyani, and the brother-in-law of Malideva to claim Malideva's share. The demand was turned down and Alaraja was poisoned to death under the orders of Nagamma. The enraged Kalyani and Brahma Naidu declared war on Gurujula. The fierce battle was fought in Karampudi on the banks of the river Naguleru. The Kakatiya dynasty, Kotavamsa, Parichedas and Hoyasalas supported Nalagama and the vengi kalchuris. The Velanati Chodas and Malideva were supported by the Kalyani kalchuris.
Nalagama was victorious. The civil war shook the Velanadu kingdom to its foundation. A whole generation of the greatest warriors of Andhra perished. The tragedy hastened the end of the Chalukyan rule in Vengi. It exposed their weaknesses and allowed the Hoysalas, Kalachuris, Eastern Gangas, and the Kakatiyas to eventually overrun them.
The Haihaya family of of the Kona region (Amalapuram and Razole taluqs of the present East Godavari District) and The Haihaya family of Palanadu were some of the minor ruling Kshatriya dynasties of that age. They were the principle players in the Battle of Palnadu. Kona Haihayas (Heheya, Kalachuris), Kolanu Saronathas, and other non-Kshatriya families (Kota Vamsas, Parichedas, Velanadus, Velanti Chodas, Kondapadamatis etc.) were connected by marriage ties and raised to high position for their loyalty, Valor and statecraft.
Additional Information through narration by ballads during Ankamma Kolupu :
Reference of one Kommaraju in the narrations by ballads during Ankamma Kolupu: There was a reference to one Komma Raju in the heroic story of Mudiraj ancestors narrated by ballads during Ankamma Kolupu performed in Addanki, A.P. This names sounds to similar to that of Kommaraja of Kalyani Kalcuris. It was also said that the Mudiraj ancestor- Kommaraju was from Devagiri, a city located in Maharastra. This city seems to be a part of Kalyana kingdom which was ruled by Chalukyas and Kalchuris and they were also matrimonially related. Kalchuris and Eastern Chalukyas are known to be Lunar race kings. The Mudiraj hero Kommaraju was said to be a solar race king. Here it may be noted that the Kakatiyas, who are said to be from fishermen community are also known to belong to solar race kings. While some sections of Mudiraj people are having descendancy from koli (fishermen) solar race kings, some other sections are having descendancy from Panduvamsi and also Kalchuri lunar race kings.
Webmaster
Kokolu Anka Rao
Dt:01/01/2007
go TOP
03. PANDUVAMSI (SOMAVAMSI)ORIGIN :
MEKALA is one of the surnames of Mudiraj people. The surname MEKALA is also found among the people of Reddy, Kamma, Kapu, Boya, and Chenchus. There were two branches of Panduvamsi kings in North India. One of the branch was known as Mekala and the other as Kosala. There are also some sections of people among Mudiraj having their gotram as Pandava, Pandavula and Pandavulu. Mudiraj people also have surnames such as Panduga, Pandula, etc. which could possibly be the modified names for Pandu / Pandava. A lot of Mudiraj people believe that they are the descendants of Yadu & Yayathi and this confirms the presence of Somavamsis or Panduvamsis among Mudiraj people. One of the early Andhra kingdoms are said to be immigrants from Kosala, UP / MP / Chattisgarh / Orissa.
This may be one of the reasons why Kakipadegalavallu narrate the stories of Pandavas. Kakipadigela Vallu are dependent caste singers of the Mudiraj caste. They are storytellers who narrate the stories of the Pandavas with the help of Patams (a scroll of cloth on which episodes collected with the Pandavas are painted in figures and text). Usually four or five men belonging to the Kakipadigela community form into a tell and narrate stories with the help of the patam. The Kakipadigela Vallu reside in the houses of the Mudirajus and usually stay for ten to fifteen days in one village. These performances are their only source of livelihood. For more details about Kakipadegalavallu, readers may like to see "ARTS" in this website.
Mekala is the name of a mountain from which the Narmada river is said to rise, and from which it is called Mekala and Mekala-kanya, daughter of Mekala. There are a people of this name, who probably lived in the vicinity of this mountain. Their kings were also called Mekalas, and there appears to have been a city Mekala. The Narmada river region was also said to be the birth place of Kalchuri clans who are considered to be the ancestors to Kalabhras and in turn to Mudiraja / Muthiraja warrior kings of South India.
It was a Vindhya tribe, according to the other Puranas. The locality is confirmed by mythological personations; for Mekala is said to be a Rishi, the father of the river Narmada; thence called Mekala and Mekalakanya: the mountain where it rises is also called Mekaladri. The Ramayana places the Mekalas amongst the southern tribes.
Kosala is a name variously applied. Its earliest and most celebrated application is to the country on the banks of the Sarayu river, the kingdom of Rama, of which Ayodhya was the capital. In the Mahabharata, we have one Kosala in the east, and another in the south, besides the Prak-kosalas and Uttara-kosalas in the east and north, The Puranas place the Kosalas amongst the people or the back of Vindhya; and it would appear from the Vayu that Kusa, the son of Rama, transferred his kingdom to a more central position; he ruled over Kosala at his capital of Kusasthali or Kusavati, built upon the Vindhyan precipices: the same is alluded to in the Patala Khanda of the Padma Purana, and in the Raghu Vamsa, for the purpose of explaining the return of Kusa to Ayodhya. Certainly in later times the country of Kosala lay south of Oude, for in the Ratnavali the general of Vatsa surrounds the king of Kosala in the Vindhya mountains.
Daksina Kosala - It was a territory comprising modern districts of Vilasapur, Raipur and Sambalpur. Chattisgarh was known as Dakshina Kosala in ancient times.
This finds mention in Ramayana and Mahabharata also. Between the sixth and twelfth centuries Sarabhpurias, Panduvanshi, Somvanshi, Kalchuri, and Nagvanshi rulers dominated this region. Kalchuris ruled in Chhattisgarh from 980 to 1791 AD.The Panduvamsis occupied it in 8th, 9th centuries. Their capital was Siripur. The Kalachuris drove out the Panduvamsis and occupied the territory. Their capital was Tummana or Ratnapura in the present Indian state of Chettisgarh. Somavamsis later occupied and extended this area and called it Kosala. The Kalachuris had described their territory as Mahakosala. Siripur / Sripur is now in the Raipur district of Chhatisgargh state. Rajivalochana temple is famous among many monuments. Purusottama Narasimha has been mentioned in the 8th century Sirpur Stone Inscription of the Panduvamsi queen-regent Vasata. The worship of Kevala Narasimha was prevalent in the upper Mahandi valley. The lion-faced god is depicted as cat-faced, which seems to be a peculiar phenomenon in western Orissa. Such a cat-faced, four-handed Narasimha image seated in Maharaja-lila on a high pedestal has been discovered from Maraguda in Nuapada district, which is dated to the 6th century A.D. The cat-faced and lion-bodied feline form of Lord Narasimha is worshipped as the central deity of the Narsinghnath temple in Bargarh district as Lord Narsinghnath. The earliest temple at Narsinghnath is believed to have been built by Queen Vasata, the mother of the Panduvamsi king Mahasivagupta Balarjuna sometime in the second half of the 8th century A.D.
There was a kingdom by name Mekala in ancient India. There was close family relation between the Sarabhapuriya of Kosala and the Panduvamsis of Mekala. King Bharatavala of Mekala married princess Lokaprakasa of Kosala. Suravala, the son of Lokaprakasa, succeeded his father to the throne of Mekala. The Sarabhapuriya king Sudevaraja I was probably the maternal uncle of Suravala and it is therefore natural that Sudevaraja II got the help of Suravala in his attempt to gain back Sripura. Indravala who belonged to the royal family of Mekala was getting great honour from Sudevaraja II who made him a Mahasamanta.
The people of Mekala Participated in Kurukshetra war. A military array was created by on eighth day of the war where Bhishma with the, Dakshinatyas and battalions from Avanti formed its vanguard. Bhishma was followed by Drona with Pulindas, and the ganas of the Kshudraka-Malavas. Behind them came Bhagadatta surrounded by the battalions from Magadha, Kalinga and Pisachas. After Bhagadatta came Brahadbala of Kosala supported by Mekala, Kuruvinda and Tripura soldiery.
Indradyumna was a king of Malava and belonged to the dynasty of the Pandava. While attempting to identify Indradyumna of Malava, the name of one celebrated king Shri Maharaja Indra, or Bharatavala of the Pandava dynasty often comes to discussion.. Shri Maharaja Indra, was son of Nagavala and grandson of Vatsaraja, grandson of Jayavala of Mekala. He was ruling sometime in the 5th century A.D.King Indrabala was married to Lokaprakasa, the daughter (princess) of the Amararyakula of South Kosala kings.
Towards the beginning of the seventhcentury A.D., a dynasty called Panduvamsa
emerged in the scene. The founder of this dynasty was Mahasiva Tivara, who was the son of one Nanna. Nanna was a very high official in the service of the Sarabhapuriya king Mahasudevaraja II. Mahasiva Tivara was a devout worshipper of Visnu and the royal seal attached to his copper-plate charter bear the emblems of a Garuda, a Chakra, a Sankha and a flower device.
Towards the first half of the 9th centuryA.D., the Panduvamsis left their capital Sripura and moved further east towards Suvarnapura to carve out a kingdom for themself in the upper Mahanadi valley of Orissa, in which venture they succeeded. The new dynasty came to be known as the Somavamsa in stead of Panduvamsa. All the kings of this dynasty were Parama Mahesvara, but the royal seals attached to their copper-plate grants bear the Vaisnavite emblem of seated Gajalaksmi.From the Vakratentuli grant of the founder king of Somavamsi rule, Mahabhavagupta Janme jaya, it is known that the names of gods like Aditya (Sun), Varuna (Water God), Visnu, Brahma, Soma (Moon) and Hutasana or Agni(Fire) are still quoted in the Purana section of this one and all his land grants.
The Panduvamsis were known as the Somavamsis from the time of Tivaradeva who found the rule of his dynasty in South Kosala. Tivaradeva was an ambitious ruler. After consolidating his power over Kosala and Mekala, he extended his authority over Utkal. By that time a fratricidal war took place in Kangoda between Dharmaraja and Madhava after the death of their father king Madhyamaraja. Tivaradeva supported the cause of the younger brother Madhava but the combined army of Madhava and Tivaradeva was defeated by Dharmaraja who occupied the throne of Kangoda. As a result of the defeat, Tivaradeva lost his hold over Utkal.
Tivaradeva was succeeded by his son Nannaraja who ruled for a brief period and was overtherown by his uncle Chandragupta. This king being advanced in age had a short rule and was succeeded by his son Harshagupta. About the middle of the 18 th century A.D., the Rastrakuta king Dantidurga invaded Kosala and defeated king Harshagupta who appears to have died in the battle. Valarjuna, the son of Harshagupta, was then minor. So after the death of Harshagupta the widow queen Vasata became the ruler of Kosala on behalf of her minor son. She was a devout worshipper of Purushottama Narasinha and built many Vishnu temples in Kosala. Her brother Bhaskaravarman patronized Buddhism in Kosala.
Valarjuna after attaining the age of majority became the king of South Kosala and patronized Saivism. He ruled for a long period as known from his Lodhia grant which is dated in his 57 th regnal year. His rule may be assigned to the period from 750 A.D. to about 810 A.D.
Mahasivagupta Valarjuna was succeeded by one Mahabhavagupta whose name is not known. He issued the Kisarkella grant in his eleventh regnal year. Mahabhavagupta was succeeded by one Mahasivagupta whose name also is not known and no charter issued by him has been brought to light.
The next king was Mahabhavagupta Janamejaya I, who came to the throne about the middle of the 9 th century A.D. He was an ambitious king and conquered Khinjali Mandala which comprised the Sonapur-Boudh region. Ranabhanja, the king of Khinjali Mandala who has a rule for a period of more than 58 years fought with Janamejaya I and was defeated and killed by him. After this victory Janamejaya avoided the struggle with the Bhaumas who were the overall lord of the Bhanjas of the Kinjali Mandala by concluding a matrimonial treaty with them. Prithvi Mahadevi, the daughter of Janamejaya was given in marriage to Subhakaradeva IV, the Bhauma king of Tosali. Janamejaya had built a new capital at Aramakatak identified with Rampur near Sonapur. Somavamsa Mediaeval dynasty of Oriss'a (882-1110AD) founded by Janmejaya I of South Kosala - capital at Suvarnapur or Sonepur. His successor Yayati I annexed Bhauma kingdom and united Orissa politically and culturally. Last ruler Karnadeva.The dynasty was known as Kesari dynasty in Madala Panji. It patronised Saivism and temple architecture.
Mahabhavagupta Janamejaya was succeeded by his son Mahasivagupta Jajati I about 885 A.D. He shifted his capital to Vinitapura identified with modern Binika on the Mahanadi. After sometime he built a new capital at Jajatinagar identified with modern Jagati on the Mahanadi near Boudh. During his rule his sister Prithvi Mahadevi became the ruler of the Bhauma kingdom of Tosali after the death of her husband Subhakaradeva IV. The brother and the sister attempted to extend the political suzerainty of the Somavamsis over Tosali kingdom but the officers and the feudatories of the Bhaumas went against Prithvi Mahadevi and installed Tribhuvana Mahadevi III, the widow queen of Sivakaradeva III on the Bhauma throne. Jajati I (Yayati I) who was then busy with wars against the Kalachuris could not come to the help of his sister. He was, however, ultimately succeeded in defeating the Kalachuris.
The Somavamsis occupied Airavatta Mandala in about 968 A.D. after which this Mandala formed a part of Odradesa under the Somavamsis.
The worship of Kesava, Aditya and Sesasayi Visnu at Suvarnapura has been mentioned in the Sonepur Plates and 2nd Gopalpur Plates of the time of the Somavamsi king Mahabhavagupta Janmejaya (Circa 850-885 A.D.) A beautiful Viranchi Narayana image has been shifted from Salebhata in the Balangir district and is now kept in the Sambalpur University Museum. Also, an exquisitely carved Sasasayi Visnu panel has been shifted from Ranipur Jharial and fixed to the outer wall of the residential office chamber of the Collector of Balangird istrict. Description of such Visnu image is found in the ancient texts like Tantrasara of Madhavacharya.King Mahabhavagupta Janmejaya hasbeen taken as the founder of the Somavamsi rule in the upper Mahanadi valley of Orissa. His father Svabhavatunga has been compared with 'Bhu Varaha' in the 1st Gopalpur Plates of Janmejaya. A profile figure of four-handed Bhu Varaha of the height of around four feet and breadth of two feet and a half is carved on the huge boulder of ten feet in height and twenty five feet in length, situated on the south-eastern embankment of the Samiabandh tank at RanipurJharial.
The Patna Museum Plates of Mahabhavagupta Yayati-I, issued in his 8th Regnal Year speaks in Line-43 of Svabhavatunga, the most powerful Somavamsi king's victory over the Chaidya (Chedi) and again in Lines 48-50 about his(Svabhavatunga's) son born like Visnu who killed the epic Chaidya or Sisupala in the Rajasuya Yajnya performed by Yudhisthira. The Chedis mentioned in this copper-plate grant are the Kalachuris (Chedis) of Jabalpur region (Dahala
Mandala) with whom the Somavamsis were at war constantly, due to the fact that the growing power of the Kalachuris forced their ancestors to leave their capital Sripura and moved towards the upper Mahanadi valley in Orissa (the present western part of Orissa state).
After the death of Jajati I his son Bhimaratha became the king of Jajatinagar. He ruled for a long time and was succeeded by his son Dharmaratha about 960 A.D. It was during the rule of king Dharmaratha that the South Tosali was occupied by the Somavamsis. Dharmaratha also conquered Kalinga and Kangoda and appointed his brother Indraratha as Governor of those two territories which were jointly called Kalinga.
After the death of Dharmaratha his brother Naghusa became the king but Indraratha, who was the Governor of Kalinga, attempted to be the king of the Somavamsi territory. A civil war broke out between the two brothers in which Naghusa and his uncle Abhimanyu were killed. Chandihara Jajati, the son of Abhimanyu, fled from Kosala to save his life. After becoming victorious Indraratha ascended the throne of Jajatinagar in 1000 A.D. He was an able and ambitious ruler but he was defeated by the Paramara king Bhoja and also by Rajendra Chola. Very probably king Bhoja fought against him in association with Rajendra Chola. In the battle which took place in Jajatinagar, Indraratha lost his life. After his death there was anarchy and confusion in South Kosala and subsequently Chandihara Jajati, the son of Abhimanyu was installed as the king.
Mahasivagupta Jajati II was an important ruler of this dynasty and his kingdom comprised Kosala, Utkal as well as Kalinga and Kangoda. He constructed the Lingaraja temple and his wife Kolavati is known to have built the temple of Brahmeshwar at Bhubaneswar.In the Brahmesvara Temple Inscription of Kolavati, the mother of king Udyotakesari, it has been mentioned in Verse-11 of this stone inscription that 'His(Udyotakesari's) mother, Kolavati by name, was the daughter ofthe Solar race and the chief queen of the Lunar race (of Yayati-II) and was like Durga and Laksmi in beauty and action.
The Somavamsi king Mahasivagupta Yayati II Chandihara (Circa 1023-1040 A.D.) has been mentioned as the 'Representative of Madhusudana' in the copper-plate grants of Udyotakesari and Karnadeva. A four-handed image of Madhusudana Visnu is found inside the Garbhagrha of the Indralath brick temple a Ranipur Jharial.
Jajati II (Yayati II) was succeeded by his son Udyota Kesari. During his time the Kalachuris of Tummana attempted to invade the western part of his kingdom. So Udyota Kesari created Bamanda Mandala and placed it in charge of a military officer named Sripunja. But Bamanda Mandala was subsequently lost to the Kalachuris. Udyota kesari was a devout Saiva and at the same time a patron of Jainism. He probably built the Jagamohan of Lingaraja temple. The Navamuni cave at Khandagiri was excavated by the Jain monk Subhachandra, a disciple of Kalachandra, in the 18 th regnal year of Udyota Kesari.
TheSomavamsi king Mahasivagupta Yayati-II Chandihara (Circa 1023-1040 A.D.) was a great monarch who was made the ruler of the entire region comprising of Kosala and Utkala. Mahesvari who was later on known as goddess Bhagavatya Panchambari Bhadrambika and was enshrined at Pattana Suvarnapura might have been introduced as Subhadra (Bhadra Ambika who is having the Pancha Ambara)into the Jagannath Cult.
After the death of Udyota Kesari his son Janamejaya II succeeded to the throne. He fought against the Naga king Somesvaradeva. Yasoraja, the General of Somesvaradeva belonging to the Telugu Chola family occupied some parts of Kosala and establishesd there the rule of his family.In around 1070 A.D. the Telugu Chodas captured power at Suvarnapura ruled for around 44 years upto 1114 A.D. In the Mahada Plates of another Telugu Choda king Somesvara II in Line-35, Mukunda, a name of Lord Visnu has been mentioned, although Somesvara was a Parama Mahesvara. Similarly in the Patna Museum Plates, the Telugu Choda king Sakala Kosaladhisvara Mahavyuhapati Ranaka Srimadraja Somesvaradeva III has declared himself as a devout worshipper of both Siva and Visnu.
Janamejaya II was also defeated by Vanapati, the General of the Ganga king Rajraj I. After the death of Janamejaya, his son Puranjaya came to the throne. He ruled for a brief period. He was succeeded by his brother Kamadeva about 1090 A.D. He was the last Somavamsi ruler of Utkal. During his time the Ganga king Chodagangadeva of Kalinga invaded Utkal and succeeded in defeating him about 1110 A.D. Kamadeva, the Somavamsi King of Utkal was defeated in 1110 A.D. It appears that the wars against Vengi and against Utkal were fought simultaneously. Jayasimha, the Chief of Dandabhukti who was feudatory of Ramapala of Gauda, helped Kamadeva at the time of his defeat at the hands of Cholagangadeva, as a result of which Chodagangadeva allowed the defeated King Kamadeva to continue his rule as a vassal chief. Subsequently, after the death of Kamadeva, Utkal was annexed to Ganga empire sometime before 1118 A.D.
After the occupation of Utkal Chodagangadeva had to face with the powerful Kalachuri king-Jajalladeva who by that time had extended his power up to Suvarnapura of South Kosala. Chodaganga had a design to occupy the Sonepur region which was once under the rule of the Somavamsis. he was defeated by the Kalachuri king Ratnadeva II, son and successor of Jajalladeva. In course of the war Purusottama, the General of Ratnadeva II, occupied Kalinga.
Inscriptions of Panduvamsis & Somavamsis :
The Panduvamsis - The Panduvamsi copperplate grants contain elaborate prasasti, replete with epic and puranic imagery. This dynasty claimed to belong to the lineage of the Pandavas. The earliest Panduvamsi kings were Saivas. They used in their epithets of Parama-Mahesvara, Parama-Brahmanya and Parama-guru-daivat-adhidaivat visesha (a great devotee of the teachers, the gods and the supreme god). But the Panduvamsi king Mahasivagupta Tivara, son of Nannadeva is describe in his inscription as a Parama-Vaishnava, Tivarsprasasti eulogizes his martial achievements, the lightness of the taxes levied by him and the many excellent qualities of his skill of in uprooting serpents is compared with that of Garuda (the vehicle of the God Vishnu).
The Sirpur stone inscription of Vasata the mother of Mahasivagupta begins with an envocation to Vishnu as Purushottam and goes to eulogize Narasimha, the man-lion incarnation of Vishnu, Vasata is compared with Parvati, the mother of God Karttikeya and Ganesha.
The Somavamsis - The inscription of Mahabhavagupta which begins with an auspicious invocation Om Namaha Sivaya. Most of the ruler used the word Bhava or Siva and are also indicative of their Saiva leanings. The Orissa State Museum plate of Mahasivagupta Yayati States, the joy created among people at Janamejaya's accession to the throne of Kosala is compared with that aroused by Yudhishthira's accession to the throne. The Jatesinga and Dungari plates of Mahasivagupta yayati compare this king with legendry kings such as Nala, Nahusha, Dilipa, Bharata and Bhagiratha. He is also described as one who is free from the stain of the Kali age, and as a builder of many temples(devakul-ayatana) pleasure gardens and parks. In the Brahmesvara temple inscription of the time of Udyotakesari, Bhimarath is said to be the Kalpa tree of the Kalinga. His son Dharmaratha is said to be the second Parasurama Udyotakesari mother Kolavati is compared with Goddess Durga and Lakshmi in beauty and action. The Somavamsi kings claimed to belong to the Lunar dynasty. This is evident from the epithet's of Soma-Kula-Tilaka.
Inscription of the Panduvamsi queen Regent Vasata : The Supreme Lord of the Universe Jagannath is invariably called Purusottama, and his abode Sriksetra is known as Purastama or Purusottama Ksetra. The deep reverence to Lord Purusottama is found in the very beginning of the invocatory verses of the Sirpur Stone Inscription of the Panduvamsi queen Regent Vasata,
who ruled Kosala as dowager queen in the first half of the 8th century A.D.on behalf of her minor son Balarjuna (later onknown as Mahasivagupta Balarjuna). In 1904, Henry Cousens discovered this inscriptionen graved on a thick red -coloured stone-block of thesize of around four feet in length and two feet and a half in breadth. This inscription was edited by Hiralal.
In the first line itself the queen paid her deep reverence to god Purusottama. (Om ! Narasimha Purusottamaya). The three verses immediately follow, narrated the greatness of the Lord in his Narasimha avatara. the Holy Triad were worshipped during the early Somavamsi period (probably by king Yayati). As about the identification of LordJagannath as Narasimha it has been stated bythe noted German scholar H.V. Stietencron that "Even to-day, Narasimha plays an importantrole in the periodical renewal of the wooden image of Jagannath."
Jagannath is also worshipped in the Nrsimha Mantra. He further writes. "The worship of Purusottama Narasimha can be traced back to Sirpur in the upper Mahanadi valley, the ancient capital of Daksina Kosala. It is here that during the late Panduvamsi period we find one of the germs which later developed into the composite Jagannath cult of Orissa. Here it may be noticed only that this development is closely linked with the political fate of the Panduvamsi dynasty which, being driven away from the political center by the Kalachuris, was forced to retreat into largely tribal areas of Bolangirand Sambalpur districts of western Orissa. Most probably it is during the 8thcentury, Purusottama Narasimha got amalgamated with Lord Jagannath, the Supreme God of the Samala or Sambala kingdom of Indrabhuti and popularly came tobe known as Purusottama Jagannath.
Indradyumna was a king of Malava and belonged to the dynasty of the Pandava although Indrabhuti,the king of Samala were of all together different origins. He was ruling some time in the 5thcentury A.D., who might be identified with Indradyumna who sent his Brahmin Minister Vidyapati to look for Lord Jagannath. As this king Indrabala was married to Lokaprakasa,the daughter (princess) of the Amararyakula of South Kosala kings of which dynasty were great Bhagavata (Parama Bhagavata), he mighthad been allured to look for the great Lord Jagannath in Odra.
The Lunar Race - one of the two great royal dynasties of ancient India . As related in the Vishnu-purana, Soma(The moon), the of the rishi Atri , gave birth to Budha (Mercury) who married Ila , daughter of great royal dynasty, the Suryavamsa (Solar Race). Her descendants, Yadu and Puru, founded the two great branches of the Chandravansa (named respectively Yadava and Paurava). Yadu was the founder of the Yadava line of the Chandravansa -- to which the last important scion Sri Krishna belonged. Puru was the founder of the Paurava line of the Chandravansa -- to which also belonged the kurus and pandus.
Webmaster
Kokolu Anka Rao
Dt:01/02/2007
go TOP
04. MATSYA-CHEDI (INDO-ARYAN) ORIGINS
A large population of Mudiraj still continue to take up fishing as one of their major profession in Telangana, Rayalaseema and some coastal areas. The Sanskrit word Matsya means fish. Matsya or Machcha ( Sanskrit for fish) was the name of a tribe during vedic civilization in India. As such Indian Dravidians lived through out Indian subcontinent starting from river Sindhu to Srilanka. An interesting fact is that fishing was the main occupation of the people who lived near river Saraswati. After the Sarswati river dried up, they migrated to river Charmavati now known as Chambal meaning fish in Dravidian languages. In the Shatapatha Brahmana, one can see the Matsyas on the bank of Saraswati, where their great king Dhvasan Dvaitavan performed fourteen horse-sacrifices. Hence the lake was named Dvaitavana. Matyas who lived along the river Sarswati were the people who developed and laid the foundations for the vedic culture in India. The Aarayars (Subsect of Muthuraja) of Tamilnadu & Kerala are a fishing community and these people who are known to be the descendants of Aryans (Indo-Aryans) were most probably the same people who migrated from North India ( Rajastan, Utter Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh & Chattishgarh). They might be some sections of the misterious Kalabhras of South India who are now known to a variants of Kalchuris of Central India.
It is to be noted that there was the famous Matsya kingdom of Virata in the region of Alwar & Bharatpur of Rajastan. The sand desrt beds of Rajastan is believed to the path of dried out river Sarswati. While fishing was the main profession for the people who used to reside near the river belts such as Sarswati, Sindhu, Ganga, Yamuna, etc., hunting was the main job of those tribal Indians who used to live in thick forests (Dandakaranya). Ayans normally used to avoid venturing into forests as they afraid of Dravidian surprise attacks. Valmiky was known to be one such attacker on Aryans.
After Yadu, the dynasty branched off into Yadavas and Haihayas. The Southern part of the empire passed over to Haihayas of Mahishmati. The Chedis were the Aryan Kshatriyas and were also known as haihayas. Haihayas were the ancient clans who claimed their common ancestry from Yadu. According to Harivamsha, Haihaya was the great grandson of Yadu and grandson of Sahasrajit. All the five Haihaya clans called themselves together as Talajangha. The five Haihaya clans were Vitihotra, Sharyata (descendants of Sharyati), Bhoja, Avanti and Tundikera. In the 4th generation after Sahasrarjun, the Bhojas (Haihaya Branch) ruled the region of Aravalli hills and Avanti in western Malwa. They were connected with the river Parnasha (Banas) with their capital at Mattikavati. The Vitihotras (another Haihaya branch) ruled in eastern Malwa.
Heheya kingdom (also known as Haihaya, Haiheya, Heiheya etc) was one among the many kingdoms ruled by yadava kings in the central and western India. It was the strongest among the Yadava kingdoms and had the powerful ruler kartavirya Arjuna who even defeated Rakshasa Ravana . Its capital Mahishmati was (modern city of Maheswar) on the banks of river Narmada in Madhya Pradesh. They conquered many other kingdoms of India. How ever the enimity with the warrior type brahmins by the name of Bhargavas resulted in their demise. Parasurama was the Bhargava leader under whom they were exterminated. Talajangha was an allied kingdom of Heheya, probably to the east of it.
The Haihayas, who were descendants of Yayati, rose to power under Arjun Krtavirya. It was said that plunder was their sole object; they were least interested in establishing an empire. Their raids continued for five or six generations and extended from the Gulf of Cambay in the west to Kashi in the east. The king of Ayodhya was reported to have been driven from his throne by the Haihaya -Talajanghas aided by Shakas, Yavanas, Kambojas, Paradas and Pahlavas from the northwest; suggesting that the kingdoms to its west had by then already been over-run. These, the first invaders according to puranic history, came along well before the Rg Vedic `Aryans', who were in any case homegrown.
The Haihayas migrated from the west to central India (The Malwa region of Western ). The honour of founding their future capital city of Mahishmati (present day ) was attributed to the Haihaya king Mahishmant in Harivamsha though as per Padma Purana the city was actually founded by certain Mahisha. The great Haihaya king Arjuna Kartavirya captured this city from Karkotaka Naga, a Naga chief and made his capital. The Nagas were dravidians. In the later periods, Haihayas were better known by the name of their dominant clan - Vitihotras. As per tradition, Vitihotra was the great-grandson of Arjuna Kartavirya and son of Talajangha.
Yadu had five sons, Sahasrada, Payoda, Kroshtu, Nila and Anjika. Sahasrada's descendants were the Haihayas, amongst whom the most famous was Kartyavirya Arjuna. Arjuna pleased the sage Dattatreya and became invincible. He also had a thousand arms. Arjuna's greatest deeds were his defeat and imprisonment of Ravana, king of Lanka.
The Haihayas were the descendants of Sahasrarjuna. Jamadagni was the head priest and an advisor to the Haihayas. The Haihayas were said to be a cannibal tribe. Once there was a dispute between Sahasrarjuna and Jamadagni on the issue of possesing Kama Dhenu, the holy cow that fulfills the desires of its owner. The sons of Sahasrarjuna killed Jamadagni and then Parasurama killed Sahasrarjuna and all other Haihaya kshtriyas to take revenge for the killing of his father Jamadagni by the sons of Sahasrarjuna. Parasurama , who owed to destroy all the kshatriya races from the face of the earth, undertook war against Kshatriyas for 21 times. The Mooshika Vamsam Kavyam shows that the Haihayas reached Payyannur (North Kerala), in the 5th century B.C and Parasurama also came to Kerala at this time. Parasurama might have chased these Haihayas in his venture to kill them. Parasurama put an end to his terrible war against kshatriyas only after seeing Raghurama ( son of Dasaratha) face to face. The Haihaya people were the only ones who did not surrender to Ravana. It is said that the Puranic Krta Yuga ended with the destruction of the Haihayas by Rama Jamadagnya and the Treta yuga ended with Rama Dasarathi's destruction of the Raksasas.
The vitahavya the descendent of sahasrarjuna, had restored the glory of the haihayas after it was destroyed by Bharagavarama (Parasurama). He and his numerous sons, the vitahavyas were all well-versed in the vedas and the science of weapons, and were fierce warriors.
The great divide between Aryan Brahmins and Aryan Kshatriyas on the issue of kamadhenu :Kalchuris were the Indo_aryan warrior people of central India came into existence due to the bloody war that broke out between two social sections of Ayan race i.e Aryan Brahmins lead by parasurama and Aryan Kshatriya lead by Sahasrarjuna. The sons of Sahasrarjuna killed Jamadagni due to a pretty dispute that arose about who should posses kamadhenu (a holy cow that fulfills the desires of its owner). Parasurama, who owed to eliminate the Aryan Kshatriya Races from the face of the earth, conducted his killer attacks on kshatriyas for 21 times to fulfil his owe and avenge the death of his father Jamadagni. The Aryan Kshatriyas who were unable to bear the onslaught of Parasuraman ran into forests and sought the protection of Indian Dravidian Tribal warriors who were experts in archery and commando fights. The friendship that started between Aryan Kshatriyas and Indian Dravidian warriors lead to matrimonial alliances and creation of a new hybreed race of Kalchuri warriors. These warriors who were black in their skin color also called themselves as Chedis. They were thus kalachedis (Black chedis).
Kala = black
chedis = descendats of chedis (haihayas)
kala + chedis = kalachedis = Black chedis
Kalachedis => kalacheris => kalachuris => kalchuris
The Kalchuri kings who ruled some parts of our country, having the longest rule between A..D..550 to A.D. 1740 and which was the royal family having a continuous long rule withstanding all destructive efforts, during even the Moghul period, took great pride in claiming their descent from the Somavamshiya SAHASRARJUNA. The kalachuri king kumara gangeyadeva had claimed the descent from the haihayas who had survived the ancient assault of the bhargavas (Parasurama). Bengal was also colonised from the west by the Chedies & Haihayas.
Kalchuris and Panduvamsis were from fishing background and related to matsyas : : Kalachuris were the Indo-Aryan hybrid race of kalachedis (black chedis) resulted due to matrimonial alliances between Indian Dravidian fishermen and Aryan Chedis. This matrimonial alliances came into existence at the initiative Aryan Chedis to increase their military & political power against Aryan Brahmins and their onslaught against Kshatriyas under the leadership of Parasurama.
The rivalry between Aryan brahmins and Aryan Kshatriyas leadt to the floating of a new religion by Aryan Kshatriyas to counter the influence of the Aryan brahmins. The Aryan divide also lead to the forging of friendship and matrimonial alliances between Aryan Chedis and Indian Tribal fishermen & hunters. Jainism floated as a separate religion by Aryan kshatriyas to counter the influence of Aryan brahmins had the seeds of shaivism that was followed by dravidian. Some consider that Shiva was the fist Jina of Jains. Meditation was the core theme of shaivism and Jainism and this fact clearly reflects from the similar meditative postures of Shiva and Mahavir.
This Aryan divide was infact the primary reason why the chedi king Uparichara Vasu married a woman of fishermen community as per the tradition established by their ancestors. This matrimonial relations between the chedis and black (kala) dravidians fortified the strength of Kshatriya forces against Aryan Brahmins lead by Parasurama and thus gave birth to new breed of deadly warrior race of Kalachedis (= kalachuris = kalchuris) in central India.
Mutharayars descendancy to Kalchuris :The Mutharaiyars of Kondubalur (8th to 11th Century AD) are believed to be the descendants of the mighty warrior race of Kalabhras. Some historians regard that Kalabhras were a predatory people belonging to the uplands of Karnataka (Hampi Region => Pampa Region) on the strength of a reference in Tamil literature to the rule of a Karnata king over Madura (Madhurai).
Prof., Ramaswami Ayangar asserts that the valiant Kalabhra kings of South India (ancestors of Muthuraja) were one time the devoted followers of Jainism. He proved it on the basis of copper plate of Veluikudi and Painyapuranam of Tamil language. Some historians believe that Kalabhras were descendants of Kalchuris of Decaan India. Shri Ayangar presumes that these Kalabhras were a branch of Kalchuri clan.
Basically, Kalchuri kings were supporters of Jainism. Jainism flourished after their reaching in Tamil country. Kalchuri kings of M.P. were supporters of Jainism. The evidence on this is that they were closely related to Rashtrakuta. The Rashtrakuta kings had their faith in Jainism. The influence of Jainism during reign of Kalchuri kings of Kalyani was perceptible. The prominent king Vijjala of this clan and his several statesmen had adopted Jainism. Rechmayya, the minister of Kalchuri State set up the image of Tirthankar Shantinath at Shravanabelagola.
The Kalcuhri clan was also called as Haihayas or Chedis. They were one of the ancient people of India. These people were ruling in Eastern Malwa and the neighboring region around 8th century AD. Several branches of this family had settled in different parts of Northern India.In the sixth century the Kalachuris must have become a ruling clan of some importance, as the Badami king Mangalisa records his victory over Buddha Varman Kalachuri of Chedi; and tle Brihat Sanhita, written at the same period, mentions the Chaidyas as an important Central Indian tribe. During the latter part of the seventh century the Kalachuris rapidly acquired the sovereignty of the whole tract, which came to be called after them Chedidesa or the land of the Chedis. The most famous king of this clan was Kokalla - I, who was an imperial power below modern day Madhya Pradesh. He had defeated all major kings in that era around 10th century AD. Kokalla or Kokkula was a famous Kalchuri king who is known to descend from Haihai (Chedi) Royal Clans.
The famous Jain doctor, Hemchandra, who enjoyed the patronage of Kumarpala Chalukya of Anhilvara (1143-1172), mentions Tripuri (near Jabalpur) as Chedi-nagari (Chedi's city) in his celebrated work, Haimakosa. The ancient Indian epic of Mahabharata has references to his city. It is one of the major cities of Madhya Pradesh and it is a historic city. It became a part of the great Mauryan and the Gupta Empires. In ad 875, it was taken over by the Kalchuri dynasty who made Jabalpur their capital. For a long time it was ruled over by the Kalchuri dynasty. Numerous inscriptions belonging to the Kalchuri kings establish the genealogy of these kings from Kokalla I (875 AD) to Kokalla 15 (1180 AD), the last Kalchuri king. One of the most important rulers of Kalachuri dynasty was Gangeyadeva. He tried to make the Chedis the paramount power of Northern India. He was succeeded by his son Karandeva. The Kalachuris dynasty declined by 1181 AD.
The earliest reference to the Chedis is made in the Rigveda, the oldest of the Vedas and the most ancient Hindu text. Occasional references to the Chedis are found in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Puranas (ancient Hindu texts), as well as in Buddhist and Jain scriptures. Gupta in the Allahabad pillar inscription, when detailing his conquests; and it refers no doubt to chiefs of this region, some of whom may possibly have been Haihayas.
Chedi kingdom was one among the many kingdoms ruled during early periods by Paurava kings and later by Yadava kings in the central and western India. It falls roughly in the Bundelkhand division of Madhyapradesh regions to the south of river Yamuna and along river Betwa or Vetravati. The Chedi kingdom was ruled by Sishupala, an ally of of Jarasandha of Magadha and Duryodhana of Kuru. He was a rival of Vasudeva Krishna who was his uncle's son. He was killed by Vasudeva Krishna during the Rajasuya sacrifice of the Pandava king Yudhisthira . Bhima's wife was from Chedi. The city called Suktimati is mentioned as the capital of Chedi. Prominent Chedis during Kurukshetra war included Damaghosha, Sishupala, Dhrishtaketu, Suketu, Sarabha, Bhima's wife, Nakula 's wife Karenumati, Dhristaketu's sons. Other famous Chedis included King Uparichara Vasu, his children, King Suvahu, King Sahaja. Chedi was one among the kingdoms chosen for spending the 13th year of exile by the Pandavas.
During the time of Bharata war the entire betweenthe Yamuna and the Vindhyas was inhabited by the Chedis.The King Kasu Chaidya (identified with Vasu of the Mahabharata) is mentioned in a danastuti, found at the end of the hymn in the Rigveda. The puranic literature represents these Chedis as an off shoot of the Yadus.
There was a story that connects Vasu with non-vegetarianism in ancient India. Filled with doubts respecting the propriety of eating flesh, some sages asked Uparichara Vasu for solving them. King Vasu, knowing that flesh is inedible, he answered that is was edible. A similar story connects Vasu with the issue of animal sacrifices. In his opinion sacrifices could be performed with or without the slaughter of animals. This aspect non-vegetarianism and animal sacrifises with Vasu indicates the existence of JAININSM in its primitive stage during the time of VASU.
Uparichara Vasu was a king of Chedi belonging pururava race. He was also known as Vasu. He was a very valorous, devoted and virtues king. He was fond of hunting, for sport. He was known as the friend of Indra. Vasu conquered the excellent and delightful kingdom of Chedi under instructions from Indra. HE was also in the habit of visiting Indra in heaven, riding his crystal chariot in the sky. (Since he wandered in high places, he got the name of Uparichara). And for the gratification of Indra, Vasu, the lord of the Chedis, observed the festivity of Indra.
There were many towns and cities in the kingdom. He possessed a very special chariot. During his reign, Chedi kingdom contained much mineral wealth. It was abundant in animals and corn. The festival involved planting of a bamboo pole every year, in honor of . The king will then pray for the expansion of his cities and kingdom. In due course of time, five sons were born to Uparichara. They rivalled him in virtue, energy and prowess, and were installed as the governors of his provinces. Their names were Vrihadratha (who founded the kingdom of Magadha and was called Maharatha), Pratyagraha, Kusamva (called Manivahana), Mavella and Yadu. Much later, the five sons of Vasu planted kingdoms and towns after their own names and founded separate dynasties that lasted for long ages. There was a river named Suktimati that flowed. From Chedi, he ruled a large territory virtuously placing his sons as governors of various provinces. Thus the Chedi king attained the status of an emperor and his kingdom became a vast empire. He diverted the waters of river Suktimati from the locks of the Mountain Kolahala, for irrigating his capital-city which he named Suktimati. This beautiful city of the Chedis was called after the Oyster. His wife Girika, was from the valley of Kolahala. Girika's brother was installed as the generalissimo of Vasu's army.
The first Matsya king was mentioned to be the son of a king named Uparichara Vasu. He was a Paurava, meaning a king beloning to the Puru dynasty. Apart from his five royal sons, Uparichara Vasu had a son and a daughter born of a woman of fisherman community . The male child, in due course established the Mastya kingdom and founded the royal dynasty called Matsya Dynasty. The female child lived as a member of fishermen community. Her line established as fishermen on the banks of river Yamuna, in the kingdom of Kurus. The famous Kuru king Santanu's wife Satyavati (Daughter of Vasu?) was from this fishermen community. The author of Mahabharata, vis Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa and the Kuru kings viz Chitrangada and Vichitravirya were the sons of Satyavati. Pandavas and kauravas were the grandsons of Vichitravirya.
Virata Rajya was a famous Matsya kingdom and it lay to south of the kingdom of kurus and west of the yamuna which separated it from the kingdom of Panchalas. The capital of Matsya was at Viratanagara (modern Bairat) which is said to have been named after its founder king Virata. In Pali literature, the Matsya tribe is usually associated with the Surasena. The western Matsya was the hill tract on the north bank of Chambal. This is a fascinating small town set amidst Jaipur and Alwar. It possesses a rich history that well explains the significance of this tiny land. It is situated around 90 kilometres from Jaipur and and 66km west of Alwar. This place plays shelter to the remains of a circular shrine. This shrine is believed to be the oldest structural temple in India.
Virata(nagara) => Virata => Virat => Birat => Bairat
Surasena :
In Pali literature, the Matsya tribe is usually associated with the Surasena. The countries, which attracted the Arya emigrants, were Kurukshetra (near Delhi), Matsya on the Jumna, Panchala near modern Canoj, and Sursena (Mathura). Andhakas (Krit Varma one of the adviser of Kaurvas), Sursenas and Vrishnis were three main branches of Jadu Vanshis ruled over the Bayana-Mathura- Bharatpur-Mahaban region. 23 rulers of sursenas till the time of Nand of Magadh (4th century BC) were the rulers of.this region. Megasthenes of 320 BC states that Herakles (Harekrishna) was worshiped by the Sour-senoi (Sursenas) and Mathura and Krishnapura are named as two big cities.
Ancient literature refers to Surasena and its capital Mathura as one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas. The territory of ancient Surasena was in modern Uttar Pradesh west of the Yamuna river with the Panchala Janapada as its neighbour east of that river. Few details are available about Surasena's political history. We only hear that Surasena's king Avantiputra had close relations with king Pradyota of Avanti who was a contemporary of Bimbisara, king of Magadha. At about 350 BC Surasena seems to have been conquered by Mahapadma Nanda, king of Magadha. The coins of Surasena have a very characteristic design which in most cases had been deeply incused by a single punch of round or oval shape: a lion-like animal with a fish above and some ancillary symbols around. Sometimes the fish is exchanged by a second lion, a sun or a taurine. Some more hoards with several thousand 'fish over lion' coins have surfaced in the Mathura district strengthening their attribution to the Surasena Janapada (Kosi Kalan hoard, Mathura hoard and Nandagaon hoard). Following the hypothesis of the first Indian coinages to have been issued around 500 BC, historian proposes a time-span for the Suarasena Janapada coins from about 500 BC until about 350 BC when Surasena became a part of the Magadhan Empire.
Matsya Kingdoms :
Matsya Kingdom was probably founded by fishermen community who later attained kingship. The word Matsya means fish. The epic Mahabharata relates the founder of Matsya kingdom to the ruler of Chedi, viz Uparichara Vasu. King Virata, a Matsya king, founded the kingdom of Virata . He was the father-in-law of Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna. An interesting fact is that fishing was the main occupation of the people who lived near river Saraswati. After the dried up, they migrated to river Charmanvati, now known as Chambal meaning fish in Dravidian languages. Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa was son of Satyavati who belogned to this fishermen community and yet was a Vedic scholar, thus attesting the origin of Vedas from the Saraswati basin.In Telugu language, Chapa means fish.
Chambal => Chamba => Champa => chapa
The people called the Matsyas figure prominently in the wars of the Mahabharata, and the reigning family of Pandya in the extreme south claimed to be a branch of the Matsya-vansa; hence the origin of fish as the special emblem of the Pandyan Kings.
The Dravidian word for fish is Min. The Pandyan Kings of Madura took the title of Minavan or " He of the Fish or Fisher". The Pandyan tutelary goddess was Minakshi, the fish-eyed goddess to whom a temple was built in Ceylon by Vijaya when he married a Pandyan princess. The famous Stone Lion, from Polonnaruwa, now in the Colombo Museum, which formed part of the Lion Throne at Polonnaruwa, bears an inscription stating that the throne was built for Nissanka Malla, Lankeswara or Overlord of Ceylon, and terminating with the figure of a fish, in token of paramount royalty.
A Matsya territory existed in the western regions along with the western countries like Bahlikas the kaikayas, and the vasatas, the Vasatas, the Maadras (madras) , and Saindhavas. Their location could be on the banks of river Sindhu. They were mentioned as battling for the sake of Duryodhana in Kurukshetra war.
Madra Kingdom was a kingdom grouped among the western kingdoms in the epic Mahabharata. Its capital was Sagala, modern Sailkot (in the Punjab province of Pakistan). The Kuru king Pandu's second wife was from Madra kingdom and was called Madri. The Pandava twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, were her sons. Madri's brother Shalya was the king of Madra.
Saindhavas were from Sindhu. Sindhu was a kingdom mentioned in the epic Mahabharata. It strached along the banks of river in Pakistan. According to the epic, Jayadratha (the husband of Duryodhana 's sister) was the king of Sindhus, Sauviras and Sivis.
Kekeya Kingdom :
Kekeya (also known as Kekaya, Kaikaya, Kaikeya etc) is a kingdom grouped among the western kingdoms in the epic Mahabharata. In Mahabharata, five Kekaya princes were mentioned, who joined the Pandavas in Kurukshetra war. The eldest of them was described as a king and was known as Vrihatkshatra. These Kekaya brothers were also banished from their kingdom by their own kinsmen, like the Pandavas who were bansished from their Kuru Kingdom, by their cousine brothers viz the Kauravas headed by Duryodhana. Thus these Kekaya brotheres were circumstantially inclined to ally with the Pandavas. Besides this, the Kekaya brothers were sons of the sister of Kunti, the mother of Pandavas, making them cousines. In Kurukshetra war, the Kekaya brothers fought against their own kinsmen, viz the other Kekaya brothers who sided with Duryodhana.
Sudeshna was the queen of the King Virata of the Matsya Kingdom. Keechaka and Sudeshna were the children of a King of Kekeya.
The epic Ramayana also mentions Kekeya as a western kingdom. One of the wives of Dasaratha, the king of Kosala and father of Raghu Rama, was from Kekeya kingdom and was known as Kaikeyi. Kaikeyi was the daughter of king Aswapathi and a princess of Kekaya (Kashmir), third wife of Dasaratha, and mother of Bharatha.Her son Bharata conquered the neighbouring kingdom of Gandhara and built the city of Takshasila.
After escaping from the murder-attempt by Duryodhana, the Pandavas wandered in the forests. In the course of their wanderings they saw the countries of the Matsyas, the Trigartas(eastern part of Indian Punjab), the Panchalas (southern Utter Pradesh) and then of the Kichakas The Matsyas mentioned here could be the Matsyas who established their kingdom up-stream the river Yamuna (Yamuna Nagar district of Hariyana). This kingdom lied to the east of Trigarta. Satyavati the wife of Santanu the fore-father of the pandavas and kauravas could be from this kingdom.
Virata kingdom :
In the epic Mahabharata, there is a separate chapter known as Virata parva dealing with adventurs of pandavas during their exile. Alwar, which is situated almost midway between Delhi and Jaipur, always figured prominently in the history of India. Archaeological findings from the region indicate that during the ancient period the area was occupied by the Matsya king Virata. The most famous Matsya kingdom was the one under the rule of king Virata, the ally of the pandavas. The aged Virata, king of the Matsyas, is virtuous and powerful and charitable, and is liked by all. And he is also attached to the Pandavas. It was adjacent to the Kingdom of Hastinapura, and their traditional foe. It was an ancient Vedic king demonstrates how to respect everyone, regardless of gender. The erstwhile state of Alwar, in north-eastern Rajasthan, is possibly the oldest kingdom in kingdom-studded Rajasthan. Alwar is a pre-historic region of Rajasthan that is protected from desert sands by the Aravalli Range. In 1500 BC it formed part of the Matsya territories of Viratnagar (present-day Bairat), which also encompassed Bharatpur, Dholpur and Karauli.It was adjacent to the Kingdom of Hastinapura, and their traditional foe. The city of Virata was known as Virata-nagari, identified to be the Bairat town in district of Rajastan. Sahadeva on his military campaign to the south, to collect tribute for Yudhisthira's sacrifice, encountered several Matysa Kingdoms including that of Virata. Virata, the king of Matsya, gave as tribute two thousand elephants decked in gold.
Sudeshna was the queen of the King Virata of the Matsya Kingdom. Keechaka was Sudeshna's brotherand the commander of the Matsya army of Virata, and wielded enormous influence there. Keechaka and Sudeshna were the children of the King of Kekeya. King Virata had two sons, Sweta and Uttara, and a daughter also named Uttara. When the pandavas had to spend the thirteenth year of their exile incognito, they chose to take up service with King Virata, disguising themselves as humble servants. After the thirteenth year came to an end, the Pandavas revealed themselves. Virata was exceedingly glad, and offered the hand of his daughter Uttara to Arjuna. However, Arjuna declined the alliance, for she had been his pupil, and as such was like a daughter to him. He instead caused her to be wed to his son Abhimanyu. Parishit was the son of Abhimanyu and Uttara and he later became the king after the reign of the Pandavas.
The erstwhile state of Alwar, in north-eastern Rajasthan, is possibly the oldest kingdom in kingdom-studded Rajasthan. In 1500 BC it formed part of the Matsya territories of Viratnagar (present-day Bairat), which also encompassed Bharatpur, Dholpur and Karauli. Following Independence, Alwar was merged with the other princely states of Bharatpur, Karauli and Dholpur, forming the United State of Matsya, a name which reflected the fact that those states all comprised the ancient Matsya kingdom. In 1949, Matsya was merged with the state of Rajasthan. The place of origin of the Meo Rajputs is Mewat. It is a region that comprises southern Haryana and north-eastern Rajasthan and is known for its admixture of Hindu and Islamic customs, practices and beliefs. Mewat's boundaries are not precisely determined, but generally include Alwar, Bharatpur, and Dholpur districts of Rajasthan, and Gurugaon and Faridabad districts of Haryana. The region corresponds to the ancient kingdom of Matsya, founded in the 5th century BCE. Meawati is the chief language or dialect of the region.
It was at Alwar in the ancient kingdom of Matsya that the Kauravas embarked on the cattle-rustling mission which precipitated the war between and their kinsfolk, the Pandavas. This battle forms the basis of the Mahabharat. Some Matsyas are believed to have assisted the Pandavas. Most of the other Matsyas joined with the Kauravas in kurukshetra war. Virata fought in the Kurukshetra war on the Pandava side, and got killed by Drona in battle along with his two sons. Some say that Virata had three sons by name Uttara, Sweta and Shanka.
Kichaka Kingdom :
Kichaka Kingdom is identified to be one of the Matsya kingdom ruled by Matsya rulers. Kichaka Kingdom was a territory lying to the south of (southern) Panchala. It was ruled by Kichaka clan of kings. They belonged to the Suta caste (offsprings of Kshatriyas upon Brahman ladies). Kichaka Kingdom was allied to King Virata. The Kichaka king, known by the name Kichaka was the commander-in-chief of the Matsya-army under king Virata. was commander of the army there, and wielded enormous influence there. Keechaka and Sudeshna were the children of the King of Kekeya. Sudeshna was the queen of the King Virata of the Matsya Kingdom.
Kichaka kingdom also lied to the east of the Matsya kingdom under the rule of king Virata. It is further identified to be lying between Charmanvati and Vetravati rivers, i.e., to the south of southern-panchala; to the north of Chedi and to the east of Matsya-proper (Virata). It seems that this territory was allied to both the Matsyas and Panchalas, with its own independent rulers. Its capital was mentioned to be Vetrakiya, on the banks of river Vetravati (Betwa) also known as Suktimati.
He was the main strength of king Virata against his arch-enemy viz the king Susharman. He got attracted to the wife of pandavas viz Draupadi. He was later slain by the Pandava Bhima due to his bad conduct towards Draupadi. Bhima and pandavas not only killed Keechaka but also his brothers called Upkeechas.Keechaka's death caused a great uproar in the Matsya Kingdom, and it was only by convincing Sudeshna that her supposed five Gandharva husbands would destroy the kingdom that managed being killed by the wrathful kinsmen of Keechaka.
In Mahabharata it is said that the Pandavas in incognito, took shelter in the palace of king Birat, ruins of which are seen at Bairhatta - a village in Harirampur PS. It's also said that here Kichaka, the army chief of king Birat, was killed by Bhima, when the former tried to establish illicit relations with Draupadi. A tank at Bairhata is still called Kichaka Kunda. Dehaband, an area full of mounds, about 15 km away from Birhatta is said to be the palace of Kichak. An ancient shami tree, a unique specis in this region, is also seen at the entrance of the village, in which Nakula is said to have kept the arms of the Pandavas hidden before entering the Palace.A village in the locality has been named Pancha Bhaya (five brothers) after the Pandavas. A number of places like Karandighi. Karnajora. Karanji in the neighbouring area reminds their association with the great warrior Karna.
Matsyas near Magadha :
A Matsya kingdom existed on the banks of Ganga, between Kasi and Magadha. Due to fear of Magadha King Jarasandha they fled south-wards and dwelled on the banks of river Swarna (modern-day Son). Due to the power of Magadha king Jarasandha, many ancient tribes had to shif their domains. Prominent among them were the Yadavas, who fled from Surasena kingdom to south-west to Anarta kingdom. The king of the Salwayana tribe with their brethren and followers, and the southern Panchalas and the eastern Kosalas also had to flee to the country of the kuntis (which was south to these kingdoms. This kingdom was visited by Bhima during his military campaign to the east, to collect tribute for Yudhisthira's Rajasuya sacrifice.It was said that when Yudhistira under took Rajasuya sacrifice, he sent Sahadeva to the south with the Srinjayas, Nakula to the west with the Matsyas, Arjuna to the north with the Kekayas, and Bhima to the east with the Madrakas. All these supports of pandavas were koli / matsya related warriors.
Paundra Matsyaka (Eastern Matsyas) :
Paundramatsyaka was mentioned as the king of this country and attributed to be an Asura. This kingdom lied close to the (northern parts of West Bengal), on the banks of river Ganga. They were the eastern Matsyas.
King Sisupala of Chedi :
Sisupala was the son of the King Damaghosha. He had another name viz Sunitha. His mother was a Yadava lady by the name Srutakirti, who was the sister of Kunti, the mother of Pandavas. Both Kunti and Srutakirti was sister's of Vasudeva the father of Vasudeva Krishna. However Sisupala developed enmity with Krishna, though he was affectionate to the Pandava Bhima . During the midst of Yudhisthira's Rajasuya ceremony, a dispute arose between Sisupala and Vasudeva Krishna. Pandavas tried to mediate. He also rebuked the Pandavas and Kuru grandsire Bhishma along with Krishna. Then Krishna, extremely provoked, slew Sisupala.
Sisupala's hostilities to Krishna were many. He burned the city of , while was in with his army. He attacked king Bhoja, sporting at Raivataka hill close to Dwaraka. He stole the horse of Krishna's father Vasudeva, during his horse-sacrifice. He insulted the wife of Akrura (Vabhru - the friend of Krishna), on her way from Dwaraka to . He also insulted princess of Visala, viz Bhadra, the fiancι of king. Yudhisthira installed Sisupala's son in the throne of Chedi. Sisupala's sister was married to Bhima.
Dhristaketu, the king of Chedi, was described as the son of king Sisupala. During the time of Dhristaketu also, Suktimati was the capital of Chedi. Dhristaketu was an army-general in the army of Pandavas in Kurukshetra war. Sarabha, the son of Sisupala became the king of Chedi after the death of Dhristaketu. He was defeated in battle by Arjuna during his military campaign, after the Kurukshetra war.
MATSYADESHA IN SOUTH INDIA :
VISHAKHAPATTANAM : A branch of Matsya is also found in later days in Vishakhapatnam region . A family of Matsyas, who were originally from Jaypur area settled in Vizagapatam. in mediaeval times. Matsya Family ruling over Vaddadi region of modern Jeypore dominated Nabrangpur (Orissa) regions. The famous king included Bhanudeva, Narasingha Dev and others which is evident from inscription of Simhachalam in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. It was told that Jayatsena, the lord of Utkala, gave to Satyamartanda of Matsya family in marriage his daughter Prabhabati, and appointed him to rule over the Oddavadi country. In early sixth century BCE, Matsya was one the sixteen great kingdoms (Mahajanapadas) mentioned in Buddist traditions, but its political clout had greatly dwindled and had not much of political importance left of their own by the time of Buddha . King Sujata ruled over both the Chedis and Matsyas thus showing that Matsya once formed a part of Chedi kingdom.
COORG : In the ancient times, Kodagu was known by various names such as Matsyadesha, Krodadesha, Brahmadesha and Chappanadesha. Located on the Western Ghats of Karnataka, Coorg is a marvelous location with verdant valleys, coffee plantations, teak wood forests and beautiful mountain ranges. The history of Coorg is glorious and dates back to 2nd century. The Puranas refer to Coorg as Krodadesa or the land (desa) of the people blessed by mother Goddess, River Cauvery (kod, meaning bless, and avva for mother Cauvery). The Puranic name for Coorg was also Matsyadesa (matsya, meaning fish) as is recorded in the Kaveri Purana. Down the ages, it came to be known as Kodagu and the people, Kodavas. This has further changed to Coorg. Madikeri is also the district headquarters of Coorg. The southern parts of Coorg were successively connected to the Ganga Dynasty from the 4th to the 11th century. After a war with the Gangas in the 11th century, the Cholas emerged as the sole rulers of the whole of Kodagu. During the 12th century the Hoysalas, who were in Belur, Hassan district, drove away the Cholas from Kodagu. From the 14th century, the Vijayanagara Kings ruled supreme. After their fall, the local chieftans or Nayaks and Palegars, became independent and started ruling from wherever they stayed. Later on the Haleri Kings defeated them all and ruled Kodagu from 1600-1834. From then on Kodagu came under the direct rule of the British. The hileri kings were Muddhurajas ( Mudirajas). This seems to perfectly match with the fact that Muddhurajas and Mudirajas from one warrior race and related to Matyas & Matsya dynasty of North India.
Webmaster
Kokolu Anka Rao
Dt:01/02/2007
go TOP
05. KOLI - BHIL - KOLARIAN ORIGIN :
The Mudiraj people are known as Muthuraja in Tamilnadu and the same people in North India are kwown as kolis / kohlis. The Bhils, Kolas (kolis), and some other tribes are classed under the name Kolarian. These people appear to have been the true aborigines.
The kolis are also known as kolas. These kolas seems to be the same people who are known as colas / Cholas in South India. The cholas, Pandyans and Mutharayas were all royal clans of South India having fishing background and also North Indian connection. All these clans in Souh India are practically merged into one due to inter-clan marriages since more than two thousand years and they are all presently known as Muthurajas.
The Chola-Mutharayar Research Center, Tanjore, which made considerable research in this direction came to a conclusion that both Cholas and Mutharaiyars had common origins and they are one and the same people. They projected the common origin as Sugreevan who helped SriRama in his fight with Ravana. The Cholas were looked upon as descended from the sun. The cholas were also known to belong to solar race (surya vamsam = suryavamsi ) similar to kolis.
Cholas were one of the oldest royal clans of South India who were ousted by Mutharayars and at a later stage Mutharaiyars were ousted by Cholas. While cholas ans Mutharayars used to fight on one side, they also used to go for inter clan marriages between the two royal clans without any problem. Their fight seemed to be more like inter family fight to establish their royal supremacy.
There are some people in Mudiraj community whose surname is "KOLA" and "KOLI" as per the list of surnames published in this website. There are also people among Mudiraj whose gotra is "KOLI".
Kolis => kolas => Colas
Colas => Cholas => Chulas => Chodas => Codas
Kshatriya personalities like Raghu, Dileepa, and Srirama, etc., who were described by Valmiki in his Ramayana were all descendents of Surya dynasty. Kshatriya's belonging to Surya dynasty include the historical stalwarts such a Cholas, Ikshwakas, Hoyasalas, Kakatiyas, Varnatas (Karnatics), etc. Persons belonging to Kasyapa & Kanudinya Gothrams belong to Surya dynasty. The Suryanaar temple dedicated to the Sun God Surya was constructed during the period of the later Cholas.
'Son kolas' are known to be a branch of kolis in Maharastra. Mangela is a subcaste among the Maharashtrian Koli Community. They are found in most villages dotting the coast line north of Bombay in Maharashtra. The bhils (bheels), Nishadas, Matsyas, khatris, kolas, kolis(kohlis), bedars (bedars), boyas, koyas, vedans, valmikis, nayaks, nayakans, banjaras, vanjaras, and vanaras are all one and the same people.
Kolas & Cholas : There is no definite information on the origins of the word Chola. Cholas of South India appears to be the kolas (kolis) of North India who migrated to South even before Ramayana period. The lists of legendary early Chola kings are recorded in Tamil literature and in the inscriptions left by the later Chola kings. The main sources are (a) the Sangam literature particularly Purananuru, religious literature such as Periapuranam, semi-biographical poems of the later Chola period such as the Kalingathuparani written during the Kulothunga Chola I and in the temple and cave inscription and copper-plate grants left by medieval Cholas. . Karikala Chola was the most famous among the early Chola kings, while Rajaraja Chola, Rajendra Chola and Kulothunga Chola I were the famous emperors of the medieval Cholas. It appears that these kolas (cholas) entered South India though Kalinga region of present Orissa and coastal Andhra Pradesh. Valyars are the people normally from the plains and they also collect Non Timber Forest Products ( NTFP ). Fishing and hunting was their basic profession.
Attempts have been made earlier to connect the word with the Sanskrit Kala (black) and with Kola, which in the early days designated the dark coloured pre-Aryan population of Southern India in general. Other names in common use for the Cholas are Killi, Valavan and Sembiyan. Killi perhaps comes from the Tamil 'kil' meaning dig or cleave and conveys the idea of a digger or a worker of the land. This word often forms an integral part of early Chola names like Nedunkilli, Nalankilli and so on, but almost drops out of use in later times. Valavan is most probably connected with 'valam' fertility and means owner or ruler of a fertile country. Sembiyan is generally taken to mean a descendant of Shibi a legendary hero whose self-sacrifice in saving a dove from the pursuit of a falcon figures among the early Chola legends and forms the subject matter of the Sibi Jataka among the Jataka stories of Buddhism.
Cholas were the kolas : The Tamil word Valavan in Tamil literature is generally in Synonymous with Chola. Both "killi" and "valavan" are the titles of the Cholas. It appears that valavan and Valayar are the titles normally used by the chola kings and their variants in South India and these titles are derived from the word "VALA". In Telugu language VALA means fishing NET. So they were basically fishermen who became the kings because of their professional background skills in hunting and fishing. Further it appears that they were descendants of fishing and hunting communities of bhils and kolas of North India. Maharshi Valmiki, the author of great epic Ramayana is known to belong to community of Valya Kolis. There is an interesting reference made by the celebrated writer Kamladevi chattopadhyaya. She pointed out that Valmiki, the author of the great epic Ramayana was a Bhil bandit named Ratnakar walia. It appears that Valya, Walia and Valayar are closely related words and hence the people are descendants of Valya kolis of fishing community to which Maharshi Valmiki belonged. In Telugu (dravidian) language VALA means NET.
Vala = Fishing NET
Vala => Valaya = Closed Circle like = Round one = Net
Valya => Walya => Walia (North Indians & Punjabis)
Valya => valyar
Valya => valaya => Valayar = > Valaiyar (South Indians & Tamils)
Valya => Valaya => Valayan => Valavan (South Indians & Tamils)
There are a number of evidences available to conclude that the people of valayars ( valavans) were cholas and they were non other than Valya kolis having fishing and hunting background. The earliest ancient kings (Mudiraj) were always from fishing and hunting communities such as bhils and kolis. Those bhil-koli people who failed in the struggle to occupy the administrative slots such as kings, chieftains, and other local administrative jobs in the society were pushed down in the social hirarchy to become sheduled caste, scheduled tribe and other backward class people.
Valayars are a subcaste of Muthuraja (Mudiraja) in Tamilnadu and they are fishermen who normally catch fish using nets in the lakes and rivers. There is an other section of muthuraja caste who are known as arayars and they are mostly fishermen who go for deep sea fishing. Mata amritanandamayi is from Araiyar community of Kerala. There are Valayars in Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Tiruchirapalli, Karur, Perambalur, Pudukottai,Erode and Coimbatore Districts. There are valayars who are known as Chettinad Valayars in Sivaganga, Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram Districts are known to be listed under denotified tribes. >
Valayars are also known as hunting community in Tamilnadu. Half the population are Valayars, a traditional hunting caste in Natham Block in Tamil Nadu. Natham block, Dindigul District Tamilnadu is a hill belt region naturally. Here valayar community people are living, they are enjoying poor resources from Government and abroad, most of them are illiterate (Total Literacy rate is 41 percentage and women literacy rate is only 28% ) and they are engaged agri coolie workers and medicinal plants collection work in the hill region. Totally they are very poor and they do not give much importance to their child education due to poverty and further unable to provide enough guidance and resources for their children. The valayar community people are herb gatherers in the Natham region of Tamilnadu. This community consists of people who traditionally used to hunt for snakes in forests and had a good knowledge of the forest land. They also gathered herbs and were aware of the availability of different beneficial herbs in the forest. Currently, they have been organised into a company of herb gatherers, taught on how to gather herbs without damaging the forest land and also sustain the herbs available. Today they benefit from the knowledge and its product.
The two main castes of the village, the Pallars and the Valaiyars, put an important sociological question: actually, the former caste (the Pallars) is officially recorded as a Scheduled Caste that is to say they are recognized by the State as an untouchable caste. On the contrary, the Valaiyars are a caste whose ritual and economic status is very close to that of the Pallars; yet, the Valaiyars have not been classified as a Scheduled Caste, and, therefore, we could say that it is not an untouchable caste or at least that it is not officially registered as such. The Valaiyars are recognized as a "backward class". Valaiyars are hunters; they mainly hunt small game and their name derives from a small net (valai), which they use to catch their prey. They are said to hunt and eat all types of inferior food such as rats or frogs. In other words, if we accept a definition of untouchability in purely ritual terms, the Valaiyars are by no means superior to the Pallars. Their caste name is derogatory and today they prefer to be called Muthuraja, Muppannar or even Amblakarrar. This variation in names denotes a greater social heterogeneity of the Valaiyars, and perhaps a greater mobility of some of their sections. We can assume that the Valaiyars were allowed to own land long before the Pallars. The latter had to fulfil the slave tasks (adimai tozhil) whereas the Valaiyars were probably less dependent upon the high castes. Some of them, or at least some regional sections, had access to land. In the neighbouring village of Kalkuruchi, for instance, the Valaiyars, though not actually wealthy, form a kind of "dominant caste"
Valaiyars are traditional herbal practioners. But more number of quacks than the traditional valaiyars practicing in the villages now a days. Herbal medicine is widely practiced from ancient period throughout the world. These medicines are safe and environment friendly. According to WHO about 80% of the world's population relies on traditional medicine for their primary health care. Currently the Government of India, realizing the value of the country's vast range of medicinal plants, has embarked on a mission of documenting the traditional knowledge about medicinal plants and herbs. This investigation, in a small way, takes up the enumeration of plants with medicinal value, which are used by the Valaiyans, an ethnic group, residing in and around Piranmalai Hills, Tamilnadu, South India. This report elucidates a rich and unique profile of phytodiversity of the area surveyed, with 63 species of medicinal plants belonging to 59 general and 38 families.
Cola Kings : South Indian Tamil rulers of unknown antiquity, antedating the early Sangam poems (probably c. 200). The dynasty originated in the rich Kaveri Valley. Uraiyur (now Tiruchchirappalli [Trichinopoly].
Vengi is situated between the Godavari and the Krsna. The Cola rulers of the Telugu country and the Colas of Tanjavur were related by marriage. Rajaraja Cola (Narendra) reigned in Tanjavur; it was he who built the Brhadisvara temple. Kulottunga Cola who belonged to the family of the grandson of a king of Vengi ruled as a member of the Cola dynasty of Tanjavur. Once he visited the Cola kingdom and on his return took some 500 Brahmins with him to promote Vedic learning in Vengi. The "Dravidalu" of Andhra Pradesh are the descendants of these Brahmins. Rajaraja I (reigned 985-1014) was possibly the greatest of the Cola kings of southern India. He made the Colas the paramount power in southern India, Sri Lanka, and the southern seas. A political and organizational genius, he was also a grand patron of religion and the arts. Cola dynasty sent embasssies to china to expand trade and even raided srivijayan territoris in Malay& sumatra.
Rajaraja's son Rajendra I (reigned 1012-1044, initially with his father) extended the Cola sway. One military expedition reached the Ganges. The Cola navy was strengthened, and profitable campaigns were waged in Southeast Asia. Rajendra built a new capital city, Gangaikondacolapuram ("city of the Cola who brought the Ganges"), and, emulating his father, he crowned it with an exquisite "sister" temple to the Tanjore shrine. The legendary king Karikalan was the common ancestor through whom small Deccan and Andhra families called Cola or Coda claimed a connection with the Uraiyur. Later Telugu Chodas or the Nayakas or the Wodeyars (or Udaiyars as the Cholas called themselves) of Mysore emerged as local kings with different names but with strong Chola antecedents and history.
: It appears that cholas ( colas ) were often referred as chodas (codas) in Telugu language. It is also understood that these chodas later came to be known as kapus / balijas. Chode, Chodisetty, Chodasetty, Chodavarapu, Chodapaneedi, Chodapala, Sodisetty, Sodamsetti are some of the Kapu last names to show the link to Telugu Chola(Choda) dynasties. This once again proves that kapus( balijas) and mudiraj are having common racial and professional origins. There are several surnames such as Talari, setty, etc which are common in both communities.
Many Telugu Choda kingdoms ruled over many regions including the cities on the banks of Krishna River in the period between the seventh and the thirteenth century. It is not known much about these family origins. Some of them claimed descent from the legendary Karikala Chola (reigned about 120). They began their career as local chieftains in the Kadapa region in the seventh century. They may be identified with the people referred by the Chinese traveler Yuan Chwng as 'Chuliya'. The Telugu Chodas adopted the title Chola as a Honorary title and also to show the Fuedatory Status they had under the Chola-Chalukya rulers. According to Etukuri Balarama Murthy in "Andhrula Samkshiptha Charithra" Telugu Cholas/Chodas gradually came to be called as Kapu (caste) / telaga. Telugu Chodas of Velanadu (Velanati Choda) were one of the Telugu Choda families which claimed their descent from the illustrious Cholas of South India. Velanadu is located in the modern Guntur district. The chieftains who ruled over Velanadu came to be known as the Velanati Chodas. One of them, Rajendra Choda II had even assumed the title Durjayakulaprakara. These Velanati chiefs were the subordinate allies of the Chalukya Cholas of the south. They were entrusted with the responsibility of the governance of the Andhra region, which formed a part of the Chola kingdom in the twelfth century. Their capital was Dhanadapura or Sanaduprolu, the modern Chandolu in the Guntur district intially then later they ruled from Vengi in West Godavari and Pithpuram in East Godavari Districts.
Nellore Chodas(also known as Nellore Cholas) were one of the Telugu Choda families who ruled over parts of Andhra Pradesh in 11th and 12h centuries. They were chieftains to Kakatiyas and Kalyani Chalukyas and ruled over the Nellore region. These Chodas claimed their descent from the famous Karikala Chola. They ruled over their kingdom consisting of the Nellore, Cuddapah, Chittur and Chengalput districts with Vikramasimhapuri(modern Nellore) as their capital. The Konidena Cholas were also a branch of the Telugu Chodas of Renadu They had their headquarters at Konidena (Kotyadona) near Narasaraopeta in the Guntur district. They ruled over parts of Kammanadu from the middle of the tenth century C.E. Nannuru Cholas were another branch of Telugu Cholas. The famous Telugu Poet ''Kaviraja Sikrtamani'' '''Nanne Choda''' belonged to this family.
Koli => koliya => choliya => chuliya
The Telugu-Chodas, as the name indicates, were a branch of the Tanjavur Colas, and they ruled around the Nellore region. In the 10th and early 11th c., the Colas from Tanjavur were the biggest power in the south, with kings like Rajaraja and Rajendra. Kulottunga Cola had united the Cola dynasty and the Eastern Calukya dynasty in his person. The Telugu Codas were definitely vassals of Kulottunga, as long as he lived. They are known to have rebelled in the time of his son, but were again subdued by Vikrama Cola. In the 13th c., the Tanjavur Colas had been subdued by the Madurai Pandyas in the south, who were allied militarily and matrimonially with the Hoysalas from Karnataka. It was around this time that the Telugu Codas became more independent and issued their own coins and inscriptions. The rule of the powerful Tamil Cola dynasty in the eleventh century, however, paved the way for the rise of Saivism among the Tamils (and even among some Sinhalese) in the twelfth century. The Telugu Codas in Nellore were feudatories of the W. Calukyas, when there were other, stronger powers in their own neighbourhood, who would have wanted to bring this region under their sphere of control.
Walya & Walia : The Walias of North India are quite probably related to valya kolis. And their social status seems to be similar to valaiyars of Tamilnadu. Walias and Ahluwalias are there in both Hindus and Sikhs. They seems to closely related to Khatris and who are also known to be related to Kekeyas and Mastyas (fishermen). Walias and Alhuwalias(Ahluwalias?), are the ones who tell us that Sikhs are Hindus or at least Hindus and Sikhs are the same. Many Khatri families like Bhatias, Kapurs, Walias, Malhotras of Punjab who have both Hindu and Sikh members. Kohlis are kolis and the kohlis fall under Khatri groupin Punjab. This raises the prospects of transformation of the word Valya or Walya to Walia. So the people of walia or ahluwalia could be the valya kolis to which Rishi Valmiky belonged.
Valya => Walya => Walia => Ahluwalia
Ahluwalia's are basically Chandravanshi Kshatriyas. Ahluwalias are one of the most progressive community of Punjab.Ahluwalias are an elite community of Kshatriyas.Ahluwalias are renowned for energy, enterprise and obstinacy.Its an old proverb"Death may budge but they won't".Urban Ahluwalias use Walia. Ahluwalias have abandoned their hereditary occupation Distillers and taken up agriculture,commerce,army,civil administration and other commodities. Ahluwalias are in more exalted commercial enterprise particularly in government service where many have achieved notable success. Some have achieved prominence in the army. Others have done so in literature and the universities, earning for themselves an acknowledged reputation as intellectuals. Common Ahluwalia names includes Jaiswals and Jaiswals are Kalchuri related chandravamsi people.
The reigning family of Kapurthala is descended from Sada Singh Kalal who founded the village of Ahlu near Lahore about 10 KM away. The family gradually rose in the social scale, and Badar Singh, the great-grand son of Sada Singh, married the daughter of a petty sardar of the district. From this union sprang Jassa Singh, who became the most powerful and influential Chief that the Sikhs ever possessed till the rise of Ranjit Singh. He adopted the title of Ahluwalia from his ancestrol village Ahlu, the title is still borne by the Kapurthala royal family, and a Sikh Kalal will commonly give his caste as Ahluwalia.
The Ahluwalias ruled in Kapurthala, a district in the Panjab which was once a small princely state. The family name Ahluwalia is now found not only among the descendants of Jassa Singh but also among many others who adopted it later. As Jassa Singh Ahluwalia had no issue, his second cousin, Bhag Singh, was made the ruler. After his death in 1803 his son Fateh Singh became the ruler. He had close friendship with Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Jassa Singh, who was also called Jassa Singh Kalal, came to be known as "Guru Ka Lal" (the beloved son of the Guru). Son of Badar Singh, Jassa Singh was hardly five years old when his father died (1723 AD). It was Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia (1718-1783) who evicted Ibrahim Khan, an usurper after the death of Mughal Governor Adina Beg, from Kapurthala. Jassa Singh selected Kapurthala as his capital. He was successor of Nawab Kapur Singh, who was given the honour of Nawab by the Sikh Confederation in 1754 AD.
Now Walias claim that there are more than five crore Ahluwalias.
Ahluwalia was the biggest and strongest misl in the early years of Khalsa. Sikhs from different backgrounds (Jats, Khatris, Shudars, Rajpoots, Vaishyas, and even muslims) alligned themselves with the leaders, and came to be known by the name of their leaders. Ahluwalias hail from as far as Jhelum and Toba Tek Singh to the shores of Yamuna. Their professions are as diverse. Their physical appearance also varied. They are descended from farmers, pandits, and Jats to Rajputs, to bhapas in NWFP. Ahluwalia and Ramgarhia were both able, distinguished, and respected generals of the time. They were leaders of ALL the Khalsa during conflict with Abdali and seige of Delhi. Their misls were the largest.
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was born (1718-1783) at a village called Ahlu or Ahluwal near Lahore, established by his ancestor, Sadda Singh, a devotee of the Sixth Guru, Hargobind Singh Ji. Hence the name Ahluwalia stuck to him. His forefathers were Kalals (wine merchants). Hence he is also called Jassa Singh Kalal.
Jassa Singh Ahluwalia is the FIRST Ahluwalia (or Walia) from where all the Walias and Ahluwalias in the World have decended from. Some Ahluwalias stemmed from Kalals (in Distt. Kangra, Himachal Pradesh) but that all Ahluwalias are not Kalals. In some parts of Himachal Pradesh, India, Ahluwalias and Walias are still referred to as Kalals. Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia is also the one who laid the foundation stone for the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Walias and Ahluwalias are Sikhs and Hindus. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was Kalal, originally from a Hindu background, who became a Sardar (Sardar means Leader). Sardars were the fighting force created by Hindus during the invasion period of India. Every Hindu family used to make their eldest son a Sardar, to fight for the cause and protection of Hindus. This tradition is still followed in many families. Only the descendents of Jassa Singh Kalal are now known as Walias and Ahluwalias. A lot of Ahluwalias don't use their last name as Ahluwalia or Walia, instead they use their Gotra, or even the name of the village that they were born in, or are originally from. This seems to be a tradition that is being followed from the old days when Jassa Singh Ji started using Ahluwalia (from Ahluwal).
Koyas & Mutharachas : The Mudiraj people are also known as Mutharacha. As per Koya terminology, "Mutha " was a cluster of villages forming an administrative unit. This word Mutha points to the fact that Mutharachas are racially related to Koyas and Kolis. The word "Racha" stands for ruling class koya people looking after administration of koya society. These people spread in India across states - Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Chattishgargh. The High Court of Karnataka in one of its rulings said that Koli and Koya communities were one and the same and Koli community should be extended reservation facilities as enjoyed by Koya community. The koli community members in other North Indian States were enjoying the reservation facilities under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe tag, but here reservation facilities were being denied to them in Karnataka.
The meaning of Koya is "a good person living on the hills". In Dandakaranya forest about 6,00,000 tribes are living. Out of them Koyas constitute about 80%. Koyas are innocent, short statured, lean and rather diffident. They speak koya language. They do not have any property and very little crime among them. They are alcoholics, both men & women. They brew a special flower called Ippa.
The Koya are a tribe inhabiting the hills in the north of the Godaviri district and are also found in Malkangiri district. They are said to belong to the great Gond family. The Koyas have a tradition that about two hundred years ago they were driven from the plateau in the Baster countary by famine and disputes. The Koyas are a Scheduled Tribes. Koyas are found in Kalimela, Podia, Malkangiri and Korukonda area of Malkangiri District. They rear Pigs, Goats, Cows and Hens. They cultivate Tabaco leaf, Mandia, Maize, Bhatta Paddy. Mahula and Salapa is their ideal drink. They believe in puja and local medicine for their illness and desease and moreover they use very little quantity of milk.
The head of the Koya village is called "Peda" and it's heridiatery. Few villages consittutes a "Mutha" or "Panchayat" and the head of the Mutha was called "Muthadar". A "Katual" was there to help Muthadar in the village. Every koya village is a socio-political unit and also a part of a larger social and territorial unit called "Mutha", a cluster of villages linked by economic, political and kinship ties. In the past, a Koya village consisted of members of a single clan only. Now it has transformed into multi-clan composition due to various factors such as growing population pressure on the land, non-tribal migration, alienation of tribals from forests and massive industrial deforestation. Koyas are found of unity and patriatic. In 1880 there was revolt against British rule by the great Koya leader Tama Dora, which was famous as "Koya Revoulation" in the Indian history.
Peda = Pedda = chief = elderly = big
Mutha = Cluster villages constituting an administrative unit.
Racha = Raja = Rasa = Raya = Rai
The term Mutha stands for the maximum traditional political units of Koyas of Malkangiri. The origin the organization is obscure and it existed since long and had been recognised by the rulers of Jeypore estate and later on general tribal administration, revenue, justice and the like. The whole Koya territory had been divided into six Muthas. Each Mutha used to be administered by a Muthadar (Mutharacha) who happened to be a Koya. Muthadar is appointed by the king and holds his office at the latter's pleasure. A newly appointed Muthadar receives a patta and in return executes C. Kaslpas (Agreement) in his favour. Fresh Patta and Kadpas are normally executed with the king after the death of both signoraties. By tradition the post of Muthadar is hereditary.
The koyas are one of the few multi-lingual and multi-racial tribal communities living in India. They are also one of the major peasant tribes of Andhra Pradesh numbering 3.60 lakhs in 1981. Physically they are classified as Australoid. The Koyas call themselves as "Koithur". The land of Koithur or the Koya land includes the Indravati, Godavari, Sabari, Sileru rivers and the thickly wooded Eastern Ghats, covering parts of Bastar, Koraput, Warangal, Khammam, Karimnagar and the East and West Godavari districts. This region is situated at a height of 150-300 metres. The Koyas speak the language called "Koyi". It is blended with Telugu in Andhra Pradesh. The Koya which belongs to the Dravidian linguistic group, is the lone pastoral and cattle-breeder tribal community in Orissa. This tribe which inhabits the Malkangiri Sub-Division of the Koraput District has been facing crisis for lack of pasture.
The story of the Koyas goes back to pre-historic times. They seem to have had a highly evolved civilization in the past in which they were a ruling Tribe. According to the Koya mythology, life originated from water. The friction between the fourteen seas resulted in the emergence of moss, toads, fish and saints. The last saint was God and He first created Tuniki and Regu fruits. This belief has some parallel with that of bhils. There are many endogamous sub-divisions among the Koyas of Bhadrachalam agency, such as Racha Koya, Lingadari Koya, Kammara Koya and Arithi Koya. Each group is vocationally specialized having a separate judiciary system which ensures group endogamy. There are also differences in food habits. Lingadari Koyas do not eat beef and do not interdine with others. They perform purificatory rites to depollute the effects of intergroup marriages. The Racha Koyas are village administrators. They also perform rituals during festivals. Kammara Koyas make agricultural implements. They are blacksmiths and are generally paid in kind. Arithi Koyas are bards. They narrate the lineages. They are the oral custodians of Koya mythology. Each of these sub-divisions among the Koyas have exogamous phratries having separate totems which are again split into a number of totemistic sects which form the lineage ("velpu") pattern. The Kinship network among the Koyas assigns every individual a definite place within a system of relationships and defines one's behaviour towards others. Every Koya is born into a phratry and a clan and his position is immutable.
The Koyas have a patrilineal and patrilocal family. The family is called "Kutum". The nuclear family is the predominant type. Usually, sons in a family live separately after marriage, but continue to do joint cultivation (Pottu Vyavasayam) along with parents and unmarried brothers. Monogamy is prevalent among the Koyas. Marriages take place after boys and girls become adults and in marriage negotiations the girl's consent is taken. The preferential marriage rules favour mother's brother's daughter or the father's sister's daughter.
Though the Koyas are farmers by occupation, most of their food supplies are drawn from the forest. Roots and fruits form their subsidiary food. They eat Keski dumpa and Karsi dumpa, which are the common roots available in this region. The Koyas are expert hunters and the good hunters are looked upon as heroes. For the Koyas, hunting is an essential skill for food as well as for defence from wild animals in the forest. On the occasion of the "Vijja Pandum" (the festival of seeds), Koyas go hunting in groups. Fish is another important food for the Koyas. In villages near rivers, quite often fish is a meal for every family. They ensure fair share of fish to all. The Koyas use various types of nets tied to bamboo poles which are used in still waters. During the toddy palm season, every Koya family lives mainly on palm juice for almost four months. For them palm juice is not just a beverage, but also a complete food. On average, every Koya family owns at least four to eight palm trees. Palm juice is consumed three to four times a day in large community gatherings known as "gujjadis". During the toddy palm season, every Koya family lives mainly on palm juice for almost four months. For them palm juice is not just a beverage, but also a complete food. On average, every Koya family owns at least four to eight palm trees. Palm juice is consumed three to four times a day in large community gatherings known as "gujjadis".
The Koyas consider the palm tree as a gift of nature and to secure this gift they worship the village Goddess "Muthyalamma". The Koyas deify their ancestors and worship them on all social occasions. All the clan members join together to worship their ancestors. The Koyas believe in four guardian deities who are supposed to control the four directions. The Koya pantheon consists of various gods and goddesses who are the symbols of various forces. Among them Bhima, Muthyalamma, Sammakka and Sarakka are worshipped by non-tribuals of the surrounding regions as well. The sense of supernaturalism is strongly rooted in the Koya's concept of nature. They worship personal spirits which are thought to animate nature. They also believe in evil spirits that are dangerous to the harmony of group life.
The "Badajatra" of Malkangiri has been celebrated since time immemorialand it has no historical records. Just like other pujas, this puja is based on legends, folktales and people's belief. Primerily the "Kanamraju, Potraju and Balraju, worshiped by Koya Tribe, has been linked with Lord Krishna, Bhima and Arjun. Potaraju is also worshipped kattu Naickers community of Veera pandya kattabommana. Katta and Bommana are two surnames that belong to Mudiraj community. This Badajatra has been celebrated by the premitive tribal community such as Koya and Dravid. Koya belong to Ganda community and they treat and they treat Bhima as their forefather. From this pint of view the main source of this Jatra has ben related either to the Mohabharata or to the killing of Jarasandha in Bhagavata. The language of these tribes is also called Koya and is closely related to Gondi and has been strongly influenced by Telugu.
It is a summer dance practised in the Koya community of Andhra Pradesh. The youth of the Koya tribe offer prayers to their Mountain Goddess in the form of this dance. They pray for redemption from the summer heat through early rains. The mountain goddess is Parvathi, the wife of Shiva. Shiva is also known to belong to tribal community of Kiratakas (hunters).
The Samakka festival is held every two years at Medaram deep in the heart of the thick forests of Warangal district. Over 3500000! Millions of devotees come from all over Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring states like Orissa, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. This festival is held in memory of a Koya tribal queen called Samakka who fought against the kedieval dynasty of the Kakatiyas who ruled from Warangal between 1000 A.D.-1380 A.D. Approximately. The Koyas were tributary to the Kakatiyas. Once their assistance on the battle field had saved the Kakatiyas.
Boyas : Boyas and Yerukulas are two indigenous tribes, and they figure in historical inscriptions from c.700 AD and in late medieval literature. The Boya and Yerukula participants were experts in animal anatomy, the knowledge of which they gained while processing the game they hunted. They can identify animals (e.g. antelope, deer varieties, wild boar, porcupine, and civet cat) from dental remains; identify the butchery practices from the cut marks on bones; and explain how meat foods were processed, by looking at the charred bones. Some historians say that Kakatiyas were Yerukalas and some others say that they were from fishermen community. The truth seems to be that both Yerukalas and boyas are racially same and belong to aboriginal dravidian tribal race. Some say that Ekalavya was a bhil and some others say he was an Yerukala. Erukala Muthuraj was a king who ruled some parts of Rayalaseema. The first rock edicts found with Telugu inscriptions in Rayalaseema are said to be done during Erical Muthuraja. So the Ericala or Yerukala term could be a pointer to the bhil origin of this king.
Seventh century inscription from South India mentions about the Boya Brahmans. These people may be the people of dravida sect among brahmins. The Aryan Brahmins and Aryan Kshatriyas divided themselves permanently after the war they fought among themselves on a pretty issue of kamadhenu (holy cow that fulfills the desires of its owners) and parted their ways permanently. While the Aryans continued to influence their aryan brahminism on Indian masses, The Aryan Kshatriyas founded a new religion based on Jina (Shiva) worship and tried to counter the influence of Aryan Brahmins. While Aryan Kshatriyas tried to expand their Jainisn by accepting inter-racial marriages with Dravidian tribal warrior chieftains, the Aryan Brahmins followed a different approach by declaring Dravidian Tribal pujaris as a separate sect of brahminsins with whom they never had any marriage relations.
Ramoshi was called Boya, Berad and Vedan. In Andhra it was called Boya and in Karnataka and Tamilnadu it was called Berad and Bedar. Ramoshis of Maharashtra have come from mostly Karnataka and their surnames are same as Berad-Ramoshi of Karnataka. Their original language is sothern. They first got settled in Karnataka and later migrated to Maharashtra. Word 'Bhuyal' in Berad's language seems to have originated from Boya. though it is known in Maharashtra as Ramoshi-Berad, the name 'Ramoshi' is not older than 100-200 years. The head of Ramoshis is called Naik in Maharashtra and well respected. In Karnataka he is called Nayak or Kahimani and Head of Boyas is called Naidu, Doraa or Sinhasan Boya. Their word is final and punishments differed, fine, feast to excommunication. Valmikis, Boyas tribes in South were primarily leading a semi-nomadic life with huntings and fruit gathering as their occupations. But even four decades after independence their social and economic life has not improved much. Recognising this fact, the Karnataka Government gave them the status of scheduled tribes. The Boyas belonging to the BC are most dominant caste and control 60% of the land in Ghttu Mandal of Mahabubnagar district in Telagana Region of Andhra Pradesh.
Valmikis of India : Bhagwan Valmiki is associated with valmiki caste. Valmiki is believed to be a bhil / boya / koli. The Valmikis have traditionally identified themselves with Hinduism which believes in caste system. The Valmikis in Meerut and the Kurmis in East UP have already demonstrated their capacity to defend Hindus when others were afraid to do so. Valmikis are placed at the lowest in the tribal hierarchy. They have a social status equivalent to that of the Dalits of the plains areas. In Karnataka, Valmikis were included in the scheduled tribe category only six years ago. The name valmikis is given to these poorest of the poor people belonging to saint valmiki bhill race and who failed to compete climbup the ladder of social development and accepted the lowest paid & unclean jobs. These are our own blood brothers who needs our human treatment and helping hand to lead a dignified life.
Valmikis living in the Agency tracts of Andhra Pradesh are only notified as Scheduled Tribes. They are found in the agency areas of Visakhapatnam, East Godavari districts. They claim that they are descendants of the famous sage Valmiki, the author of Ramayana. According to 1991 Census, their population is 55,836. The total literacy rate among Valmiki as per 1991 census reports is 39.87. Several tribal communities like the Koyas, the Kondareddies, the Valmikis and the Chenchus of the East and West Godavari are well known for their uprising against the British Empire in the early 20th century.
The Valmiki tribe is divided into the following Gotrams in order to regulate the marriage institution among them in Visakhapatnam tribal areas. Naga Bowse (snake), Matsya Bowse (fish), Pangi Bowse (kite), killo Bowse (tiger), Vantala Bowse (monkey), Korra Bowse (sun), Bhallu Bowse (bear), Poolu Bowse (flower) and Chelli Bowse (goat). But these clan names are absent in tribal areas of East Godavari district. Marriage by mutual consent, marriage by elopement are the methods of acquiring mates. Widow remarriages and divorce are permissible. Valmikis are agriculturists and forest labourers. Some of them became traders and petty moneylenders in the hills ana valleys of Vishakhapattanam. They sell the earthen pots also in the shandies. They practice podu cultivation on the slopes of hills.
In Moradabad, valmikis frequently clash with Muslims on the issue of their pigs which normally enter into Muslim Area. While Vamlmikis are traditionally associated with pig rearing, the muslims are deadly against pigs as per their religious tradition. The people who are associated with pig rearing in Andhra Pradesh & other Southern states are known as Vadderas and vadderas also call themselves as valmikis in many parts of South India.
In Pakistan, 75% of 3 million Hindus are Dalits of various castes, the most prominent being Meghwals, Odhs, Valmikis, Kohlis and Bhils residing mainly in southern Punjab and Sindh.For the Valmikis of Punjab, be they in India and Pakistan, life is a constant struggle for survival and dignity. They are working as scavengers in many parts of India and receiving a very bad treatment by developed class. The call themselves as valmikis to remind us that they belong to the community of the great saint Valmiky and expecting some respect and human treatment from us who are advanced in the society. Most Valmikis have converted to Christianity in Pakistan. Most of the Christians in Punjab are of Valmiki background, and in Sindh, too, there have been several conversions among these people.
Bhils of India: BHILS, or Bheels ("bowmen," from Dravidian bil, a bow), a Dravidian people of central India, probably aborigines of India. The Bhils are a tribal people spread all over India. They are found as far north as the Aravalli Hills, in Sind and Rajputana, as well as Khandesh and Ahmedabad. Expelled by the Aryans from the richer lowlands, they are found to-day in greatest numbers on the hills of central India. In central India,they speak Bhil languages, a group of Indic languages. They speak Bhili, which is an Indo-Aryan language. Bhils are a scheduled tribe in the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan in western and central India, as well as in Tripura in far-eastern India, on the border with Bangladesh. Bhils are also settled in Tharparkar district of Sindh in Pakistan. There are about 427 Tribal communities in the country of which Gonds and Bheels are the largest. The Bhils are the largest modern tribal group in India with substantial communities in Gujarat, Madyha Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra
In feudal and colonial times, many Bhil were employed by the ruling Rajput in various capacities, e.g. as shikari because of their knowledge of the terrain. Many had even become warriors in armies. They were in the Mewar army of Maharana Pratap Singh and like Shivaji , were experts in guerilla warfare which the Mughals had trouble with so much. Today, there is a 'Mewar Bhil Corps. . The Bhils are known to have fought against the Mughals, Marathas and the British. History proves them always to have been faithful to their nominal Rajput sovereigns, especially in their adversity. The Bhils have oaths none of them will break. The most sacred is that sworn by a dog, the Bhil praying that the curse of a dog may fall on him if he breaks his word.
Under the Moguls the Bhils were submissive, but they rebelled against the Mahrattas, who, being unable to subdue them, treated them with the utmost cruelty. The race became outlaws, and they have lived their present wild life ever since. Their nomad habits and skill with their bows helped them to maintain successfully the fight with their oppressors. An unsuccessful attempt was made in 1818 by the British to conquer them. Milder measures were then tried, and the Bhil Agency was formed in 1825. The Bhil corps was then organized with a view to utilizing the excellent fighting qualities of the tribesmen. This corps has done good service in gradually reducing their more lawless countrymen to habits of order, and many Bhils are now settled in regular industries.
The pure Bhil is to-day much what he has always been, a savage forest dweller. The Bhils are a stunted race, but well built, active and strong, of a black colour, with high cheek-bones, wide nostrils, broad noses and coarse features. Like all Dravidians the hair is long and wavy. Their chief divinity is Hanuman, the monkey-god. Offerings are made to the much-feared goddess of smallpox. Stone worship is found among them, and some lowland Bhils are Moslems, while many have adopted Hinduism. The Bhils of pure blood number upwards of a million, and there are some 200,000 Bhils of mixed descent. The Garasia were morphologically intermediate between Bhils and Rajputs, but clustered more closely to the tribal Bhils.
The Bhils are considered as the third largest and most widely distributed tribal groups in India. The Bhil tribes inhabit some of the most remote and inaccessible areas of India. There are two divisions of Bhil: the Central or "pure" Bhil, and the Eastern or part-Rajput Bhil. The Eastern Bhil lives in the mountains of central western India particularly in northern Gujarat, southern Rajasthan, and northern Maharashtra.
The name of the tribe "Bhil" was derived from the word billee, which means bow. For years, the bow has been a characteristic weapon of the tribe, and the men usually carry their bows and arrows with them. The people are experts in handling bows and arrows. They primarily work as peasant farmers, field labourers, and village watchmen.
The term "Bhil," evidently comes from the generic term bil, meaning bow in the Dravidian language. The Bhils are patrilineal exogamous groups, who traditionally lived by gathering fruits, leaves, nut/roots from forests and hunted animals for their subsistence. However, as indicated earlier, since the independence of 1947 and the integration of the "tribal" peoples into the modern state system, the Bhils are moving towards modernization and the market-
oriented economy. In Porbandar (Section I) and Rajkot (Section II) districts, the Bhils are largely involved in farming, particularly commercial crops like cotton, ground nut, fruit and vegetables and bring their produce to the local markets adjacent to highways.
The Bhils are considered as the third largest and most widely distributed tribal groups in India. The name "Bhil" was probably derived from the word villu or billu, which in most Dravidian languages is the word for "bow." The bow has long been a characteristic weapon of the Bhil because the tribesmen always carry their bows and arrows with them. The Bhil tribes inhabit some of the most remote and inaccessible areas of India. There are two divisions of Bhils: the Central or "pure" Bhils, and the Eastern or Rajput Bhils. The Central Bhils live in the mountain regions in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. They are known as the connecting link between the Gujaratis and the Rajasthanis and are one of the largest tribal communities of India. They speak Bhili, which is an Indo-Aryan language.
In Telugu language vhillu beans bow. Villu and bhillu seems to be one and the same word. The boyas and koyas in Andhra Pradesh belong to bhil origin. The boyas seems to be the bhils and the koyas seems to be the kolis. The bhils are the aboriginal, tribal, dravidian, native of India and spread all over the subcontinent. The primitive man professions of hunting, fishing, honey gathring, etc are still followed by these people even today in remote areas where they are not touched by modern civilization.
Villu = Vilu = Bow
Bhil => Bhill => Bhillu => Vhillu => Villu => vilu
In Telugu the knowledge /skil of throwing of arrows to hit a target is known as vilu vudya. Vilu vidya means archery. Archery was the need of the primitive bhil man and the skill & education of this art was essential for survival of the bhils in those days. Ekalavya and Arjuna were experts in the art of archery and also fierce rivals in establishing their suprimacy in this field of archery during the times of Mahabharata. Today it has become a modern day sport in most sports gatherings.
Vidya = knowlwdge
Vilu vidya = Archery = Art / knowledge of throwing arrows using bow.
Bhils of Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh are also known for their valour as these were the people who helped the famous Rana Pratap while in hiding and fighting from the woods. At one time Rana Pratap organized a small army of Bheels (a tribe of India) and started a Guerrilla war against Akbar. In the later stages of his life he re-conquered some parts of Mewar but due to failing health and an untimely death his long cherished goal of winning back Chittaur, remained unaccomplished. The guerrilla fights are still remain in vogue among the Bhils. The Maharana of Udaipur, who was a very powerful king and stood up the Mohgul emperor, protected it with the help of the Bheels. In Khandesh and Malwa during Mughal and Maratha times, tribes occupying the hills repeatedly raided agricultural settlements. The country is often disturbed by Bheels, who sometimes in hundreds come to plunder the village. The bhils are one of the largest illiterate class of people in Madhya Pradesh. Tribals like the Bhils have been reduced from being agriculturists to wage labourers. Some have migrated to Maharashtra along with their cattle.
Dungarpur in Rajastan was founded by Rawal Veer Singh in the 13th century when he took possession of the land from the Bheel chief Dungaria. It was after this Bhil chief that Dungarpur was named. It rose to fame under the Guhilot Ahara Suryavanshi Rajputs, who trace their ancestry from the elder branch of the main lineage at Chittorgarh. It is situated about 110 km south of Udaipur. Dungarpur district in Rajastan is the stronghold of Bheels, a tribe whose history of occupancy in the Aravalli range is said to date back to 4000 BC. The region is dominated by the Bheels who enjoy the status of being one of the oldest and primitive tribes in the world. One will be surprised to find a way of their living that is far off from the modern one. These tribals have retained their age old customs and traditions amidst so much of development and have thereby ensured a distinct identity for themselves. Besides visits to the many unspoiled Bheel hamlets in and around the town, you can look forward to special shows of tribal music and dancing at the palaces itself. Bheels from this region and from the neighbouring states of Madhyapradesh and Gujarat can be seen at their best during the annual tribal fair at Baneshwar temple around 70 kms from Dungarpur where they assemble in large numbers. The Bheels of the adjuscent areas also visits Shri Bhopawar Teerth for the Mela. The Teerth holds the statue of Shri Shantinath Bhagwan. The holy place is present in the centre of Bhopawar village situated near Mahi river. Bheels are traditionally agricultural labourers, often intimated by the upper strata in Jodhpur region of Rajastan. The bheels and kohlis are considered low caste people in Rajastan.
The natives of Supta Sringi in Nasik district are Bheels, who are most wonderful track ers and thoroughly understand the ways of wild animals. These Bheels all carry bows and ar- rows, with which they can kill a man at from fifty to sixty yards, the arrows having steel tips to them some six to eight inches long and about an inch wide and very sharp. They use them, not only for shooting wild beasts and birds, but to cut away small jungle when passing through thick cover. The bheels are a scheduled caste people in Gujarat.
The town of Fatehabad in Haryana is of a great historical importance. And situated at National Highway number 10, between Hisar and Sirsa. Historians trace its origin to more than 2,000 years back. The town, according to them, came in existence during the time of Ashoka the Great. The area, they say, was inhabited by the "Bheels" during the ancient times and the town was known as Udia Nagri at that time.
The Bheels are Hindu minority in Pakistan and the most marginalized segment of society. All Bheels are landless, and are considered the poorest group, aswell as the most severely segregated. Recently the Bheels and Kolis, untouchables or Dalits in Pakistan, have been in the news for bonded labour. There are more abundant numbers of Hindu communities in Tharparkar in south-eastern Sindh across the border from Rajhastan and the Rann of Katch. The Kohli and the Bheels serve as the virtual back-bone of Sindh's agricultural economy, widely acknowledged for their skill and their hard work.
The people of this tribe marry within their own classes. If they do marry someone of another class, the Bhil of the lower class must convert to the higher, leaving behind all family ties. This custom is strictly enforced among the tribes. Each village is led by a headman and he deals with disputes. The ghoomar dance is one well-known aspect of Bhil culture. Dance, drama, festivals, and music are a large part of their culture, but unfortunately a lot of alcohol is consumed at these events. People sing and dance on all occasions expressing their robust spirit of the rich with legend, folklore and the eternal experiences of birth, sexual discovery, marriage, death and after-life.
The Bheels or Bhils are one of the non-Aryan races of India, usually included under the name Dravidic, and inhabiting the Vindhya, Satpura, and Satmala Hills. They are a relic of the Indian aborigines driven from the plains by the Aryan Rajputs. They appear to have been orderly and industrious under the Delhi emperors; but on the transfer of the power In the eighteenth century from the Moguls to the Mahrattas they asserted their independence, and being treated as outlaws took to the hills. Various attempts to subdue them were made by the Gaekwar and by the British in 1818 without success. A body of them was, however, subsequently reclaimed, and a Bheel corps formed, which stormed the retreats of the rest of the race and reduced them to comparative order.
The Mew Bhils consider themselves superior to the Central Indian Bhils, and will neither eat nor intermarry with them. With the Gujit Bhils, on the other hand, intermarriage is permitted. The Bhils, or mixed Bhil and Rut tribes being found for the most part within the limits of Central India, in the States of the Bhopawar Agency. The higher classes of Bhils differ in no essential points from Hindus of the lower orders, on whom, however, they profess to look down. They have neither the simplicity nor the truthfulness of the pure Bhil. They are the local aristocracy of the Vindhyas, and the so-called Bhuimi,and owners in Bhopawar are all of this class, the Raja of Onk M€h! in the Central Provinces being regarded as their leading representative. In Central India the Bhils consist of two main groups, the Badi and Chhoti, which do not intermarry, but are divided into numerous exo- gamous septs. They eat flesh, except beef, but their usual food is millet bread and jungle produce, with rabri or maize boiled in buttermilk. Like the Bhils, they are firm believers in omens and witchcraft. Their most sacred oath is by Rew-dta, the tutelary goddess of the Narbada River.
: The Bhilala are located in several states in western, and central Indian but mainly in the districts of Dhar, Jhabua, and West Nimar of Madhya Pradesh. Bhilalas are an aboriginal tribe in South Asia. Narmada River that is steeped in legend and history that is sacred to Hindus. It provides a fertile valley and home for its indigenous people, the Bhils and Bhilalas. The majority of the population in Dhar District belongs to the Scheduled Tribes. The main tribes in the District are Bhils and Bhilalas. 151 km from Indore on the Indore-Ahmedabad highway, this place is the home of the tribal Bhils and Bhilalas.
There is one oral tale from the lore of the Bhilalas of central India which according to the tale, in the beginning, the Bhilalas believe, there was only water. The harassed and wet subjects beg their lazy god to create land so that they can get dry and stay that way. Poor god is put to all sorts of trouble before this wish can be granted. They are an ancient people in an ancient land, the Bhils, Bhilalas and other tribes whose lives depend on a river that flows from central India to the Arabian Sea. In India, there are more than 50 million Bhils who follow their own religions and speak their own languages, uncounted, unnumbered and ignored by the Government. Their ceremonies are legendary things that may take place once every five years. In utter pitch darkness, a shaman becomes possessed by a god, which speaks through him. The Bhils have had to struggle to survive and whatever lives they have carved out for themselves have been carved out by hard work. Life for the Bhils is a constant round of birth, weaving, planting, marriage and fighting. They walk side by side with mythology and invent their own song poems to make sense of their lives. It is a brutal, erotic existence with moments of mysticism and tenderness.
Their language, also called Bhilala, is a sub-group of the Bhil language, which belongs to the Indo-Aryan linguistic family. The Bhilala are considered as nobility among the Bhil, since they are the direct descendants of the Rajput chiefs who took the daughters of the Bhil chieftains to be their wives. Though called tribals, the Bhilalas consider themselves higher than Bhils in the local hierarchy.The Bhilalas marry from their own class. For marrying into a different class, they have to convert to the higher class and leave behind all family ties. The bow is a characteristic weapon of this tribe and they usually carry their bows and arrows with them. The Bhilalas are experts in handling the bow and arrow. The bow is a characteristic weapon of this tribe and they usually carry their bows and arrows with them.
Tribes like the Bhils or Bhilalas of the west seemed to have formed some chiefdoms in late medieval times and quite like the experience of the Gonds this process of state formation also seems to have been aborted.
The Bhilalas primarily work as farmers, farm servants, field laborers, and village watchmen. They grow crops such as millet, maize, wheat, and barley in the fields. The highlanders live in houses made with walls of sticks intertwined with twigs and small branches. Clay tiles, straw and leaves are used for the roof. Each village is led by a head man, Mandoi, who takes care of the domestic disputes in his village. Familial ties are very strong, and they believe in the connection between the living and the dead. Male descendants inherit the property.They are mainly settled agriculturists who, over the past century or so, have cleared land to grow jowar, cotton and some wheat. The Bhils, Bhilalas and Barelas are not the stereotypical tribals whose livelihoods are derived from collections from the forest. . The Bhilalas and Bhils are very indifferent agriculturists their methods are primitive, and they cultivate little more than what is required for their personal requirements. Farmers who use only implements they make themselves and the power generated by humans and animals. Hundreds of Bhils and Bhilalas were affected by the Maan dam being constructed on the Maan river in the Narmada valley in District Dhar in Madhya Pradesh .
There is an interesting reference made by the celebrated writer Kamladevi chattopadhyaya. She pointed out that Valmiki, the author of the great epic Ramayana was a Bhil bandit named walia. He got the blessings of saints and goddess Saraswati which subsequently transformed the 'Bandit' into a Saint who wrote the masterpiece epic--Ramayana. He was a Valya Koli (the tribal, KOLI) and wrote Ramayan which contain nearly 1 Lakh Sanskrit Verses. In North India, he also considered a brave fighter of Dravidian family who fought against the Aryans. Bhils were Kashatriyas by their deeds (worshipper of Vishnu). In seventh century's evidences are found in the manuscripts that in Hind-China in Champa state Valmiki Mandir was found where his statue was installed.
In Ramayana, we also find the reference of Sabri who happened to be the daughter of Bhil Raja and served the Rishis in very silent manner. Maharishi Matanga was another Hindu bhil sage that became a Brahmana. The boatman who helped Ram, Sita & Laxman to cross the river was a Nishada (koli). In another epic Mahabharata we find Eklavya also a Bhil the famous archer who mastered the art of archery himself keeping in front of him the icon of Dronacharya -- the Guru who rejected his formal admission to his Gurukul. Again Eklavya gave the most revered Guru-dakshina in the terms of his thumb.
It appears that Ramayana and Mahabharat were originally bhil oral epics narrated by ballads among bhils and later on they were written in sanskrit by Valmiky and Veda vyas, who also belonged to bhil blood. Both the writers very intellegent to include their names as one of the characters in the epics. It is noteworthy that Shri Rama appears in a Bhil myth where there has been a flood that wipied out humanity and Rama suggests how it can be repopulated. As per valmiki Ramayana, Rama met valmiky to take guidance of the rishi about how to spend his exile period in forests. Valmiki asked Sri Rama to reside at Chitrakut making all the living creatures live peacefully Sri Rama, Sita and Laxmana stayed at Chitrakut. When the tribals of Chitrakut (Bheels and Kols) came to know about Sri Rama's stay at Chitrakut they became extremely pleased. They considered it as their good fortune that they would yet a chance of being at the service of Sri Rama.
The tribal Bheels have a Mahabharata version of their own, episodes of which are narrated or sung during their festivals, usually accompanied by music and sometimes with dance a captivating version that never fails to thrill, one of the secrets of its allure being its truly enchanting folktale-like quality. In the Mahabharata, Ganga's birth on the earth is the result of a curse. The gods were once with Brahma and Ganga too was with them. At that time a strong wind lifted up her clothes. The gods cast their eyes down not looking at Ganga. The Ikshwaku king Mahabhisha, who had attained heaven through his ashwamedhas and rajasooyas, was with them at that time. Instead of casting his eyes down like the gods, the king stared at Ganga's nudity and was cursed for this by Brahma to be born as a human being on the earth. After that Brahma cursed Ganga that she too would be born as a human being. It is according to this curse that Ganga is born on the earth as a woman. Shantanu is Mahabhisha born to undergo his curse.
One of the popular legend of the Bhil origin assigns them a semi-divine birth, Mahadeva (Siva) having wedded an earth maiden who bore him children, the ugliest of whom killed his father's bull and was banished to the mountains. The Bhils of to-day claim to be his descendants. The mythological sources say that: 'The origins of the Bhils from the thigh of Vena son of Angra, a descendant of Manu Swayambhua, Vena was childless and the sage, therefore rubbed his thigh and produced a man like a charred log, with flat face, and extremely short. He was told to sit down (Nishada). He did so and since then they were known as Nishada, from whom sprang the Nishadas dwelling on the Vindhya mountain, distinguished by their wicked deeds'. Within the dynamics of traditional tribal culture of Bhil women, there remained a strong corner pillar of their own ritualistic cultural corridor. Their belief system revolve around 'world of Evil and empowered demi gods called Devi'.
When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came to Jharikhanda on His way to Mathura, He found that the bhilla people there were almost uncivilized and were devoid of God consciousness. The word bhilla refers to a class of men belonging to the Bheels. The Bheels are like Black Africans, and they are lower than Sudras. Such people generally live in the jungle.
Ramoshis of Maharastra are Berads or Boyas or bhils . They are also called Berad or Bedar, as mentioned during rule of Peshavas. Narveer Umaji Naik, in a letter of 1828, mentions as Ranvasi addressed to Ramoshis. Those days they were staying in hills and doing the job of protection of villages and crops in fields.
In Andhra Pradesh they are known as Boya, Dorabiddu and Valmiki. Dorabiddu means sons of sardars. Boya consider themselves as sons of sardars and descendents of Valmiki.
In Tamilnadu they are known as 'Vedan'. In karnataka the are known as Berad and Bedar. Bedar was word used by Muslims either to show the dauntless quality or may be inability to pronounce properly. Muslim books use word Bedar. The names Berad, Bedar, Nayak, Talwar, Nayavadi, Naykar, Valmiki, Palegar etc. each have a distinctive meaning but all these people are racially same.
Bhil Worship & Customs : The Baneshwar temple in Rajastan is held in high reverence by the Bhils. The Baneshwar fair held in January-February every year is a religious festival and is an event of great importance in this area. Dedicated to Lord Shiva, this is the largest gathering of the Bhils who collect here from all over, including Gujrat and Madhya Pradesh. During Holi the tribals dress colorfully and perform the Gair dance carrying swords and sticks.
The Bhagoria festival of the Bhilala and other tribes in this area is unique in its own way. This annual festival is celebrated with great fun and frolic, where a young man gets a chance to choose his bride from the crowd of women gathered there. The groom has to pay a dowry to the brides parents. Madhya Pradesh is known for its remarkably colorful and intense Bhagoria Wedding Festival of the Tribal Bhils. Bhagoria is about marriage and finding one's life-time partner. It is a time for choosing mates and ritual elopement. In the life of the Bhils and Bhilalas, Bhagoria is not merely one festival but in fact a series of fairs held one by one at various villages on their specific market days, commencing eight days before Holi.
This colourful festival (Bhagoria) of the Bhils and Bhilalas, particularly in the district of West Nimar and Jhabua, is actually in the nature of a mass svayamvara, a marriage market, usually held on the various market days falling before the Holi festival in March. As the name of the festival indicates, (bhag, to run), after choosing their partners, the young people elope and are subsequently accepted as husband and wife by society through predetermined customs. It is not always that boys and girls intending to marry each other meet in the festival for the first time. In a large number of cases the alliance is already made between the two, the festival providing the institutionalised framework for announcing the alliance publically. The tradition is that the boy applies gulal, red powder, on the face of the girl whom he selects as his wife. The girl, if willing, also applies gulal on the boy's face. This may not happen immediately but the boy may pursue her and succeed eventually.
,br>
Earlier, the Bhagoria haat was also the place for settling old disputes; open invitations were sent to enemies for a fight in the haat. Bloody battles used to be quite common in the past but today police and administration do not allow people to go to the haat armed. The Bhagoria haat also coincides with the completion of harvesting, adding to it the dimension of being an agricultural festival as well. If the crops have been good, the festival assumes an additional air of gaiety. In the life of the Bhils and Bhilalas, Bhagoria is not merely one festival but in fact a series of fairs held one by one at various villages on their specific market days, commencing eight days before Holi.
Death rites are very important among the Bhils and the Bhilalas. If a person dies an unnatural death from a snake bite or a fight, it is believed that the soul will not find rest . A "Gatla" is constructed to appease his or her wandering soul and the installation of the Gatla is followed by communal feasting and the sacrifice of goats.
The link between nature and society is central to the religious belief of the adivasis of the hills
For Bhilalas, affecting nature's cycle is intrinsic to a cosmology that imbues all natural phenomena with spiritual life, so that the hills, trees, stones and crops actively intervene in people's daily life. The conjunction of the natural, spiritual and social worlds can be seen in the collective performance of the most important Bhilala ritualindal pooja (the worship of the union of the rain and earth which brings forth grain)
The gayana, creation myth sung during indal, links the origin of the world to the river Narmada. Adivasis refer to the river as Narmada mata (mother).
u>Different names of koli & bhill fishermen in Central & South India : The kolis of North India belong to this Kolarian race who basically worship Sun-God. The Kolis are normally the deep-sea fishermen in Maharastra. The origin of this fishermen warrior caste is known to be from river sarswati in Rajastan. These people spread to South India and lived in different names. A large section of people having kolis origin are among Mudiraj community today. These fishermen people of kolis origin are known by several different names in South India such as Besta , Gangamata, mogaveera, koli, gangamath-ambiga, bunde, besthar, nayaka, barkher, mogaveer, parivaranayaka, valmikinayaka, Talwar, ganthe, Ganga, Gangamathas ( Bunt's), Gangamatha (Tokre Koli), Koya, Rajkoya, Binkoya, Tokre, Dhor Koli, Ambiga Barki, Besthar Bhoyi, Bunde-Beshtar, Daalji, Daavat, Gabit, Galadakonkani, Gangemakkalu, Holeva, Gangakula, Gangamathastha, Gangaputra, Gowrirnatha, Bunde Bestha / Gunde Bestha, Harakanthra, Jalagara, Kabbera / Kabber, Kabbaliga, Kabbili, Kahar, Kharvi, Koli, Kolimahadev, Maddar, Meenagar, Moger, Mukkavan, Parivara, Siviyar, Sunagara, Thoreya, Ambiga /Ambi, Barki / Barika, Rajabhoi, Gowrimatha, Pagi .
Kolis of India : Dadra and Nagar Haveli territories were earlier ruled by the Koli chiefs who were defeated by the Hindu kings of Jawhar and Ramnagar.
There is the Garh Jungle on the Eastern end of Durgapur city in West Bengal. The place is supposed to be one of oldest place of ancient India. As per the verses of Puranas and Bhagbats this is the place of Satya Yuga where Raja Surath performed Durga Puja at the Instruction of Mahamuni Medhas. Raja Surath after being defeated by Kolas, Bhils came under the blessings of Medhas muni whose ashram was located there and thereafter performed Durga Puja.
King Mandhata a supreme and universal ruler whose reputation spread far and wide throughout India and whose stories of valor and yajna were described in the stone carvings of Mohanjo Daro, belonged to this tribe. References to the Great King Mandhata is found many times and in various aspects of his deeds of valor and yajna. Mandhata's father Yuvenashawer was known as belonging to Ishvaku-Sun Dynasty and their descendants were known as Sun Dynasty Koli Kings. Archaeological findings when pieced together show several descendants of Mandhata as illustrious and just rulers. The descendents of Mandhata played a vital role and our ancient Vedas, epics and other relics mention their important contributions in the art of war and state administration. They are referred to in our ancient Sanskrit books as Kulya, Kuliye, Koli Serp, Kolik, Kaul etc.
The great King Chandra Gupta Mourya, Sant Kabir, Budhha's mother and his wife all belonged to this tribe. In the State of Maharastra, Sivaji's Commander-in-Chief and several of his Generals belonged to this tribe. In Saurastra, Sant Thuthalimal, Girnari Sant Valjinath, Bhakta Bhardurdas, Bhakta Valumram and Sant Kanji Swami all belonged to this tribe. Archaeological finds of Mohenjo Daro is estimated to date back to 5000-3000 B.C. The stone inscriptions there describe the great Koli Kings and their Pyanchayet method of administration in their Kingdoms.
The great king Chandra Gupta Mourya, and his line of descendent kings belonged to the Koli tribe. Lord Budhha's mother was a Koli princess, and when Gautam the prince who was later to become Lord Budhha described the qualities of a princess he would be prepared to marry - such a princess could only be found in a Koli Kingdom. A son called Rahul was born to them.
The Sakyas frequently quarrelled with the Koliyans,a neighboring tribe, over their water supplies from the river. There appeared to have been various intermarriages between the royal houses of Kapila and Koli. The two daughters of the rajah of the Koliyans were wives of Suddhodana, the rajah of the Sakyas. Suddhodana's wife was a daughter of Anjana or Anusakya, king of the neighbouring country of Koli. In his twentieth year Siddhatrha (Buddha) chose himself a wife who was his cousin by name Yasodhara, the gentle daughter of the king of Koli. Kolis are also spread into Nepal. Modern day Kathmandu consisted of the two villages of Koligrama ("Village of the Kolis"), and Dakshinakoligrama ("South Koli Village").
These wild tribes of dark color Religions lived in mountains and forests. A more civilized race, classed under, the name Dravidian, and now represented by the Tamils, Telugus, Kanarese, and other peoples of Southern India inhabited the great plains, living in settled communities and under fixed laws. They probably represent a later wave of emigration. The kolas and Bhils racially belong to the same tribal native indian group. While bhils were mainly the people who lived in the hills and forest regions, the kolis primarly lived near river banks and sea shores.
The one conclusion that they have all drawn from the findings is that the Koli Tribe which in its various subgroups form almost 20% of the population of present India is mentioned continuously through the centuries past way back to Mohanjo Daro and beyond. Koli tribe is the most ancient tribe of India. Historians and scholars find that Koli tribe, a ruling Kshtria Caste, was spread far and wide all over India. Their heroic exploits and learned reputation and relationships with the most powerful of those times regarded them with awe and respect.
In present day India, Koli tribe is to be found from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari and are known by slightly different names according to the languages of the regions. The following are some of the major groups: Koli Kshtria, Koli Raja, Koli Rajput, Koli Suryavanshi, Nagarkoli, Gondakoli, Koli Mahadev, Koli Patel, Koli Thakor, Bavraya, Tharkarda, Pathanvadia, Mein koli, Koyeri, Mandhata Patel etc.
Koli Patel and Mandhata Patel are the land owning communities from the Surat and Bulsar Districts of Gujarat in Western India. When in the late 19th century the English set up their trading depot in Surat these people were the first to go to South Africa, New Zealand and East Africa to work on plantations and Railway projects. When their contracts came to an end the majority stayed in those countries and set up in businesses and other occupations.
Maharastra Kolis : Kolis are primarily well known as a Marathi community of fishermen . They are also one of the original inhabitants of Mumbai, then known as Bombay islands. The Kolis almost exclusively speak Marathi language, though some Koli communities speak Konkani, a variant dialect of Marathi. The name is possibly derived from the Marathi word "Koli", which means a spider (one who spins a web - in Marathi that translates to 'one who weaves a net', and hence the fisherman, who weaves the net, is also called a Koli). In Marathi, Koli means the originally heterogeneous marginal tribe-castes that took late in history to agriculture and were often press-ganged for porterage in army service. The same word also means spider and fisherman, presumably because the fisherman makes and uses a net to catch his prey as a spider his web.
There are some kolis who are known as koris and they exclusively belong to waving community. These koris might have branched out and took to weaving as their major profession to support the fishing sections of their koli community. It is understood that Sant Kabir belonged to this kori section of kolis community. In 1901, the number of Kolis in all India was returned as nearly 3.75 million, and this total includes a distinct weaving caste of Kolis or Koris in northern India.
Mumbai's early inhabitants were the KOLIS or fishermen. Bombay was originally seven islands originally lived on by the Kohlis, it was then initiated by the Portuguese, till it was briefly held by the Marathas before the British took her over till independence. Proof of this brief Iberian tryst is quiet simple to explain, most people in India call the potato - aloo, but in Bombay it is called batata with is incidentally the Portuguese word.
Bombay was a part of the Mauryan Empire. The Kolis-fisherfolk-of Mumbai are a distinct community. In their dress, their language, their food and their lifestyle they are easily distinguishable. The Kolis of Mumbai are dispersed all over the city, especially along the western coast of the city. The Kolis of Vasai are Hindu and Christian, though both belong to the Marathi ethnic group. The name Mumbai is derived from the koli goddess, 'Mumba', the patron deity of the pre-Christian Kolis, the earliest inhabitants of the island. A temple to whom now stands in Bhuleshwar.Various records reveal that Kolis have been found in Mumbai from early times. Dr. Gerson da Cunha in the book 'Origin of Mumbai' describes old Mumbai as 'the desolate islet of the Mumbai Koli fishermen. The Kolis are reported to have occupied the land in A.D. 1138. Kolbhat, Palva Bunder, Dongri, Mazagaon, Naigaum and Worli were among the islands the Kolis gave their names to. Kolbhat was distorted to Colaba; Palva Bunder became Apollo Bunder.
The legends speak of a goddess with a nose stud and a mighty giant who roamed the islands. The Mumbadevi temple is historically the most important heritage landmark in the Kalbadevi area. The original temple stood at the Phansi Talao (Gibbet Tank) on the Esplanade, on a spot within the current limits of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, and gave the main island its name-Mumbai. This temple miraculously escaped destruction during Muslim and Portuguese rules. The temple contains a stone image of the goddess dressed in a robe and bodice with a silver crown, a nose stud and golden necklaces, seated under a canopy of wood covered with silver plates. On the left is a stone figure of Annapurna, who is worshipped with Mumbadevi and on special days sits on a stone peacock. In front of the shrine is a brass tiger, the vahan or carrier of the goddess, which was presented by a pearl merchant in 1890. Other shrines within the Mumbadevi complex are dedicated to Ganesh, Maruti, Mahadev, Indrayani, Murlidhar, Jagannath, Narsoba and Balaji. Mumbadevi was the kuladevata of the Kolis. Names such as Munga, Shimgi, Mauna and Mongu are popular among Koli women. It seems likely that a Koli woman established the original temple and named it after herself. In time, Munga may have become Mumba and the name came into popular use. Acharya and Shingne state that there was a general belief that the goddess was installed some time around the late 14th century by a Koli. In 1960, the city became the capital of the newly created state of Maharashtra and on May 4, 1995, the state government renamed the city Mumbai.
The Kolis are divided into two main occupational classes: the Dolkars and states. The Dolkars do the actual fishing while the latter purchase the haul wholesale. They usually set forth in boats to meet the returning Dolkars and buy the fish. Their popular folk song Dolkar dariyacha Raja (Dolkar, the king of the sea) underlines his supremacy. The name Dolkar is derived from dol or dhola the large funnel shaped net. The smaller nets are known as jal. Every Koli house comprises an oti (verandah) which is reserved for weaving and repairing nets. Though house patterns differ, every house has a chool (kitchen), vathan (room) and a devghar (the worship room). Even in the poorest of families, living in one room tenements one corner of the house is reserved for the God. Deeply religious, even the Christian converts, follow their original Hindu beliefs as well. The annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Ekvira, at the Karla caves in Pune district in undertaken by both the Hindus and the Christian Kolis. The chief Hindu religious festivals are 'Gauru Shimga' and 'Narial Poornima'. No Koli whatever his faith, will recommence fishing after the rainy season without offering a coconut to the sea on Narial Poornima day. The Hindu Kolis worship Mahadev, Hanuman and Khandoba and the Christian Kolis worship these and images of Christ and Virgin Mary. A few worship ancestors (Vir) and are known in the community as Virkar in opposition to the Devkars who worship only God. The oldest members of the family both male and female are also worshipped.
Apart from a strong cultural heritage which has its roots in the fishing villages of the Konkan coast, a mouthwatering fish-centered cuisine, the koli tribe is also reputed for its love for music and dance. The koli geet (music of the kolis) has a distinctive tangy edge to it, which makes you immediately feel as if you are either standing along the shore feeling the sea breeze blowing softly on your face or rocking gently on a fisherman's boat. Songs from an important part of the Kolis culture. Almost every ceremony of restival has its special song without which the ceremony does not commence. At the beginning of every such song a stanza is devoted to the deities. The deities are invoked andinvited to the ceremony.
Koli women are fond of jewellery, even their men wear armlets, bangles and earnings. The women don't believe in bank accounts and invest almost all their savings in gold. They wear traditional chunky typically Koli jewellery like the earnings patterned like the Pisces symbol worn by almost all of them.
The Marathi-speaking Kolis of the Konkan and Deccan also have four endogamous divisions. Of these the Son-Kolas are confined to the coast tract, and are fishermen and sailors. They are closely connected with the Agris, and have a sarpdtel or chief headman who lives at Alibξ The men affect a cap of red cloth scalloped over the forehead, and the married women wear glass bangles on the left arm only, those of the right arm being thrown into the sea at marriage to save the husband from the dangers of the deep. The Malhari Kunam or Panbhari Kolis are found in large numbers in 'Ghana District, where they are husbandmen, and more sparsely in the Deccan, where they are boatmen, water-carriers, and ministers in the temples of Mahadeo. They eat with Kunbis, from whom in the Konkan they can hardly be distinguished. The Raj, Dongari, or Mahadeo Kolis claim to have come about 1300 from the Nizam's country, where they are strong.
The chief of Jawhar in Thana belongs to this section, which is more warlike than the others, and has often made itself notorious for turbulence and gang-robberies. Above the Ghats their chief centre was formerly at Junnar. They are now as a rule husbandmen. The Dhor Kolis are looked down upon by the other sections because they eat beef, and are altogether of a lower type. Each of the three higher sections is divided into a number of exogamous family stocks.
They claim descent from the sage Valmiki, who composed the Ramayana. Infant marriage is practised chiefly by the Raj Kolas. All sections allow the remarriage of widows, but only at night, and with maimed rites. A widow must marry out of her first husband's Divorce is allowed only by Raj Kolas. All sections worship various forms of Siva, and in the Konkan also the local gods and ghosts known as Hirva, Chita, Vaghdeo, &c., with offerings of fowls, goats, and liquor. They believe firmly in witchcraft and omens. The marriage rites are conducted by Brahmans. The dead, except in cases of cholera, are burnt, but the Raj Kolas sometimes bury, and employ rdvals in the funeral rites. Offerings are made to the dead from eleven to thirteen days after death, and yearly in the month of Bhadrapada. In Central India the Kolis are almost entirely confined to the Malwa side.
Murud-Janjira fort is the name of an insular fort and a former principality situated on the coast of the Konkan. The site is presently included in the district of Raigad in Maharashtra, India. The fort was being first built by local Koli tribesmen, when Habshis, African Muslim slaves from Somalia seized it by a stratagem and held it ever since. The name of the fort is a concatenation of the Konkani and Arabic words for Island, "morod" and "jazeera". The word "morod" is peculiar to Konkani and is absent in Marathi.
Many Rajputs are of Kolis origin -The various tribes that bear this name differ very greatly in character and origin. They are chiefly found in the Bombay Presidency, throughout Gujarat, and in the northern parts of the Deccan and Konkan, and also in the States of Hyderabadd, Rajputana, and Central India. In the Punjab and United Provinces large numbers of Koris or Kolis are found, who are chiefly weavers or labourers. No satisfactory history or derivation of the name Koli has yet been given. The Kolas or Kohsarpas of Sanskrit epic poetry are probably the Kols of the eastern Vindhyas, and the Kaulika of the Panchatantra is a weaver like the Koris of Northern India. The name Koli does not seem to occur before the Musalman period, and is disliked by the tribe in Rajputana and Northern Gujar. These facts lend colour to the suggestion that it is derived from the Turk! word kuleh, a `slave.' But, whatever be the origin of the name, it seems probable that the oldest element in the caste represents the aborigines of the open country and the coast, as distinguished from the primtive tribes of the hills and forests.
In Gujarat there are four leading divisions of Kolis, which do not as a rule eat together or intermarry. Of these, the highest and most widely spread are the Talabdas, also called Dh‘las, who not infrequently intermarry with Rajputs, and are reputed peaceable and skilful husbandmen. Next to them come the Chunvyas of Viramgl whose leaders are sometimes recognized as Rajputs, while the rank and file differ but little from Bhils. Though now mostly settled, they were known down to 1825 as daring plunderers. The Khants also differ little from Bhils, and had their first home in Rewantha, whence a large body was transported to Girnar in the fourteenth century. The Patanvadiyas of the district round Old Anhilvada are looked down upon by the other sections because they eat buffalo meat, and closely resemble Bhils and Vaghris. The strain of northern blood is strongest in Kathiαr, where the Kolis differ hardly at all from the Babriμ Mers, R‘lias, and Mahiyas, and join in the worship of the Baloch oddess Hingl. There is a functional sub-caste of Koli fishers and boatmen, settled all along the coasts of Kathiar and Gujar, which is sometimes classed as separate from, and sometimes as a subdivision of, the Mθhis or the Khohli. All these sections of Kolis are subdivided into exogamous clans, many of which bear Rajput names. Gujarat Kolis eat fish, flesh, and opium, drink liquor, and smoke tobacco. They worship chiefly the gods Indra and H-al and the goddesses Hingl and Khodia.
> Kohli Tanks : Kohlis are experts on water management. This aspect of expert water management can be seen with Cholas too. The Kohlis, a small group of cultivators, built some 43,381 water tanks in the district of Bhandara, Maharashtra, some 250-300 years ago. These tanks constituted the backbone of irrigation in the area until the government took them over in the 1950s. It is still crucial for sugar and rice irrigation. The tanks were of all sizes, often with provisions to bring water literally to the doorstep of villagers. The kohlis of Himachal Pradesh are a caste whose traditional occupation was the management of kuhl systems (water tanks), and the construction, operation and maintenance was managed by the kohli with support from the whole community.
Kohlis & Kolhis : Kohlis are said to hail from Gujerat. Sinogra is a village near Anjar in Gujarat and made up entirely of Kohlis. The kolis and khlis are one and the same people. The fishing is subsistent, the kohlis [fisher folk] of Bombay let the smaller fish back into the sea and throw the dead fish to the birds. The Kohlis are descendants of the hunting and gathering population once subsisted on Thar's abundant fauna, fruit and wild products such as honey. Although the only original inhabitants of Thar, the Kohlis are now the poorest and least established. They enjoyed a period of respect as soldier for the pre-British rulers, but now with the disappearance of game, are reduced to making the painful adjustment to herding and farming.
They migrated from there first to Kutch thence they came to Thar and Parkar where at the latter area they are found in large numbers. Although identified as cultivators and labourers, many Kolhis survive only by gathering firewood and hiring out as labourers, subsisting on berries etc. when the food is scarce.The Kolhi are organized into several theoretically exogamous clans and are largely hinduized but retain some of their former animism. Many of their branches have names like those of Rajput's. One of these branches, known as Thakurera Kolhi, takes themselves as superior to others.
Kohlis are one of the eleven clans of Kukhran warriors originally belonging to Sindhu-Saraswati river basin areas. The Kukhrans (or "Khukhrain or Khokrans") are an ancient group of eleven specific clans of a Khatri subcaste who originally hailed from the areas of the salt range and particularly town of Bhera in Punjab. The names of the Eleven clans are: Anand, Bhasin, Chadha, Chandok (Chandhoke, Chandhok, Chandiok), Gandhoke (Gadhok, Gadhoke, Gadok), Ghai, Kohli, Sabharwal, Sahni / Sawhney, Sethi and Suri. The main place of their ancestral geographical location was the town of Bhera, situated in the Jech doab region (Jhelum-Chenab interfluve) of Punjab, which now lies in the Sargodha District of Pakistan. The history of the Khukran is inextricably intertwined with the ancient town of Bhera. Bhera is also the historical town to which Porus or Purushotthama of the Puru tribe belonged. Purushotthama (c.325 BC) was the king of Kekaya the land of the Puru tribe, one of the Janapadas (kingdoms) that originated from Aryan settlements in ancient India. Purushotthama was said to be a little over 7 feet tall. The Kekaya are said to have occupied the land now comprised by three districts of Jhelum, Shahpur and Gujerat, now all in Pakistan. Khukhrains are very proud of their biradari, some claim that Porus was a khukhrain and that Sahni is a mutation of the hindi word, Sainani, which means a soldier.
Khatris : Khukrains like other Khatri / khatri-style castes were traditionally and historically a warrior community (although they are now well represented in many fields other than the army) and hence they bore the brunt of invasions from the various central asian tribes now converted to Islam who came from the northwest during the 12th-16th centuries.The Hindu populations in Afghanistan and Northwest India continued to recede after the 11th century even as predominant areas of Afghanistan were still under non muslim rule till the 10th century also see the section on Hindu Shahi and Jayapala. A significant number Khukrein also converted to Islam from the 12th century onwards and therefore while Kukhran family names are found largely among the Hindus and Sikhs they are also found among Punjabi Muslim communities in Pakistan and worldwide. In Pakistan there continues to be a large number of Muslim Khukreins living specially in the Pakistani Punjab as is borne out by their Khukrain surnames such as Chadda, Chawla, Puri , Sethi, Sahni and Suri. There are khatris in Muslims in Indian subcontinent today.
Kekeyas were related to Virata Matsya kingdom and they were also related king Dasharatha. Kaikeyee , the third wife of Dasharatha was a daughter of a kekeya king. Dasharatha was a solar race (suryavamsi) king and believed to belong to lineage of the great king Mandhata, who was known to be a koli. Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India, who is a Kukhran of the Kohli clan . Almost all these kukhran clans belong to suryavamsis like many kolis of North India.
Khatris consider themselves to be Kshatriyas. Khatris are divided into several subcastes. Khatris of Punjab are a small but one of the most successful communities in contemporary India. They are prominent in all fields of activity -politics, arts, entertainment, industry, trade, hotels, army and bureaucracy. Khatris of Punjab did not follow warrior occupations characteristic of the Kshatriya Caste and worked mostly as shopkeepers, petty traders and "shah-gumashtas" (moneylenders) - occupations more characteristic of the Vaisya or Baniya castes. It is probable that Khatris were indeed soldiers who, after the Muslim conquest of Punjab, turned to lower caste occupations as the traditional soldiering profession was no longer open to Kshatriyas ; later on, as conditions relaxed during the Mughal rule, Rajputs of Rajasthan were allowed to keep their arms and ride horses. These subcastes were exogamous within the same subcaste but endogamous with respect to the same group. In other words, a Kohli could not marry another Kohli but could only marry within the eight subcastes included in the khukhrain biradri. These rules got relaxed over time with gradual broadbanding to make all Khatris endogamous and then extending the circle of eligible matrimony to include Aroras as well.
Khatris and Sikhism :The most influential Khatris in the history of Punjab were the Sikh Gurus, all ten of whom belonged to Khatri families. Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of the Sikh religion was a Bedi while the last Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh who created the distinct Khalsa, was a Sodhi. The message of Guru Nanak, which consisted of discarding meaningless rituals in favour of bhakti/devotion and maintaining a balance between devotion to God and grahstha (family responsibilities), appealed to Khatris who followed the Sikh gurus in large numbers. When the tenth guru created the distinct Khalsa Panth, he asked his followers with more than one sons to donate one to his Khalsa army as that son would have a high probability of getting killed in action; thus started the tradition among Khatris of making one of their sons a Sikh, a tradition which continued until recently.
Khatri migration : Many of them migrated to Peshawar and Afghanistan, first during the Sikh rule and later as low level administrators under the British rule, as the Raj expanded its railway network all the way to Khyber Pass. Remnants of these Khatris are still living in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan and in the cities of Kabul and Kandhar in Afghanistan.
A significant movement of Khatris took place to Sindh where their names frequently got changed. For example, the ancestor of Advanis is said to be a Punjabi from Multan, Dewan Adoomal, who was a commander with Miyan Noor Mohammad Khalori, and who moved to Sindh along with Miyan Noor (3). A large number of Khatris moved to North India a few centuries ago. A prominent Khatri among these was Todar Mal, a Tandon Khatri, who was the Revenue Minister at Akbar`s court and devised the revenue system, which reached all the way to the village level, and was adopted almost completely by the British. There is a significant number of Khatris in major cities of U.P who are generally traders or in professional occupations. But, by far, the most convulsive migration of Khatris took place during the division of India when they had to leave their homes and hearths for a new country. The migration this time was almost complete, except for those who converted to Islam. New Delhi was the largest recipient of these refugees but they spread to several major cities of India, going as far as Bombay and Calcutta. Wherever they went, they have made a distinct mark.
Webmaster
Kokolu Anka Rao
Dt:01/05/2007
go TOP
06. SURYAVAMSI ORIGIN :
Mudiraj :
Suryavamsi ( Sooryavamsi ), Adityavamsi , Raghuvamsi are the different names used to refer the solar race kings of India. Surya or Soorya or Aditya means Sun. Some sections of Mudiraj people are said to belong to suryavamsi (solar race) clans. Mudiraj people are believed to be the variants of North Indian Kolis. Kolis are also known to belong to solar race. The kolis are descendants of warrior race whose basic profession was predominantly fishing. Later on some sections entered into agriculture as the concept village living took roots and they came to be known as koli patels. The famous and glorious king Mandhata is also said to be a koli ancestor and belong to solar race. Since the Mudiraj ancestors - Dharma Choda Chari and his brothers are said to be from the city of Devagiri which is located in Maharastra, the claim that Mudiraj and kolis are one and the same people gets strengthned. The various locations and hills mentioned in the story narrated by ballads clearly points to undeniable fact that these Mudiraj ancestors belonged to Maharastra and hence they had to be kolis.
The ancient Kolis were the experts in water management due to their professional attachement with water since immemorial times. In Mudiraj community also there are people from both the groups i.e fishing and farimg. Since bhils and kolis were the most ancient warrior groups with fishing and hunting as one of their primary professional background, they became the first batch of kings or ancient or the oldest kings in the Indian continent. The Mudiraj also means the ancient kings.
While performing Ankamma kolupu (puja), the ballads narrate the story of Mudiraj warrior ancestors. As per the story narrated by ballads, there is a reference to one Dharma Choda chari and his six brothers, who were Mudiraj and living in the city of Devagiri during the time of Yadava rulers. Dharma Choda Chari and his brothers are said to belong to solar race (sooryavamsis / suryavamsis). At a later stage this Dharma Choda Chari joined the court of palnati Brahma Naidu. There is one famous Ankamma Temple at Karampudi in Palnadu region. Palnadu was very famous as there was terrible war within the same caste blocks on trival matters relating to caste & religious politics. It is believed that Mudiraj, Kapu, Kamma & Velamas were involved in this war and Kalyani Kalchuris were related to ruling clans of Palnadu. It is a proven fact that Mudiraj people are descendants of Kalabiras or kalaviras or kalabhras and in turn who were the descendants of kalachuris.
For common ancestry details of cholas and Mutharayars, please see "Mutharacha page" in this website. The claim of cholas that they belong to suryavamsam is once again confirms that they belong to Mudiraj - Kolis block. One more fact is that Cholas too worship Ankamma (Angamma) as their Royal Goddess just like Mudiraj worship Ankamma and Kolis worship Maha Ammba (Mubadevi). There is one famous Angamma (Ankamma) temple at Kaveripattanam, which is the capital city of Cholas.
Chodas :
From the story narrated by ballads during Devara ( Ankamma ) Kolupu, it becomes clear that one Dharma Choda Chari was one of the warrior ancestor of Mudiraj. We all know that Chodas claimed that they were the related to cholas of Tamilnadu. As per Chola - Mutharayar research center, Tanjore, the cholas and Mutharayars were one and the same people. People having many chola surnames are now among Muthuraja community in Tamilnadu. People having surname Chode and similar such surnames are prevelent in both kapus and Mudiraj. Kapus claim that they are the descendants of Chodas because of chode and related surnames by their community people.
From the above information, it becomes clear that Mudiraj, Chodas and Cholas in all possibilty belong to the same block of bhil-koli warrior community, who migrated from North India. I have a Kapu neighbour Mr. R.N Rao, who was born and brought up in Bhilai confirms that this information of their ancestors reaching Tamil country via Maharastra and Andhra was correct. We are living like brothers in Nagpur since 1976 and his wife Nagalaxmi and my wife Daller Kumari (Daali) belonged to Guntur Town in Andhra Pradesh. While kapu's basic profession became agriculture, the basic profession of Mudiraj and chola people remained the same fishing in majority cases. There was a rivalry between kapus and Mudiraj who fought together in the war of Palnadu. There was also a rivalry between Cholas and Muthuraja in Tamilnadu but they were also closely related through matrimonial relations.
Telugu Chodas :
Some of the chodas claimed descent from the legendary Karikala Chola (reigned about 120). Many Telugu Choda kingdoms ruled over many regions including the cities on the banks of Krishna River in the period between the seventh and the thirteenth century. Their original home seems to be the region of Chola corresponding to the modern Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda districts of Telangana. They began their career as local chieftains in the Kadapa region in the seventh century. They may be identified with the people referred by the Chinese traveler Yuan Chwng as 'Chuliya'.The chuliyas were most probably the kuliyas ( kuliyans = Koliyans = Koliyas = Kolis ).
.
Koliyans => Kuliyans => Kuliyas => chuliyas = Chulas
Chulas => Choolas => Cholas
Koliyans => Koliyas = > Kolas
Kolas => Colas => Cholas
The Telugu Chodas adopted the title Chola as a Honorary title and also to show the Fuedatory Status they had under the Chola-Chalukya rulers. According to Etukuri Balarama Murthy in "Andhrula Samkshiptha Charithra" Telugu Cholas/Chodas gradually came to be called kapu / Telaga caste. They are also referred to by their caste titles Naidu and Setty and make up about 22% of the state's population.
When the Cholas became weak during the thirteenth century the Pandyas and the Telugu Chodas became powerful in the Madras area. The Chellur plates of Kulottunga-Choda II. and the Pithapuram inscription of Mallapadeva state that Vikrama-Choda was the son and successor of the Eastern Chalukya king Kulottunga-Cholda I or Rajendra-Choda (II). The newly discovered Teki plates show that Vikrama-Choda was not the eldest son of Kulottunga I but a younger brother of Vira-Choda, the third son of Kulottunga I. The Tamil inscriptions of Vikrama-Chola state that he left the North for the South and was crowned as Chola king. The Pithapuram inscription adds that he bore the surname Tyagasamudra, that he went to govern the Choda country, and that after his departure the country of Vengi became devoid of a ruler.
Chode,Chodisetty,Chodasetty,Chodavarapu,Chodapaneedi,Chodapala,Sodisetty,Sodamsetti are some of the Kapu last names to show the link to Telugu Chola(Choda) dynasties. The people having surname chodiboina belong to Mudiraj community.
In both Mudiraj and Kapu communities, there are some common Surnames such as Thota, Setty, Mekala, Bonam, Dasari, Muccherla, Neelam, Alla, Thota, Ganji, Yadla (Yedla), Ambati, Akula, Mutyala, Gurram , Adapa and Talari.
There are also some surnames in both (Kapu & Mudiraj ) communities which look alike and they are - ( Pakanati & Paka ), ( Linga & Lingala ), ( Racha & Rachapalli ), ( Nerati & Neerati ), ( Basava & Basaveni ), ( Nimmakayala & Nimmala ), ( Chilakalapalli & Chilukapally ), ( Sunkara & Sunkari ), ( Manda & Mandana ), ( Kommana & Kommanaboina ), ( Maddimsetty & Maddi ), Chintalapudi & Chintala, Yerra & Yerrabhaneni, Addala & Addakula , Kommula & Kommu, ( Chintalapudi & Chintala ).
Lingamsetty, Siddamsetty, Loksetty are also some of the surnames of Mudiraj which look similar to those prevelent in Kapu caste with trading links.
Gangireddy, Yamareddy are some of the surnames of Mudiraj having Reddy title and indicate that their ancestors were were village heads. Such Reddy titles are also there in Kapu community.
Vallabhaneni Title belongs to both Kapu and Mudiraj and their ancestors of these families served as Commanders under the Kakateeya Dynasity.
Mudiraj, Kapu and Telaga community have the title Rayudu in Coastal and Rayalseema Regions which is a legacy of the communities association with the Vijayanagar Empire. Elugu Rayudu was the last ruler of Saluva Dynasty with podili as his capita and Elugu surname belongs to Mudiraj. The surname Elugu got transformed to Alugu and further to Alagan in Tamil. Alagans are Muthurajas in Tamilnadu today. Alugu clans having relation with Kalchuris who ruled Palnadu. Elugu people are blood related to people of Kokolu in Mudiraj community. There is one Elugu Vari Palem near Podili of Andhra Pradesh.
Velanati Chodas : Telugu Chodas of Velanadu (Velanati Choda) were one of the Telugu Choda families which claimed their descent from the illustrious Cholas of South India. Velanadu is located in the modern Guntur district. The chieftains who ruled over Velanadu came to be known as the Velanati Chodas. One of them, Rajendra Choda II had even assumed the title Durjayakulaprakara. These Velanati chiefs were the subordinate allies of the Chalukya Cholas of the south. They were entrusted with the responsibility of the governance of the Andhra region, which formed a part of the Chola kingdom in the twelfth century. Their capital was Dhanadapura or Sanaduprolu, the modern Chandolu in the Guntur district initially then later they ruled from Vengi in West Godavari and Pithpuram in East Godavari Districts. The Velanati Chiefs rose to prominence among the vassals of the Chalukyas of Vengi during the early days of Kulothunga Chola I and served as the Chalukya Chola viceroys faithfully as their trusted lieutenants and generals.
Kakatiyas are also said to belong durjaya family and some historians say that kakatiyas were from fishing community. It is also said that Kakatiyas were suryavamisis (Solar Race) as per one of the inscriptions. This means that chodas too must belong to solar race (suryavansi).
Renati Chodas : The Telugu Chodas of Renadu ruled over Renadu (Renadu = Rayalaseema) region, the present day Cuddapah district. They were originally independent, later forced to the suzerainty of the Eastern Chalukyas. They had the unique honour of using the Telugu language in their inscriptions belonging to the 7th and 8th centuries. The inscriptions at Jammulamadugu and Prodduturu.
Pottapi Cholas : Telugu Chodas of Pottapi ruled the Cuddapah region after the fall of the Renati Cholas. Their inscriptions from 11th century are found in this area. It is also believed that they ruled over Chittoor district, since Dhurjati of Kalahasti mentioned that he was from Pottapi region. Dhurjati seems to indicate the family belongingness to Dhurjayas. Velanti chodas also claimed to belong to Durjaya family.
Konidena Chodas : The Konidena Cholas were also a branch of the Renadu Cholas. Their capital was Konidena (also called as Kotyadona) near Narasaraopeta in the Guntur district. They ruled over parts of Palanadu in 11th and 12th centuries. Early kings Kannara Choda and Kama Choda were independent. Tribhuvana Malla Choda, son of Kama Choda, was a chieftain to Gonka II of Velanati Chodas.
Nannuru Chodas : Nannuru Cholas were another branch of Telugu Cholas in the region of Pakanadu. The famous Telugu Poet Kaviraja Sikrtamani Nanne Choda belonged to this family. It is believed to be a subordinate of Vikramaditya VI of Kalyani Chalukyas.
Nellore Chodas (also known as Nellore Cholas) . These Chodas claimed their descent from the famous Karikala Chola. These were one of the Telugu Choda families who ruled over parts of Andhra Pradesh in 11th and 12h centuries. They were chieftains to Kakatiyas and Kalyani Chalukyas and ruled over the Nellore region
They ruled over their kingdom consisting of the Nellore, Cuddapah, Chittur and Chengalput districts with Vikramasimhapuri(modern Nellore) as their capital. Chola Bijjana was the first important chief in the Nellore Choda clan. As a feudatory of Someswara I of Western Chalukyas, he took part in the wars of the Chalukyas and Chalukya Cholas. In recognition of the loyalty and services of his descendants to the Chalukyas of Kalyani, Vikramadiya II appointed them as rulers of Pakanadu. Later Tikka (1223 1248 ), the father of the famous Manumasiddhi, extended his kingdom to as far south as the river Kaveri. He even assumed the title Cholasthapanacharya (chola sthapana charya = One who installed chola regime) .
About the year 1260, a dangerous feud broke out between Manumasiddhi and Katamaraju, the chief of Erragaddapadu in Kanigiri region. It led to the fierce engagement of the two sides and the bloody battle was fought at Panchalingala on the Paleru river. Manumasiddhi's forces led by Khadga Tikkana, the cousin of poet Tikkana won the battle, but the leader perished. The period of rule of the Telugu Chodas was in particular significant for the development it received in the Telugu literature under the patronage of the rulers. It was the age in which the great Telugu poets Tikkana, Ketana and Marana enriched the literature with their remarkable contributions. The region during this period witnessed both Saivism and Vaishnavism.
Chodaganga Deva : Rajaraja Chola I got his daughter Kundhavai married to Vimaladitya Chalukya I of Vengi country in Andhra. Due to her, a big Surya temple came to be erected in Andhra. Later on, a descendent of that Chola Princess (Kundhavai Naachiyaar) built Konarak Sun Temple in Kalinga country. Chozha in Tamil becomes ChoDa in Telugu and North India. ChoDaganga Deva is the name of that King.
Durjayas :
Some of the Telugu Chodas and Kakatiya kings belonged to Durjaya family as per records. It is also mentioned that kakatiyas were suryavamshis (Solar Race people). Some historians claim that Kakatiyas were Erukalas and some others claim that Kakatiyas were fishermen. In any case, the cholas, chodas, kakatiyas too belong to the same koli-bhil race to which Mudiraj also belong.
Ranadurjaya of Kalinga : About the middle of the sixth century A.D. a chief named Ranadurjaya established his rule in South Kalinga with Pishtapura as his capital. Records indicate that King Ranadurjaya of the Durjaya family ruled Pistapuram or Pithapuram (East Godavari District) as a vassal of Vikramendravarma. His grandson Prithvimaharaja was a powerful ruler but he was defeated and driven out from Pishtapura by the Chalukya king. Pulakesin II. Prithvimaharaja shifted to Viraja where he issued a charter in his 49 th regnal year. The Mudgalas of Tosali were very probably crushed by the Durjaya king Prithvimaharaja. The kingdom was subsequently destroyed by Sasanka who was ruling in some parts of Orissa.
Durjaya & chodas : Velanati chodas belonged to the Durjaya family, a Sudra clan and so they were also called as Durjayas of Velanadu. Rajendra Choda II had assumed the title Durjayakulaprakasa. The places on the bank of River Krishna from Guntur to Vijayawada are called Velanadu. Their capital was Dhanadapura (also known as Tsandavolu), the modern Chandolu in Guntur District.
Janssraya Madhav Varma IV (573-621 A.D.) Of Vishnukundina was a prudent king and spent his early years of rule in consolidating his position in Vengi. In his 37th regnal year, he suppressed the revolt of his subordinate chief the Durjaya Prithvi Maharaja in Guddadivishya (modern Ramachandrapuram in the East Godavari district). Pulakesin II and his brother Kubja Vishnuvardhana conquered Vengi from the Vishnukundins and the Pithspuram area from their subordinate Durjayas.
Durjaya & Kakatiyas : Inscriptional evidence points out that the Kakatiyas were Sudras and that they were members of the Durjaya family. The Kakatiya dynasty was a South Indian dynasty that ruled parts of what is now Andhra Pradesh, India from 1083 to 1323. It was one of the great Telugu kingdoms that lasted for centuries. Warangal was their capital city. The Kakatiyas proudly declared that they were from the Sudra Varna early in their career but near the later stages of their reign started claiming Kshatriya status as evidenced by an inscription found on the huge Nandi pillar lying near the ruined temple in Malkapuram, Guntur Taluk, Guntur District, which gives a detailed account of the Kakatiya family and are described as belonging to the Solar race of Kshatriyas. Since some historians claimed that they were people from fishermen community and since they were in close proximity to Maharastra, they could very well be the fishermen kolis who are related to Mudiraj community.
Kakatiyas seems to be the Kaikadis of Maharastra : Yerukalas are known as Kaikadis in Maharastra. The Kakadis are known as Korwa in Karnataka. The Kakatiya term could be a modification of the word Kaikadi. The Godess worshipped by the Kakatiyas was Kakati and seems to be known by their tribes name. The Kaikadi is a terrier dog breed named after a nomadic tribe in Maharashtra, India. They make excellent watchdogs. They can hunt hare and vermin. The Kaikadi is very similar to the whippet dogs. The Kaikadi are located mainly in the states of Maharashstra and Karnataka. Their language (also called Kaikadi) is a member of the Dravidian language family. The Kaikadis speak a language which is a mixture of Kanarese and Telugu. Some speak Marathi, greately interspersed with Telugu words. The other names of this language are - Kaikadia, Kaikai and Kokadi. They are commonly categorized as Tamil, but little is known about their specific lifestyle.
From this it becomes clear that Kakatiyas belonged to kaikadis, a branch of Yerukulas of Maharastra region, who were expert, feriocious and ruthless hunters. These Kakatiyas or Kaikadis might be belonging to same people of bedars of Maharastra. Most Bedars use the title Nayak
The Pahadi Korwas ( Kaikadis ) inhabiting the hilly regions of Jashpur and Sarguja districts of Madhya Pradesh were a hunting community for centuris and they were so fierce once that they had struck terror in the hearts of the plainsmen. Such was their power and dominance that even the Britishers had failed to subjugate them completely. The history books describe the Korwas of Madhya Pradesh as a "criminal tribe". It is a stigma they have lived with for generations, simply because the British found them too unruly to be civilised. Independence has made no difference as census reports of the Indian Government continue to describe them as criminals.
Kaikadi => Kakadi => Kakati => Kakatiya
They are most savage and terrifying," observed Col Philip Dalton, a surveyor during the British Raj. The Korwas have long been hounded out from their homes in the plains and have turned into forest-dwellers in the Sarguja range. Various clans trace their descent to a particular tree or animal. The Hazeda Korwas, for instance, belong to the bamboo tree, the Mudiyas are from a canine lineage while the Ginu Korwas are said to have descended from an ant hill!. The Korwas are expert hunters and love to kill a bird flying or an animal running. Before setting out on a hunt, they worship their bows and arrows while seeking the blessings of Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga. They are also very fond of dacoity and proceed on expeditions, often accompanied by their women.
Kaikadis are found mainly in Akola, Amravati, Bhandara, Buldana, Nagpur, Chandrapur, Wardha and Yavatmal districts of Maharashtra. The Kaikadis follow the Hindu Law of Inheritance and profess Hindu religion. They worship Hindu gods, chief among them being Bhavani, Bahiroba, Tukai, Yamai, etc., and observe all of the leading Hindu holidays. They believe in witchcraft and soothsaying. The Kaikadis either burn or bury their dead. They go on pilgrimage to Hindu sacred places in the State and take vows or offer animal sacrifices. They revere Hindu as well as Muslim saints.
Basket-making forms the chief occupation of the Kaikadis. Baskets of various sizes of bamboos, branches, leaves, stalks of the tarvad tree, babhul twigs, cotton and tur stalks are made. Such baskets are smeared with cow-dung and are used for storing grain.
The Kaikadi are predominantly ethnic religionists (95%), following their ancient traditions and religions. Their religion is primarily animistic; that is, they worship a variety of inanimate objects. Many of the Kaikadi are also involved in ancestor worship. They believe that the spirits of deceased ancestors are alive and need to be fed and tended. These spirits must be properly appeased, or else they will become hungry and dissatisfied and turn into evil spirits. The influence of Hinduism is very strong among the Kaikadi, and many of their religious practices have become mixed with Hindu beliefs. Some respect all life and eat only vegetables, while others will gladly eat meat from sacrifices in the temple. Their Hindu beliefs and worship piligrim centers are almost same as that of bedars. They worship Thirupathi Venkateswara and Kolhapur Maha Laxmi. The Balji worship of Bedars and Kaikadis indicate that they were part of kalabhra warriors who inveded Tamil & Kerala countries from Thirupathi (Vengadam) region.
Erakala, Kaikadi, Korwa (Korwah) are a variant gypsy tribe, bearing an evil reputation as professional criminals and infesting the country between the Krishna river and Narmda river. Kaikadis fall under S.C status today. Apart from basket weaving, and stone cutting, the fortune telling (sodhi) is another main professions of Kaikadis. As a class of people, they are orderly in nature. They are divided into Jadhavs and Manes, who eat together but do not intermarry. They speak Marathi with a mixture of other words. They were "hereditary thieves" and "robbers" but have now taken to other pursuits. Gadhge Maharaj had a chief disciple by name Kaikadi Maharaj.
The Kaikadis, once a wandering tribe, are now settled in villages. They have a number of endogamous divisions like the Kamathis (basket-makers), Makadvalas (wandering and exhibiting monkey's games), Kaijis (flute players) and others.
The Korwas are one of the scheduled tribes of Central India. They live in the hills, valleys, and forests of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. They speak a Munda language, also called Korwa, which belongs to the Austro-Asiatic language family. There are two very distinct tribes among the Korwas: the Diharia (or Kisan), who are farmers, and the Paharia (or Benwaria), who live in the hills. These two tribes do not inter-marry.The Korwas were a big community near Korba in Chattisgarh. The district comes under Bilaspur division and is inhabited mainly by tribals including the protected tribe Korwas (Pahadi Korwa).These people built forts and were ruling Podi-Uprora, Lafa, Chaiturgarh, Kosgi, Chhuri etc. They used to fight with the neighboring places to increase their Zamidari. A king named Ghughus belonging to community of Korwas, ruled over Ratanpur.
Kakatiyas of Bastar :
Bastar region is infested with people Koravas or Korwas who are part of Telugu Erukulas and Maharastra Kaikadis to whom the Kakatiyas are believed to belong. Interestingly, the royal family of Bastar believes that Kakatiya King Pratap Rudra's brother, Annam Deo, left Warangal and established his kingdom at Bastar , Chhattisgarh around the late 14th century. The great Kakatiya King Pratap Rudra's brother, Annam Deo, left Warangal and established his kingdom at Bastar,around1424 AD. In the early 15th century, the Kakatiya royal Annam Deo crossed the Godavari and fled into Bastar, after his brother, King Pratap Rudra Deo of Warangal was defeated and slain by Ahmad Shah Bahmani. The Kakatiyas have been described as 'a cadet branch of the Chalukyas.' After Annam Deo it has witnessed the rule of Hamir Deo ,Pratap Raj Deo ,Rajpal Deo,Dalpat Deo etc. It was during the reign of Dalpat Deo that the capital of their kingdom was shifted to Jagdalpur. These Kakatiyas ruled over Bastar until the Indian Union was born in 1947. The viradavali of the Bastar Maharaja, to this day refers to him as 'Chalki-bans' meaning of the Chalukya line.
Dantewada, 86 km from Jagdalpur, is more famous for its Danteswari Mai temple, Bastar's most venerated shrine. Built by King Annam Deo, who established the Bastar kingdom in the 14th century after fleeing Warangal in Andhra Pradesh following a Muslim invasion, the temple, at first glance, looks more like a tiled rectangular building; the black stone image of Durga, ornamented with silver, stands in the sanctum sanctorum that may be entered by men only after they wrap themselves in a dhoti. The tile-roofed antechamber is lined with black-stone images of gods and goddesses, mostly brought from Barsur.
According to myth the king of Bastar Annam Dev attacked on Sihava for getting Hiradevi. So Dharam Dev came to Kanker with his family. In his absence Annam Dev won the Sihava fort.
There was one Durjaya who was a brother of Duryodhana and who was sent to attack Bhima, to save Karna's life but lost his own. But pandavas & Kauravas were chandravamsis. The Durjayas who ruled Andhra might not be related kuru line.
Cholas :
Cholas claimed their descent from Sun and solar race kings ( Surya vamsis). Cholas worshipped Sun and built several Sun Temples. Konark Sun Temple was built in Orissa by Chola prince who was daughter of Rajaraja and wife of Vimaladitya.One Mudiraj ancestor Dharma Choda chari was said to belong to solar race. Chola- Mutharayar research center cncluded that Cholas and Mutharayars belonged to one family tree. Some of the chola surnames among the Mutharayars of Tamilnadu are as given below :
- Cholamutharayar
- Cholan
- Cholavalavan
- Cholavallakamayar
- Killirayar
- Killivazhavan
- Karikalarayar
- Valavan
- Valavar
The Cholas claimed their descendancy from Manu, Ikshvaku, Mandhatr, Mucukunda and Sibi. A prominent warrior race, cholas are central to many ancient tamil literary works, which describe them as benevolent , courageous and just. They were supposed to have descended from sun and thus were scions of the legendary royal solar dynasty, heirs to a tradition begun centuries ago. Many Chola kings took names and titles 'sibi' to probably acknowledge their descent from that legendary king who is celebrated as a paragon of justice. Medieval chola kings took titles like 'Parakesarin' and 'Rajakesarin' remembering their remote ancestors of that same illustrious lineage who were supposed to have lived centuries and even millenniums before them. The chola country is mentioned by Greek chroniclers and merchants, a more detailed description is provided in works of Ptolemy a Roman trader of 1st century A.D. The recent excavations following tsunami of 2004 has helped throw more light into poompuhar, the capital city of early cholas. Evidently, poompuhar was an important port city in the ancient world. It was a place from which traders set sail to far east. Among the greatest of early chola kings was karikala, who according to various tamil literary sources during first century A.D defeated all his southern neighbours. He is also credited with building efficient irrigational systems and canals. The fact that he was benevolent is brought out by a poem which was written on his death.
Kampan composed his poem (Tamil Kamba Ramayana) during the reign of the largest and most powerful Tamil kingdom, the imperial Cholas. Sholas might have supported this literatur keeping in view of their descendancy to solar race to which Srirama belonged. Under the umbrella of that expanding empire, which claimed victories from the Ganga to Sumatra, Rama shrines were built, extensive sets of Ramayana reliefs were carved along the base of several temples, and temples supported recitations of the Rama story. Chola monarchs also bore Rama's name in their imperial titles, and apparently one raja perceived parallels between his conquest and Rama's when he erected icons to the epic hero to celebrate a victory over the Sinhala kings of Lanka. One temple inscription goes so far as to suggest the story of Rama as an origin myth for the Cholas, which was a solar dynasty like Rama's.
The Cholas belonged to the Solar and the Chalukyas to the Lunar race. The former were generally Saivas and the latter were Vaishnavas as they had the boar for their crest. Besides, the Chalukyas were also patrons of the Jainas.
Cholas connection to solar race kings consolidated through Rangavimana : Manu's son Ikshwaku cherished the desire of possessing the Ranga Vimanam for the benefit of the people on earth. He consulted his family preceptor, Vasishtha (priest of the Surya vamsha), who advised him to start penance uttering the sacred Ashtakshara Mantra. Accordingly, Ikshwaku started a severe penance which puzzled even the devas, foreboding evil days for them. They attempted to spoil the penance by deputing Maninatha and the celestial nymphs to distract his attention. Indra took the lead in this affair and did not even hesitate to send the Vajraayudha (lightning weapon) to foil the penance. But all failed in their attempts. In disappointment, they prayed to Brahma, to save them from the baffling catastrophe. Brahma on his part approached Ranganatha for advice. Ranganatha consoled Brahma by expressing his desire to go to Ayodhya where he would be worshipped by the descendant of the Solar dynasty for four yugas, and at the end of the fourth yuga he would go to the kingdom of the Cholas in the South, on the banks of the Kaveri, where he would stay for 700 years. At the end, of this period he would return to Brahmaloka. Brahma was directed to part with the Ranga Vimanam to Ikshwaku.
Cholas were Kolis : One Gandaraditya in one of the hymns calls himself 'king of Kori' and 'lord of Tanjai'. This means that he belonged to the Chola royal family as per historians. Koris and Kolis are one and the same people. Mudiraj and Muthuraj people are said to be kolis of South India.
Koris <=> kolis => Kolas => Colas => Cholas
Gangaikonda Chola :
According to the Kalingattu-Parani, Kulottunga's father belonged to the lunar race, and his mother was the daughter of Gangaikonda-Chola (Rajendra Cholan) of the solar race ( surya vanshi ) . It follows from the statements, that the hero of the poem is identical with the Eastern Chalukya king Kulottunga-Chodadeva I., who reigned from A.D. 1063 to 1112; that his unnamed father and mother were the Eastern Chalukya king Rajaraja I and Ammangadevi; and that his maternal grandfather was the Chola king Rajendra-Choladeva or Gangaikonda-Chola. Rajendra chola's troops had marched right upto Bengal and brought the sacred waters of the Ganga with them. This is why Rajendra Cholan is also known as 'Gangaikondacholan' 'the Chola who brought the Ganga to the south'!.
Cholamuttarayan was an ary chief of Rajandracholan : The Tirumittakkode temple epigraphs are one of the most important documents as far as the political and cultural situation of Nila river valley is concerned. This erigraph is the only evidence tv prove the Chola supremacy in loth Century AD in Kerala, which in turn accelerated the fall of Kulasekharas of Cranganore. The epigraph says that Cholamuttarayan with his army came over to Tirumittakkode (Tiruvittuvakkode - a place were Vittuva or Vishnu is worshipped) and the Vaishnava temple was brought to his custody. The 'Cholasenapati' was the army chief of RajendraChola of the 10-11th Century AD. He came aver to Tirumittakode, conquered the area where Valluvanadu Utaiyavar had their 'original ancestoral house at Arangot, a neighboring village and the temple complex. The Chola muttarayan constructed a temple of Siva in front of the Vittuva temple itself so that the front part of the Vittuva temple is barred from visionof the devotees. The temple - (Siva in the Sanctum Sanctorum in front of the Vishnu's Sanctum Sanctorum - a twin 'Sreekovil' system) is a unique architectural pattern of temple construction seen at Tirumittacode.
Incas of Peru : The Incas had their Temple of the Sun God (Peru) much like the one in Konarak in Orissa built by the Cholas. The Chola chieftains (Incas) of America styled themselves as "Raghuvamsa Manickam". This shows that they belonged to the Raghuvamsa of Sri Rama whose ancestor Sibi Chakravarthi was well described in ancient Tamil literature as the Chola king Sembian. This takes us to a very relevant inference that the ancestors of Dasaratha were as much the ancestors of the Tamil - cholas. One other ancestor of Sri Rama, Musu Kunthan, was none other than the Musu Kuntha Chola in ancient Tamil history. This Musu Kunthan's reighn was during the second ! Tamil Sangam age 4800-2800 BC.
Gounders :
Muthiriya Urali Gounders are a subcate of Muthuraja in Tamilnadu and they were warrior clans of medieval times. It is said that Gounders belong to solar race. The people of the Gounder community are known for their humble, gentle and polite dispositions. The Gounders claim to be descendant from the ancient Kshatriya Suryavamsam (Solar dynasty) through the Gangakulam. The origin of the Gangas is derived from Iksvaku and traced back to Ayodhyapura. Sri Rama, the son of Dasharatha belonged to Ikshvaku lineage. Mandhata is said to be koli ancestor and from Ikshvaku lineage. All this shows that Sri Rama was not a pure Aryan but an Indo-Aryan having relation to fishermen community. Kaikey, one of the queens of Dasharatha belonged to Kekeya dynasty who had their matrimonial relaions with Mastya ( fishermen) clans.
Gounder is the name of the head in a system of decentralised panchayat administration used with various regional variations by distinct castes. The root word is Kavunda. This system gained political ascendancy during the greatest king of the Ganga dynasty, Durvinita. The posts of the village headmen were usually assumed by the warrior clans of the Kongu Nadu region and so fell to the ruling Gangakulam.
Vettuva Gounder or Vettuva Goundan is an endogamous social group or caste of indigenous tribal origin and are a Tamil speaking people in the Erode area of West Tamil Nadu state.They are also known as Vadugar and the villages in which they live are called Vadugapatti,Vadugapalayam,vaduganseri,etc.., and some of the Vettuvar elders say they are descended from Kannapa Nayanar lineage and they were originally from Andhra thereby are called Vadugar. It is already explained that Vettuvas are a subcaste of Muthuraja in Tamilnadu. Vettuva gounder'sare from agricultural family background like other gounders. Vettuva gounder's ancestors from the devotional legend of Siva bhakta Kannappan. They are from Khalhasti and moved from there to south. The largest pocket of people are located in Namakkal,Erode,GobiChettiPalayam,Karur,Nambiyur, Madurai, Coimbatore, Bhavanishakar, Ottapalayam, ollapalayam, Arachalur and also near Thirunelveli. They usually called OORU Gounders ( Head of Village) where they live. Apparently the clan divisions between a settled group commonly known as Vellala Gounder and Vettuva Gounder show similarities. The Vellalas are bhilalas who were the descendants of Bhils of North India and Rajaputs of Rajastan. This aspect will be dealt in detail under "Vellala Origins" in this website. Both communities did an assimilation of hunting groups into settled agricultural groups. The historical war between Vellala Gounder and Vettuvas is mentioned in the mythical local Annamar-Appachimar story where the latter were defeated. Though story explains rivalary but Modern Vettuva Gounder are more matured , tolerant and always exhibit brotherhood to all the gounder community unlike other communities.
Waynad has a small Jain Community consisting of the Gounders who came from Karnataka. They have built beautiful temples all over the district. The Kurichiyar of Waynad have a great martial tradition. They constituted the army of Pazhassi Veera Kerala Varma Raja who fought against the British forces in several battles. The descendants of those warriors are still expert archers.
Those vellalas who migrated from banks of Ganga was called "Gangavamsa vellalar".Their kingdom was "Ggangawathi".Those vellalas who lived in Kongunadu was called "Gounders".
Now Vettuva Gounders are one of the sub-sects of Gounders including Nattu Gounder, Kurumba Gounder and Urali Gounder.
The title Gounder is used with various regional variations by distinct castes. The root word is Kavunda. This system of administration was started by the great king of the Ganga dynasty, Durvinita.This post of a village headman was usually given to the warrior clans of this region and fell to the erstwhile Gangakula to which Durvinita himself belonged to. The Kongu Vellala Mangala Valthu which was sung by the Tamil saint-poet Kambar also strengthens the claim as he blest the marriying couples;one of the line runs. Other different castes-the Vanniyars and the Kurumbars also have the title.
The traditional Gounder belt is the area now known as Kongu Nadu, derived from Ganganadu(see Gangas)(Gangeya in Sanskrit means: "the one descended from Ganga"). This ares now comprises the following districts in the western part Tamilnadu: Erode, Coimbatore, Ooty, Karur, northern Dindigul, western Tiruchirapalli, Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and western Vellore. These districs have a Gounder population somewhere between 50% and 80%; and a secondary population, anywhere between 5 and 50%, can be found in the districts of Theni, Madurai, Villupuram, Perambalur, Thanjavur (all in Tamil Nadu), Palakkad (in Kerala), Kollegal, Mysore, Chamrajnagar, Kolar, Mandya, and Bangalore (all five in Karnataka).
The Gounders claim to be descendant from the ancient Kshatriya Suryavamsam (Solar dynasty) through the Gangakulam. Gangavamsa has spread all over India and the historians are completely silent about it. The kings of the Ganga dynasty had got their pedigree inscribed by their brahmin eulogists as well as the courtiers. It can be asserted that the historical Ganga dynasty has evolved from among the common men of the Ganga dynasty or Ganga (fishermen) community. It is known from the inscription of Jainaguru Simhanandi, that the forefathers of Ganga dynasty coming from Ayodhyapur under the leadership of Vishnugupta had initially settled at Ahichhatra located in the basin of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna. Later on they proceeded to Southern India in quest of new territory. Being advised by Jainaguru Simhanandi, Vishnugupta along with others came to Karnataka and established a new kingdom. According to this inscription the Ganga dynasties of Karnataka and Kalinga had come from Northern India. In the opinion of Dr. N. K. Sahu, both the western and eastern Ganga dynasty belong to one and the same dynasty and they came from North India in 5th century A.D. and established new kingdoms in Kalinga and Karnataka respectively. The origin of the Gangas is derived from Iksvaku and trace back to Ayodhyapura. Under Visnugupta the seat of government was moved to Ahichhatra, which, it is hinted, as Vijayapura. The Ganga historical events started with the arrival of Dadiga and Madhava in the South, at Ganga-perur and the establishment of the Gangavadi kingdom in Mysore aided by Simhanandi.
It is known from the Vizagpattanam & Korni copperplate inscriptions of Chodaganga Deva that by 5th century A.D., eighty kings of the Ganga dynasty had ruled over Gangabadi of Kolahalpur. It has been noted that Sevananda Bharati has established ancient Tamralipta or Modern Tamluk as the primary abode of the Ganga dynasty.
Gangas :
Dr. Nagaswamy, in his Mutharayar - defines them (Mutharays) as Ganga Kings
of Kongani belonging to Tamil Mudhu Velir kudi.
After obtaining an easy victory over the Ganga king Muttarasa ruling in Gangavadi, Govinda III, the son and successor of Dhruva led victorious campaigns in Central and Northern India. The Rastrakuta family produced several great conquerors, who boldly invaded north and south India and achieved memorable victories. Dhruva (A.D. 780793) was the first among them.
Kings of Ganga dynasy claimed their descent from solar race kings. The Madalapanji and Korni copperplate inscription of Chodaganga Dev that the Gangas are the descendants of a king or an individual named Gangeya who belonged to the solar dynasty. Gangeya was Bhisma and the son of Ganga. Ganga was born in a Kaivartta hamlet on the Ganges Valley. Ganga devi was a fisher-woman and beloned to Mahishya or a Kaivartta. When her relationship with Santanu was severed, she, along with her eighth child, had returned to the same Kaivartta hamlet and reared him up. Later on this child came to be known as Gangaputra (son of Ganga) or Gangeya. Since Santanu was from solar race, gangeya was recognized as suryavamsi and hence chodaganga claimed descendancy from solar race. The origin of the Ganga royal dynasty and that of the common people of Ganga dynasty were one and the same and all of them belonged to the Kaivartta or Mahishya community. Hence we can say that the Ganga dynasty has originated from the tradition rich, glorious and ancient Dasa-Kaivartta race or community.
We find two major dynasties in South India, over the period, known as the Eastern Gangas and the Western Gangas. The empires spread from Karnatak, to Orissa, to Andhra Pradesh. The Southern Gangas histories state that they came south from North India. About 500 CE, led by leader Vishnugupta. They were originally from the land between the Ganga and the Jumna /Yamuna rivers. They are linked to Ahichtra and Ayodhyapur in the Ganga/Jumna basin.
In the Andhavaram copperplate inscription of Indravarman III of Ganga dynasty, the Gangas are described as the descendants of the `Tumbura' dynasty. It is mentioned in the Vayu Purana that at the foot hills of the Vindhyas, there was a Janapada (human habitation) named Tumura, Tumbura. The Janapadas such as Tosali, Kosala, Tripura, Vidisha, Tumura, Tumhura, Nishadha, Anupa, Sundhikera, Vitihotra and Abanti are at the foot of the Vindhyas. This implies that all these Janapadas are to the north of the Vindhyas.
Mr. Dubey has identified the Tumbura-race with Mashyas. Quoting evidences from the Padma Purana and Brahmavaibarta Purana, the historian Jagabandhu Singh has established that the Mahisyas and the Kaivarttas are virtually the same. In his opinion, the child born of a Kshatriya father and Vaisya mother is called a Kaivartta or Mahisya. According to the Bengali historian Sevananda Bharati, the primary abode of the Mahisya-race was located in the northern bank of river Narmada, which originated from the foot hills of the Vindhyas. The present day Ratnavati on the bank of river Narmada is perhaps another name of the ancient city Mahishimati. It was the old capital of the Mahishyas. Therefore, it had the name Mahishimati Nagari (the city of Mahishimati). Mahishmati was the capital of Chedis (Haihayas) and ancestors of Kalachuris and Kalabhras.
Several theories have A few inscriptions state they belogned to Jahnaveya kula and Kanvayana gotra prompting some historians to believe the Gangas were immigrants from the Northern India and descendants of the Kanva dynasty.Others believe they hailed from Kongu Nadu in present day Tamil Nadu since some Tamil inscriptions call them Konganiyarasa[3][4] Other inscriptions state they were descendents of Andhra Ikshvaku dynasty who came to power after the fall of the Satavahana empire during the 3rd century. Hence it is argued they earlier must have ruled in Andhra Pradesh as successors of the Satavahana.
Mahishya often also spelled as Mahisya, is a Hindu caste. Members of this caste are traditionally found in the Indian states of West Bengal and Orissa. Mahishyas are one of the predominant castes in West Bengal especially in the southern districts of Howrah. Mahishyas and Kaivarttas (Kaibarttas) are the same caste. the child born of a Kshatriya father and Vaisya mother is called a Kaivartta or Mahisya. Kaivarttas are spread through a geographic location extending from modern-day Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, and Orissa. The ancient home of the Mahishya race is near the present day Ratnavati on the bank of the Narmada River, which was then known as Mahishamati. Biharilal Kalye believes that the founder of the Ganga Dynasty of Orissa, Anantavarma belonged to the Mahishya race.
Western Gangas :
A 10th century Pallava inscription calls them descendents of two princess from Ayodhya who founded a kingdom in Cuddapah with Perur as their capital before the 4th century later moving their capital to Kolar and finally in 466 to Talakad in present day Karnataka. Talakkad was patronized by the Western Gangas in the first millennium CE. The history of the ancient temple city of Talakad, a pilgrimage site, has become lost in time. The illustrious and powerful Western Gangas ruled from 350 to 1050 AD until they were overthrown by the Cholas in the 11th century.
The area they controlled was called Gangavadi and primarily included the present day districts of Mysore, Chamrajanagar, Tumkur, Kolar, Mandya and Bangalore. At times they also controlled small areas in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. In their early years they were feudatory to Pallavas and directly ruled Kolar and the Kongu Nadu on their behalf and at other times independently. Hence the region was also known as Nollambavadi. They continued to rule until the 10th century as feudatories of Rashtrakuta and Chalukyas.
It is known from the Vizagpattanam & Korni copperplate inscriptions of Chodaganga Dev that by 5th century A.D., eighty kings of the Ganga dynasty had ruled over Gangabadi of Kolahalpur. In this context we may mention that historians have agreed that the Mahabharata war was fought in 9th century B.C. This means the Ganga dynasty had appeared and achieved renown much before the events described in the epic Mahabharata. It has been noted above that Sevananda Bharati has established ancient Tamralipta or Modern Tamluk as the primary abode of the Ganga dynasty. The inscriptions of the imperial Gangas has mentioned that the first Ganga king Ananta-varman and his descendants, who ruled over Gangabada or Gangabadi were also called Rudhi Ganga. It may be mentioned here that the word radhi or rudhi was applied to the Kaivarttas who inhabited the entire east coast region stretching from the mouth of river Ganges to the river Godavari
in the South.
Rudhi => Radhi => Redhi => Reddi => Reddy
The Jallaries are Telugu Fishermen, Palanquin bearers and cultivators. Jallaries is derived from Jala, a net. Some are fresh water fishermen, while other fish with a cast-net (Visuru Valalu) from the sea shore or on the open sea. They bear the name Ganga Vamsamu, or people of Ganga, in the same way that a division of the Kabbera fishing caste is called Gangimakkalu. In caste Organisation and ceremonials, the Jalaries coincide with the Milas. They are called Noliyas by the Oriyas of Ganjam. Gangimakkalu or Gangaputra meaning children or sons of the Ganga, the Goddess of water is the name a subdivision of Kabbera. The allied Gangavamsamu or people of Ganga is a name for
Jalaris. The Kabberas are a caste of Canarees fishermen and cultivators. The Keutas worship especially Dasaraja and Gangadevi. First, the Kaivarttas were divided in to two parts. Those who resorted to cultivation were called Halias (cultivators). Those who earned their livelihood with nets were called Jalia or Jalua (fishermen).
Kabberas => Kabbelas => Kabbalas => Kabbaligas
Kabbaligas are fishermen of Karnataka in the region that falls under erstwhile ganga dynasty. They claim to be the Mudiraj or equivalents of Mudiraj.
Mother Ganga, the water Goddess, is their chief deity and they claim that they are the descendants of Ganga. They think that the famous Ganga kings of Kalinga belonged to the different branches of their race. Kaivarttas belonging to Ganga dynasty and living in the coastal areas call themselves Jajari. They are seen in the entire east coast region starting from Midnapur to Rameswar in the south. The Jalari fishermen living in Ganjam (Orissa) and Andhra Pradesh have different names like Jalari, Nolia, Barakotia, Satakoshia, Panerundu kotala, Edukotala, Jona, Buguri, Bauri, Behera, etc. The Jalaris of Ganga dynasty claim that they had built the famous ports of kalinga namely Peddapatna, Visakhapatna, Revalpatna and Vimilipatna. They invite the people of their own caste living in these places to their marriage ceremonies. The chief occupations of these Kaivarttas were cultivation, fishing and maritime trade and expedition. The maritime trade of ancient Kalinga for which the Oriyas are proud was virtually controlled by the Kaivarttas. The adventurous Kaivartta sailors were sailing in the sea in their boats for months together and were carrying on trade in the distant islands in the sea.
Kaivaratta people were acting as Dalapati (leader) of the Navy of the Gajapati kings of Ganga dynasty. From this it appears that they had relationship with Ganga dynasty. From ancient times Bashuli (Basheli), the tutelary deity of the Kaivarttas continues to be worshipped in the palace of the Gajapati king of Puri with pomp & ceremony. t appears that in the ancient days these Kaivarttas and their tradition had close relationship with the kings of Ganga dynasty. Twelve kalinga coins of the time of king Anantavarma Chodaganga Dev have been discovered from Kalingapatna, a place near Mukhalinga, which was once upon a time the capital of Kalinga. On one side of the fifth coin, there is the impression of a boat. The Life Style of the Fisherman of the Chilika Region, has mentioned that the fishermen or the Kaivarttas of Chilika region worship Goddess Ganga. These Kaivarttas are identified as Vaisyas from the point of view of their nature, activities and occupation.
The Dasas (Dasa) belong to the class of Dhibaras or Keutas (fishermen). The Ganga dynasty is the part of a great ancient Kaivartta or Dasa dynasty. Their original abode was located in the basins of rivers such as Sindhu, Saraswati,
Saraju, Yamuna, and the sacred Ganga flowing in the north western frontiers of India. The mouth of river Ganga identified as Gangaridai was included in the above regions. For this reason, even after the rise and fall of a long historical period, they feel proud today by identifying themselves with Ganga dynasty or by calling themselves sons of Ganga. They have been worshipping mother Ganga as the primordial mother. Mount Kailash was the prime place of worship of the Linga worshippers or the devotees of Lord Shiva. The Hindus believe that the river Ganga had emerged from the matted hair of Shiva. Therefore, Ganga is treated as the most sacred river of India. Possibly for this reason the people of Ganga dynasty have thought it proper to identify Ganga as the primordial mother even though they lived in the basins of different rivers in the past.
The Gola caste is an important branch of Go-oda or Gauda caste. Like the Keutas or Kaivarttas they claim that they belong to Ganga dynasty and that mother Ganga or Gangamma is their mother (Goddess). The icon of Gangamma is carved in the walls of their houses. The face and eyes of this icon are round and it has neither limbs nor body. They think one of their branches had conceived the image of Lord Jagannath. One of their branches is called Gangaudu or Gangidu. From the above description it is obvious that apart from the Ganga dynasty, a community called Gangavamsa lived in different parts of India. They are identified as Kaivartta, Keutas or Dhibara. It will be reasonable to say that the Ganga Dynasty had originated from the Kaivarttas belonging to the Ganga race.
It is known from history that these Kaivarttas have been living in large numbers in areas stretching from the mouth of river Ganges, the Gangaridai region through the entire eastern coast of Kalinga up to Rameswaram in Tamilnadu. Besides they are also living in large numbers in the basins of the rivers namely, Ganga, Yamuna and Saraju of Northern India. They also live in Maharashtra, Mysore and the Vindhya regions. The people of Madras originated from the ancient Tamralipta race. The Kaivartta-race and the
Mahishya-race are basically one and the same.
The Gangas were an important ruling dynasty of ancient Karnataka. They are also known as Western Ganga dynasty to distinguish them from the Eastern Ganga dynasty. They ruled as a soverign power during 350 - 550 period initially from Kolar later moving their capital to Talakad on the banks of the Kaveri River in modern Mysore district. elationship with the Chalukyas and later the Rashtrakutas. Their rule over Southern Karnataka resulted in the construction of fine monuments in Shravanabelagola and Kambadahalli. They patronised fine arts due to which literature in Sanskrit and Kannada flourished.
According to one inscription the Ganga dynasties of Karnataka and Kalinga had come from Northern India. In the opinion of Dr. N. K. Sahu, both the western and eastern Ganga dynasty belong to one and the same dynasty and they came from North India in 5th century A.D. and established new kingdoms in Kalinga and Karnataka respectively.
The Western Gangas ruled in Mysore state (Gangavadi) from about AD 250 to about 1004. The Eastern Gangas ruled Kalinga from 1028 to 143435. These two dynasties were distinct but remotely related. The first ruler of the Western Ganga, Konganivarman, carved out a kingdom by conquest, but his successors, Madhava I and Harivarman, expanded their influence by marital and military alliances. They encouraged scholarly work, built some remarkable temples, and encouraged cross-peninsular trade.
The Western Gangas and the Kadambas of Banavasi founded, almost coevally, in the middle or second half of the 4th century A.D., the first two sovereign kingdoms of Karnatkaka, by virtues of their location in between the Tamilian and Karnataka powers, the Gangas served as an effective buffer state and theri inscriptions provide enough data on the close contacts they had established with the powers, people and cultures both to the north and the south.
Architecture : hravanabelagola is located 51 km south east of Hassan in Karnataka at an Altitude of about 3350 feet above sea level. It is a little township tucked away between Indragiri and Chandragiri hills. The colossal rock cut statue of saint Gommata at Shravanabelagola is the most magnificent among all Jaina works of art. It was built in circa 982 AD and is described as one of the mightiest achievements of ancient Karnataka in the realm of sculptural art. Also referred to as Lord Bahubali, the image is nude an stands upright in the posture of meditation known as kayotsarga, reaching a height of nearly 57 ft atop the Vindyagiri of Doddabetta hills accessible through a flight of 500 steps.It belongs to the era of the western Gangas and is evolved out of the Chalukyan styles at Badami and Aihole.
When the northern fringes of Tamilnadu came under the sway of the Western Gangas of Karnataka, king Rajamalla II, converted some natural caverns at Siyamangalam and Vallimalai into Jaina temples and embellished them with fine sculptures.
Literature : Gajastaka a work on elephant management by king Shivamara II of Ganga dynasty belonged to the 8th century.
Religion : There is evidence that early Ganga kings performed vedic sacrifices. Hence others scholars believe that Durvinita was a Hindu and was either a Vishnavite or a Shaivite.[10] However later Ganga records reveal a strong Jaina influence due to Jain saints and scholars such as Toranacharya, Pushpanandi, Pujyapada, Jinasena, Ajitasena, Akalanka or Nemichandrasiddanta. Many Jain basadis were built in Manne, Belagola, Kambadahalli. The western Gangas, who made Jainism almost the religion of their state, were great patrons of Jaina teachers, Simhanandin revered by Kongunivarman. Chamundaraya, the general of Marasimha, the Ganga king, was the architect of the great colossus of Sravanabelgola, the unique sculpture of Bahubali (AD 983) that is probably the Bapatala one great example of Ganga art if one were to choose a single example to represent that phase of art itself.
Coins : The Gajapati pagodas and similar fanam coin were probably introduced about 1080 when Gangavadi emerged from Chola domination. The Elephant was the crest of the dynasty called Gangas. Western Gangas with capital Talkad in 450 AD is modern Karnataka (Mysore.). The Western Gangas Elephant ( Gajapati ) Pagoda circulated in Lanka as is evidenced by a hoard of 179 discovered in 1922 at Allaippiddi in the Jaffna district. The Western Gangas Elephant ( Gajapati ) Fanam may have circulated in Lanka alongside the similar pagoda coin.
Durvinita (C.495-535 A. D.) : Avinita's son and successor, Durvinita, was one of the most remarkable rulers of the Ganga family. His succession was a disputed one, as he had to overcome the challenge of his younger step-brother who seemed to have secured the assistance of the Pallavas and the Kadambas. Durvinita was able to cement his friendship with the newly emerging Chalukya power. He gave his daughter to Chalukya Vijayaditya; and when his son-in-law became a victim of the Pallava aggression, Durvinita championed the Chalukyas and installed his grandson Jayasimha on the Badami throne. The timely help of the Ganga monarch did much to save the Chalukyas, and on this sure foundation was built a tradition of a durable friendship between the two ruling families. The religious outlook of Durvinita was marked by tolerance. Though he was a worshipper of Vishnu and a performer of Vedic sacrifices like Hiranyagarbha, he was a pupil of the Jaina preceptor Pujyapada. His court was adorned by many Jaina scholars. His religious catholicity is reflected in the generous patronage he extended to all religious sects. Himself an eminent scholar, Durvinita evinced keen interest in promoting literary cultivation.
Eastern Gangas :
Contemporaries to the Eastern Chalukyas were the Eastern Gangas (Gangu) in the northeast and the Pallavas in the south. The Ganga King ruled over Kalinga from the 6th Century to 11th Century A.D. The Eastern Gangas appeared in the political scene towards the close of the 5th century A.D. as rulers of Orissa. The first known ruler of this dynasty was Indravarma (6th century A.D.). He had his capital at Dantapura, but later shifted to Kalinganagara (Mukhalingam in Srikakulam district). The Ganga kings established their Capital at Kalinga Nagar on the banks of the river Vamsadhara. Today it is located in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh, known as Nagari Katak . From a copper plate issued by him it is known that he had brought a number of families adept in dance from Baidumba kingdom, which was the home of the maternal uncle of Vajrahasta Deva. These families gradually increased in number and the King settled them in a village called Srikurumapatak, located at a distance of 19 km. from Kalinga Nagar on the sea coast. The Gangas ruled with their capital in Andhra for nearly five centuries, until it was shifted to Cuttack at the end of the 11th century A.D. The early Eastern Gangas were ruling a small territory in Srikakulam district in the Telugu land.
The Eastern Gangas who started their rule in Kalinga about the end of the 5 th century A.D. continued as a petty power till the time of Vajrahasta V who came to the throne in 1038 A.D. As mentioned above he was the son of Kamarnava II by his queen Vinaya Mahadevi. He made Kalinga independent by defeating the Somavamsis and declared himself Maharajadhiraja. He also received the title of Trikalingadhipati. He made matrimonial alliance with the Kalachuris of Kosala and also with the ruling family of Ceylone.
Chodganga was king who was born due to matrimonial alliance beteen chalkya cholas of Thanjavur and gangas of Orissa. The ganga dynasty originally had its beginning in North Andhra Pradesh. Gangas belonged to suryavamsam through Ikshvakus of North India. Records indicate that the Ganga kingdom was spread out far into North.
The Ganga Kings ruled over Kalinga for about 400 years and then Chodaganga Deva was born to Maharaja Devendravarma Rajaraja Deva and queen Rajasundari, who was the daughter of the Chola King of Kanchi named Maharaja Kulatunga Rajendra Chola the Second. Rajasundari had two sons namely, Cholaganga Deva and Pamardy. When Rajrajara Deva died prematurely in 1077 A.D., Cholaganga Deva was only 5 year old and Paramardy, the second son, was only 3 year old.
Kalinga was thus without a ruler. The neighbouring states wanted to occupy Kalinga. In order to save the kingdom and the two kids from their enemies Rajasundari, the widowed queen, desperately sought the help of her brother Virachoda, who was ruling over the Bengi Kingdom. Virachoda accepted the request, came to Kalinga Nagar and organised the coronation of the child Cholaganga Deva. He got his own daughter Gundichodi, later known as Kasturikamodini, married to Cholaganga Deva and proclaimed that Kalinga was not without a ruler. Virachoda was a brave and intelligent king himself. He engaged teachers of high caliber for the education of his daughter and son-in-law.
Chodagangadeva married Chodadevi, the daughter of Vira Choda. As a result of that Vira Choda was removed from power and expelled from Vengi by his father Kulattunga.
Cholaganga Deva later led a huge army and started a series of campaigns against the neighbouring enemy kingdoms. Situated to the east of Kalinga was Utkal, which was ruled at that time by the Somavansi king Karnadeva. Cholaganga attacked Utkal, and with this battle for the conquest of Utkal, the Somavansa were eliminated. Cholaganga then defeated Chalukya, King of Bengi, and also defeated the Pala King of Bangal at Mandargada and Armyanagar, at present known as Arambag.
In 1112 A.D. he shifted his capital from Kalinga Nagar to Varanasi Katak, which is at present known as Bidanasi. Kulattunga died in 1118 A.D. and with his detath the power of the Chodas began to decline. By 1118 A.D. Chodagangadeva annexed Utkal and Vengi to his empire which by that time extended from the Ganga in the north to the Godavari in the south. From a Deopara copper plate inscription it is known that Vijayasena prided himself on being a friend of Cholaganga.
Chodagangadeva supported the western Chalukyas against the Chola power in the south but Vikrama Choda succeeded in defeating the combined army of the western Chalukya king Somesvara III and Chodagangadeva.
Since it took some time to bring about peace and stability in the conquered territories of Utkal and Banga, Cholaganga, along with his family, stayed in Kalinga Nagar up to 1126 A.D. and then shifted to Varanasi Katak after restoration of peace and stability.
Cholaganga assumed the title of Parama Maheswara, Parama Vaisnava and Parama Brahmanya. He was initially a Saiva and later on became Vaisnava. His Saiva Guru was a Sadhu in Madhukeswar temple and his Vaisnava Guru was from the Vishnu temple of Kurumapatak.
Cholaganga Deva organised the coronation of his eldest son, Sri Kamarnava Deva, at Sri Purusottama Temple of Puri and stayed in his palace at Puri for the rest of his life. This was in the year 1142 A.D. Cholaganga Deva started the construction of the present Jagannath Temple at Puri. At the coronation function temple dancers from Sri Kurumapatak were called to perform a dance at the Lord Jagannath Temple. This 65 metre high temple is one of the awesome monuments in Puri. This 12th century temple built by Chodaganga to commemorate the shifting of his capital from south to central Orissa, stands in a compound on the Niligiri. The founder King of the Eastern Ganga Dynasty, King Chodaganga Deva began its construction of the celebrated Temple of Lord Jagannath now existent at Puri in 1235 A.D.. The construction was finished by King Anangabhima Deva. The wooden images of Jagannath Balabhadra and Subhadra were installed in that temple. It is the earlist Ganga monument of Orissa, but it must be noted that the ganga temples of much earlier dates are still to traced in the Andra regions, the original seat of power of Gangas. There is a definite mention in all the later copper plate records of the successor of Chodaganga that he was the bulider of this great temple at Puri. According to some evidence sources that Chodaganga had began this huge structure and one his successor Ananagabhimadev III completed it or added the Jagamohan to it. The height of the Jagannath temple of Puri as calculated as 215 feet 8 inches. It is therefore the loftiest religious edifice of Orissa.
Chodagangadeva like his ancestors was a great devotee of Siva. He was, however, found inclined towards Vaishnavism at times. The great Vaishnava, Acharya Ramanuja visited Utkal during his time. It is supposed by scholars that Chodaganga was converted to Vaishnavism by Ramanuja and constructed the temple of Purusottama at Puri under the influence of that Vaishnava Acharya. The history of the Gangas is a landmark in the history of Orissa. The dynasty reached the height of glory for its political achievements, temple building activities, economic prosperity and religious movements. The advent of the imperial Ganga marked a great revival of the Vaishnava cult in Orissa. Under the royal patronage of the Ganga rulers the fame of Purushottama Jagannatha reached the pinnacle of glory. The cult of Vaishnavism took an important form with the construction of a temple for Lord Purushottama (Jagannatha) at the sea-shore of Puri.
Mukhalingam - then known as Kalinganagara in Andhra Pradesh was the capital of the early eastern Gangas (of Orissa). The eastern Gangas are said to have ruled Andhra Desa in the second half of the 1st millennium CE. It is believed that the temple have been built during the period of the King Kamarnava (941-976 CE). The town of Mukhalingam is located in the north eastern corner of the state of Andhra Pradesh, near Orissa - 56 km north of Srikakulam, a major railhead on the railroad between Vishakapatnam and Howrah. The ornate temple of Mukhalingeswara (Madhukeswara) , and the Aniyanka Bhimeswara and Someswara temples built in the Orissa style of architecture adorn this village.
Anantavarman Chodaganga of the Imperial Gangas, moved the capital to Cuttack, on the banks of the river Mahanadi.
We can find the archaeological remains of Amravati-Kataka, one of the five important forts of Chodaganga Deva. Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva of the Ganga dynasty dealt a blow to the Somavamsis and stepped into their place in the coastal region early in the 12th century A.D. There is an inscription in the Lingaraj temple which records the gift of a perpetual lamp by Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva in 1114 A.D. So his connection with Bhubaneswar had begun earlier than 1114 A.D. though direct connexion of the Gangas with Utkala began with his conquest in 1118 A.D.
Western Gangas were the royal family which ruled the present districts of Kolar, Bangalore, Mysore, Mandya and Tumkur. They were Jains. The statue of Gomateshwara of Shravanabelagola was erected during the Ganga rule by their commander in chief Chavundaraya.
Chodagangadeva died in 1147 A.D. and was succeeded by his eldest son Kamarnavadeva. The Ganga-Kalachuri war was continuing by that time and Kamarnava was defeated by the Kalachuri king Prithideva II, son and successor of Ratnadeva II. After the death of Kamarnava, the second son of Chodaganga named Raghava became the king in 1158 A.D. During his time poet Jayadeva is known to have composed his famous work Gitagovinda. Raghava died in 1170 A.D. and was succeeded by Rajraj II, the third son of Chodagangadeva. Next ruler was Anangnagabhimadeva II, the fourth and last son of Chodagangadeva. He was the only son of Chodaganga to have a son Rajraj III, who succeeded him after his death in 1198 A.D. Rajraj III died in 1211 A.D. and was succeeded by his son Anangabhimadeva III.
Rajraj III died in 1211 A.D. and was succeeded by his son Anangabhimadeva III. During his time Ghiyathud-din Iawz, ruler of Bengal, invaded Orissa. Taking advantage of this invasion the Kalachuri king of Tommana also declared war and the age long Ganga-Kalachuri war continued. At this critical time Vishnu,.the General of Angnagabhimadeva III, not only repulsed the invasion of the Muslim but also decisively defeated the Kalachuris on the bank of the Bhima river and near the Vindhya hills. After his victory the Gangas occupied the Sonapur region. Anangabhimadeva III gave his daughter Chandrika in marriage to the Kalachuri prince Paramardideva. By that he could win the friendship of the Kalachuris who were of great strength to the Gangas in their war against the Muslims. Anangabhimadeva was also successful in his work in the south and his empire extended up to the mouth of the Krishna river.
Anangabhimadeva established a new city at the bifurcation of the Mahanadi and the Kathajodi which was called Abhinava Varanasi Kataka. By 1230 A.D. he transferred the headquarters to this new city where he constructed a big temple of Lord Purushottama. Anangabhimadeva III died in 1238 A.D. and was succeeded by his son Narasimhadeva I.
Narasimhadeva invaded Bengal for the second time and the Orissan army attacked Lakhnor, the headquarters of Radha, and killed the Muslim commander and a large number of his troops. Quard-din Tamur Khan quarreled with the Governor of Bengal at the time the Orissan army plundered the muslim territory. The leader of the Orissan army was Paramardideva, the son-in-law of Anangabhimadeva III, who struck terror among the Muslim forces.
Narasimhadeva I was successful in his campaigns against the Muslims and humbled the pride of his enemy. Like his father he was a devotee of Lord Purushottama. He is remembered in history as the builder of the world famous temple at Konarka. In 1264 A.D. Narasimhadeva I was succeeded by his son Bhanudeva I born of queen Sitadevi. During the rule of Bhanudeva, Chandrikadevi, the daughter of Anangabhimadeva I, constructed the Ananta Basudev temple at Bhubaneswar in 1278 A.D. That year Bhanudeva died and his son Narasimhadeva II was an infant. Narahari Tirtha worked as regent for long twelve years. Narasimhadeva II is known to have fought against the Muslims of Bengal the results of which were indecisive. His long reign from 1278 to 1306 was peaceful and eventless. He was succeeded by his son Bhanudeva II.
Narasimhadeva III succeeded Bhanudeva II in 1328 A.D. He was succeeded by his son Bhanudeva III in 1352 A.D. It was by that time that Prince Sangama, the nephew of Bukkaraya I of Vijayanagar, invaded Orissa and defeated Bhanudeva III. As a result of this victory Bukkaraya occupied souther portion of the Ganga kingdom. During Bhanudeva III the prestige and power of the Gangas greatly declined. He died in 1378 A.D. and was succeeded by his son Narasimhadeva IV. He was succeeded by his son Bhanudeva IV in 1414 A.D. Bhanudeva IV was a weak and imbecile ruler. In 1435 he went to the South to fight against the Reddy power taking advantage of which Kapileswara Routray, the General, seized the throne and founded the rule of his own dynasty.
Konark Sun Temple : It is believed that this temple set the pace for the ratha (chariot) vimana temples in India, as a distant descendant of Kulottunga I on the female line, and thefamous Eastern Ganga ruler Narasimha Deva, built the Sun Temple at Konark in the form of a chariot in the 13th century. Kulottunga Chola is also credited with having built the Suryanaar temple near Kumbhakonam. Temples dedicated to the Sun are not a common feature in the Tamil speaking region of the Indian subcontinent. Chola king Kulothunga-I constructed a sun temple at kumbakonam in 11th century AD itself, well before the construction of the 13th century sun temple at Konark in Orissa. Chola kings who ruled Tamil land had ruled Kalinga region also for some time. Rajendracholans invasion during 1019 from that time onwards till 1475 continous relations and war with tamils kings from orissa. saint ramanuja visited puri twise in his period during and played vital role in puri temple ritual methods. Even Lord ganesh from kanchi installed at puri during surya dynasty. The present Sun Temple was probably built by King Narashimhadev I (AD 1238-64) of the Ganga dynasty to celebrate his victory over the Muslims. The temple fell into disuse in the early 17th century after it was desecrated by an envoy of the Mughal emperor Jahangir.
As the legend says that, King Narasimha Deva-I of the Ganga Dynasty had ordered this temple to be built as a royal proclamation of the political supremacy of his dynasty.A workforce of 12 hundred artisans and architects invested their creative talent,energy and artistic commitment for an exhausting period of 12 years.
However, legend has it that the temple was constructed by Samba, the son of Lord Krishna. It is said that Samba was afflicted by leprosy, brought about by his fathers curse on him. After 12 years of penance, he was cured by Surya, the Sun God, in whose honour he built the magnificent Konarak sun temple.
Located near the Bay of Bengal, 65 kilometres from Bhubaneswar, Konark is best known as the site of the 13th-century Konark Sun Temple, a World Heritage Site and one of the most popular tourist destinations in Orissa. The temple takes the form of the chariot of Surya (Arka), the sun god and is decorated with exquisite stone carvings.
Konark houses a colossal temple dedicated to the Sun God. Even in its ruined state it is a magnificient temple reflecting the genius of the architects that envisioned and built it. Konark is also known as Konaditya. The name Konark is derived form the words Kona - Corner and Arka - Sun; it is situated on the north eastern corner of Puri or the Chakrakshetra. Konark is also known as Arkakshetra. The Temple: The Konark temple is widely known not only for its architectural grandeur but also for the intricacy and profusion of sculptural work. The entire temple has been conceived as a chariot of the sun god with 24 wheels, each about 10 feet in diameter, with a set of spokes and elaborate carvings. Seven horses drag the temple. Two lions guard the entrance, crushing elephants. A flight of steps lead to the main entrance.
The early Eastern Gangas ruled from Kalinganagara (Mukhalingam near Srikakulam Andhrapradesh). They shifted their capital to Cuttack in the 12th century. Saivism began to decline while Saktism flourished. Further, the religious leader Ramanujacharya had a great influence on the monarch Chodagangadeva who built the great temple at Puri. The Gangas were champions of Vaishnavism. It was during the Ganga rule that Orissan architecture reached its peak. Narasimhadeva of this dynasty built the Sun Temple at Konark.
Arasavalli Sun Temple is the only Sun Temple where the Sun God is worshipped. It is 3.5 Km from Srikakulam.The temple dates back to the 7th century and a Kalinga king is said to have constructed it. The image of worship is a 5 ft tall one of black granite holding lotus buds flnked by Usha and Chhaya. Padmapani is the name of this Sun God - padma stands for wisdom usha and chhaya stand for eternity. People believe that eye and skin diseases are cured through Surya Namaskaras and 42 days worship in the temple. Many people throng to this temple for various Poojas. This temple is known for health and wealth. Situated 2 Kms from Srikakulam, this village is the site of the noted Sri Suryanarayana Swamy Temple dedicated to the Sun God. Constructed by the Ganga Kings around the 7th Century A.D., this remarkable temple is built in such a way that the early morning suns rays fall on the feet of the deity twice a year, in February and June, even when the 5 main entrance gates are closed.
The idol depicts Lord Surya standing on the chariot holding a lotus in each of the raised hands. The head is crowned by fully spread hood of Adisesha serpent.
Gangas were sun worshippers. The district of Dakshin Dinajpur has reasons to be proud of its rich historical and cultural heritage. The eastern portion of Dinajpur was known as Panchanagari and Devakot was the capital, the ruins or which are still found in and around Bangarh in Gangarampur PSIn the 6th and 7th century AD. many of the kings preceeding Harshavardhan were devotees of Sun god. There is abundant evidence of sun worship in this region. In Tapan thana, an old sand stone image of Surya is kept which belongs to perhaps the 7th century AD. At Bairhatta, another piece of stone carved in the image of Surya was recovered. Mention may be made about a very recent recovery. During re-excavation of Bhabna Dighi at Kokil village in Harirampur Police Station by the Panchayat under JRY in June,1994, a very beautiful stone image of Sun god has come out which belongs to an earlier period around the 7th century AD. Another beautiful black stone image of Surya about 3½ (ft) high recovered from the criminals, has now been kept at Tapan Thana building. It is an exquisitely beautiful image, perhaps belonging to the Gupta period.
<>Chodaganga : Chodaganga, the founder of the Ganga dynasty in Orissa, to whose reign Prof. Mohanti assings the origin of the Madala Panji chronicle, appears as a legendary figure in it. The Panji records most fantastic stories about the ancestry and achievements of this great king. Its states that he was the son of a randi (a widow) and his illegitimate father was named Gokarna. Chodaganga was playing the part of a king in a game with other boys when Vasudeva Vahinipati, the disaffected commander-in-chief of the last Kesari king communicated to him the orders of the Lord Bhubaneswar (Lingaraja) to conquer Orissa and found a new royal dynasty. The boy Chodaganga then obtained the blessings of his aunt, Netai, the washerwoman, who was a witch and possessed the supernatural power of using even her own legs and her own child as fuel. Netai endowed Chodaganga with her supernatural powers, which enabled him to conquer Orissa very rapidly.
Maharaja Chodaganga Deva was a mighty king who conquered many countries. The Madala Panji records the events leading to his conquest of Orissa from South India. At the time, Surya Kesari, weak administrator, the last king of the Kesari dynasty, was reigning in Orissa. He had a quarrel with one Brahmin named Vasudeva Ratha over the grant of a piece of land he had made to the Brahmin. The Madala Panji further records that the Brahmin proceeded to South India and found Chodaganga so absorbed in his games with his playmates that he had no time to listen to him for fifteen days. After waiting patiently all this time, the Brahmin one day finally was able to inform him of Lingaraja's desire that he become the king of Orissa. When Chodaganga conveyed this news to his mother, she sent him to her friend, Netain Dhobani, so that he could first obtain her advice and blessings. Chodaganga went to the witch Netai Dhobani and saw her cooking rice, carrying a baby on her lap and holding with one leg inside the fireplace. Before she said anything, she threw the baby into the fireplace. Netai Dhobani uttered tantric mantras over Chodaganga Deva, taught him witchcraft and worship of the Vetalas, ghosts well-versed in witchcraft. Thus Chodaganga was able to defeat Siddheshwar Kalpa Kesari and, dressed as a dancing boy, entered Cuttack. This event took place in the month of Kanya (?), on the the 13th day of the dark fortnight on a Thursday, the very day he ascended the throne of Orissa. (129-30)
It has been admitted in all the Panjis referred to above that Chodaganga Deva was an adept in black art and tantra. One of the Panjis states that he was gifted with occult power by Netai Dhobani and also that he had control over the Vetalas, the agents of occult power. Netai Dhobani is also named the presiding deity of the city (nAgara-devι) in the Madala Panji. Even today, Netai Dhobani is worshiped by some classes of people, especially in western Orissa.
One of the Madala Panji records that Chodaganga Deva was a man of immoral character, so much so that he impregnated his own daughter Kausalya. For this vice, the queens ultimately killed him by striking him on the head.
Chodaganga Deva (1078-1150), the greatest of the Ganga kings was the king who built the Jagannath temple on the ruins of the old one. It is said that King Chodaganga was originally a Shaivite who became a Vaishnava under the influence of Ramanuja when he visited Jagannath Puri. Many other acharyas visited Puri after Ramanuja, including Madhva in the 13th century. From various inscriptions it is known that King Anantavarman Codaganga Deva established the present temple some time near the end of the eleventh century. A copper plate inscription made by King Rajaraja III found on the Tirumala temple near the north entrance states that the temple was built by Gangesvara, i.e., Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva. Later, King Ananga Bhima Deva II (1190-1198) did much to continue the work of Chodaganga Deva, building the walls around the temple and many of the other shrines on the temple grounds. He is thus often considered one of the builders of the temple. He also did much to establish the regulations around the service to the Deity.
Mauryas :
Chandragupta Maurya :A medieval age inscription represents the Maurya clan as belonging to the solar race of Kshatriyas. The Mahavamshatika connects him with the Sakya clan of the Buddha, a clan which also claimed to belong to the race of Aditya i.e solar race. It is stated that the Maurya line sprang from Suryavamsi Mandhatri, son of prince Yuvanashva of the solar race.
The kings before and after Chandragupta Gupta were: Chandramas and Samudragupta. Dhundiraja, a commentator of 18th century on Mudrarakshas states that Chandragupta was son of Maurya who in turn, was son of the Nanda king Sarvarthasiddhi by a wife named Mura, daughter of a Vrishala (shudra). According to the Mudraraksasa - Candragupta was a Vrsala, a person of low birth, an illegitimate son of the last Nanda, king by a Sudra woman, Mura. Hindu Brahmins used to classify the Buddist and Jain kings as Sudras as those kings persued the religions of antibrahminism.
Chandragupta and Chanakya(Kautilya), together destroyed the Nanda rulers of Magadha and established the Mauryan empire. With Chanakya's advise, Chandragupta defeated Selucus Nicator (Macedonian ruler of territories captured by Alexander the Great.) and seized Northwestern territory from him. Chandragupta later married Nicator's daughter. After ruling for about 40 years, Chandragupta coronated his son Bindusar, and retired to live as a Jain monk. Bindusar annexed Deccan to his empire. After him, his son Ashoka became the king of the vast Mauryan Empire.
The Mudrarakshasha describes Chandragupta as Mauryaput. Another account by Somadeva represents him as the son of the last Nanda monarch from his Sudra concubine Maurya by name from which was derived the name Maurya. The Mahavamsatika connects the Mauryans with Sakyas who belong to the solar race of Kshatriyas. According to the Jains tradition Chandragupta was the son of the daughter of the chief of a village of peacock -tamers (Mayur Posakh). The peacock figures that appear in the emblem of the Mauryas in the some punch marked coins and sculptures testify this. Others are of the view that he was a commoner and not a prince.
According to Mudrarakshasha, Buddhist and puranic accounts Chandragupta defeated the Nanda army after invoking a revolution against the Nanda rulers in Patliaputra. He acceded to the throne in 321BC. His empire included Magadha and Punjab. The Junagarh rock inscription of Rudradaman proves the inclusion of the Saurastra in his empire. The Jain tradition also establishes Chandraguta 's connection with north Mysore. It also said to include the Hindukush in the west. The four satrapies also became parts of the Mauryan empire during Chandragupta Maurya. In course of 18 year Chandragupta consolidated his empire. After which he is said to have abdicated the throne and became disciple of the Jain Saint Bhadrabahu, and settled in Shravanabelagola (Mysore). After a reign of 24 years he died in about 297BC.
The commentator on the Vishnu Purana informs us that Chandragupta was son of a Nanda prince and a dasi. Most historians are of the view that Chandragupta Maurya belonged to Bihar, and that he called himself Maurya because his mother was the keeper of royal peacocks (mor) at Pataliputra. There are reasons to believe that Chandragupta belonged to the Kshatriya caste of the ruling Ashvaka tribe of the Koh-i-Mor territory. He called himself Maurya after his homeland. If Chandragupta was related to suryavamsi Mandhatri, then he was a koli and belonged to solar race.
Chandragupta established his kingdom in Magadha called the Maurya dynasty. During a 24 years reign Chandragupta would rule over then the largest empire in the world and the Magadha kingdom capital city was patailputra (Patna) . The Buddha is said to have used the Magdhi dialect . Chandragupta gave up his throne and became a Jain monk and fasted to death.
Chandragupta Maurya (ruled 322298 BC), also known as Sandrokottos to the Greeks, was the founder of the Maurya Empire. The Maurya empire, whose capital was Pataliputra (modern day Patna) in Eastern India, is acknowledged to be the greatest empire in ancient India, and lasted until 185 BC, fifty years after the death of Chandragupta's famous grandson, Emperor Ashoka the Great. Chandragupta is acknowledged as the greatest of ancient Indian rulers, and his kingdom, which spanned from Afghanistan in the West, Bengal in the East, the Deccan plateau in the South and Kashmir in the North, was the greatest power of its day.
A khattiya clan of India. Among those claiming a share of the Buddha's relics were the Moriyas of Pipphalivana. They came rather late and had to be satisfied with a share of the ashes. This claim of relics by Mouryas indicate their belongingness to koliyan community. It is said that the Moriyans were originally Sakyan princes of Kapilavatthu, who escaped to the Himalaya regions to save themselves from the attacks of Vidudabha, and established a city there. Thus Asoka was a kinsman of the Buddha, for Candagutta was the son of the chief queen of the Moriyan king. Sakyans were non other than kuliyans.
Chandragupta is acknowledged as the greatest of ancient Indian rulers, and his kingdom, which spanned from Afghanistan in the West, Bengal in the East, the Deccan plateau in the South and Kashmir in the North, was the greatest power of its day.
Asoka's grandfather was Chandra Gupta who married the daughter of Selucus one of Generals of Alexander. Chandragupta's son was Bindusara who was succeeded by his son Ashoka who was the most important person to help the of spread Buddhism. The Daishonin tells in the Gosho of Bimbisara a worthy king and supporter of Shakyamuni. It was written from another Buddhist source that when Siddhartha walked into Rajagha city where King Bimbisara lived with his begging bowl like other religious monks of his day, people began calling him sage. He was said to be handsome, young, healthy, clean, neat and not like a beggar at all. When King Bimbisara heard the name Guatemala he knew it was the son of King Suddhodana and King Bimbisara is said to offered Siddhartha half of his kingdom. King Bimbisara loved Shakyamuni. It is said to be a political literature revealing the struggle unleashed by Chandragupta Maurya with the help of Chanakya to overthrow the Nandas. It is also an insight into Chandragupta life.
Chandragupta --> Bindusara --> Asoka
Tradition has it that Ajaatshatru, the son of Bimbisaara forbid buddhism in his kingdom. Much later when Ashoka (270 to 230 BC, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, 321297 BC, who founded the Maurya dynasty in Magadha, and followed Jainism) converted to Buddhism, Buddhism became the state religion. After the Mauryas, they were again persecuted by the Shungas and the Kanvas (from around 185 to 28 B.C.). The Gupta kings (320 AD600 AD) allowed the Budhhists to flourish, though it was also a period of great Hindu brahminical revivalism.
Bindusara :
Bindusara, also called "Amitrachates" meaning slayer of enemies, by the Greeks, succeeded to the throne of the Mauryan empire after Chandragupta's abdication. He also had the opportunity of having the guidance of Chanakya who continued as minister. The period of his accession to the Mauryan throne witnessed a series of revolt by the people of Taxila. The first revolt was effected owing to the improper administration of prince Susima. To the inherited Mauryan territory of Bindusara he added parts of south.
Bindusara inherited a large empire that consisted of what is now, North, Central and East India and the parts of Afghanistan and Baluchistan. Bindusara extended this empire to the southern part of India, as far as what is now known as Karnataka. He brought sixteen states under the Mauryan Empire and thus conquered almost all of the Indian peninsula (he is said to have conquered the 'land between the two seas' - the peninsular region between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea). Bindusara didn't conquer the friendly Dravidian kingdoms of the Cholas, Pandyas, and Cheras. Apart from these southern states, Kalinga (the modern Orissa) was the only kingdom in India that didn't form the part of Bindusara's empire. It was later conquered by his son Ashoka, who served as the viceroy of Ujjaini (Ujjain) during his father's reign.
Bindusara's life has not been documented as well as his father Chandragupta or his son Ashoka. The philosopher Chanakya served as prime minister during his reign. During his rule, the citizens of Taxila revolted twice. The reason for the first revolt was the maladministration of Suseema, his eldest son. The reason for the second revolt is unknown, but it could not be suppressed by Bindusara due to his untimely death, but was later crushed by Ashoka. Ambassadors from Seleucid Empire (such as Deimachus) and Egypt visited his courts. He maintained good relations with the Hellenic World. Unlike his father Chandragupta (who was a Jain), he believed in the Ajivika (a Hindu sect that preached equality for all people, an antithesis to the present day communist beliefs). Bindusara died in 272 BC (some records say 268 BC) and was succeeded by his son Ashoka the Great. Bindusara is known as "The Son of a Father and the Father of a Son" because he was the son of a great father Chandragupta Maurya and father of a great son Ashoka, the Great.
Asoka :
Asoka's mother, Dhamma, was also a Moriyan princess. Mention is also made of the Moriyans as a Singhalese clan. Candagutta reigned twenty-four years and was succeeded by his son Bindusara. His grandson was Asoka . Asoka was the contemporary of Alexander the Great.
Ashok was at Ujjain when Bindusara fell sick. Ashoka came to Patilaputra seized the sovereignty of the city and put his elder brother to death. After a reign of some twenty five years Bindusara was succeeded by Ashoka in 273 BC., also know as Devanampriya Priyadarsin. It is said that his claim to the throne was disputed and it is also a tale that Ashoka had massacred ninety nine of his brothers. Ashoka was transformed into a Dharmasoka as said by the monks.
The most important event of Ashokas reign was the conquest of Kalinga was the country on the coast of the Bay of Bengal between the rivers Godavari and Mahanadi. This was the 13th year of his reign. The rock edict XIII gives a clue that Kalinga was a country previously unconquered, thus Ashoka's declaration of war was that of unprovoked aggression. The Kalinga war witnessed terrible manslaughter and destruction. The sufferings and atrocities of the battlefield lacerated the heart of Ashoka. He made the solemn resolve to never unsheath the sword to expand his empire. He realised the wickedness of worldly conquest and the beauty of moral and spiritual triumph. He was drawn to the teachings of Buddha and devoted his life to the conquest of men's heart by the law of duty or piety. He evolved a policy of Dharma Vijaya, 'conquest by Piety'.
Ashoka became a upasaka of Buddha, He established an intimate relation with the Buddhist Sangha and is said to have become a monk. He undertook Dharma yatra instructing Dharma to the people. He took up pilgrimages to the birth place of the Sakyamuni. To spread the message of Dharma to the vast extent of his empire. He appointed officers in charge of religious propagation. They were called Dharma Mahamatras. His doctrine of Dharma was expanded out side India. He sent a mission to the Ceylon headed by prince Mahendra and also to Burma and Sumatra. During Ashoka's reign a general Buddhist council was convened at Pataliputra. Though Ashoka embraced Buddhism he was very tolerant towards all region and sects, and prescribed a code of conduct for living. Ashoka conceived idea of the Universal religion. He practiced what he preached and inculcated the virtues of co-operation and toleration. His love for the living kind extended to the animals and he abolished slaughter of animals for sacrifices and in the royal kitchen. He provided hospitals for treating ailing animals. Construction of reservoirs of water, planting trees and groves for the comfort of the travelers were also undertaken . Ashoka was one of the greatest patron of Buddhism. The doctrines of Buddhism were spread far and wide beyond the boundaries of his territories. His well planned and organised propagation of Buddhist Dharma were through the following methods.
Asoka was the head of the Maurya elan, and later on in Lanka we find the Moriyas as a branch of the th royal family. The Mahavamsa relates that the Sakya Pandu, the father-in-law of Panduvasa, owing to war left his home and retired beyond the Ganges. Later works state that the new city then founded was called Moriya, and that from its ruling family, the Sakyas, known throughout India as Moriyas, sprang Chandragupta; that Asoka himself married a Sakya princess.br>
Asoka's remorse at the miseries caused by him in the conquest of Kalinga drove him to seek refuge in Buddhism. He was one of the greatest patron of Buddhism. The doctrines of Buddhism were spread far and wide beyond the boundaries of his territories. He was ruler of most of India, and used his power for the extension of his new faith, eau sing missions to be sent to various countries, even to the Greek kingdoms in Asia and Africa.
Ashoka died in about 232BC, after 40 years of reign.
Buddha :
The Buddha belonged to an Indo-Aryan tribe called "Sakya" not "Saka". Both Sakyas and kolis belong to solar race and they are racially one and the same people.
Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BCE) wass the historical founder of Buddhism, universally recognised as the Supreme Buddha of our age. After a quest for the ultimate truth beyond life and death, he underwent a transformative spiritual change that led him to claim the title of Buddha. Since Siddhartha belonged to the Sakya clan, he also came to be known as Sakyamuni (Sage of the Sakyas).
Buddha's father was Suddhodhana ( pure-rice) and he was a descendant of the Ikshvaku ( suryavamsi ) family, an invincible Sakya monarch, pure in mind and of unspotted virtue. Buddha's mother was the immaculate Queen Maya. His father, Raja Suddhodana was of the solar dynasty of Ikshvaku. In as much as the Brahman astrologers had foretold that the Prince, who was named Siddhartha, would one day, if he did not become a great world conqueror - a Chakravarti, - become a Buddha, the King ordered that three palaces, one for each Indian season, should be built for his residence. In the sixteenth year, the Prince was married to his own cousin the Princess Yasodhara, known for her exceeding beauty as Bimba Devi. Beyond his pleasure gardens and the experience of his own palatial surroundings, the Prince Siddhartha knew nothing of the world. The day the Princess Yasodhara was to give birth to a child, the Prince Siddhartha attended by his Royal charioteer drove to see the decorated city. The sight of an old man, a diseased man and a dead man which the Prince had seen for the first time made him question his charioteer, who, explained to him that man was born fated to grow old, get ill and die. The fourth scene he had witnessed was pleasant to look at, it was the dignified figure of a yellow robed monk walking majestically. Having reflected on the blessings that attend the life of absolute renunciation the Prince resolved to leave the palace that very day. Returning home on the way the Prince met Royal messengers who had. been sent by the King to announce the birth of a son to the Princess Yasodhara. On hearing the message the Prince uttered 'Rahula' - a tie, which was subsequently used as a name to the infant Prince. That night the Prince made the greatest Renunciation, unparalleled in the history of the world. A young wife, a baby just born, father, kingdom, comforts, all these the Prince renounced for the sake of all living beings. The Renunciation that the Prince made for the sake of the suffering world is accentuated by the larger.
Most of us are taught that Buddha was born around 560 to 550 B.C. However, once we start doing some research, we find evidence that this date may be too late. Buddha may have been born much earlier. Buddha was the 23rd in the Ikshvaku lineage, and was a contemporary of Kshemajita, Bimbisara, and Ajatashatru, as described above. Buddha was 72 years old in 1814 B.C. when the coronation of Ajatashatru took place. Thus, the date of Buddha's birth must have been near 1887 B.C., and his death in 1807 B.C. if he lived for 80 years. Therefore, the fact that Buddha lived much earlier than what modern history teaches us has a number of ramifications. First, the time of the Buddha's existence is underestimated by about 1300 years. Secondly, this means that Buddhism was in existence in the second millennium B.C. Thirdly, we also know Buddha preached against the misused Vedic rituals of sacrifice. Such misuse can only happen after a long period of prominence. Therefore, this pushes the Vedic period farther back from the time of Buddha than originally figured.
Sakyans :
These people were also known as Sokya, Sakka, Sakiya. It was a tribe in North India, to which the Buddha belonged. Kapilavastu was the capital of the Shakyas who were then living in peace with the Kolians. Suddhodana, ruled over the land of the Sakyas at Kapilavatthu on the Nepalese frontier. The Ganges River flows through a broad flat plain bordered on its northern side by the Mahabharat Hills, beyond which lie the Himalayas. Just where the plain meets the hills was the homeland of the Sakyans, the tribe into which the Buddha was born. The Sakyans belonged to the warrior caste (khattiya) and had a reputation for hot-headedness and pride. Compared with the other states, the Sakyans were rather unsophisticated, on the outer edge, as it were, of the civilisation that was rapidly developing in northern India at that time. The Sakyans had no cities as such but rather large towns and villages, the main ones being Kapilavatthu, the capital, Catuma, Komadussa, Sangama, Devadaha, Nagaraka, Medatalumpa, Sakkhara, Ulumpa and Silavati.
Koliya :
A king of Benares, named Rama ( also called Kola ), suffered from leprosy, and being detested by the women of the court, he left the kingdom to his eldest son and retired into the forest. There, living on woodland leaves and fruits, he soon recovered, and, while wandering about, came across Piya, the eldest of the five daughters of Okkaka, she herself being afflicted with leprosy. Rama, having cured her, married her, and they begot thirty-two sons. With the help of the king of Benares, they built a town in the forest, removing a big kola-tree in doing so. The city thereupon came to be called Kolanagara, and because the site was discovered on a tiger-track (vyagghapatha) it was also called Vyagghapajja. . The descendants of the king were known as Koliya. . Koliyans had many towns such as Kakkarapatta, Haliddavasana.
Koliya => Koli
Koliya => Kola
Sakyas were of Ikshvaku Origin :
Okkaka is the Pali equivalent of Ikshvaku, who is mentioned in the Bhagavad-Gita. According to the legend, Okkaka had five queens and numerous children but only the offspring of the chief queen, Bhatta, were in line for the throne. These princes were Okkamukha, Karakanda, Hatthinika and Sinipura. When the chief queen died, Okkaka married a much younger woman and made her chief queen, passing over his other wives and creating much jealousy. When the new chief queen delivered a son, Okkaka was so pleased he offered to give her anything she wished. Immediately she replied, "I want my son to inherit the throne." The king couldn't do this because his four other sons were legally entitled to the throne, but the queen insisted that he keep his promise. Not being able to back down, he regretfully made his new son Jantu crown prince and expelled his other four sons.
Their sisters were disgusted with this decision and as a protest they joined their brothers in exile. The princes and princesses wandered through the jungle looking for a suitable place to stay. Eventually, they came to the hermitage of the sage Kapila who welcomed them and invited them to live nearby, which they did, calling their small settlement Kapilavatthu in honour of the sage. And for fear of contaminating the stock they cohabited with their own sisters. The young princes were too proud to marry outside their own tribe and so they made the oldest sister Piya as mother, and they married their own young sisters, something for which the Sakyans were, in later centuries, often teased. Later Piya married Rama, the king of Benares, and their offspring were the ancestors of the Koliyans, the Sakyans' relations to the east. Then King Okkaka asked his ministers and counsellors: "Where are the princes living now?" and they told him. At this King Okkaka exclaimed: "They are strong as teak (saka), these princes, they are real Sakyans!" And that is how the Sakyans got their well-known name. And the King was the ancestor of the Sakyans.
The Sakyans often used to abuse the Koliyans saying that the Koliyans had once "lived like animals in a Kola-tree," as their name signified. From the very first there seems to have been intermarriage between the Sakyans and the Koliyans; but there was evidently a good deal of endogamy among the Sakyans, which earned for them the rebuke of the Koliyans in the quarrel between them "like dogs, jackals, and such like beasts, cohabiting with their own sisters. For example, Suddhodana's paternal aunt was married to the Koliyan ruler Anjana. Their daughters, Mahamaya and Mahapajapati , were married to Suddhodhana, the chief of the Sakyans. Similarly, Yashodhara, daughter of Suppabuddha, who was Anjana's son, was married to the Sakyan prince, Siddhattha. Thus, the two royal families were related by marriage bonds between maternal and paternal cousins since ancient times. Some say that Shuddhodana married the daughters of a king of the neighboring division of the same Shakya clan and who was his own uncle. In spite of such close blood-ties, there would be occasional rifts between the two royal families, which sometimes turned into open hostility.
Ikshvaku was the ancestor of Dasa-Ratha (or Ikshvaku Virudhaka), King of Ayodhya. The Sakya dynasty was descended from Lava, Rama's eldest son. Lava founded and ruled Sravasti, which was a short distance from Kapilavastu, Buddha's birthplace. Other kingdoms were founded by Rama's second son and the sons of His brothers. Satrughna had two sons: Suvahu and Satrughati. Suvahu, nephew of Rama, became the king of Mathura, which was later associated with Krishna. Buddha was thus a descendant of the renowned Rama, the seventh Hindu Avatar.
The dynasty was concerned with maintaining purity of lineage. They usually married members of the their own family. Eventually, they consented to intermarry with the Koliyas, a neighbouring tribe who were desended from a Sakya princess. Many generations after the time of Rama, there was a Sakya king named Simhahanu. He reigned in Kapilavastu, while one of his relatives, Suprabuddha, reigned in Devadrsa. Simhahanu had four sons: (1) Suddhodana, (2) Suklodana, (3) Dronodana and (4) Amrtodana. He also had four daughters: (1) Suddha, (2) Sukla, (3) Drona and (4) Amrtika. The mother of Siddharta, named Mahamaya or Mayadevi, was the daughter of Suprabuddha.
Koliyan & Sakyan Republics :
The Koliyans were the rivals of the Sakyans. Queen Maha Maya belonged to the Koliyan clan and King Suddhodana to the Sakyan clan. As the Khattiyas of the two neighbouring kingdoms, they enjoyed pleasant relationship; and intermarried and dined with each other. The territories of the Sakiyans and the Koliyans were adjacent, separated by the river Rohini at the foot hills of Himalayas. The khattiyas of both tribes intermarried, and both claimed relationship with the Buddha. The traditional occupation of both clans was agriculture. The Rohni river brought abundant water from the Himalayas and irrigated the agricultural lands of both republics. Therefore, the people in both republics were very prosperous.
Some times there were disputes between the Shakyas of Kapilavastu and the Koliyans over the use of the dam across the Rohini River during a time of drought. A quarrel once arose between the two tribes regarding the right to the waters of the Rohini, which irrigated the land on both sides, and a bloody feud was averted only by the intervention of the Buddha. The people on one side were the Buddha's own paternal relations, the Sakyans; those on the other side were his mother's relatives, the Koliyans. They were fighting for command over the waters of the river to fertilize their crops. Both states had amassed armies, arrayed on either side side of the river, ready to enter the fray of battle. Just before the call sounded for the armies to meet and begin the fight, the Buddha appeared on the scene. He called the leaders of both armies to his presence and asked them: "What is more valuable, the water of the river or human blood?" They replied that human blood is immeasurably more valuable than the waters of the river. Then the Buddha pointed out that they were about to shed the blood of thousands of innocent men from both communities, all on account of the water of the river. He helped them to work out a method to distribute the waters from the river to both states so that they could all benefit from it without having to resort to war. In this way, the Buddha helped to avert this war.
In gratitude, each tribe dedicated some of its young men to the membership of the Order, and during the Buddha's stay in the neighbourhood, he lived alternately in Kapilavatthu and in Koliyanagara ( kolanagara also called Vyaghapajja ).
Both the republics were not fully independent states and were vassal states of the neighbouring kingdom of Kosala. The members of the ruling assembly in these two republics were called rajas and the chief of the rajas was called maharaja. There were eighty two thousand rajas among the Koliyans and Sakyans. They had autonomy over all domestic administrative matters. However, The Sakyans and the Koliyans were both khattiyas of the Adicca (Ikshavaku) clan of the solar dynasty. There was no other royal khattiya family equal to them in the region, and therefore, members of the royal families of these two republics married only among themselves. Both clans were very proud of the purity of their royal blood and had practised this tradition of inter-marriage since ancient times.
The Koliya owned two chief settlements - one at Ramagama and the other at Devadaha.
Kosala dynasty:
Ayodhya was the capital of Kosala kingdom. According to the Puranic tradition the solar dynasty of Kshatriyas, founded by one Manu, was the earliest known dynasty which gave Kosala (to which the tract forming the district became subject) a systematic form of government and of which Ikshvaku, the eldest son of Manu, famed in Vedic tradition, was the first ruler. The line that descended from produced a number of illustrious kings till the accession of Rama who was the greatest ruler of this dynasty.
In the sixth century B.C., Kosala came to be known as one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms). At the time it was ruled by the powerful king. Mahakosala His son, Prasenjit the last great monarch of the solar dynasty of Kosala, was an important figure of his time. The most powerful Kosalan king was Prasenjit. During his reign the kingdom attained great glory and prosperity. The Sakyas in the Nepalese foothills and the kingdom of Kasi (Varanasi) were also absorbed into the Kosalan kingdom. After Prasenjit, the kingdom of Kosala began to decline rapidly and the history of this area is shrouded in obscurity.
About the middle of the 4th century B.C. the realm of Kosala was brought to an end by Mahapadma Nanda, who has been described in the Puranas as the exterminator of the Kshatriya race and who, by uprooting the Kosalans, extended his empire over the major part of this region. He was the first great historical emperor of northern India.
The Nandas were supplanted by the Mauryas under Chandragupta (324-300 B.C.) who ruled over a vast empire. The most illustrious king of this dynasty was Asoka (273-236 B.C.), Chandragupta's grandson who became a Buddhist and combined in himself the zeal of a monk with the wisdom of a king.
Bimbisara's first wife was the daughter of Sravasti, the king of Kosala and a sister of Prasenjit, who was solar race king. Asoka himself married a Sakya princess.
These kolis who lived near benaras and in the himalayan region of Nepal are known as Kolas or koliyas or koliyans. The Kolas and cholas seems to be one and the same people and belonged to solar race. The fact that cholas and mudiraj are related people with fishing background was explained in this website under the heading "Koli-Bhil-Kolarian origins ". Further mutharayars who are known to be the kolis in South India were matrimonially integrated with cholas and at present they are merged into one community known as Muthurajas. There are people among Mudiraj whose surname is "Kola". It appears that this line of kings were the most ancient kings of India and this tallies with one of the meanings of Mudiraj = Ancient or old kings.
Mudiraj = Great King
Mudiraj = Ancient king
Mudiraj = Old King
The Rajus of Krishna & Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh believe that they are descendants of Solar Race kings. These Rajus were mostly the Hindus and remained as Hindus throughout and they use hindu sacred thread (Jenehvu) even today. But the Mudirajus were the people who switched over their religion from Hinduism to Jainism and then to Buddhism and finally back to Hinduism. This is the basic difference between Rajus and Mudirajus. The Mudirajus discorded the use Jenhevu after changing their religion to Jainism and Buddhism.
Shibi Chakravarty, who was known to belong to chola clans of South India, is known to be a ruler of Ikshvaku dynasty.The research paper published by Chola-Mutharaya research center, Tanjore lists the neame of Sibi as one of their forefathers. Some sections of kolis consider themselves as the descendants of Mandhata. From this it appears that Ikshvakuwas an Indo-Aryan having the blood of Indian Koli-Bhil blood.
Kolariyan = Koliyan = Kolya = Koli = Kola = Cola = Chola
Koliyan => Koly => Koli
Koliyan => Kola => Cola => Chola => Chula
Koliyan => Kola => Kol
Koliyan => Koliya => kolya
Solar Race people :
Ikshvaku dynasty or Sun Dynasty are the same. First person of this dynasty was Vivswan or Vivaswat. Second was Manu and third was Ikshvaku. Manu was known as the son of the Sun. Manu was the first father of the human race. Manu gained the knowledge of Dharma and humanity from Vivasvat (Surya). Ikshvaku (Ishaku) was the son of Manu (the first man on earth), sired by the Sun God, Surya. Maharaja Ikshvaku was the king of this earth planet and forefather of the Raghu dynasty, in which Lord Ramachandra appeared. Ayodhya the capital of Kosala kingdom was built by the Manu (from whom Ikshvaku dynasty started).
Ikshvaku was the first king of Ayodhya and the son of Ikshvaku was the famous and illustrious Kukshi. Then,the son of Kukshi was born the illustrious Vikukshi . The son of Vikukshi was Bana of great effulgence and glory. The son of Bana was the greatly radiant and glorious Anaranya. From Anaranya was born Prithu and Trisanku was the son of Prithu. To Trisanku was born the son Dhundumara of great fame. From Dhundhumara was born Yuvanashva of great radiance, who was a "maharatha" (who could fight ten thousand chariots in battle, single handed and at the same time). The son of Yuvanashva was the illustrious king Mandhata. The son of Mandhata was born the illustrious Susandhi. There were born two sons to Susandhi(named) Dhruvasandhi and Prasenajit. Of the reputed Dhrurasandhi was born the son by name Bharata and from Bharata,was born Asita of great radiance. This king Asita opposed in battle the valiant Haihayas, Talajanghas, Sasibindus and other kings who rose as enemies to cause him harm but he was defeated and driven away from his kingdom. The weak king Asita, along with his two wives, going to the Himalayan valley,settled there and later died.
According to tradition, Ikshvaku was the eldest son of Vaivasvata Manu, who established himself at Ayodhya. The earth is said to have its name "Prithivi" from Prithu, the 6th king of the line. A few generations later came Mandhatri, in whose line the 31st king was Harischandra, known widely for his love of Truth. Raja Sagar of the same line performed the Asvamedha Yajna and his great grandson Bhagiratha is reputed to have brought Ganga on earth by virtue of his penances. Later in the time this clan came to be called as "Raghuvamsha". Bhagirath's Grandson was Raja Dasaratha, the illustrious father of Lord Rama, with whom the glory of the Kosala dynasty reached its peak. The story of this epic has been immortalized by Valmiki and immensely popularized by the great masses through centuries. According to puranic tradition, in the 93rd generation from Ikshvaku, the 30th from Rama was Brihabdala the last famous king of the Ikshvaku dynasty of Ayodhya, who was killed during the Mahabharata war. The kingdom of Kosala again rose to prominence in the time of Buddha, i.e. 6th century B.C.
Thus, the lineage of the Sun Dynasty began. The supreme perceptor of the Ikshvaku dynasty was Sage Vashishta. Other important kings of this dynasty are Harishchandra, Dileepa, Raghu and Rama. Ayodhya was their capital. This dynasty also succeeded the Andhras in the Telugu lands in the 3rd century. They were patrons of a Buddhist stupa now on the hill at Nagarjuna Sagar on the Krishna River. The last famous king of the Ikshvaku dynasty at Ayodhya was "Brihadbala", killed during the Mahabharata war. Beginning with the Ikshvaku dynasty, the Telugu script was replaced in royal inscriptions with Sanskrit.
Both puranic and Vedic literature begin their history with Manu Vaivasvata, who goes back to that `ancient point in time where history begins to fade into mythology'. Manu, it is said, had nine `sons' (i.e. some sort of community had by then come into being in the Gangetic plains). Keeping aside the choicest portion for his tenth child, he divided the rest of his kingdom among these sons. Ikshvaku, the eldest and chief son, founder of the Solar dynasty, obtained Madhyadesh, and had his capital at Ayodhya. Downstream members of the main Ikshvaku line include Raja Harishchander ( 33) and Ram ( 65), the hero of the Ramayan. The dynasties founded by the other eight sons, including one near the mouth of the Narmada, lapsed into oblivion. The status of Manu's `tenth' child varies according to who tells the tale. According to one version, Ila was Manu's eldest son, but became a woman on account of a curse, during which time she bore a son. According to another version, Manu, after fathering nine sons, prayed for yet another son, but a daughter was born, namely Ila. According to both versions Ila's son, Pururavas Aila, founded the Lunar race or dynasty. What we have here is a contention for priority between the Ikshvakus and the Ailas. It was the Ikshvakus who at first `ruled the earth'. But the latter grew rapidly under Pururavas Aila and his descendants, pushing the Ikshvakus off centrestage.
Manu :
Manu was the son of Vivaswan or Vivaswat and so he was called Vaivaswat Manu. Manu is considered as the first man on earth. Manu was the first man hence the word 'man' derived from Manu.
Manu => Man ( English)
Manu => Manav (Hindi)
Manu => Manishi (Telugu)
Manu => Manushya (Sanskrit)
Acoording to mythological sources the Bhils originated from the thigh of Vena, son of Angra, a descendant of Manu Swayambhua. Vena was childless and the sage, therefore rubbed his thigh and produced a man like a charred log, with flat face, and extremely short. He was told to sit down (Nishada). He did so and since then they were known as Nishada, from whom sprang the Nishadas dwelling on the Vindhya mountain, distinguished by their wicked deeds.
In those far off days, in the south particularly in the present Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the people in general were living by the produce from the sea particularly fish. So they were the Matsyas, Shankha and his materialist associates were the ruling elite. Manu was a sage king ( dravidian origin ) in the north with his base at Manali, there is Manu temple and he is worshipped there. In fact the whole Indian subcontinent was Surrounded by sea long long time back. This Indian subcontinent got attached to Asia due to its continuous movement from Australia-African continent. The whole Indian subcontinent was the home land of Koli-Bhil people whose main profession was fishing and hunting.
There is an interesting story that supports the theory that Manu is the first man on the earth. There is also an interesting fact in this story that connects Manu with a fish to make us believe that he could be a koli in his origin. The first man for sure was Manu who got all animals into the ship when pralay ( great flood on earth ) occured and navigated to safety. Thus the Manu was the first man hence the word 'man' derived from Manu. This great flood could be possible due to two reasons - (1) Due to sudden raise of Himalayan hills from beneath the ocean that existed between Asian continent and Indian subcontinent or (2) a mega scale earth quake which might have struck Himalayan hill range resultaning the melting of ice from slopes of these ice caped hills. This Manu seems to be certainly a Dravidian (or Indo-Aryan ) but not a South Indian. He was most probably the Dravidian from gangetic belt of North India.
The Matsya Purana is the first and the oldest of all the Puranas and Hindu scriptures and texts. It is primarily the story of the first Avatar of Lord Vishnu, in the form of a fish. The story is set in then Dravida, the central characters are Lord Matsya and the then Emperor of Dravida called Satyavrata who later is known as Manu, the "Father of all Aryaas (Aryans)". The timeline is a bizarre two billion years. The Purana describes the life of Satyavrata or Manu who is also the son of the Sun God, Surya. However, its main content is the description of the deluge that follows and the manner in which Lord Matsya directs Manu, his family and a handful of others to safety, and then reveals the Vedas to him, and the norms of the new Arya or Vedic way of life. The fish then warned him that a deluge would occur in a week that would destroy all life. Manu therefore built a boat which the fish towed to a mountain top ( Himalayas ?) when the flood came, and thus he survived along with some "seeds of life" to re-establish life on earth.
According to legend, one day while Manu Satyavrita the king was paying his morning ablutions to the God sun in a river (ganga ?), a small fish fell into his hands. He was about to throw it away, when it requested Manu to save it. In return, it promised to rescue im when a great deluge would sweep away all the creatures on the Earth. Manu took it home and put it in a jar, which it soon outgrew; he successively moved it to a tank, a river and then the ocean. In the ocean the Matsya grew to whale-like proportions. The fish asks Manu to construct a ship and take all the species into it when the deluge sweeps the Earth. When the floods came Manu fastened the ship to the horns of the fish, and loading it with all the creatures, plants and seeds of different grains took it safely to the northern mountain (Himalayas ?)
It is understood that the city of Ayodhya was founded by the side of the river Sarayu by Manu. He was known as the King of all mankind and the first human being. He was addressed as Rajan (King) in Shatpath Brahman. He got nine sons eldest was Manu gained the knowledge of Dharma and humanity from Vivasvat (Surya). Ikshwaku. The title "King of the World", in its most elevated, most complete and in the same time firmest acceptance is given exclusively to Manu, the Primordial and Universal Legislator, whose name is found under different forms in a great number of ancient nations.
His daughter was "Ila" married to "Budh" the second of Lunar Dynasty or Chandravansha. Ayodhya during ancient times was known as Kosaldesa. Keeping aside the choicest portion for his tenth child, he divided the rest of his kingdom among these sons. Ikshvaku, the eldest and chief son, founder of the Solar dynasty, obtained Madhyadesh, and had his capital at Ayodhya.
A period of Buddhist supremacy followed the death of the last king of the Solar dynasty. Kosala is also famous as the early home of Buddhism, and of the kindred religion of Jainism, and claims to be the birthplace of the founders of both these faiths. In the 7th century, the Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang observed there were 20 Buddhist temples with 3000 monks at Ayodhya, amongst a large Brahmanical population It is understood that King Manu, who is said to be the first King of the world ruled Nepal in the Age of Truth (Satya Yuga) and Nepal was known as the Land of Truth (Satyawati).
The dynasties founded by the other eight sons, including one near the mouth of the Narmada, lapsed into oblivion. The status of Manu's `tenth' child varies according to who tells the tale. According to one version, Ila was Manu's eldest son, but became a woman on account of a curse, during which time she bore a son. According to another version, Manu, after fathering nine sons, prayed for yet another son, but a daughter was born, namely Ila. According to both versions Ila's son, Pururavas Aila, founded the Lunar race or dynasty.
Manu a Dravidian Koli ? : The kings of South India, like the Chola and Pandya dynasties, relate their lineages back to Manu. The Matsya Purana moreover makes Manu, the progenitor of all the Aryas, originally a Dravidian king, Satyavrata. Dravidians were once spread all over India from Sindhu river to Srilanka and they still exist at all these places. The discovery of the Indus Valley Civilisation in the 1920s attributed to the displaced Dravidians of the north. They are in the form of Indo-Aryans in the north Indian in greater percentage. The Indo-Aryan percentage is some what less in South India compared to North India. The Indo-Aryan blodd is invariably contains Bhil-koli blood in them even today. Manu could be an Indo-aryan in the gangetic belt of North India having bhil-koli descent. Sindhu-Sarswati-Ganga-Yamuna rever belts were the home of Dravidian Bhil-Kolis since unknown times. They seems to the real aboriginals. It appears that the Indo-Aryan kings such as Cholas (kolas) and Pandyas having bhil-koli descent came down to South India The color differece of Dravidians in the South (dark) and North (fair) could be due to climate which is normally cool in the Himalayan region. The dravidiand of North India also came in contact with other fair colored races who intuded into India from across Himalayas, there by giving birth to Indo-Aryans.
Ikshvaku :
First important king of solar dynasty was Ikshvaku. Ikshvaku or Iksvaku (Sanskrit) was the son of Vaivasvata-Manu -- progenitor of the present human race and son of Vivasvat (the sun). Ikshvaku was the founder of the solar race of kings (Suryavansa), reigning at Ayodhya at the commencement of the treta yuga (second age). It is said that he had a hundred sons, one of whom, Nimi, founded the Mithila dynasty. Fifty of the one hundred ruled Uttarapath (Northern India) and other fifty ruled Dakshinapath (Southern India).
Ikshvaku seems to be an Indo-Aryan and also an ancestor to both Kolis and Sakyans. Ikshvaku's name in Pali language is pronounced as Okkaka. Ikshvaku and Okkaka were one and the same. Goutama Buddha is known to descend from this line of Okkaka and Buddha was also an Ikshvaku prince to which Rama, the son of Dasharadha belonged.
The Sakyans had legends about their origins, a mixture of fact and fiction, meant to emphasise their prowess and nobility. They traced their origins back to the mythical King Okkaka. This story can be seen above under heading "Sakyas were of Ikshvaku Origin".
Mandhata :
Some sections of kolis consider themselves as the descendants of Mandhata belong to solar race. The chiefs of Mandhata, Bhamgarh, and Selani tribes of Rajastan trace their descent from the Bhilala rulers. In Maharastra there are Mandhata patels who are basically koli farmers.
King Mandhata a supreme and universal ruler whose reputation spread far and wide throughout India and whose stories of valor and yajna were described in the stone carvings of Mohanjo Daro, belonged to this tribe. References to the Great King Mandhata is found many times and in various aspects of his deeds of valor and yajna. Mandhata's father Yuvenashawer was known as belonging to Ishvaku-Sun Dynasty and their descendants were known as Sun Dynasty Koli Kings. Archaeological findings when pieced together show several descendants of Mandhata as illustrious and just rulers. The descendents of Mandhata played a vital role and our ancient Vedas, epics and other relics mention their important contributions in the art of war and state administration. They are referred to in our ancient Sanskrit books as Kulya, Kuliye, Koli Serp, Kolik, Kaul etc.
The illustrious king Mandhata was the son of Yuvanashva. He belonged to the race of Ikshvaku and the author of a hymn in the Rigveda. The Harivamsa and some of the Puranas make Mandhatri to have been born in a natural way from his mother Gauri, but the Vishnu and Bhagavata Puranas tell an extraordinary story about his birth, which is probably based on a forced derivation of his name. When he grew up he had three sons and fifty daughters.
He defeated most of the kings at his time. He became emperor ( Chakravarti king) and ruled the entire world, consisting of seven islands, without any second ruler. King Mandhata, conquered one after another the whole world and became the paramount sovereign of all the other emperors and got the title "Sarvabhauma" (Sovereign of all the earth). All places, from where the sun rises on the horizon, shining brilliantly, to where the sun sets, are known as the possession of the celebrated Mandhata, the son of Yuvanasva. Mandhata was so powerful that all the robbers, struck with his terror, all fled to the mountain caves. Mahdhata was said to be the cause of fear for Ravana too. For this reason, Indra gave him the title "Trasadasyu".
He maried to Bindumati a daughter of Sasavindu, Chandravanshi king. Her limbs were proportioned and perfect and so she was very beautiful. Mandhata begot three sons in the womb of Bindumati, the daughter of Sasabindu. These sons were Purukutsa, Ambarisa, and Mucukunda, a great mystic yogi. Susandhi was an illustrious son of Mandhata as per Valmiky Ramayan. Gaurika is also known to be a son of Gauri and an emperor Mandhata. These three brothers had fifty sisters, who all accepted the great sage Saubhari as their husband. Mandhata, the King of the entire world, consisting of seven islands, was struck with wonder when he saw the household opulence of Saubhari Muni. Thus he gave up his false prestige in his position as emperor of the world.
The most prominent among the sons of Mahdhata was he who is celebrated as Ambarisa. Ambarisa was accepted as son by his grandfather Yuvanasva. Ambarisa's son was Yauvanasva, and Yauvanasva's son was Harita. In Mahdhata's dynasty, Ambarisa, Harita and Yauvanasva were very prominent.
King Mandhata lived in Krithayuga. Knowing the principles of self-realization, Mahdhata worshiped that transcendentally situated Supreme Soul, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Visnu, who comprises all the demigods. He also gave immense charity to the brahmanas, and thus he performed yajna to worship the Lord. Mandhata was a saintly king in the sun dynasty. Because he always stood up for the truth, he was appointed emperor. He took care of his subjects as though they were his very own children. On account of his piety and great religiosity, there was no pestilence, drought, or disease of any kind in his kingdom. All his subjects were not only free of all kinds of disturbances but also very wealthy. The king's own treasury was free of any ill-gotten money, and thus he ruled happily for many years.
Mandhata Omkareswar : Mandhata was a great Emperor of the Ishvaku clan who ruled this land of Madhyapradesh. 12 miles from Mortakka and close to Bhopal city in Madhya Pradesh on the Mandhata hill on the banks of the Narmada is one of the 12 revered Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. Omkareshwar is situated on the Mandhata hills, known in ancient times as Shivpuri. The temple dates back to the Krita Yuga. River Narmada flows here around the Mandhata hill in the form of an Om (Omkaram). Mandhata did great penance in this land & there is an ashram called Mandhata ashram here. Omkareshvar, also known as Mandhata Omkareshvar is a holy island shaped like the sacred symbol "OM". The rivers Narmada and Kaveri converge together forming the island Omkara Mandhata. Nature has blessed this island with two hillside ranges that reveal the sacred symbol 'Om', visable only from above. The island is located 77 km south of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, India. It draws thousands of devotees daily to one of twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva. The Legend is, that the Vindhya mountain prayed to Shiva - Omkareshvara and was blessed here. As the legend goes, upon the request of the Devas, the Shivalinga split into two, one half becoming Omkareshvara and the other Amaleshvara. King Mandhatha of the Ishvaku clan is believed to have worshipped Shiva here. Govinda Bhagavatpaada, the guru of Sankaracharya, is believed to have lived in a cave here, as well as many others like the great philosopher Adi Shankara who was born in 805 A.D. Mandhata Omkareshvar was ruled in the medival period by Bhil Chieftains under the Parmars of Dhar, the Sultans of Malwa, the Scindia of Gwalior.
Thirumandhamkunnilamma : The Thirumandhaamkunnu Bhagavathi temple at Angadippuram is about 3 km from Perinthalmanna town in Kerala. Several centuries ago, Ayodhya, which was then famous due to Ramarajyam was ruled by Mandhata of Surya Vamsam. He accepted sanyas and as a Rajarshi (Kshatriya turned to sanyasi) roamed throughout our lands. When he reached Angadipuram, he felt attracted by the beauty of the place. He decided to spend rest of his life doing penance at this place. He found a suitable place for doing Tapas (meditation) on the hillock and settled there. The place where he did tapas is still preserved. Devotees pluck leaves from a tree from the site and wear it on their heads as prasad. This site is preserved even now and is at the north west side of the Sreemoola sthanam. After years of penance of Mandhatha, God Shiva appeared before him, asking him what he wanted. Mandhata, who had sacrificed all worldly pleasures, said, that he did not want anything material. However, for his daily pooja he might be given the world's best Sivalingam.
Lord Siva replied that the best Lingam was in Kailas and it was used by Parvathi for daily worship and he could not hand that over to him. However, Rajarshi Mandhata insisted that he was not interested in anything else than the particular "Sivalingam". Since Shiva could never disappoint a devotee, he agreed and gave the Sivalingam to Mandhata, who installed it with appropriate rituals at Sreemoolasthanam and started daily pooja.
The next day at Kailas, when Sree Parvathi went for her daily pooja, she found her favourite Sivalingam missing. Searching everywhere she finally came to Shiva. Shiva informed Sree Parvati that he had given the Sivalingam to his dearest devotee Mandhata. Hearing this, the angry Devi declared that she would not eat anything till she gets back the Sivalingam. Shiva replied that he could take back what he had given to a devotee, since that will be against Dharma, but that he had no objection to Devi taking it back from him. Sree Parvathi who tried to get lingam back to kailash by sendin bhadrakali failed and ultimately she was also pleased, seeing his steadfast devotion. The Sivalingam was presented to the Rajarshi and was installed there itself with the required rituals. Even now the deity at Sreemoolasthanam is a broken one. The emotional thrust, however, resisted her keeping away from the Linga and she decided to stay on there in the form of Bhadrakali. Sree Parvathi requested Mandhata to erect a temple for Bhadrakali and the seven ladies who had accompanied her (Saptha Mathrukkal). This is the present Mathrusala. Maharshi continued his "Tapas" and attained his "Samadhi" there. After his Samadhi, for a long time, the place remained neglected. The entire area soon became a thick jungle. Even now in memory of the fight between Bhadrakali and Mandhata on Tulam (mid-October) there is a ritual of Attangaeru. (Two groups, one on top of the hillock and the other at the bottom at Vadakke Nata throw attanga at each other).
Agrawals & Agarwals : King Ahivarn or Ahibaran was a Suryavanshi (lineage of the Sun) Kshatriya and the 21st descendant of Samrath (Emperor) Mandhata, the ruler of Ayodhya. As per Mahalakshmi Vrat Katha, it is under Emperor Mandhata lineage that at one stage son of King Vallabh, Agrasen was born & at another stage son of King Parmaal, Ahivarn was born; both of whom further started their own Vansh: Agrawal (or Agarwal) & Varnwal (or Barnwal).
Ikshvaku dynsty & kings in Andhra Pradesh :
Dandakaranya : Ikshvaku was the ruler of the kingdom that extended from Vindhya Mountains to Himalaya Mountains. He had hundred sons, among them Danda (danDa), Vikushi, and Nimi were famous. After Ikshvaku, Danda became the ruler. Danda built a new capital called Madhumatta and ruled the country. One day he went to the forest for hunting. There, he saw Araa, the daughter of Sukracharya who was the preceptor and guru of Asuras. Danda raped her. Araa complained to her father. Sukracharya suggested her to do penance and then cursed by rain of fire on Danda and destroyed Danda and his kingdom, which became an uninhabitable forest, called dandakaranya. (Uttara Ramayana). Andhra Pradesh falls into dandakaranya area.
Andhra Ikshvakus : From 180-624 CE, Ikshvaku, Brihatpalayana, Salankayana, Vishnukundina, Vakataka, Pallava, Ananda Gotrika, Kalinga and others ruled over parts of Andhra with small kingdoms. Most important among these small dynasties were the Ikshvaku. The Ikshvakus were one of the earliest dynaties of Andhra Pradesh. They ruled the eastern Andhra country along the Krishna river during the later half of the second century CE. Their capital was Vijayapuri (Nagarjunakonda). The valley of Nagarjunakonda is situated in the Palnad Taluk of the District Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. It is about 160 km from the south-east of Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh. It now lies almost entirely under the Nagarjunasagar Dam. It is surrounded by hills on three sides, all of them being off-shoots of the Nallamalai Range and on the fourth by the river Krishna. Nagarjunakonda did not assume any importance during the rule of the later Satavahanas when Dhanyakataka near Amaravati was the real epicenter of the Andhra country. Nagarjunakonda came to limelight only when Vasishthiputra Chamtamula, the founder of the Ikshvaku dynasty, snatched a portion of the kingdom of the tottering Satavahanas some time in the second quarter of the third century AD. Chamtamula, the founder of Ikshvaku dynasty, was a devout Hindu and a worshipper of Karttikeya, the god of war. His sister, Chamtasri, married to Mahatalavara Skandasri of Pukiya family, was a great patron of Buddhism. She was primarily responsible for constructing the earliest datable Buddhist establishment the Maha-chaitya during the sixth regnal year of Virapurusha datta, who is the son-in-law of Chamtasri. Many other Ikshvaku princesses were either Buddhists or had leanings towards Buddhism despite the fact that all the kings professed Brahmanism. That is why the valley has grown as a centre of both Buddhism and Brahmanism. Vasishthiputra Ehuvala Chamtamula, son and successor of Virapurushadatta, who in turn son and successor of Chamtamula, was on the throne for at least twenty-four years. His period marked the golden age of Nagarjunakonda when structural activities and artistic pursuits reached their heights. The cause of Saivism was then better served than under any other Ikshvaku kings. No less than three Saiva structures the Sarvadeva temple, Pushpabhadraswamin temple and the shrine of Nodagisvara svamin were built during his rule. Likewise, Buddhism too received great impetus, for all the evolved monastic establishments that bore the best sculptural representations of the time were the products of this period.
The Ikshvaku supremacy in the lower Krishna basin remained unquestioned for a very long time is evident from the intensive structural activity and patronage to fine arts. The erection of structures in the valley last till the eleventh regnal year of Rudrapurushadtta starting from the sixth regnal year of Virapurushadatta. What happened after his rule is still shrouded in obscurity. The rising Pallava power must have swept the lower Krishna basin some time in the middle of the fourth century and the Ikshvakus might have been reduced to subordinate vassals to live an unknown existence. With the fall of the Ikshvakus Nagarjunakonda relapsed into darkness, its artistic tradition, along with the declining political glory, vanished.
Jainism : Nayasena, a Kannada poet who composed his Dharmamitra in 1112 A. D. had referred to Dhanada, a Jain prince of the Ikshvaku family, ruling over the Vengi Mandala which is identified with the territory of the Andhra Pradesha lying between the rivers Godavari and Krishna.
Some scholars have suggested that this dynasty was related to the ancient Ikshvakus of Hindu mythology. Rama of Ramayana, who is considered as the incarnation of Vishnu belonged to the line of Ikshvaku. According to Hindu mythology, Ikshvaku, who was the Manu and father of Kukshi, was the founder of the Suryavanshi dynasty, reigning from Ayodhya at the commencement of the Treta Yuga. A Kannada poem Dharmamrita states that the Ikshvakus of Andhra were the descendents of the renowned Ikshvakus of northern India. According to the Vayu Purana, Manu, the great patriarch of ancient India had nine sons of whom Ikshvaku was the eldest. His capital was Ayodhya. He had one hundred sons, and the eldest Vikushi succeeded his father as the ruler of Ayodhya. Of the rest, fifty sons founded small principalities in Northern India. Forty eight of his sons migrated to the south and carved out kingdoms for themselves.
Buddhist literature refers to the penetration of the Ikshvakus into South India and declares that they founded the Asmaka, Mulaka and other principalities. These Kshatriyas settled down in the south and became merged with the races there. Jain literature also refers to the exodus of northern Indian princes to the south. In Dharmamrita a reference was made that during the lifetime of the 12th Tirthankara, a prince named Yasodhara hailing from the Ikshvaku family came from the Anga kingdom to Vengi in the south between Krishna and Godavari rivers. We are informed that the prince was so impressed with beauty of the region, and the fertility of the soil that he made it his permanent home and founded a city called Pratipalpura. It is believed that Pratipalapura is the modern Bhattiprolu, a town in Guntur District Inscriptions have also been discovered in the Nagarjunakonda valley and at Jaggayapeta and Ramireddipalli alluding to this.
There is however no direct evidence to suggest that the Andhra Ikshvakus were related to the mythological Ikshvakus. Archaeological evidence has suggested that the Andhra Ikshvakus immediately succeeded the Satavahanas in the Krishna river valley. Ikshvakus have left inscriptions at Nagarjunakonda, Jaggayyapeta, Amaravati and Bhattiprolu. Although the Ikshvaku rulers practiced the Vedic religion, they were also great sponsors of Buddhism. Most of the kings and their household donated to the Buddhist cause. Buddhism was at its height in the Andhra country during their reign.
Ikshvakus were originally feudatories of the Satavahanas and bore the title Mahatalavara. Although the Puranas state that seven kings ruled for 100 years in total, the names of only four of them are known from inscriptions -Vasithiputa Sri Santamula (Santamula I), Virapurushadatta was the son and successor of Santamula, Virapurisadata's son Ehuvula Santamula (Santamula II), Ruorapurushadatta was the name of an Ikshvaku ruler found in inscriptions from Gurajala in Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh. He could have been a son of Ehuvula Santamula.
Most of the inscriptions of the Ikshvaku period record either the construction of the Buddhist Viharas or the gifts made to them. All the donors and builders of the Viharas were the female members of the Ikshvaku royal family. Although Santamula I is reported to have performed the Vedic sacrifices, nothing is known about the religious leanings of his successors.
This was the period during which Andhra became a flourishing centre of Buddhism and a place of pilgrimage for the Buddhists. The patrons were ladies from the royal household, the merchants and artisans and the people at large. The great stupas of Jaggayyapeta, Nagarjunakonda and Ramireddipalle were built, repaired or extended during their reign. Buddhist pilgrims and scholars visited the Buddhist centre at Nagarjunakonda. The attraction for this Buddhist centre can be accounted for from the sea trade which was carried on between Lanka and the Ikshvakus though the ports situated on the mouths of the Krishna and the Godavari.
Nagarjuna Konda, the capital of Ikshvaku : During the 3rd 4th centuries AD, Nagarjunakonda, 150 km south of Hyderabad, was the capital of the Ikshvaku rulers. The settlement of Nagarjunakonda was the capital of the Ikshvaku dynasty (225 AD - 325 AD), the successors of the Satavahanas in the eastern Deccan. The island takes its name from the Buddhist monk, Nagarjuna, who lived around 2nd century AD. It was once the capital of the Ikshvaku rulers. The ancient site occupied an area of about 23 sq.km in a valley on the banks of Krishna river. Vijaya Vengipura was a flourishing city in ancient Andhra after the decline of Sriparvata Vijayapuri of the Ikshvaku dynasty by about 4th Centyry A.D. The ancient site of the metropolis-Sriparvata Vijayapuri, the bustling capital of the Ikshvaku dynasty flourished at the foot of Nagarjunkonda during the third and fourth centuries. They were great builders and patrons of art. Ikshvaku kings issued coins during their rule and they were all made of lead. A Brahmi inscription states that the Mahachaita, the sacred stupa encapsulates the holy relics of Lord Buddha. It is also learnt that the ancient town was the seat of Mahayana Buddhism, one of the two forms of Buddhism in which Buddha is defied as God the other being. Hinayana Buddhism in which Buddha is regarded as the religious leader of preacher. The Mahayana Buddhism was promulgated by the Saint Nagarjunacharya in the second century AD.
During their time Buddhism flourished along with Brahmanism. The women of the royal household, as history has it, made large contributions to various Buddhist institutions. The Buddhist University founded by them had attained global recognition in those days and attracted students from as far as Burma and China. Large monasteries were built to accommodate visiting monks. Nagarjunkonda gets it name from the noted Buddhist scholar and philosopher-Acharya Nagarjuna who is said to have founded the Madhyamika school of Mahayana Buddhism which greatly influenced the masses in Andhra Pradesh of those days. Subsequently the megalithic culture prevailing at that time in the region assumed new dimensions and one these traditions were building stupas, maha chaityas and so on. The Ikshvakus ruled for almost 200 years. After them the valley was apparently abandoned. For many years their civilization remained a mystery, buried in the valley under mounds of earth and ash. It was only in the year 1926 that Nagarjunkonda's lost civilization was brought to light.
The Ikshvaku period in Andhradesa witnessed the capital, Vijayapuri, emerging as the nerve centre of Buddhist activity. Various sects such as Aparaseliyas, Chetiyas, Bahusanitiyas, Mahishaslakas and Sthaviras set up base here. Acharya Nagarjuna's earlier association with Siriparvata and the popularity of Mahayana were notable factors behind the prolific activity of Buddhist schools at Vijayapuri, Goli and so on. Royal support, especially Ikshvaku princesses such as Chamtisiri, Kodabalisri and others, contributed to the vibrant Buddhist activity at Vijayapuri. During the post-Ikshvaku period, from the fourth century A.D., factors such as the rise of Vishnukundi power to the north of Krishna river and the Pallavas in the southern region and in the north coastal tracts, the resurgence of the Brahmanical religion, lack of royal support and the decline of Indo-Roman trade contributed to the stagnation of the Buddhist centres.
Amaravatti, an important Buddhist Site in Andhra : Amaravati has the unique significance of being the place from where the Buddha first taught Kalachakra mantras soon after attaining Enlightenment. Amaravati stupa (a mound forming a Buddhist sacred monument), 50 Km south of Vijayawada town, was built in the 3rd 2nd centuries B.C. Subsequent additions were made in the 1st-4th centuries AD under both Satavahana and Ikshvaku kings. Outside Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the largest number of Buddhist sites in India are located in Andhra Pradesh. Buddhism flourished in this region under the patronage of Mauryan, Satavahana and Ikshvaku kings. In the second century AD, Acharya Nagarjuna founded the Madhyamika School of Buddhist philosophy (the 'Middle Path') in the valley now mostly submerged under the waters of Nagarjunasagar Dam situated about 150 Km south of Hyderabad. The first records of the word Kammakaratham (kammanadu) appeared in the Jaggayyapeta inscription of Ikshvaku King Madhariputra Purushadatta (3rd century A.D).
Nandikonda is a small village on the bank of River Krishna. It is about 64.37-km from Miryalaguda. The most important structure discovered was the Ikshvaku citadel with its great fortification wall, ditch, gates and army barracks inside and a great rectangular stadium. Ikshvakus attained control over the region of Nalgonda and ruled with their capital Vijayapuri. During this period Sakas and Scythians settled in this region. Buddhism flourished during this period. Sakas were the Sakyans who were also solar race kings and descendants of Buddha.
Phanigiri is one of the most important Buddhist sites in the state. The archaeology department, which began excavating the site nearly two years ago, found inscriptions of Ikshvaku King, Ehavula Chantamula, along with Buddhist icons, confirming the existence of Buddhism during that period.
Telengana was ruled by the Andhra Buddhist kings (Satavahanas) from the third century BC to the third century AD. Buddhism was very popular it was still an elitist religion ,with most of the followers being from the middle castes(the warriors and the traders)
Koliyan people in Tamilnadu :
There is a minor Dalit community called Koliyan in Kodiakarai. Kodiakarai village is a part of the Kodiakarai Panchayat of Vedaranyam Taluka. It is located at the edge of the Palk Strait in the district of Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu. The village has two main castes, the Pillais and the Parayars. The Parayars are listed as a Scheduled Caste. The Parayars and Koliyans, i.e. the Dalits live in four different hamlets in the village, namely MGR Nagar, Mettu Theru, Anna Colony, and Sathya Nagar. The Dalits have their hamlets on the sidelines of the village. They continue to be discriminated against by the dominant Pillai community. Most of the Dalits in the different hamlets belong to the Parayar caste except for 20 families in M.G.R Nagar and three in Sathya Nagar who belong to the Koliyan caste. Koliyans are fishermen like the Parayars. However, the Parayars and Koliyans do not intermarry and socialise little with one another. According to the Parayars, the Koliyans consider themselves to be a higher caste. Both the castes came to the village around the same time to work in agricultural fields.
One Gandaraditya in one of the hymns calls himself 'king of Kori' and 'lord of Tanjai'. This means that he belonged to the Chola royal family as per historians. Koris and Kolis are one and the same people. Mudiraj and Muthuraj people are said to be kolis of South India.
Webmaster
Kokolu Anka Rao
Dt:25/06/2007
Nagpur, Maharastra, India
go TOP
07. KALABHRA ORIGIN :
Introduction :
Some historians believe that Muttaraiyar (Mudirajas) of Kodumbalur (eighth to eleventh century C.E.) are the descendants of Kalabhras.
The most satisfactory theory identifies the Kalabhras with the Kalavar, and the chieftains of this tribe mentioned in Sangam literature are Tiraiyan of Pavattiri and Pulli of Vengadam or Tirupati. Mamulanur, the most important and perhaps the oldest poet, has seven poems referring to Vengadam and he refers to Vengadam as belonging to Pulli, the Chieftain of Kalvar, and notes that Vengadam was famous for its festivals. Hence the kalabhras are believed to the people who lived in the uplands Karnataka (Hampi Region), and Tirupati (Vengadam) Hill region.
Many Vettuvas of Tamilnadu who form a subcaste of Muthuraja believe that their ancestors hailed from Srikalahasti near Thirupthi (Vengadam) region. Bhakta Kannappa belonged to Vettuvas or Vetans community. Here it may be noted that people having Puli & Puli related surnames belong to Telugu Mudiraja and Tamil Muthuraja community.
Pulli => puli
Pulirayar
Pulivalarayar
Puliyakudirayar
Puliyurrayar
Irandampulirayar
Ettipulirayar
Kalabhras are believed to be misterious warrior people whose origins are not clealy known with historical evidences. It is known as a dark chapter in the history of South India by many. It is quite interesting to go through what different people say about these misterious people.
Kallar, Maravar, Agamudayar, Vellalar, Agamudaya Mudaliar or Udayars are all related to Muthuraja community in Tamilnadu. It is sais that all these sections originated from the ancient Tamil race called kalabhrar ( Kalabhras ) of the ancient Indian subcontinent. From kalabar first people are called as piranmalai kallar according to place the title changes as maravar, agamudayar, cholarkula tanjore kalla nattar, pandiya vellalars, chola vellalars, chera vellalar or (having pillai, Mudaliar title), vellalamudaliyars, agamudaya mudaliars or udayar etc.
Who are these kalabhras ?
- Identification of Kalabhras is a very difficult problem.
- There is no clear evidence about the origins of the Kalabhras
- Information about their reign is scarce.
- They were the misterious people.
- They were people of an alien race.
- They were warriors from an unknown dynasty.
- Periyapuranam in 12th century says that Kalabhras were cruel.
- Kalvar, or Kalabras came from the border to the north of Tamilakam.
- They were described as evil rulers.
- Brahmins called them as "Kali-Arasar", "uncivilized", "wicked" people.
- Some called kalabhras as "ruthless" warriors.
- They were a predatory people belonging to the uplands of Karnataka.
- These people possibly came from the south Deccan.
- They were not Tamil speakers
- They could have once been part of the Satavahana kingdom.
- Kalabhras arose out of political confusion, and tried to carve out a territory for themselves.
- Kalabhras, not bound by the norms and customs of the Tamils, upset the existing order by their ways.
- A warrior race called Kalabras were causing havoc all over South India.
- They opposed to Brahmanical orthodoxy
- Kalabhras were the flag-bearers of heteredoxy.
- Kalabras were said to be Jain Rulers.
- They were held responsible for the destruction of Tamil works, Tamil culture, etc.
- Kalabhras subjugated the Tamil country after defeating the ancient Chola, Chera and Pandya kings.
- The Kalabhra invasion must have overwhelmed the Pallavas, the Cholas and the Pandyas."
- They left no artefacts or monuments, and the only sources of information are scattered mentions in Buddhist and Jain literature.
- It has been speculated that they were adherers to Jainism and later to Buddhism.
- Despite the various explanations given above, the Kalabhras cannot but be regarded as mysterious people who convulsed the affairs of the Tamil country for a few centuries.
- Kalabhras were referred to as the kalappirar in Tamil literature and inscriptions.
- According to some, the Kalappalars Kings were called Muthariyars and the Aristorcracy and soldiers were called Kalappalars.
- Some identified them with the line of Muttaraiyar (Muthuraja or Mudiraja ) of Kondubalur (eighth to eleventh century C.E.).
- Others regard them as Karnatas on the strength of a reference in Tamil literature to the rule of a Karnata king over Madurai.
- A third view is that the Kalabhras were Kalappalar, belonging to Vellala community and referred to in Tamil literature and inscriptions.
- But the most satisfactory theory identifies the Kalabhras with the Kalavar, and the chieftains of this tribe mentioned in Sangam literature are Tiraiyan of Pavattiri and Pulli of Vengadam or Tirupati.
- The latter is described as the cattle lifting robber chief of the frontier.
- Some say that kalabra invasion was an internal revolt by buddhist warriors against Hindu kingdoms when the last Maurya Buddhist king was killed by a brahmin in Orissa.
To understand more about kalabras, it is necessary to go through various theories put farword by different historians and tried their best to solve the mistery of kalabhras in South Indian history.
(1) Theory of Kodumbalur Mutharayar chiefs as the descendants of Kalabhras :
The chiefs of Kodumbalur of whom there are a few inscriptions, belonging to an ancient dynasty of rulers called the VEL or VELIR who were holding a tract of land known as Konadu (comprising portions of Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram) from very early times. Kalabhras ruled over Pudukottai district region of Tamilnadu. Some of the surnames of Muthurajas in Tamilnadu start with VEL and VELI and they are as given below :
Veliyan
Veliyangarayar
Velkodirayar
Kaduvelirayar
Koorvelrayar
Senthilvelarayar
Murugavelarayar
Moopavelaliyar
Moopavelanar
Ilanthivelrayar
Along with the Cholas, the vel & velir rulers seem to have also been adversely affected by the Pallava expansion in the south, and to have been subjected to their control. We find atleast two members of this family Marapidugu-Ilangovel and Videlvidugu-Ilangovel holding a subordinate position under Pallava Nandivarman III. They must have had clashes frequently with the Muttaraiyar chiefs who were supporters and allies of the Pallavas for centuries. The Cholas under Vijayalaya probably enlisted the help of these chieftains in the capture of Tanjavur from the Muttariyars, and would appear to have also had matrimonial alliance with this family.
Kodumbalur is one of the most ancient places in Pudukkottai and perhaps the oldest historically recorded site. The Silappadikaram, the earliest Tamil epic, mentions Kodumbai as lying on the highway between Uraiyur, the Chozha capital and Madurai, the Pandya capital. It is through this road did Kovalan, the hero of Silappadikaram and his wife Kannagi, along with a Jaina acetic, travelled from Uraiyur to Madurai. The Periya-puranam also mentions about this place and calls it the Konattu-k-kodi-nagaram, 'apex-town-of-Konadu'. Some rurnames of mutharayars having elements of Irukku, kodi & Konattu are as follows :
Irukkaikudirayar or Irukka-i-kudirayar
Velkodirayar or Vel-kodi-rayar
Vengaikodirayar or Vengai-kodi-rayar
Konattarayar or Konatta-rayar
The Kodumbalur tract was mostly under Irukkuvel chiefs (a short note on the Irukkuvel-s is given below) from the middle of the 6th century AD to the middle of the 9th century AD. During the same period the Muttaraiyars had been ruling the adjoining areas falling in Pudukkottai, Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur tracts. Both these ruling chiefs constantly changed their allegiance with one or the other of the greater powers, the Pallava-s and the Pandya-s. The monuments and inscriptions of this period (6th-9th centuries AD) relate to the Muttaraiyar-s, the Irukkuvels, the Pandya-s and the Pallavas.
Kodumbalur is mentioned as the scene of a few wars in the 8th century. In one of them, the Pandya King Mara-varman Raja-simha (740 765 AD) defeated the Pallava King Nandi-varman Pallava-malla. The Sendalai records attribute a victory at Kodumbalur to Perumbidugu Suvaran-Maran (first half of 8th century), a Muttaraiyar chief, who is mentioned as having defeated the Pandya-s and the Chera-s. It is not known whether these were two different battles or only two different but contradictory versions of the same war. Mutharairar surnames having "Marava" component are as given below :
Maravamutharaiyar ( Marava -mutharayar )
Palaimaravar ( Palai- maravar )
Kotampattimaravarayar ( Kotampatti-marava-rayar )
Kathamaravarayar (Katha-marava-rayar )
Kathamaravillaliyar (Katha-mara-villaliyar )
Nathampadimaravar ( Nathampadi-maravar )
After the famous battle of Thirup-purambiyam (880 AD), wherein the Chozha-s inflicted a crushing defeat on the Pallava-s and the Pandya-s, the territories of the Muttaraiyar-s and the Irukkuvel-s came under the Chozha-s.
The inscriptions in these areas often indicate matrimonial relations among the various kings the Pandya-s, the Muttaraiyar-s, the Irukkuvel-s, the Pallava-s and the Chozha-s in addition to political relations. For a long spell between 9th and 14th centuries, Kodumbalur was under the Chozha-s and the later Pandya-s.
Kodumbalur was the seat of a flourishing state, ruled by a dynasty of Velir s called Irukkuvels, who were connected by blood with the Chozhas, but politically were subordinate to them. They have played a very important part in the moulding of South Indian history and politics.
The Velirs claimed to be Yadavas from Dvara-samudram in Karnataka, and one of the chiefs assumed the title of Yadu-vamsa. Idangazhi-nayanar, who is revered as one of the 63 Saiva saints and mentioned in the Thiruth-thandakam by Sundara-moorthi Nayanar (6th - 7th centuries), was a king of this dynasty. The Chozha king, Vijayalaya (about 830 - 850 AD), the founder of the Imperial Chozha line, and his son Adithya, were connected with this dynasty.
The district of Pudukottai became the boundary between the Pandyas and Pallavas. The Pandyas and Pallavas carried on the wars by proxy through their subordinate chiefs the Mutharayars and Velirs. Among the Velirs the most well known are the Irukkuvels of Kodumbalur. The Kodumbalur Velirs located in the political buffer zone between the kingdoms of the Cholas and Pandyas and formed the family of nobility from which kings and other chiefs made matrimonial alliance. The tract north and south of river Vellar were in the hands of the Mutharayar chieftains who till their annihilation by the resurgent Chola line of Vijayalaya, were owing alternate allegiance to the super powers. The Irukkuvelirs, at the end became the firm allies of the Cholas. The age of Pallavas and Pandyas of the first empire, the Mutharaiyars and Irukkuvelirs was the age of Tamil Bhakthi Movement.
From the inscriptions Nos. 155 and 241 which are from Kudumiyanmalai and dated in the 6th and 10th years of Parakesarivaran (Parantaka I) refer to Varaguna Natti, the daughter of a Muttaraiyan and Nangai-Nala (Nanda) deviyar as the wives Of Sembiyan Irukkuvelar (Bhuti Parantaka). Besides these two, the chief is known to have had three more wives. Inscription No. 155 (A.R. No. 337 of 1904) On the same wall -This records a gift of 7 kalanju (tulaippon) of gold and a lamp-stand for burning a perpetual lamp in the temple of Mulattanattu-Perumanadigal at Tirunalakkunram, by Varaguna-Natti the daughter of Muttraiyar and wife of Sembiyan Irukkevel. This might be an inscription of Uttaama-Chola.
Banas, Gangas, Muttaraiyars, Irukkuvels, Viluppariyars, Tamil Peraraiyar, Pallavaraiyar etc. are found during the period of Pallava raise. It is noteworthy that a number of chieftains bore the title Videlvidugu. All these chieftains lived in the middle and later half of the ninth century. Vedilvidugu is a significant title of Dantivarman. The word Muttarayar is a modification of the word Mutharayar.
Mutharayars => Muttarayars
Mutharaiyars => Muttaraiyars
The area round about Tanjavur was under the sway of a dynasty of chieftains known as the Muttaraiyuar whose inscriptions are found at Sendalai and Niyamam, and who seem to have ruled either independently or as vasslas of the Pallavas. One such chief was Kataka-Muttaraiyan mentioned in theVaikuntha-Perumal temple inscriptions at Kanchipuram as a Pallava subordinate in the reign of Nandivarman II. No. 18 of the "Pudukkottai Inscriptions" refers to a Muttaraiyar chief called Videlvidugu Muttaraiyan as a feudatory under Dantivarman. Another chief of the same name was a vassal under-Nripatunga. Surnames of Mutharayars having component of Sendalai ( senthalai ) and kataka are as given below :
Sendalai => Senthalai
Senthalaikounder
Senthalairayar
Kongusenthalai Kounder
Kongusenthalairayar
Katakarayar
The Sendalai records attribute a victory at Kodumbalur to Perumbidugu Suvaran-Maran (first half of 8th century), a Muttaraiyar chief, who is mentioned as having defeated the Pandya-s and the Chera-s.
The Sundaresvara temple at Sendalai near Tanjore is well known to students of Tamil arts. It carries inscriptions of Pallava, Pandya and Muttaraiya rulers and refers to a great Maha-kali temple at Niyamam, a village nearby. The pillars belonging to the Niyamam Maha-kali temple have been brought and reused in the Sendalai temple. The temple of Sundaresvara is also connected with the Pandyas. The Sundaresvara temple at Sendalai, dated by the author ca. 878, is here regarded as a transitional monument between the Muttaraiyar and First Phase style ..
Senthalai inscriptions talk of a Kali in Nemam - worshipped by Mutharayas. In Senthalai temple there are four pillars depicting Mutharayar inscriptions. This temple is also remake out of 4 / 5 temples including a Jain temple.
Nisumbasoodani was installed and worshipped by Vijayalaya.This is the earliest image of kali in posters street 1.6 km to he east of the Big Temple. The image of the Goddess is five feet tall wearing a garland of skulls, a snake covering Her breasts, teeth protruding and in unbearable wrath trampling the two demons Chandan and Mundan. This image was installed by Vijayalaya Chola in commemoration of his victory over the Mutharayas which enabled him to found the later Chola kingdom.
One Shiva statue of 9th-10th century belonging to Sendalai is kept at Rajaraja Museum, Thanjavur. One can also see jain vestiges at Sendalai.
The 3rd - 5th century AD was the period of Kalabhras. There are several speculations about their origins. Some say they were Buddhists and some say they were Jains. Perhaps they were jains at first and later they were Buddists. Kaadvarkon Pandya is considered to be a Kalabra who designated as Naayanmar.
Some say that Bellala - VRIDHARASA lead to Vellala and Muthurayas of Tamilnadu
prior to 3rd AD. Dr. Nagaswamy, on his study of Muthurasas postulated that the
VRIDHARAJA found at Mysore around 5th AD are MUTHURAJAS from TN who
paved way for this sect and probably this is time for evolution of Kannada language ! Dr. Nagaswamy, in his Mutharayar - defines them as Ganga Kings of Kongani belonging to Tamil Mudhu Velir kudi. Vridharaja @ Mutharayas!
Dr. Kudavoil says Niyamam was an important town under Mutharayas. Quotes Sendalai Sundareswarar temple inscriptions : "Perumbidugu Mutharayan @ Kuvaran Maaran; his son Elango Vadhiyaraiyan @ Maaran Paremeswaran; his son Perumbidugu Mutharayan @ Suvaran Maaran. Suvaran Maaran was also known as Vallakkoman. Neelakanta Sastry says Niyamam was Mutharayar's Capital. Historian SR Balasubramaninan concurrs; Pandarathar says the Capital was Sendalai. Because of the above, there was no concrete information to the
effect that it was SATTAN PAZHIYILI who was conquored by Vijayalayan. Pudkukkottai - Thanjai - Nemam was under Mutharayars till 853 AD.
Vijayalayan (Pazhayarai) fought Pandyas under Pallavas. For having won the War at Thirupurambiyam (ref P.S.) Vijayalaya was given back Cholanadu. In the process of establishing his own Land, > he should have fought with Mutharayas also and expanded to Vallam to Niyamam and retained Thanjai as his Capital.
According to Senthalai inscriptions, Some historians say that Descendants of Perumbidugu Mutharaya were conquored by Vijayalaya. Sandilyan says another thing in the novel that he wrote. In that novel, Sandilyan causes Perumpidugu and Maarpidugu both getting killed and Sendhalai and Thanjai falling to Vijayaalaya on a very auspicious time of an eclipse with a conjunction of certain stars and planets.
Matrimonial alliances among Mutharayas, Irukkuvels, gangas, Pallavas and Pandyas :
The inscriptions in these areas of Pudukottai often indicate matrimonial relations among the various kings the Pandya-s, the Muttaraiyar-s, the Irukkuvel-s, the Pallava-s and the Chozha-s in addition to political relations. Historians has observed that there existed marital relationships of the Irukkuvels with the Muttaraiyars, who were the vassals of the Pallavas. Later cholas were Tamil from pallar caste. Chola title claimed different castes at different time. The earlier cholas emperor karikal cholan belongs to vellala from Uraiyur and later cholas were pallars. Later cholas married kodumbalur vellala sons and daughters. Rajendra cholans daughter angamma (ankamma) devi married east chalukyan (Vengi near Godavari in Andhra) prince. Surnames of Muthurajas based on karikala and uraiyur are as given below :
Karikalarayar
Kongukarikalarayar
Uraiyurrayar
In one of the inscriptions, it was mentioned that Aparajita's (Pallava) mother was a Ganga princess. A certain Vijaya of matchless virtues and born of the Ganga family, was queen of Kampavarman. The present Velanjeri copper plate mentions that Aparajita was the son of Pallava ruler Kampavarman through a Ganga Princess whose name is given as Vijaya. Nrpatunga was the son of Nandi, through Sankha, the Rashtrakuta princess.
In another inscription, there is a mention about one Varaguna who was wife of Puti's son Parantaka alias Sembiyan Irukkuvel in the reign of Parantaka Chola I. She was the daughter of a Muttaraiya. An inscription of the age of Parantaka Chola is of great value, as it refers to the construction of a new temple by a chieftain, and making provisions for various offerings and services . The Chieftain named Sembiyan Irukkuvel alias Pudi Parantakan, erected a stone temple to Siva at Andanallur, in 920 A.D.
There is an other case of a Pandya, said to have been a grandson of the Bana through a daughter, was also defeated by Aparajita. Pandya Varaguna received help from Nrpatunga. If Varaguna was the adversary of Aparajita, in all probability he was the son of this Bana's daughter. This Bana also had the title Kadupatti(kaduvetti) Muttarasar . So the fact that the Muttarasar were closely related to Pandya Varaguna is also thus attested. Aparajita destroyed the elephants of the Bana ruler in no time, inflicting wounds with the ankusa. He razed to the ground Karanai encircled by turrets, the city of the Pandya ruler, who was a dauhitra (the grandson through a daughter, probably of the Bana) and conquered the Chola king at the great battle of Chirrarrur with the help of elephants.
Velirs were tribal chieftains who ruled in the Tamil country during the early historic period. These chieftains were nominally subordinate to the three main Tamil dynasties of Chola, Chera and Pandya. The Velirs or chieftains occupied a strata lower than that of the Chera, Chola and Pandya kings and were sometimes subordinate to them. There are numerous poems in the ancient Sangam literature extolling these chieftains for their charity and truthfulness. The earliest rulers of whom there is an authentic account were the Mahavalis or Banas, who held the east of the Kolar District. They claim descent from Maha Bali, or Bali the Great,' a Daitya.
The Pudukottai town was ruled by a dynasty of Velirs called Irukkuvels. The Irukkuvels, during the middle ages were allies and vassals of the imperial Cholas. They were believed to have constructed several temples in the region, though nothing remains now, excepting the Muvarkovil and Muchukundeswara temples. Kodumbalur was the seat of a flourishing state, ruled by a dynasty of Velir-s called Irukkuvel-s, who were connected by blood with the Chozha-s, but politically were subordinate to them. The Velir-s claimed to be Yadava-s from Dvara-samudram in Karnataka, and one of the chiefs assumed the title of Yadu-vamsa. Idangazhi-nayanar, who is revered as one of the 63 Saiva saints and mentioned in the Thiruth-thandakam by Sundara-moorthi Nayanar (6th - 7th centuries), was a king of this dynasty.
The Kodumbalur tract was mostly under Irukkuvel chiefs from the middle of the 6th century AD to the middle of the 9th century AD. During the same period the Muttaraiyars had been ruling the adjoining areas falling in Pudukkottai, Tiruchirappalli and Thanjavur tracts. Both these ruling chiefs constantly changed their allegiance with one or the other of the greater powers, the Pallava-s and the Pandya-s. The monuments and inscriptions of this period (6th-9th centuries AD) relate to the Muttaraiyar-s, the Irukkuvel-s, the Pandya-s and the Pallava-s.
Kodumbalur is mentioned as the scene of a few wars in the 8th century. The Sendalai records attribute a victory at Kodumbalur to Perumbidugu Suvaran-Maran (first half of 8th century), a Muttaraiyar chief, who is mentioned as having defeated the Pandya-s and the Chera-s. After the famous battle of Thirup-purambiyam (880 AD), wherein the Chozha-s inflicted a crushing defeat on the Pallava-s and the Pandya-s, the territories of the Muttaraiyar-s and the Irukkuvel-s came under the Chozha-s.
Pallava Inscription No. 44 - (A. R. No. 89 of 1921) - Pillaipalayam, Conjeeveram Taluk, Chingleput District - On a slab built into the floor at the entrance into the Tirumerrali temple - This is a fragmentary record of Dantivikramavarman. It mentions a certain Kaduvetti-Muttaraiyan at whose request an endowment of 4 patti of land was made to the old temple of Vishnu called Tirumerrali at Iraiyancheri and to a matha, probably attached to it. Reference to a Kaduvetti-Muttarasan who made a raid on Koyattur in the reign of the Bana king Vijayaditya Virachulamani Prabhumeru is noticed in a record from Punganur (No. 542 of 1906). This chief was probably identical with the Kaduvetti-Muttaraiyan mentioned in the present inscription as he lived about this period Nandivarman III.
Kadu based Surnames among Mudiraj & Muthuraj : There are some Telugu Mudiraj families having surname "kadu". We also have some surnames of Tamil Mutharayars strting with "kadu" and "kaduvetti" and they are as shown below:
Kadu
Kaduvelirayar
Kaduvettimutharayar
Kaduvizhirayar
The honorific "Kaduvetti" meaning literally "one who clears forests. The Kadava name with Tondaiyar and Kaduvetti, is found in Tamil literature to refer to the Pallavas. The relationship of the Kadavas to the main Pallava dynasty is documented in an inscription in Kanchipuram. The kings of the collateral line of the Pallavas who were descended from Bhimavarman, the brother of Simhavishnu, are called the Kadavas. The Pallava king Nandivarman (Pallavamalla) is praised as 'one who was born to raise the prestige of the Kadava family'. The title Kaduvetti is also used in some inscriptions to denote the Pallavas. A record from Nagar in the Mysore State employs the term Kaduvetti as a synonym for all the Pallava kings of Kanchi.
A Kadupatti Muttariya figures in an inscription of Dantivarman from Pallipalayam village in Kanchipuram taluk. He appears as a Vijnapti. This would suggest that Videlvidugu Muttaraiyan was identical with Kadupatti Muttaraiyan. Kadupatti Muttaraiya raided Koyattur in the reign of Bana Vijayaditta Virachulamani Prabhumeru as mentioned in the Punganur record. There ia also a forest village Kaadu-patti located in Madurai district.
Kadupatti => Kaduvetti => Kadu
The earliest reference to the Kaduvetti is to be found in the Siragunda stone record of about 480 A.D. The Kaduvettis are largely mentioned in the inscriptions of the Telugu and Kanarese districts, but their connection with the Kadavas of the Tamil country is not yet well established. Pallava subordinate kings also seems to have acquired the title "Kaduveeti".
The Kadai clan of Kongu Vellala Gounders have been historically mentioned as Kadavarayan. Their clan deity is Keeranur and near by Kadaveshvaran(the god of Kadavas).Later due to the Kalabhira ( kalabras ) influx, they moved to Kongu Nadu.
Vijaya Ganda Gopala of Telugu-Pallava line was a descendant of Mukkanti Kaduvetti, who established 700 Agraharas in the land situated to the East of Sri-parvata i.e., Srisaila.
The Tevaram hymns, are mentioned in the inscriptions of the mediaeval period as Thiruppadiyam. It may be noted that the ajnapti, the royal officer who approves the grant was one Kadupatti, Tamil Peraraiyan, who was a minister to the Pallava ruler Nandi, and later to his son Nrpatunga. Muthuraja surnames starting with "pera" are given below :
Perambalarayar
Peraraiyar
One kulasekhara Kaduvetti had signed the order conveying the royal sanction. The personage who was responsible for this royal initiative is mentioned in the inscription as Sendalangara Mamuni. It is tempting to identify this Vaishnava ascetic as the monk of the same name (c.1209-1258 A.D.) who is seen taking an active part in the construction of a shrine for Kulasekhara alvar in the temple of Rajendra Vinnagar (Mannarkoil), about 22 km west of Kodanur. Araiyars of Muthuraja community belonged to Vaishnava sect.
The Muvar Koil (Temple) at Kodumbalur : Kodumbalur is 35 km from Pudukottai and 40 km from Tiruchirappalli. It is a place of archaeological importance. Kodumbalur is mentioned in silapathikaram, the Sangam Tamil Classic. The Muvarkovil, Muchukundeswarar temple are the early Chola temples located here. The Muvar-koil ('temple-of-three') is a beautiful temple of early-Chozha period, built by the Irukkuvel chief Bhuthi-vikrama-kesari. According to his inscription he built these three Siva shrines, one on his own behalf and, the other two on behalf of his wives, Karrali and Varaguna. Some experts date them to the second half of the 10th century and some others to the last quarter of 9th century. In any case, one can say they belong to the early Chozha period (9th - 11th centuries AD). The first impression about Muvar-koil is one of enchanting beauty, perfect composition in stone. The poise of the vimanam, the beauty of the supple figures that have been modelled with loving care and the refined contours of the domical terrace edgings, all indicate the Pallava style for delicacy of structure and form. The Pallava influence, it is believed, is due to the marital relationship of the Irukkuvel-s with the Muttaraiyars , who were the vassals of the Pallava-s. Thirteen inscriptions, dating back to various reigns between 10th and 16th centuries, were discovered at Kodumbalur, in Pudukottai district recently. Eleven of the recently-discovered inscriptions were discovered at the Muchukundeswara temple. Four of them belong to the period of Parakesari Parantaka - I (907-953 AD) and one each to the periods of Raja Raja - I, Rajendra - I, Kulothunga - I, Vikramachola, Sundara Pandya, Vijayanagara and an Araiyar (Muthuraja) chieftain.
Banar" who were also called "Vanathirayar" claimed to have won over all the three Moovendar and who briefly also ruled Madurai after chasing away "Pandyans. These Bana kings could also be the kalabras.
The Bana Families took the title of Mutharasa : The Vijnapti of the Chirrur plates issued in the sixth year of Nrpatunga was Muttaraiyan, who also had the title Paranjaya. He was a Bana and is called a descendent of Balikula (Bali Chakravarty). The cave temple at Malaiyadipatti, in Pudukkottai district, was excavated by one Kuvavan Sattan alias Videlvidugu Muttaraiyan in the 16th year of Dantivarman. A Kadupatti Muttariya figures in an inscription of Dantivarman from Pallipalayam village in Kanchipuram taluk. He appears as a Vijnapti. This would suggest that Videlvidugu Muttaraiyan was identical with Kadupatti Muttaraiyan. Kadupatti Muttaraiya raided Koyattur in the reign of Bana Vijayaditta Virachulamani Prabhumeru as mentioned in the Punganur record. This Bana Vijayaditta Prabhumeru, was a contemporary of Nrpatunga and it is evident that this Kadupatti Muttaraiyan is identical with the Kadupatti Muttaraiya mentioned in the Chirrur plates as Vijnapti.
Vijayaditta, Vikramaditta and others called themselves Mavalivanadhiraya. They probably belonged to a colateral branch of the Bana family. The other Bana family took the title Mutarasa. Kadupatti Muttarasa was active from the 16th year of Dantivarman to that of Nrpatunga, for over sixty years from 810 to 870. Kaduvetti Muttaraiya's son Arikanta Perumal, is mentioned in the 15th year of Nrpatunga in an inscription of Thiruvalangadu. Arikanta continued to hold power and influence upto the 24th year of Nrpatunga. In this record he is mentioned as the son of Kadupatti Muttaraiya. In all probability Kadupatti Muttaraiya passed away before the 15th year of Nrpatunga.
Mavalivanadhiraya = Mahabali + Vana + Dhiraya
Vana => Bana
Vanarayas = Banarayas
Vanarayar surname exists among Tamil Muthuraja community and one such surname is - Moopakadampavanarayar
CHALUKYAS OF BADAMI Inscription No. 52. (A.R. No. 734 of 1919.) -ON A SLAB SET UP NEAR THE ISVARA TEMPLE AT NAGARURU, SAME TALUK AND DISTRICT - This is not dated and is little damaged. It refers itself to the reign of the Chalukya king . . . ditya and records the grant of some land by Nagamangala. Mention is also made of Tondemana Muttarasa.
Ganga families assumed the title Mutharaya : Dr. Nagaswamy, in his Mutharayar - defines Mutharays as Ganga Kings of Kongani belonging to Tamil Mudhu Velir kudi. There are surnames among Muthurajas starting with "konga" as given below :
Kongandamutharasar
Kongandarayar
Kongarayar
After obtaining an easy victory over the Ganga king Muttarasa ruling in Gangavadi, Govinda III, the son and successor of Dhruva led victorious campaigns in Central and Northern India. The Rastrakuta family produced several great conquerors, who boldly invaded north and south India and achieved memorable victories. Dhruva (A.D. 780793) was the first among them.
For more details about gangas, please refer to page on "Origins" under subtitle "Suryavamsi Origins" in this website. Gangas were the fishermen kings, who in all probability related to Mudirajas / Muthurajas.
Western Ganga kings who established their dynsty rule in the region of Rayalaseema ( present Andhra Pradesh state ) and Bellary (present Karnataka state) districts were the ancestors of Mudiraj people. Western Ganga king Sripurusha and his son Shivamara-II assumed the title of Muttarasa. These Western Ganga kings were great patrons of Jainism and sponsered the erection of Bahubali Jain statue at Gomateswara in Karnataka. They are believed to come down to South India from Gangetic river basin in the North India. It is also believed by some historians that Western Gangas were also a section of the Kalabhras who invaded South India. There is a clear evidence of one Telugu Mudiraj surname " NAWADA " which is connected to a place known as " NAWADA " ada in Nalanda district of Bihar. Nawada is a very important site for Jains and Buddhists as it is connected to both Jain Mahaveer and Gautam Buddha.
NAWADA OR NAVADA :
Nawada or Navada is a surname of Telugu Mudiraj people of Andhra Pradesh. Nawada is the name of a place in Nalanda district of Bihar which is an important location for Jainis and Buddhists as well. The places such as Nalanda, Gaya, Rajgir, Vaishali, etc which are famous for Jainsm and Buddism are located in the surrounding of Nawada. There is also a village Nawada in Panipat district of Haryana state. Haryana and Punjab are known places of Khatris (Koli Kshatriyas).
Since the ancestors of many Mudiraj kings are said to be Jains & Buddists and came to South India, it many be assumed that the Mudiraj people having Nawda surname could possibly be the descendants of those Jain kings who came from Bihar.
Nawada, founded in the 5th century AD, is famous as the ancient seat of learning. A sinless city it is a great pilgrimage center of the Jains.
Nawada is a city and a municipality in and headquarters of Nawada district in the Indian state of Bihar. National Highway-31 passes through the town and it is also connected by rail as it is on gaya-kiul oxilliary line. It is an ancient place and spritually important for jainism. There is Jalmandir and gunawan jee mandir related to jainism. It is a spritually sound place and pawapuri-tirthankar mahavir's nirwan sthal, gaya, bodh gaya, rajgir and nalanda is very near places of historical importance. On Nawada - Patna Road, there are a handsome Jain temple standing. The temple reminds one of the great jain influence . It is one of International Importance place for jain and Budhist tourist spots. Gonawan Jee or other Jain temples are visited by native as well as forgein pilgrims.
Near to Nawada, there is one village Ghosrawan where there is a rundown museum with a small collection of Buddha statues found in the area. Ghosrawa village is on the site of what was once a very large and important Buddhist monastery, probably the Kapotaka Vihara visited by Hiuen Tsiang. Just outside the village and besides the lake is a fine Buddha statue nearly 10 feet high calved out of shiny black stone. The temple in the village of Tetrawan, a few kilometres to the south contains an astonishing collection of beautifully calved Buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Ghosrawan village has a temple, housing a rich as well as valuable collection of carved Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Also nearby, is Nawada, boasting of a museum with an amazing display of Buddha statues found in the adjoining areas. Ghosrawan is a small village situated in the state of Bihar, India. The significance of Ghosrawan stems from the fact that it stands on the site of a very large and important Buddhist Monastery. The monastery, probably known as the Kapotaka Vihara, even founds a mention in the account of travels of Hiuen Tsang, the famous Chinese traveler. One of the major attractions of Ghosrawan is a huge statue of Lord Buddha, approximately 10 ft high. One can easily reach Ghosrawan from Rajgir.
In Bihar there is, as a rule, a large mart every 15 miles, where grain can be stored in a warehouse, it is generally to these that the larger producers and the beparis ( Vyaparis ) take their grain rather than to the local hats , where commodities of all kinds are bought and sold once a week. their ranks in the nineteenth century were filled increasingly by members of the socalled bania castes, mostly Marwaris and Aggarwals, but also Khatris ( Many of them are Koli Kshtriyas ) ; some were also Agrahris and Muslims. A Marwari and Aggarwal presence in the ranks of traders and merchants dates back at least to the Mughal period, when Jains from the western Indian areas of Rajasthan and Gujarat, many of whom were Marwari Banias, settled in eastern India in the train of Rajputs allied to Mughal rulers. Their arrival in eastern India marked a return of sorts, because the region was the site of many holy places associated with Jainism. By the seventeenth century Jains had taken up residence in Bihar; by the 1630s Patna was considered to be a "homeland" of the Jains.
Geographically Nawada is surrounded by the places which one of greatly historical and geographical importance. Nalanda which is matchlessly unique for its glorious past is in the North direction to Nawada. Hajaribagh a well-known magically wonderful spot of parks and natural beauty is in the South . Giridih a beautiful holly place is in its East. Gaya an International tourist place is in its West. The language is basically magahi a sub-language to hindi. it is 105 km from patna and 60 km from gaya.Kakolat is exactly.
Rajgir,19 kms from Nalanda, was the ancient capital of Magadha Empire. Lord Buddha often visited the monastery here to meditate and to preach. Rajgir is also a place sacred to the Jains, Since Lord Mahavira spent many years here. In Pawapuri, or Apapuri, 38 kilometres from Rajgir and 90 kilometres from Patna, all sins end for a devout Jain. Lord Mahavira, the final tirthankar and founder of Jainism, breathed his last at this place.
Pawapuri is one of the centres of Jain pilgrimage. It is said that Vardhamana Mahavira. the last Jain Tirthankar, attained Nirvana here at Pawapuri in 490 B.C. It is situated on the Patna-Ranchi Road, 80 km east of Patna. Buses also ply from Rajgir and Nawada to Pawapuri. The Water temple, built in Kamal Sarobar is very sacred. The large tank, excavated in the beautiful surroundings, is full of lotus, and in the midst of the tank has been built the temple of white marble by the Swetambara sect of the Jains.
Near the holy city of Gaya, the Buddha attained enlightenment. The tree that had sheltered him came to be known as the Bodhi tree and the place Bodhgaya. Today Bodhgaya, an important place of pilgrimage, has a number of monasteries, some of them established by Buddhists of Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka etc. Nalanda, a great centre of Buddhist learning center, came into prominence around the 5th century BC and was a flourishing university town with over ten thousand scholars and an extensive library. Vaishali was one of the earliest republics in the world (6th century BC).It was here that Buddha preached his last sermon. Vaishali, birthplace of Lord Mahavira is also Sacred to Jains.
Nawada district is one of the thirty-seven districts of Bihar state, India, and Nawada town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Kadirganj, located 10 km from Nawada, has a very old and famous silk small scale industry where many workers carry out the activities of cleaning and weaving of silk. Weaving is one of the professions of Koris of North India ( a variant of Kolis ) and Mudiraj / Muthuraj people are known to be kolis who came to South India.
Nawada is a conjugation of natural seen and scenery with many panoramic views. Kakolat, the famed waterfall in the district of Nawada, finds references in ancients texts. Kakolat is a waterfall in Gobindpur police-station, about 21 miles away from Nawada. Just below the fall there is a deep reservoir natural in character. The fall is about 150 to 160 feet, from the ground level. The scene is panoramic due to all-round green forest area, which is very pleasant to the eyes.
Webmaster
Kokolu Anka Rao
29/11/2007
Nagpur, Maharastra, India
< U> Bana Mutharasas and ganga Mutharayas were matrimonially related to Pallavas and Pandyas respectively : As per the grant issued by the Pallava ruler, Aparajita, in his ninth regnal year, the following information is available
A certain Vijaya of matchless virtues and born of the Ganga family, was Kampavarman's queen. Aparajita was their son. Aparajita destroyed the elepants of the Bana ruler, captured Karanai, the Pandya city, and won a great battle against the Chola at Chirrarrur.
It specifically mentions Aparajita as the son of Kampavarman, through Vijaya, a Ganga princess. Kampa and Aparajita had the able support of the Ganga chieftains. Further, this plate states that Kampavarman captured the Pallava throne forcibly from Nrpatunga.
Kampavarman and Nrpatunga were two pallava brothers and Kampa was elder to Nrpatunga. It appears that Nrpatunga was installed on the throne by his father Nandi III. While Kampavarman the elder was alive, the younger, Nrpatunga, though a boy, ascended the throne. This obviously led to enmity between the brothers. Nrpatunga should have been chosen by Nandi III in preference to Kampa, probably because of Rashtrakuta influence. Nrpatunga's mother, Sankha was a Rashtrakuta princess.
Kampavarman, immediately after the demise of his father, should have struck the blow and dislodged his younger brother Nrpatunga. Though Kampa removed his brother from the throne, he treated him with considerable moderation and even allowed him to issue charters. He also installed his son Aparajita very early as his co-regent, as Aparajita was known for his valour.
The Banas were clearly on the side of Narpatunga. Bana Paranjaya, who had the title Kadupatti Muttariyan, requested Nrpatunga to grant the Chirrur plates. Aparajita defeated a Bana ruler who was in all probability this Paranjaya, kadupatti Muttaraiya. A Pandya, said to have been a grandson of the Bana through a daughter, was also defeated by Aparajita. Pandya Varaguna received help from Nrpatunga. It is not known who the mother of Varaguna was. If Varaguna was the adversary of Aparajita, in all probability he was, we get here the information that he was the son of this Bana's daughter. This Bana also had the title Kadupatti Muttarasar. So the fact that the Muttarasar were closely related to Pandya Varaguna is also thus attested. That may also attest to the presence of Varaguna at Sendalai.
This shows that Varaguna, Aditya, Bana and Muttarasa were on the side of Nrpatunga while Aparajita and Kampa, were aided by the Ganga ruler Prithivipati on the other.
Bana Rayas were the descendants of Banasura, son of Bali Chakravarty :
It is said that some families of Bana rayas of Kodumbalur region in Tamilnadu assumed the title of Mutharasa and Videlvidugu Muttaraiyan or Kadupatti Muttaraiyan was said to belong to Balikula.
There are about 12 Bana inscriptions: A few of them are given below which may be of some interest to readers to understand the bana kings of South India. There is a reference to Kaduvatti (Kadupatti ) Muttarasa in the inscriptions no 5 & 6 who also belonged to Bali kula of bana clans.
Bana Inscription No. 2. (A.R. No. 569 of 1906.) - ON A SLAB SET UP IN A FIELD BEHIND THE RUINED VILLAGE, BUDIDEALLE, PUNGANUR ZAMINDARI, SAME DISTRICT - This is not dated and refers itself to the reign of Mahavali-Banaraja Vikramaditya-Jayameru and states that during the cattle-raid at Kurunjeala by Mudhudara Gonamenthi of Minikki, Periyavan fell fighting. It also records the death of another hero and mentions Kelamuddha. The king had the biruda Bana-Kandarppan.
Bana Inscription No. 3. (A.R. No. 570 of 1906.) - ON ANOTHER SLAB SET UP IN THE SAME PLACE - This is not dated and refers itself to the reign of the Bana king Mavali-Vanarasa and mentions the same raid by Mudunda of Minki on Kurumjiyala during which the hero Alamaran alias Kelemuldan is stated to have fought and died.
Bana Inscriptions No. 4. (A.R. No. 571 of 1906.) - ON A THIRD SLAB SET UP IN THE SAME PLACE - This is not dated and refers itself to the reign of the Bana king Mahavali Vanarasa. The king is stated to have ordered Kendaliga-Pergganga and his son Deveya to repel the attack on Pulinadu by the army of the Nolamba. In the battle of Miniki, Deveya (?) is stated to have fought and died.
Banavidyadhara i.e., the king granted Minuki to the hero's family.
Bana Inscription No. 5. (A.R. No. 542 of 1906.) - ON A SLAB SET UP OUTSIDE THE SOMESVARA TEMPLE AT PUNGANURU, SAME ZAMINDARI AND DISTRICT - This undated inscription records the gift of a wet land of a Kanduga os spwomg capacity, (to the family of ) Kalianiga Kandanarayana who died after slaying nine thieves when the Bana king Vijayaditya Prabhumeru was ruling over Vadugavali twelve-thousand province and east of Manne and Kaduvatti-Muttarasa had come to raid Koyatur.
Bana Inscription No. 6. (A.R. No. 327 of 1912.)- ON A SLAB SET UP IN A FIELD AT KARSHNAPALLE, SAME SAMINDARI AND DISTRICT-This is not dated and refers itself to the reign of the Bana king Banarasa, who was also in charge of the Ganga six-thousand province when Ballaha i.e., the Rashtrakuta king led a campaign against Kaduvetti, for not paying tribute. On this occasion a certain servant of Banatattaran, himself a servant of Vijayitta, while returning on a horse near Kuntiala, died after slaying Ganamurti. Since the characters of the record are of the 9th century A.D. it may be assigned to the time of Vijayaditya II.
Bana Inscription No. 7. (A.R. No. 313 of 1912.) -ON A VIRAGAL SET UP IN THE BACK-YARD OF A HOUSE IN CHALAMANGALA, SAME ZAMINDARI AND DISTRICT - This id damaged and not dated. It refers itself to the reign of king Banarasa of the Mahavali Bana family and seems to record the death of a warrior in a battle.
Bana Inscription No. 8. (A.R. No. 323 of 1912.) - ON A SLAB BUILT INTO THE NADI-MANDAPA IN THE ARKESVARA TEMPLE AT KARSHANAPALLE, SAME ZAMINDARI AND DISTRICT - The record is not dated and is damaged. It mentions Banarasa of the Mahavali kula ruling over [Ganga] six-thousand province.
Bana Inscription No. 11. (A.R. No. 543 of 1906.) - ON A SLAB SET UP IN A FIELD IN FRONT OF THE VILLAGE CHADALLA, ON PUNGANUR-CHDUM ROAD, SAME ZAMINDARI AND DISTRICT - This undated record refers itslef to the reign of the Bana king Mahaali-Banarasa. It states that when some one was ruling Valla, situated in Badugavali, and when Banarasa led a campaign on behalf of Permanadigal against the Nolamba, Rachamalla and Mayindadi, Madhavarasa of Kinganur fought and, having slaing a number of men and horses in the battle of Soremadi, died. In recognition of his service the king bestowed (upon his family) land of three khamba. Valla was ruled by Mutharayars and there are surnames of Muthuraja starting with "valla".
Vallakkamanyar
Vallakkamayar
Vallaththarayar
Vallkkon
Cholavallakamayar
Bana is a gotra (clan) of Jats found in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in India. Banas are descendants of King Banasura. Their capital was at Bayana in Bharatpur. Usha temple, at Bayana, was built during the reign of Raja Laxman Sen, by his wife in memory of Usha. There is mention of Bana Chieftains along with Pallavas and as feudatories of Cholas in Tamil Nadu.
The earliest rulers of whom there is an authentic account were the Mahalis or Banas, who held the east of the District Kolar. They claim descent from Maha Bali, or Bali the Great,' a Daitya. The Mahalis may have been connected with Mahalipur, known as the Seven Pagodas, on the coast south of Madras. They continued in power, being also called Banas, till the tenth century, but for a long time had the Pallavas as over lords. Their later capital was Paduvipuri (perhaps Padavedu in North Arcot). During their time Avani was an important sacred place, the seat of a Bran community. The Pallavas were rulers over the whole of he Telugu country and over the Tamil country as far as Trichinopoly. Their capital was originally at Vengi, but from an early period was established at Kanchi (Conjeeveram). From the second to the eleventh century all the west of the District was included in the kingdom of the Gangas, who had the titles `Lord of Kuvaldla-pura'.
Kanyakumari is a pilgrimage spot, considered very important by all Hindus. It is said that this is the place where Devi herself assumed the form of a maiden for the purpose of killing the demon, Banasura. The rock on which she stood in penance, on one leg, before slaying Banasura, is the same rock on which Vivekananda Rock Memorial is constructed now. Her footmark is left on the rock, permanently embedded on the rock. There is a structure constructed around Her footmark, known as 'Sri Pada Mandapam.' Pandya, Chozha, Vijayanagar and Nayak rulers and the Bana kings ruled with Azhagarkoil, near Madurai as their capital, later expanded it.
There is one Bhoganandeeswara temple in Nandi town in Karnataka, dating from the 9th century, shows an assimilation of architectural styles of several dynasties. The original temple is attributed to the Banas, and was later added to by the Cholas, the Hoysalas, and the Vijayanagar rulers.
Kusundas of Nepal are also called Banarajas - Kings of the forests, because they used to live in the forests, called themselves myahak had a kind of taxation system over Rautes. Kusundas were Kings and Rautes were their subjects. It is believed by some people that 'Banaraja' and 'Kusunda' are names given to the 'myahq peoples' (Kusundas) by other communities. Kusundas are also said to be the offspring of 'Kusha' - Rama's second son born from 'kusha grass' in Valmiki's Cottage. This story is well depicted in The Ramayana. Chepangs also believe they are the offspring of Sita's first son Lohari or Lava who is also very famous in the Ramayana. Lohari and Kushari were two sons of Sita. The Kusundas believe that they are offspring of Kushari - Kusha. Later Lohari and Kushari became rivals. Then the Kusundas and Chepangs began to live separately. Some of the Chepang cognates have some similarity with that of Kusunda's. Both Kusunda and Chepangs are found in the hills of Nepal.
The Kusundas are getting 'extinct' - as it appears at the moment. There may be Kusundas still alive. The Kusunada language is now extinct - it is so believed. The SIL has already classified this language as falling in Tibeto-Burman family. Hayu, Chepang and Kusund are of the same stock; coming from the Lophas of Bhutan.
Masarh is an ancient village full of relies. The old name of the village, as mentioned in the inscriptions in the Jain temple of Parasnath at the village, is Mahasara. According to legend, it is the seat of Banasura or Banaraja whose daughter Usha was married to Aniruddha, a grandson of Lord Krishna. Hiuen Tsang visited the village and the village is identified to be Hiuen Tsang's Mo-cho- so- la. General Cunningham of the Archaeo- logical Survey of India mentions that the village was originally called Padmavatipura till Vimalanatha, a Jain Kshatriya of Masarh, a village elsewhere, became the proprietor of the village and changed the name to Mahasara. To the east of the village there is a small river by name Banas. It is commonly believed that the village was once almost on the bank of the river Ganga that has now receded to a distance of about 10 miles.
The demon Bana was the eldest of the hundred sons of Bali, who in turn was the son of Virochana and grandson of Prahlad (son of Hiranyakasipu and devotee of Narasimha). Banas mother was Vindhyavali. Bana, the king of demons (asuras) ruled over Sonita-pura. The word 'bana' also means an arrow.
Bana = Vana = Forest
Bana = Arrow
Bhillu = Bhil = Bow
He went to the Himalayan regions, and performed a penance invoking Siva's favour. When Siva appeared in answer to his austerities, Bana begged the god to bestow himself a thousand arms carrying a multitude of weapons to destroy all his enemies and opponents. He also desired that Parvati should consider him as her son. Bana was a great devotee of Shiva and there are several famous self manifest bana-lingas being worshipped in India.
Banasura was a powerful and terrible asura. All people even the king of earth and Devas of heaven were afraid of him. Bana was a follower of Siva. Banasura ruled in present day central Assam with his capital at Sonitpur (Present day Tezpur, Assam). Banasura's wife's name was Kandala. Banasura had a beautiful daughter named Usha. Usha one day saw a young man in her dream and fell in love with him.He was Aniruddha, the grandson of Lord Krishna. There was a war between Banasura and Krishna in which Banasura was defeated. Krishna married Usha with Aniruddha and brought them to dwaraka. Banasura moved to Himalayas and devoted his life in worship of Shiva.
There is a well known story that Bali Chakravarty was pushed down to Pathala loka by Vamana, one of the incarnations of Vishnu. The great soul Bali donated the earth to the Lord in the form of Vβmana. Mahabali was the grandson of Prahlada, who was a great devotee of Vishnu. The state of Kerala was said to be the capital of the Asura (demon) king, Mahabali. The real name of Mahabali is Indrasena and belonged to Indo_aryan race of Daityas, who settled in India. Most of the incarnations of Vishnu were connected with the struggle with Maha Bali lineage. Mahabali was the son of Veerochana and grandson of Prahlad. Prahalada's father was the Asura King Hiranyakashipu who was killed by Vishnu in his avatar as Narasimha The Man-Lion). Hiranya Kasipu's brother Hiranyksha was killed by Vishnu in his Avatar of Varaha (Boar). Mahabali himself was tricked into surrendering his Kingdom to Vishnu because he cared more about his morality than his Kingdom. The war between vishnu and the Mahabali continued after Mahabali. We do have the story of killing of Mahabali's grandson Ravana. Evidently Vaishnavites and the people of Mahabali were historically opposing religions. The feud extended even beyond Mahabali till the time of Ravana.
Mahabali's grandson Ravana could be a Raya king. The name Ravan may a modification of the name Rayan. Ravan, Mahiravan and Vibheeshan were brothers. The capital city of Ravana was located in Srilanka where Rama's wife Sita was kept under captivation by Ravana.
Raya => Rayan => Ravan => Ravana
Maha + Rayan = Maharayan => Mahirayan => Mahiravan
Maha = Muthu = Mudi = Great
Mahi = Earth = Globe
Maharavan = Great King
Mahiravan = King of whole eath
In the state of Kerala, the Onam festival is a celebration of the visit of Mahabali or Maveli (local name of Bali) to their land. According to legend, Mahabali requested Vamana to grant him a boon to come and visit his homeland, Kerala, at least once a year, and he comes to visit his people and his land during Onam. Vamana also told Mahabali that he is destined to become Indra in the next cycle of creation. In Maharashtra, the third day of Diwali is celebrated as 'Bali Pratipada'. On this day, a statue of Bali is worshipped at homes. In Bhavishyottara and Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Diwali is associated with the Daitya king Bali, who is allowed to return to earth once a year. Some believe that the "festival of lights" came from the theory that light would keep Bali away from your house.
It is interesting to note that the Pallava kingdom ruled from the capital city of Maha-bali-puram(Mahabalipuram) starting from around 7th century. There are mentions of many Bana chieftains, (Banasura being son of Bali), ruling Tamilnadu during the periods when the Chera, Chola and Pandiya were not as powerful.
2. Theory of Kalabhras as a branch of Kalachuris of M.P :
Prof., Ramaswami Ayangar asserts that these valiant Kalabhra kings were the devoted followers of Jainism. He proved it on the basis of copper plate of Veluikudi and Painyapuranam of Tamil language. Jainism flourished after their reaching in Tamil country. Shri Ayangar presumes that these Kalabhras were a branch of Kalchuri clan. The Kalchuri kings of M.P. were supporters of Jainism. The evidence on this is that they were closely related to Rashtrakuta. The Rashtrakuta kings had their faith in Jainism. The influence of Jainism during reign of Kalchuri kings of Kalyani was perceptible. The prominent king Vijjala of this clan and his several statesmen had adopted Jainism. Rechmayya, the minister of Kalchuri State set up the image of Tirthankar Shantinath at Shravanabelagola. Kokolu and Baddigam are two surnames of Mudiraj and they seems closely related names to royal clans of Kalchuri's - Kokalla and Rastrakuta's - Baddiga. Kalchuris are believed to be the mixed blood Indo-Aryans resulted due to matrimonial alliance between Aryan Chedis and Dravidian Bhil -Koils. For more details about kalachuris, please refer to page on "Origins " under subtitle " Kalchuri Origins" in this website.
Kalachedis => Kalacheris => Kalachuris => Kalchuris
The earliest known Kalacuri family (c. AD 550620) ruled in northern Maharashtra, Gujarat, Malwa (Malava), and parts of the western Deccan and probably had their capital at Mahismati in the Narmada River valley. Three members of the familyKrsnaraja, Sankaragana, and Buddharajaare known from epigraphs and coins distributed over a wide area. Although the rise of the Badami Calukyas (Chalukyas) ended Kalacuri power in the early 7th century.
The best known Kalacuri family in Indian history ruled in central India, with its base at the ancient city of Tripuri (modern Tewar). Its origin is placed about the beginning of the 8th century, but little is known of its early history. The line comes into clearer focus only with Kokalla I (reigned c. 850885). The period between Kokalla I and Kokalla II (reigned c. 9901015) is marked by a consolidation of Kalacuri power and by their relations with contemporary dynasties. The success attributed to Kokalla I against the Pratiharas, the Kalacuris of Uttar Pradesh, the Guhilas of Marwar, the Cahamanas of Sakambhari, and the kings of Vanga and Konkan appears somewhat exaggerated. Matrimonial relations with the powerful Rastrakuta family of the Deccan remained uninterrupted for some time, and the Kalacuris were at times involved in Rastrakuta politics, as in the period of Yuvaraja I (reigned c. 915945). Between the mid-9th and the early 11th centuries the Kalacuris pursued a policy of traditional hostility toward the kingdoms of south Kosala, Kalinga, Gauda, and Vanga; occasional clashes with the Gurjaras, the Chandelas (Candellas), the eastern Calukyas, the Gujarat Caulukyas, and others are mentioned in their records.
Two other Kalacuri families are known to history: the Kalacuris of Sarayupara and the Kalacuris of Ratanpur. The Sarayupara family ruled a territory along the banks of the Sarayu (modern Ghaghara) River, in the Bahraich and Gonda districts, Uttar Pradesh. The family originated in the late 8th century and lasted until the last quarter of the 11th century, when its kingdom extended from the Ghaghara River to the Gandak River and included the towns of Bahraich, Gonda, Basti, and Gorakhpur.
The Ratanpur Kalacuris, who first ruled from Tummana and later from Ratanpur (16 miles [26 km] north of Bilaspur), were distantly related to, and feudatories of, the Tripuri Kalacuris. Beginning to rule in the early 11th century, they gained prominence under Jajalladeva I in the early 12th century. Early historical documents of their rule continue to Pratapamalla (reigned c. 11881217) and are then interrupted until the 15th century, by which time the family had split into two branchesRatanpur and Raipur. No authentic historical document relating to their history after the 15th century is known.
3. Theory of Pullis of Vengadam as the Kalabhras :
The most satisfactory theory identifies the Kalabhras with the Kalavar, and the chieftains of this tribe mentioned in Sangam literature are Tiraiyan of Pavattiri and Pulli of Vengadam or Tirupati. The Kalvar must have been dislodged from their habitat near Tirupati by political events of the third century A.D., viz. the fall of the Satavahanas and the rise of Pallavas, resulting in political confusion in Tondaimandalam.
Kalvarkalvar belongs to Tamil Muthurajas
The Kalavars and Kalabhras, the names of clans and families quite in resemblance to Kalewar, Kalawad or Kalawade and Kalbhor, Bhor, Kalmegh and even Kale in Maharashtra are not without their historical roots.
Pavattiri and Pulli were the two regions in the hill ranges of Vengadam (Thirupathi). These regions were ruled by Kalavar or Kalabar or kalabra chieftains.
Puli seems to be a modification of the name Pulli. PULI is one of the surnames of Telugu - Mudiraj community people today. A similar PULI related surnames exist among the people of Muthuraja community in Tamilnadu which indiacte the names of ruling clans of medieval times. Some such surnames starting with PULLI or PULI are given above in the introductory page.
Pullikunaran => Pulli => puli
Pavattiri - The capital city of Tiraiyans : As per some historians, the Sangam literature gives us a Tondaman, ruling from his northern capital at Pavattiri, Reddipalem in the Gudur Taluk, and held rule over the northern Tondamandalam.
Pavattiri is mentioned in sangam works(akanAnURu 340). Tamil scholars tell that pavattiri / pauvattiri refers to seafaring. There was a placae by name "kAkanti", in the county of Pavattiri which was destroyed by the sea. . This kAkanti nowadays goes by the name pANDurangam near Madras or the kAkanti near Madras is called pavattiri. After the Vijayanagar empire's days, the British first settled in this kAkanti, before moving onto Madras. The pANDurangesvarar temple here has an inscription, (for example):"kaTalkoNTa pavattirik kOTTak kAkanti". Also, there are 10th-11th century Chola inscriptions in another place, kAkanti north of Madras. Near SriharikOTTa, an ISRO center. According to the Buddhist epic, maNimEkalai, "kAkanti" is the name of the port-town where the mouth of the river, kAveri is located.
Interestingly, there is an inscription engraved on a railing of the south-eastern quadrant of the Bharhut stupa. It reads "kAkaMdiya somAya bhichhuniya dAnaM". This railing is preserved in the Indian museum, Calcutta. Iravatham Mahadevan has a paper about kAkanti in old Buddhist sources as Kaveri-pattinam based on MaNimEkalai references. Hulzsch has referred to the mention of KAkandI in Jaina literature (paTTAvalI of Kharatavagachha). Bhaveru jAtaka talks about taking Crows in Ships /Boats abroad. This could be the reason why ports are called kAkanti ( kAkampi). There is a port mentioned in Pallava inscriptions kAkanti (and temples) near Madras. Manimekalai calls Kaveri-paTTinam port town as kAkanti 6 times.
Some say that Kakanti stands for a Sea port town. This means that the country of Pavattiri was extended to east upto bay of bengal in Thiruprhi region. As per the list of Mutharayar surnames published by Cholamutharayar Research Center, Thanjore, we come across one surname "Peivettirayar" starting with Pavattiri indicating the kalabra- mutharayar connection through Pavattiri, a sea port town of Tiraiyans.
Pavattiri + Rayar = Pavattirayar
Pavattirayar => Pavettirayar => Pevettirayar => Peivettirayar
Vengadam : The name of Thirupathi Hills was known as Vengadam in olden days. Vengadam is generally described as belonging to Tiruvengadakottam of the Tondamandalam. The old name of Vengadam was Pullikunran, the land of Pullis. Vengadam was the capital of a chieftain called pulli. Balaji is known Lord Venkateswara (Vengadeswara) due to the reason that he was the lord of Vengadam hills. There are also some surnames among Muthuraja which indiacte the names of ruling clans of medival times starting with vengadam & Thirumala and they are as given below :
Thirumalrayar
Vengaikodirayar
Vengaiyar
The region of Tirupati was within Asoka's Empire and below Thirupathi was under three traditional Adhirajas i.e Chola, Chera and Pandyas. Earliest Inscriptions found were definitely Buddhist, and South India was free from Brahmin influence. Tondamandalam was the land of Nagas and there was no Murthi in Vengadam in Sangam Age. Murthi came into existence during Buddhist rule. Old name of Vengadam was Pulikunram, land of Pullis who were Buddhists. Rulers of Vengadam were Kalabhras who were Buddhist. Kalabhras fought against Brahmin supremacy and were abused by Brahmin epigraphists after their rule ended.
Kalabras were "Kala Veeras" & "Kala Arasars" : The areas of Hampi and Tirupati hills were part of Dandakaaranya in South Deccan India. Tondamandalam was the original area of Kalabhras. It was forming the part of Asokan empire and it was under Buddist influence. Pullis, Tiraiyans, Tondamans represent people rather than individuals, and that all these local people were one and the same. The local people and kalvar chieftains were the Pullis and Tiraiyan of Pavattiri and these so called less civilized Kalavar people later migrated from the land of Tondamandalam to southward areas and caused so called anarchy and got designated as wicked by the Brahmin epigraphists. And these Kalabars were the same as Kalabhras, and were Buddhists. And these Kalabhras were termed as "Kali-Arasar", 'uncivilized', 'wicked' and by all sorts of abuses by brahmins, and their history suppressed, only evidences remaining extant in Buddhist books. The real bone of contention seems to be that they cancelled the rights of the Brahmins from the brahmdeya villages, i.e. the villages gifted to Brahmins.
Kalabhras => Kalabras =>Kalabars
Kalabras or Kalabhras means balck warriors. The word Kalabhras seems to be derived from the word Kalabiras or kalaviras. Arasar, Arasa, Rasa, Raya, Rayar, Aryar, Arayar, Araiyar - all these too stand for warrior / king race people.
Kalabra = Kalabira
Kala = Black
Bira = Vira = Veera = Beera = Warrior
Kalaveera = Kalabeera = Black Warrior
Kalaveera => Kalabeera => Kalabera => Kalabra => kalabhra
Kalavira => Kalabira => Kalabra => Kalabhra
Kalavira => Kalavera => Kalavara => Kalavar => Kalvar
Kalavira => Kalabira => Kalabir => Kalabar
The Kalabhras and Kalavars were one and the same people. These people are also called Kalappalars by some historians. When Satvahanas put pressure on them, these anti-Brahmanic Buddhist people who were ruling around Tirupati migrated to whole of South India and ruled most of it for centuries.
Kalabhras = Kalappalars = Kalappilars
Kalabhras were a misterious, evil, wicked and warrior race people from North of Tamilakam who invaded Tamil & Malayalee speaking South Indian lands creating a great chaos and they were either jain or buddist followers.
Kalabras were were also termed as Kala Arasars. The term Arasar means Aryan and the people from North India were normally termed as Aryans in Tamil speaking areas.
Aryan => Arayan => Araiyan
Arayan =>Arasan => Arasar
Kali = Black
Arasar = king
Kali Arasars = Black knings
The ancestors of Western Ganga kings could be the Kalabhras : The western Ganga king Sripurisha assumed the title of "Muttarasa" and his son Shivamara-II too assumed the "Muttarasa " title. The Western Gangas are said to be the migrants from ganga river belt in North India. They were the expert elephant tamers. Some of these Muttarasa kings wrote books dealing on the subject of Elephant catching and taming. The kalabhras of Thirupathi region (Vengadam) are said to be elephant tamers.
Balaji - A Buddhist Statue ? :
Jamanadas claims that the image at Tirupati had been sculpted between 3rd to 5th centuries in the reign of Kalabhras, who were Buddhists. It is said by scholars that the image of Lord Tirumalai bears some resemblance to the famous Budhisattva Padmapani painting in cave I of the Ajanta Hills. It is said that after the fall of Kalabhra dynstay and revival of brahminism under the guidance of Adi Shankara, the Buddhist shrines were converted to Vishnu temples in a phased manner by declaring Buddha was one of the incarnations of Vishnu. Balaji statue originally had only two hands just like that of any Buddha's statue but the Vishnava brahmins added two more artificial hands from behind with shanku and chakra to give an impression of Vishnu. The image os Sridevi or Laxmi on the left chest of Balaji was also mythical creation and it was purely a grand plan to kill Buddhism and revive brahminism among the dravidian masses who belonged to the race of sakyan - koli Buddha of dravidian origin Many scholars proved that such efforts of the Brahmins have expected good results for them to show their superiority over Buddhism. .
It is said that the statue of Balaji was originally that of Buddha, which was worshipped by kalabhras and later on it was converted into the statue of Vishnu by brahmins. The image of Lord Venkatesvara was not sculptured by the artist as an image of Vishnu, but that of Avalokitesvara, sometimes in the reign of Kalabhras, after the period of Mamulanur, and before the period of Silappadhikaran, around 3rd to 5th century A.D. Murthi's hands were not holding the sankha and/or chakra. The sankha and chakra were placed in the hands of the murthi at some date later than the date of sculpture of the murthi, and in all probability at the times of Ramanuja. In the times of decline of Buddhism, no bhikshus were left to look after the shrine which was converted into a Brahmanic shrine. The idea of Buddha being the avatara of Vishnu was spread to take roots in the minds of people and later they started worshipping the Lord on the Vengadam hill with the belief in the Buddha as the avatara of Vishnu. And finally people know that the statue of balaji means that of Vishnu only and completely forgot that it was once that of Buddha.
We saw the unique practice of Tonsure at Tirupati. Here not only men but also women, married as well as unmarried undergo tonsure. It is proper to consider that Conversion of Buddhists is the main reason for tonsure. Tonsure was practiced by lay Buddhists as well as by Bhikshus. Tonsure is ancient practice in this temple. Shaven headed men let alone women are inauspicious to Hindu tradition. It is a well known fact that a sight of shaven headed is inauspicious to a Hindu since long back, since the decline of Buddhism in India. Brahmins had to concede to Tonsure much against their wish. Tonsure is not a method of Vishnu worship, and Tirumalai tonsures have no relation with Vaishnavism, also they are not Tantric or Natha practices. Tonsures at Tirthas in late Puranas have no relation to Tirumalai tonsures, neither Tirumalai tonsures are praischittas. They are the remnants of Buddhist practices.
Kalavars, kalabras and Kurubas were one and the same people :
Kalavars were known to be Mamulanur refers to the region of Thirupathi as Vengadam of great prosperity, prosperous because of its having festivals.The region was under government of chieftain by name Pulli ruling over a people who are described as Kalvar, possibly with a variant from Kalvar. This territory was considered part of Tondamandalam. Mamulanar's poem 61 of Ahananuru has a passage that, "the chieftain of Kalvar who are in the habit of handing over elephant tusks, barter in them for liquor prepared from paddy, and who wore anklets characteristic of warriors, was Pulli famed for conquest of the land of the Malavar, and for great gifts to those who went to him....."
The brave and valiant Maravars and the Kalvars were robbers. Agananuru gives more details about cattle raiding. Here, the cattle raiders are Kalvar, Mazhavar, Panar, Maravar and Vadugar. It also mentions abpout the beating of a big drum at the time of seizure of cattle from the enemies. The reference about capture of cattle and their bringing after defeating Maravar with arrows and bows and then celebration with pride, beating drum and dancing is very significant., as it exactly tallies with Tolkappiyam. Besides, there are hundreds of references about the nature and usage of cattle in the ancient Tamil society.
These Kalavars are the same as Kalabhras. When Satvahanas put pressure on them, these anti-Brahmanic Buddhist people who were ruling around Tirupati migrated to whole of South India and ruled most of it for centuries, and these centuries are now termed by Brahmin historians as `dark age', not only because scanty information is available from Brahmanic sources but also because it was anti-Brahmanic age. They were abused by the Brahmins and their history was wiped out. But the Buddhist books still preserve their history.
Kalaviras => Kalaveeras
Kalaveeras => Kalaveras => Kalaberas => Kalabaras => Kalabras
Kalabras => Kalabhras
Kalaveeras =>Kalaveras => Kalavaras => Kalavars => Kalvars
The classical Pandiyan kingdom was destroyed and weakened by the invading Kalappiras who were otherwise called kalappala in the 3rd century a.d. The Kalappira/Kalappalas were from northern Karnataka or central India. The Sangha age and learning came to an abrupt end. The Kalappalars Kings were called Muthariyars and the Aristorcracy and soldiers were called Kalappalars. The Kalappalars ruled most of the presentday Tamil Nadu and Kerala hence called Mutharaiyar. The Pandiyan kingdom was eclipsed from 300-600 A.D. All the classical books were destroyed.
The classical period ended around the fourth century CE with invasions by Kalabhra, referred to as the kalappirar in Tamil literature and inscriptions. These invaders are described as evil kings and barbarians coming from lands to the north of the Tamil country. This period, commonly referred to as the dark age of the Tamil country, ended with the rise of the Pallava dynasty.
The gradual pressure from the Andhra Empire seems to have set up a popular movement resulting in the migration of the somewhat less civilized people who seem to have completely upset the Governments of South India and introduced what may well be regarded as a period of anarchy to which later inscriptions refer to in unmistakable terms. This is the movement of the people called Kalvar or Kalavar, and they must have moved down from the region round and about Vengadam, if not from the whole of Tondamandalam.
Kurubas of Vengadam (Thirupathi) hills : KURUMBAS and Kurubas, aboriginal tribes of southern India, by some thought to be of distinct races. The Kurumbas , which means a Shepherd. The chief occupation of the Kurumbas used of be collection of plantains and other fruits, gathering of honey, resin and medical herbs. Kurumbas are found useful for hunting and snaring of big game. The Kurumbas are very shy, and dislike seeing strangers or being questioned by them. For a long time, the Kurumbas were supposed to have magical powers. Stories are told how they could summon wild elephants and tigers at will, and reduce rocks to power merely by scattering mystical herbs on them.
According to Poygai Alvar, the Vengadam hill was the habitat of elephants, which the "Kuravars" or "Kurbas" who inhabited or frequented the hill used to capture and tame and also scare away huge pythons. He observes that, the Tamil term Kuravar used by the early Alvars is corruption of "Kuraba", who were residents of this area and also of Kurnool, Mysore, Salem, coimbatore and the Nilgiris. He mentions the names of Kurubalakota, Kurubalpatti, Kuruba Nagalapuram, Kurumba Palayam, Kurumbapatti, Kurumbharhalli etc. in various areas. He says Kurabas or Kuravar were a verile people, who were in possession of Tirupathi Hills and surrounding area before Pallavas conquerred it.
Kalabhras => Karabhras => Kurabhras =>Kurabras => Kurabars
Kurabars => kurabas => Kuravas
Kurabars => Kurabas => Kurubas
Kurabars => Kuravars
Kurabars <=> Kurubars <=> Kuruvars
Kurabas = Kurubas = Kuravas
Kurabas of Coorg train elephants : Amidst the lush greenery of Coorg and on the banks of the Cauvery is the Dubare elephant training camp. Run by the Forest department, the camp trains wild elephants captured from the wilds with the help of tamed elephants and the Kurabas, the local tribes. The Dubare reserve forest was where the Maharaja of Mysore also used to train his elephants for the grand Mysore Dussera festival. The Kurubas inhabiting the forests of the Karnataka and Coorg districts have Negroid features. They are primitive in every respect. They are gatherers of food, hunters, and nomads. Kurubars are shepherds and traditional blanket weavers in the Devimane Ghat forest of Kumta taluk of Uttara Kannada.
It is to be noted that Coorga was ruled by Muddurajas. The Muddurajas and Mudirajas are one and the same.
Kurubas or Kurumas are Hindus : Kurubas or Kurumas are Hindus concentrated mainly in the southern states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Unofficial population estimate in these two states is about 16 million. They are also known as Yadavas and Dhangars in Maharashtra. The Jenu Kurubas lived in the forest, and they were famous for their skill in gathering honey from wild beehives. The word "jenu" means "honey" in Kannada, the local language.
Kurubas => Kurumbas => Kurumas => Kudumbas
The Kurubars and Santals are barbarous hill-tribes of Central India and are are noted for veracity. It is a common saying that "a Kurubar always speaks the truth;" and Major Jervis says, "the Santals are the most truthful men".
The word Kuruba has a powerful meaning, It means 'warriors' and 'trustworthy people'. The word "Kuru" means "do or seek" in Sanskrit, and "Kuruhu" means "trust" in Kannada. "Kuruba" can be inferred to mean "doers" or "trustworthy (male person)". Kuruba can also be inferred to mean Seeker of Knowledge, Kuru (seek), Bha (Knowledge, Light). The Kuruba community is one of the oldest existing communities of India, tracing its history back to Mahabharata times. People of the Kuruba community have long essayed a variety of professions, and have not been confined to their traditional (and still predominant) occupation as shepherds and farmers. Undeniably, a very large section of rural gentry in Karnataka, and many chieftains and feudal barons in past eras, have belonged to the Kuruba community. Some historions say prominent Kurubas have been Hakkaraya and Bukkaraya, founders of Vijayanagara Empire, Hoysalas, Pallavas, Holkars, Sangolli Rayanna, Mauryas, Yadavas etc. Kurubas have also few social thinker and poets. Great poets like Kalidasa, Kanakadasa are Kurubas. Ancestoral worship as deities is very common.
People identified as Kurumbas have been reported across a wide area in south India. Major settlements, however, are found in the Nilgiri area. There the Kurumbas occupy the thickly forested slopes, glens, and foothills of the Nilgiri Plateau. The Nilgiri groups are seven in number: the Alu-(milk), Palu-(milk), Betta-(hill), Jenu-(honey), Mulla- (net), and Urali-(village) Kurumbas, as well as the Mudugas (no etymology). Each is a distinct ethnic group differing from the others in dialect, religious beliefs, and other cultural attributes. The traditional occupation of the Kurumbas of Nilgiris is food gathering, like collection of honey and forests produce. They are also cultivating millets like ragi and samai on a small scale mainly on hill slopes and mountain ridges. Honey fetches considerable remuneration for the Kurumbas. Kurumbas are known to possess keen eyesight, gained possibly from constant watching of the honey bee to the hives. Now, they are mainly engaged in agriculture and those who do not own lands work as casual agricultural labourers. The Kurumbas are had working people, but the economic condition of the Kurumbas is very poor.
Kurubas, velirs (Irukkuvels), Chola-Mutharayars, pandyas and pallavas formed a flexible political cluster with minor shifts among them in South Indian Medieval power politics and it was strengthened through matrimonial alliances. They were neither permanent enemies nor permanent friends to each other; it just depended on time & situation. There are many surnames such as kondeboina which are common or similar ones between Yadavas (Velirs & Irukkuvels) and Mudiraj in Andhra Pradesh. This might be due to their joint association in establishing and expanding Vijayanagar empire with capital cities at Hampi and Chandragiri. Telugu bants were known as Mudiraj and Tuluva bunts were known as kurubas. We may also call the Vijayanagar kingdom as the kingdom of Bunts & Bants.
Readres can get more details about Kurubas under page -"Origins" and section " Bunt - Bant Origins" of this website.
The Kalavars and Kalabhras, the names of clans and families quite in resemblance to Kalewar, kalawad or Kalawade and kalbhor, Bhor, Kalmegh and even Kale in Maharashtra are not without their historical roots. The Kalabhras mentioned by the author belonged to Chola country and are the Buddhist, but later on converted to Brahminism. It is very interesting to know the even Tirtha Yatras are started by the Buddhists and the Brahmins followed them from the Buddhist traditions to forget their earlier Buddhist religion and traditions.
Thondamans of Pudukottai were Telugu speaking warriors from Thirupathi :
There is a reference to one Todemana Muttarasa in the inscriptions of Badami Chalukyas. He could be a Muttarasa chieftain in Bellary Region. Bellary areas fall under ancient kingdom of Vanaras, who are believed to be ancestors of bants (mudiraj) / bunts (kurubas). Ballery was originally a Telugu speaking region and today the Telugu speaking people became minorities.
MISCELLANEOUS INSCRIPTIONS IN KANNADA - VOLUME IX ( Part - I ) -CHALUKYAS OF BADAMI - No. 52 - (A.R. No. 734 of 1919.) - ON A SLAB SET UP NEAR THE ISVARA TEMPLE AT NAGARURU, ALUR TALUK, BELLARY DISTRICT - This is not dated and is little damaged. It refers itself to the reign of the Chalukya king . . . ditya and records the grant of some land by Nagamangala. Mention is also made of Tondemana Muttarasa.
Alur- is located near to Davangere and Chitradurga towns in bellery district of Karnataka. Bellary was a part of the erstwhile Madras State. It became the part of Andhra state after first reorganisation of Indian states based on language. On the 1st of October, 1953, Andhra State came into existence. It consisted of the districts of Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Nellore, Chittoor, Cuddapah, Anantapur and Kurnool, and the taluks of Rayadurg, Adoni and Alur of the Bellary district. On the question of Bellary taluk, it was included in the Mysore State on the recommendation of L.S.Mishra Commission. Thousands of Kannadigas have been studying in various Kannada medium schools in Mehaboob Nagar, Kurnool, Ananthpur, Adoni, Alur and other places of Andhra Pradesh, which attached to the Bellary district, says the Kannadigas of Andhra Pradesh.
Tondemandalam : There were independent kingdoms of Naagas in South India also. These kingdoms came together and formed a federal republic. This federal republic of Naagas was termed as Fanimandal or Naagamandal. This Cheromandal republic of Naagas of South India was very powerful and indivisible at the time of Periplus, i.e. in 80 A.D. Later during Ptolemy's times, i.e. 150 A.D., north eastern part of Tondemandalam became separate. (J.P.Jain, 'bharatiya itihas', p. 239). This Cheromandal or Fanimandal was a federation of separate kingdoms of Naagas coming together to form a united national federation. In reality, it was a united Naaga Nation of South India. [Kosare:1989:179]
Tondeman => Tondemana => Tondemandalam
Tondamana : Tondemana could be a modified or corrupted version for the name - Tondamana. The Pallava kings at several places are called Tondamans or Tondaiyarkon. Some say that pallavas were Telugu speaking people from Palnadu. There is also a reference to one Tondamana who was a Tamil Chieftain and an ally of Kulasekhara.
Tondamana => Tondemana
Tondamana - A Damila chieftain, ally of Kulasekhara. He had a mountain fortress where Kulasekhara once lay in hiding, and his wife had three brothers, all of whom helped him. He owned the villages of Tirimalakka and Kattala. Cv.lxxvi.137, 315; lxxvii.1, 32, 39, 51, 74.
Tirimalakka : Parakkama, a Pandu (Pandyan) king of Madhura. When attacked by Kulasekhara, he appealed for assistance to Parakkamabahu 1. of Ceylon. Parakkamabahu sent an army under Lankapura to help him, but by the time the Sinhalese forces arrived, Kulasekhara had slain the king and his family and seized Madhura. Parakkama's youngest son, who escaped death, was Virapandu (Cv.lxxvi.76ff., 142, 193, 200). Parakkama was killed in the village of Tirimalakka. Ibid., lxxvii.52.
Kulasekhara : The Tirumittakkode temple epigraphs are one of the most important documents as far as the political and cultural situation of Nila river valley is concerned. This erigraph is the ol1ly evidence tv prove the Chola supremacy in lOth Centt.;ry AD in Kerala, which in turn accelerated the fall of Kulasekharas of Cranganore. The Alwar Tirumo?;hi itself reveal that Kulasekhara, the Chera king came over to the temple and prayed the diety for a helping hand. It is suspected that an idol in the form of a 'Sanyasin' seen in the temple complex worshipped as Dharmaputra, the eldest Pandava, is none other than the idol of Kulasekhara, placed by some devotees in commemoration of the visit of the royal king. However, the epigraph says that Cholamuttarayan with his army came over to Tirumittakkode (Tiruvittuvakkode - a place were Vittuva or Vishnu is worshipped) and the Vaishnava temple was brought to his custody. The 'Cholasenapati' was the army chief of RajendraChola of the 10-11th Century AD. He came aver to Tirumittakode, conquered the area where Valluvanadu Utaiyavar had their 'original ancestoral house at Arangot, a neighboring village and the temple complex. The Chola muttarayan constructed a temple of Siva in front of the Vittuva temple itself so that the front part of the Vittuva temple is barred from visionof the devotees.
Nila River Valley in Kerala : . It is noted that by eight or ninth century AD. on the western part of the valley. there arose very powerful original Brahmin settlements like Panniyur Sukapuram.The evidences show that there were Jainas or Budhist groups spread over the valley as a whole. This might have happened in 7th or 8th century AD. because we notice strong Jaina centres at Cranganore. By 10th century AD we note migration of Muttaraya groups, a group of Jaina converted Saivas on the banks of river Ni1a, on eastern half.
Tondamana semms to a modification of the name Thondaman. Once there was a Raja Thondaman who ruled Thonda Nadu in present day Tamilnadu.
Thondaman => Thondamana => Tondamana =>Tondemana
Thirupathi Region was the country of Tondamans : Vengadam (Tirupati ) is generally described as belonging to Tiruvengadakottam of the Tondamandalam...In classical Tamil literature, however, the division called Tondamandalam is described generally as Aruvanadu indicating Tondamandalam proper; and the country beyond and still dependent upon Tondamandalam and having intimate connection with it, is described as Aruvavadatalai, that is northern Aruva. Taking the two together the whole territory would be territory occupied by the people to whom belongs the Aruvanadu..." [Aiyangar:103]. That these people were none but what we understand as Nagas. It is well known that the Nagas were the followers and supporters of Buddhism. Several tribes mentioned in early literature are known with more or less certainty to have belonged to the Nagas, among them being the Aruvalar (in the Aruva-nadu and Aruva-vadatalai around Conjeeveram), Ennar, Maravar, Oliyar, and Paradavar (a fisher tribe)..." [Barnet, L.D., Camb.Hist. I, 539].
The people of Arauvanadu could be the Arayas (Indo-aryans) who came down to South India and settled in the region of Aruvanadu. Arayars of South India are basically North Indian Koliyan fishermen belonging to warrior community of Bhagavan Gautam Buddha and they are now recognised as a subcaste of Tamil Muthurajas .
Araya + Nadu => Arava + Nadu => Aravanadu
Aravanadu => Aruvanadu => Arauvanadu
The contention of Aiyangar, seen in Chapter 8, is that the Tondaman Chakravarthy of Puranas was a historical person and that he installed the Murthi and built a small temple for the Lord, and this was in the times around beginning of Christian era. He identifies this Puranic Tondaman with Tondaman Tiraiyan of Pavattiri and has averred that he is different from Tondaman Ilam Tiraiyan of Kanchi. There seems to be three Tondamans - the Tondaman or the Tondaman Chakravarthi referred to in the Puranas, the Tiraiyan of Pavattiri or northern Tondamandalam and Tondaman Ilam Tiraiyan of Kanchi. Tiraiyan means men of sea. The people having surname Peivettirayar are among Tamil Muthurajas today.
Pavattiri => Pavettiri = Peivettiri
Pavattirayar = Peivettirayar
Akasha Raja of Thirupathi was a Thondaman : Shri Venkatesha granted the boons to Aakasha Raajan , the king of Thondaimanaalam. Aakasa Raajan is the father of Padhmavathi Thayar and hence the father-in-law of Lord Venkatesan. He was the king of Thonaaimandalam and his queen was Dharani devi. They performed Kanya dhanam to Lord SrInivasan at Naarayaaa puram and recieved boons and blessings from the Lord of Thiruvenkatam. The brother of AakAsa Raajan was ThondaimAn chakravarthy , another blessed bhakthA of Lord VenkatEsa.
The Thondaimans of Pudukkottai were Telugu warriors : They came to rule with full sovereignty over the Pudukkottai area from the middle of the 17th century till its amalgamation with the rest of India after Indian Independence in 1947. The ancestors of the Pudukkottai ruling line of Thondaimans, are migrants from Thirupathi ( Part of Rayalaseema ) region in the Thondaimandalam, the northern stretch of the ancient Tamil Kingdom, along with the Vijaynagar army, which was in engagement in this part of territory in the early 17th century. It is probable that one among them got some lands assigned to him by the local Pallavarayar chieftain and settled down at Karambakudi and Ambukovil area, and became the chieftain of the area, later came to be called as the progenitor of Thondaimans of Pudukkottai ruling house. According to the legendary account found in a Telugu poem, Thondaiman Vamasavali, the Thondaimans belonged to Indravamsa and the first ruler was Pachai Thondaiman.
Avadi Raya Thondaiman, the successor of Pachai Thondaiman, with the favour of Venkata Raya III, the king of Vijayanagar got extended the land in his possession in the region and he was also conferred the title Raya. The Avadi Raya Thondaiman inherited Vijayanagar tradition and the Thondaimans of later period adopted it. His son Ragunatha Raya Thondaiman came close to the Nayak of Thanjavur and Rangakrishna Muthuvirappa Nayak of Tiruchirappalli. He was appointed as the arasu kavalar of Tiruchirappalli. About the time that Raghunatha Raya Thondaiman became the ruler of Pudukkottai, Namana Thondaiman, his brother became the chief of Kulathur Palayam (present Kulathur taluk area) with the blessings of the Nayak king Ranga Krishna Muthuvirappa of Tiruchirappalli (1682-1689) and Kulathur continued as separate "principality - with its ruler known as Kulathur Thondaiman " till about 1750 when it was annexed to Pudukkottai.
Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Thondaiman (1730-1769) was the second in the line of Thondaiman dynasty. During his period the whole of India come under the umbrella of the Mughals. The famous war of succession to the office of Nawab of Carnatic between Mohamad Ali and Chanda Sahib, became in due course a war of supermacy between the English and the French in South India which resulted in the Carnatic wars. The Thondaiman was firmly on the side of the English at his time while the rulers like Thanjavur Marathas wavered. At last the English emerged as the masters of this land. The Thondaiman's act of friendship towards English was continued by the next ruler Raya Raghunatha Thondaiman (1769-1789). Vijaya Raghunatha Thondaiman (1789 - 1807) helped the English and the Nawab. The Nawab Mohamed Ali conferred up on the Thondaiman the title Raja Bahadur. The political wind was in favour of the English. The entire Carnatic region was taken over by the English by 1800. Pudukkottai was treated as a State and the Raja was quasi-independent ruler with full powers of administration.
It was during the time of this ruler Vijaya Raghunatha Thondaiman, the Poligar war took place between the English and the rebellious palayakars of Thirunelveli, the most significant of whom was Veerapandia Kattabomman or Kattabommu Nayak. At the request of the English administration Kattabomman was captured near Thirumayam by the soldiers of Thondaiman and handed over to the English at Madurai. While Kattabomman has risen in general estimation as a hero, the image of Thondaiman as reflected in the events of the time, has suffered a fall because capturing and handing over of Kattabomman and come to be regarded as betrayal and as an unpatriotic act.
The next ruler Raja Vijaya Reghunatha Raya Thondaiman (1807-1825) was crowned when he was a minor and the British Government appointed Major John Blackburn, to undertake the management of the province of Pudukkottai. Raghunatha Thondaiman (1825 - 1839) was conferred with the title His Excellency by the British Government. Raghunatha Thondaiman was succeeded by his son Ramachandra Thondaiman (1839 - 1886) whose long tenure of office was marked by extravagance and gross mismanagement. Ramachandra Thondaiman has renovated many temples in the State. He was succeeded by Marathanda Bhairava Thondaiman. Marthanda Bhairava Thondaiman (1886-1928) became the ruler of the state at the age of 11. The administration was looked after by a council with the approval of the British Government. Raja Rajagopala Thondaiman (1928 -1948) the last and ninth in the line of Thondaiman rulers, was selected by the British Government and was crowned when he was six years old. The administration was looked after by English administrators, among them Alexandar Totenham was noteworthy.
An inscribed granite pillar, giving details of the hitherto little known Aranthangi Thondaimans, and also of the establishment of a `Thannerpandal' (drinking water centre) for pilgrims proceeding to Rameswaram, has been discovered by Mr. Raja Mohamed, curator of the Pudukottai Museum, and secretary of the Pudukottai History Forum. The pillar refers to a drinking water centre for the pilgrims in the year 1683 by Muthu Vanangamudi Thondaiman, son of Chidambara Vanangamudi Thondaiman of Aranthangi, and the gifts made by the Thondaiman for the maintenance of the drinking water centre. The inscriptions also refer to the donation of land for the presiding deity, Lord Thyagaraja (Telugu saint poet), of Tiruvarur.
There are references 60 Thondaimans as ruling chiefs, administrative and military chiefs, royal personages etc., in quite a few places, at different points of time, it was very difficult to bring them all under a single clan, or connect one another ethnically or politically. The Aranthangi Thondaimans were an independent line of chieftains, ruling from Aranthangi, and their reign flourished even about 200 years before the rule of the Thondaimans of Pudukottai (which started in about 1640). Aranthangi Thondaimans were the chief patrons of the Avudayarkovil temple, and had liberally donated to the maintenance of the temple, as indicated by copper plates in the possession of the Tiruvavaduthurai Adheenam. Though there are references to the Aranthangi Thondaimans in the inscriptions in the temples in Avudayarkovil, Alappiranathan, Pillaivayal, Aranthangi, Kovilur, Paramandur, Palankarai, Piranmalai, Thiruvarankulam, Kurumbur, details of these rulers are rather sketchy.
Raja Thondaman of Thondanadu : The history of ancient southern India is replete with the glory of Thonda Nadu and its enlightened rulers. Perhaps the most well known of the kings of Thonda Nadu, was Thondaman. Thondaman being a ruler keen on the establishment of a righteous society, viewed the activities of small chieftains in the neighbourhood of his kingdom with disapproval. The chieftains were sheer lumpen who indulged in loot and arson and had built up large fortresses to hoard their ill-gotten wealth. Ensconced in their jungle fortresses, they repulsed all attacks with ease.
Raja Thondaman decided to put an end to this terror that was greatly harming his subjects, who were afflicted with the periodic raids of these chieftains. He proceeded northwards to meet these chieftains, mainly Vanan, Onan and Kanthan, in battle. When dusk fell, the king decided to rest for the night. During the night, the king heard the clanging of bells and to him it sounded like the night puja in a Shiva temple. In the morning, the king mentioned this to his commanders and wondered whether there was a temple of Lord Shiva in the neighbourhood. The commanders told the king that the noise must have emanated from the fortress of the chieftains.
The following morning, fierce battle ensued between the forces of the king and those of the chieftains. Though initially the king's army could achieve success, the powers of the enemy seemed to increase with the use of a certain black magic. Raja Thondaman decided that his army needed a break and began a retreat to his jungle barrack.
On the way, the king's elephant got entangled in a jungle jasmine vine. Seeing his elephant thus trapped the king drew his sword and cut the vine in one swift stroke. Immediately the king saw blood on his elephant and wondered whether the vine had caused the wound. An inspection of the pachyderm revealed that it was unhurt. Thereupon the king removed the vine to see a strange sight of a Shiva Lingam that was spouting blood. Seeing this the king swooned thinking of what a heinous crime he had committed; of hurting the Lord Himself. When he awoke, he reasoned that being a king no human could impose a punishment on him for his offence; therefore he decided to punish himself with death. As he drew his sword to cut his throat, Lord Shiva appeared and said "son , stop. Don't feel bad about the bleeding of the Lingam. I can never be blemished. I am forever Masilamani"(Masilamani means one who has no blemishes}.To his right was Parvathy and the lord was accompanied by Nandi. The lord told the king to wage battle again and said Nandi would assist him.
Thondaman won easily and set upon thereafter to build a temple for the lord he had seen- Masilamaneeswarar. The temple associated with this fascinating legend, is just on the outskirts of Chennai; at Thirumullaivayil. The name is indicative of the jasmine vine.This historic temple is over 1000 years old and is said to have been the moksha sthalam for many a devotee. Lord Shiva Himself is said to have been so loving of this place that He called it the Sthira nagaram; a place which was beyond destruction.
The main deity Masilamaneeswara is in Linga form. His consort is Kodiidai Nayaki. An unusual feature in this temple, is the way Nandi faces the same direction as the Lord. This is because he was bid by Shiva to fight the enemies and so he faces the temple door ready to take on the enemy.
In the 18th century the Shanmuganathan Murugan Temple located in Viralimalai was under the control of Pudukottai Thondaiman.
Viralimalai Sri Shanmuganathan Murugan Temple : During the reign of Ramachandra Thondaiman of Pudukottai the Lord is believed to have appeared in his dream and requested the offering of cigars for the Kalasandhi and Sayaratchai puja. The king is said to have been cured of his diseases after the offer of cigars to the Lord according to history. Viralimalai temple is situated in the heart of the town of Viralimalai. Hence the town takes the name of the hill. Buses, which ply from Tiruchy to Madurai and from Pudukottai to Illupur go via Viralimalai. Devotees can reach Tiruchy by road, rail or air and hence proceed to Viralimalai.
Were Kalabhras and Vadugars one and the same ?
It is observed that most of the invasions on the Tamil country were through Karnataka. It began with the Kalabhra invasions around 250 A. D., and their pillage over the Tamil country for over three centuries. Then came the Chlaukya, Hoysala, and Vijayanagara Nayakka invasions on the Tamil land. The Telugu Pallavas ruled over the Tamils after the Kalabhras. They were all mostly based in Telugu lands. One can find in the Sangam Tamil Classics frequent references to a semi-barbarian and ferocious stock of people who roamed around beyond the Vιnkadam (Thirupathi) hills.
Vadugar ' literally means `northerners', and was the name applied in Sangam literature to the ancestors of the Telugu Kannada people living in the Deccan, immediately to the north of the Tamil country whose northern limit was Vengadam, the Tirupati Hill.
In present Karnataka, the land between Kannan Pennai (Krishna) river & Thunkapatthirai river was the motherland of Vadukus. ThaaraVaadu and Belkam (Velakam) districts have red soil. Except this two districts, Northern part of Karnataka has only Black soil (Karisal nilam).(13) Magnesia, Alumina are surplus whereas Phosphorus, Humus are very less which led Vadukus non-paddy agricultural production only. Thus their ancient times went with Mullai (Mountain) and Paalai (desert) life. Vadukas who entered into tamil Nadu later period searched and stayed only in black soil areas (Karum kaadu) and such kind of telugu Vadukus were called as ' Karunkattu kaarar' by people of tamilNadu. Third sankam literature call them as 'Kurumbars'/ Aayar / Idayars. Asoka Inscription calls them as 'Hida Rajas'. Since, Vadukus were unorganized & ferocious battlers before Common Era, Pandiyan, Chola , Chera and Maurian Army used them in their battles as paid battlers.
Kosars' were west Vadukas and their origin is Kolappur near Goa. 'Erattar' were a branch of Kosars who turned 'Maa -rattar / Maraattar' Maha Rattirar (Prakrid)-Maharashtras(Sanskrit). Historien Burnell conforms this. They are in Kannada & Telugu as raddi / Reddy respectively. Kosars were called 'Nar kosar' / Nanmozhi Kosar' by Third sankam literature. Nannul / Tholkappiam explanatory notes says the types of kosars as kannadam, vaduku (Thulu), Kalingam (oriya) & Telugu. Kambaramayanam Payiram says the types of Kosars as Vadakalai (Prakrid), Thenkalai (tamil), Vaduku, Kannadam. Kosars were truthful to their kings either tamil kings or Maurian kings. That is why they were called 'Vai-mozhi Kosar'.(truthfull in keeping their words).
While Vadukus were buffer stock between Maurians and tamil kingdoms, Konku Velir were also buffer stock among tamil three kingdoms.They were all small kings under empires. They were not allowed to become kings of tamil land but became kings of Koduntamil parts. In course of time some of the Velirs mixed with Koduntamil Vadukars. First king name was Simukan. (Vaduku)-sivamukan(tamil). Second king was Kannan(tamil). Third king was Nootruvar Kannaran(tamil -Vaduku), Fourth king was Puli-mai (tamil). Nootruvar kannaran was also called Satha karni (Prahrit).
It is said that they served as mercenaries to many of the ancient States, particularly the Mauryas. They were called Vadugar in Tamil classics. Vadugars means people from North of Tamil speaking lands. These Vadugars got split into Eastern Vadugar and Western Vadugar. The Eastern Vadugar gradually became Telugus. The Western Vadugar, who were called as Kσsar in the Sangam literature, became the Kannadigas. The northern fraction of these Kσsar were called as Mβrattar; and they became the Marathis later. The northern segment of the Telugu Vadugar in Kalinga broke into Oddars or Oriyas.
The first ever territory that the Kosar or the Kannada Vadugar occupied in the former Chera country was the Tulunadu, as the Tamil literary evidences tell. Then they came down to the present Mysore, then called as Erumainβdu. It was thus called as it was conquered by a Vadugan called Erumai. He participated in the Thalaiyalankanam battle against Pandyan Nedunchezhiyan of the Sangam Age. The successive invasions of these Vadugar barbarians and their overrunning the Chera, Chola and Pandya empires of the antiquity was the cause for the fall of the Tamils and their subjugation and classification into low class aborigines.
There may be some truth in this Vadugar theory as they are said to be from Kosalar region of North India. This was the region or close to the region where Buddhism took roots first. Since Kalabhras came to South India with Buddhist inclinations and antibrahmin attitudes, it could be possible that Vadugars were Kalabhras.
4. Theory of Kalabhras coming from Sindhu River Basin ?
As Dr. Paranavithana and others have observed the Dravidians have come to South India through Sindhu region. It is probable that not only Sena Guttika but even Elara, Bhalluka and the five Dravida kings came from the same region. They would have been part of waves of Dravidian arrivals in South India and Sri Lanka. The fact that there were no invasions after the victory of Valagamba could imply that these Dravidian arrivals stopped by that time and also the Dravidian states in formation in South India were not strong enough to invade Sri Lanka. The next stage begins after the formation of the Dravidian states and it is believed that the Seven Dravida kings who invaded in 431 A.C. were Kalabhras.
India was a Dravidian country with Bhil-Koli race starting from Sindhu to Srilanka. Whether these people were the same kalabhras or not but such migrations took place due to invasions by foreigners from across Himalayas. There were no traditions of invasions in India before the arrival of Aryans in India. Dravidians in the Indian subcontinent had established a system of peoples republics where prominent people were elected / selected to Royal Courts through village Mutha or similar such systems. Mutha was a cluster of villages forming an administrative unit with an administrative head which was normally transferred within the same family members by inheritence.
Ambalakarars & Araiyars of Muthuraja community of Tamilnadu could be from Sindhu - Sarswati River basins : As per ancient Indian history, Aryan people had temporarily resided at Ambala at some point in time.There was a very popular place called Sarudhna near Ambala, which was the Aryan country's capital at that time. Studies in historical linguistics have revealed that a branch of Aryans, who had migrated to southern Mesopotamia and Iran, pushed forward further east and entered India around 1500 B. C. It was in this area of Haryana that the first hymns of the so-called Aryans were sung and the most ancient manuscripts were written. Urban settlements in Ghaggar (Saraswati) Valley date from before 3000 BC. From about 1500 BC, Aryan tribes became the first of many groups to invade the region.
In the times of the Vedas, the region encompassed by the rivers Saraswati and Drishadwati was named Brahmavarta by the sagely astrologer Manu (also said to be the first man on Earth). Manu is said to a Dravidian of North India. The first lot of Aryans from the west took a fancy to Brahmavarta and settled down here, spreading peace and prosperity all around. Because of this amazing ability to infuse harmony to the inhabitants of its banks, the Saraswati came to be known as `the life and soul' of the Aryans. Raja Dhasrat was a Suryavanshi and a descedant of Koli Mandhata. It is believed that either Raja Dhasrat or his elders had won over Aanu Aryans of Sind Raja. Hence Sriram was a Dravidian or an Indo-aryan but not an aryan. He belonged to the same race of Valmiky.
The Various evidence specially that of painted Grey ware pottery support the fact that the Aryans also inhabited the region. Ambala is a city located on the border of the states of Haryana and Punjab in India. The Ambala District has claims of being one of the Historical famous District of Haryana Stat. The earliest literacy reference to the region comprising the Ambala District in the Taittiriya Aranayaka which mentions Turghna as the bordering region towards the North of kurukshetra. This locality identified with Shrughna Sugh also finds mention in Panini (Ancient Indian Literature). The earliest inhabitants of district were a primitive people using stone tools of lower palacolithic Age. These tools were found at various sites in the district like Tarlokpur etc.
The geographical evidence as to be found in the hymns of Vedas throw some light on the course of Indo-Aryan migration and the origin of Hinduism. Whether the Indo-Aryans came from Central Asia or not depends largely on the interpretation of the geographical allusions in the Rig and Yajur Vedas. The hymns in praise of rivers in the 10th block are interesting. The author while singing the greatness of the Sindhu enumerates at least 19 rivers including the Ganges. The fifth Stanza gives a list of 10 streams, small and great-Ganges, Yamuna, Saraswati, Satluj, Ravi, Chenab, Jhelum, Maruwardwan (in J&K), Sushoma (Rowalpindi District) and probably Kanshi in the same district. The existing delta of the Indus has been formed since the time of Alexander the Great. The Vedic hymns reveal the initial Aryan settlements in India : western tributaries of the Indus, the Gomti (modern Gomal) the Krumu (modern Kurram) and the Kubha (modern Kabul). The one river mentioned in the North of Kabul is Suvastu (modern swat).But the main focus of the Rig Vedic settlements was in the Punjab and the Delhi region. When the Rig-Vedic hymns were compiled the focus of Aryan settlement was the region between the Yamuna and the Sutlaj, south of modern Ambala and laong the upper course of river Saraswati.
The Vedic Civilization flourished along the river Saraswati, in a region that now consists of the modern Indian states of Haryana and Punjab. The Vedic texts have astronomical dates, that some have claimed, go back to the 5th millennium BC. The use of Vedic Sanskrit continued up to the 6th century BC. Vedic is synonymous with Aryans and Hinduism, which is another name for religious and spiritual thought that has evolved from the Vedas.
The Rig Veda mentions about Dasyus and Nishads living in Himachal region and their powerful king Shambra who had 99 forts. From the early period of its history, tribes like the Koilis, Halis, Dagis, Dhaugris, Dasa, Khasas, Kinnars and Kirats inhabited it. Dasyus and Nishads are Dravidians. The Aryans with their superior war tactics defeated the local tribes and settled here permanently. The period also saw the establishment of small Janapadas or Republics in Himachal Pradesh. They maintained a good relationship with the Mauryans so that they can remain independent for a long time. They lost their independence with the rise of the Guptas in the North Gangetic plains.
There are quite a few interesting beliefs about the origin of Ambala : (i) Some historians believe Ambala owes its name to King Singh; the founder of Ambala who was an Amb Rajput in 14th century, (ii) Some believe that itt was named after the goddess "AMBA" whose temple is located in the city and (iii) Ambala was originally called "Ambwala", Amb meaning mango in the native language (so, city of Mangoes). Dravidians and their mixed blood people used to worship Mother Goddess (Amba) and Shiva. The presence of Amba temple in Ambala and the name of the city itself indicates that it was originally the native place of Indian Dravidian races.
The Ambalakarars of Tamilnadu seems to be the North Indian Dravidians who were driven out from their native lands by invading Aryans who occupied Ambala and the surrounding regions. These Ambalakarars of Tamilnadu might have moved out of Ambala to central India in their fist phase of Southward migration and settled in the present day states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharastra for several centuries beforing moving to down South India. In Maharastra and central India, it is a common practice to have surnames indicating their native villages / towns. Some such names are as given below:
Aurangabad => Aurangabadkar
Rampur => Rampurkar
Jam => Jamkar
Karhad => Karhadkar
Similarly, the people of Ambala, who came down to central Indian region might have got the surname Ambalakar. These people who remained in the regions of Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh and Chattishgarh are now known by different names similar to Ambalakar. They are as given below :
Ambalakar => Ambalekar => Ambadekar => Ambedkar
Ambalekar => Ambale
Ambadekar => Ambade
Further when Ambalakars moved from central India to Tamil speaking lands of South India in their subsequent migration due to various political reasons, their surname got modified further from Ambalakar to Ambalakarar. "Ar" gets added to names in Tamil as a point of respect.
Mutharaya => Mutharayar
Krishnaraya => Krishnarayar
Ambalakar => Ambalakarar = Ambalakarer
Ambalakar => Ambalakarar => Ambalakaran
Ambalakarar => Ambalakkarar => Ambalakkaran
It is understood that even today there some Ambalakarars or Ambalakarans who believe that their ancestors came from Nagpur and its surrounding areas in Maharastra and M.P.
Aryans, Araiyans & Arains :The arayans entered into india somewhere in the 1500BC and conquered the northern and central part of india. The warriors were from Central Asia, but managed to overcome the Himalayas by finding lower passes in the mountains, such as the Khyber Pass in Pakistan. Around 1500 BC ,'Aryans', a race of fair skinned, blue-eyed, sharp nosed invaders from Central Asia invaded the Indus Valley and drove out the indigenous black skinned Dravidian race that was pushed further down south. This nomadic horde on horses is supposed to have 'conquered' a civilization covering an area of almost 800,000 square kilometers. The Aryans conquered the Dravidians of North and Central India and imposed their social structure upon them.
Arains of Sindh in Pakistan : There are a large section of people in Sindhu - Saraswati river basis in both India and Pakistan call themselves as Arains even today. Some say that the Arains were the descendants of Aryans who invaded North India. Some people of Pakistan like to believe that the Arains were the Iranian tribal people who came to North India and whose profession was agriculture and sheep rearing.
Arya => Aryan => Arayan = Arain
A lot of Punjabis in both India and Pakistan claim that they are Arains and descendants of Arains. Ex-President of Pakistan Zia-ul-Hauq and his prime minister Mr. Bhutto who was executed by this president are said to belong Arains.
Arya means Nobel : Aryan is an English word derived from the Sanskrit, and Vedic term Arya, meaning noble. One of the meanings of this term refers to a hypothetical single group of people who spoke the parent language of the Indo-European languages. German philologists believed that the Germanic group originated from the steppes north of Historic Khwarizm, and this Germanic group followed the Aryan group into Iran before splitting from Arya. It then migrated north to the Black Sea, where they again moved north to the Baltic lake. Thus, German philologists concluded, the German people have a direct ancestry with the people of the Arya region in Iran. It is notable that in the Vedas, the word Arya is never used in a racial or ethnic sense. It is still used by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Zoroastrians, as to mean "noble" or "spiritual". It is similar to the Sanskrit and Hindi word Sri or Shri, an epithet of respect.
Aryan Invasions on Harappan Dravidians : That ancestral culture includes the worship of the gods Indra, Varuna, Agni, and Mithra, and the ritualistic use of a hallucinogenic drink called Soma (Som Ras), extracted from an unknown plant. Since the mid 19th century it has been claimed that Aryans migrated into India, around 1800 BC-1500 BC, possibly waging war against the declining Harappan civilization. The Rig-Veda describes warfare and struggle for control of territory, but whether this resulted from a migration or not is unclear. However the archaeological and historical record can be interpreted to indicate a gradual migration around the end of the 2nd millennium BC of Indo-Aryan speakers to the east from the vicinity of Kurdistan. Nevertheless, the evidence is weak. At any rate, modern India is divided into two main language families, one Indo-European, its speakers possibly linguistic descendants of Aryans, and the other Dravidian, its speakers possibly linguistic descendants of the Harappans.
The Aryans lived for an indefinite period on the plains of the Punjab before finally entering the Indo-Gangetic plain and forming settled communities, where they established a theocratic military kingship system. The Aryans compiled a polytheistic religious system in the hymns of the Rig-Veda, which shows evidence of philosophical and political dominance over the indigenous Dravidian peoples.
Migration of Harappan Dravidians from Sindhu River basin : Harappa Mahanjodaro was the center of Dravidian Culture. As the Arayans were invading the Indian subcontinent the Dravidians were being pushed down south. The Rakhasas that were referred to in Indian mythological stories were non but the Dravidian people or the Dravidian kings, black with big noses and long ears, were fighting with the Arayan kings to save their home land.
Around 2300 B.C. another new people, the so-catled Harappans from Sindhu came to Haryana region. According to R. C. Thakran, the dry bed of the Ghaggar ( identified with River Sarswathi) has 55 pre-Harappan or early Harappan sites, 117 mature Harappan sites and 581 late Harappan sites in Haryana. Thakran's survey shows that a good many people from decaying towns in the southwest migrated towards the northeast and settled in the Ghaggar area in the late Harappan phase. The Harappans seem to have come here in different waves. This explains why new ceramic traditions co-existed with some of the old ones. The excavations and explorations conducted at Rupnagar indicate that the first civilized folk to settle her were the Harappans, who apprently reached the upper Satluj towards the close the their millennium B.C. (Approximately 2000 B.C). Proceeding from the Indus basin, they established their towns and villages along their riverine courser of journey. The sample traces are found in the Bikaner desert along the dried -up beds of the Sarasvati and the Drishadvati. The remains of this vivilizaion have been found on the upper Satluj, not only at Rupnagar but also at other places in the neighborhood. Many Harappan settlements have been discovered in the neighborhood of Rupnagar. . The Harappan remains in Rupnagar are ascribed to the period between BC 2000 and BC 1500. They include earthern-ware, beads, seals and bangles, etc. besides a cemetery. The excavations have indicated that the Harappan were in occupation of Bara even after they had deserted Rupnagar.
The tradition of the sacred tree, pipal, goes back to the them. In historic Buddhism, it came to be venerated as the holy Bodhi tree. The beginnings of making images of sacred character may also be traced to Indus Civilization; numerous images of female figurines, obviously of religious nature have been found in the Indus ruins. Many examples of linga* and Yoni* have been found in the Indus antiquities, Some animals such as the lion, elephant, bull and rhinoceros, seem to have had religious or symbolic significance among the citizens of Mohenjodaro and Harappa. The bull is frequently and realistically portrayed on seal10. It has also been established tht the people of Indus Valley Civilization use to workship the Mother Goddess and Pashupati (Shiva).From the excavations and exploration of the sites of Indus Valley people, it is apparent that these people had achieved a remarkable degree of proficiency in sanitation and town planning. These ancient people had the amenities of a developed city life.
The newcomers, after a short while, involved into a process 'of social assimiltation - the city-dwelling Harappans belonging to the Dravida group of the anthropological type of the Southern Europoid Minor Race mixed-up with the old indigenous inhabitants and gave birth to a new ethnic community whom we can call the forbears of the Haryanavis. These people continued to live in the region peacefully with ample social security owing to their superior economy But sometime around the later half of the second millennium B.C. a new people using the Painted Gray Ware (PGW), the Aryans, arrived on the scene from the North- West and caused some stir. The population of the original settlers was sparse. Nor was the PGW immigration on a very large scale. And since quite extensive cultivable land was available, there was no clash between the two peoples. The archaeological explorations conducted here so far indicate that there are only very few sites where the settlements of both the Siswal- Harappans and PGW men are found; and there too. the evidence of clash or killing of one by the other is conspicuous by its absence. Conversely at one site - Bhagwanpura, even evidence of their living together in peace and harmony is met with. This negates the current theory that Aryans annihilated the original inhabitants or drove them out and occupied their places.
Chandragupta belonged to Harappan Dravidian Race from Haryana Ambala Region : On the political front a republican tribe, Mattamayurs, whom Nakula had vanquished in his digvijaya before the Bharata War gained supremacy in this period. The leader of this tribe around 320 B.C. was Chandragupta. In the post-Alexander period, this bellicose son of Mauryas carved out a mighty kingdom for himself and shifted his capital to Pataliputra.
After sometime, however, a strange, phenomenon is witnessed. The Aryans, a simple folk, overshadowed the materially well-off, urbanized old settlers. How did they do this? In the present state of our knowledge, it is difficult to give an exact answer to this query However, the explanation provided by a Soviet scholar, Y.V. Gankovsky seems to be plausible. According to him, in the mid-second millennium B.C. a serious internal crisis, overtook the Northern region - including Haryana. This was owing to the whetting of social contradictions as a result of the expansion of slavery, debt, incongruity between the level of development or productive forces, and exploitation and probably authoritarianism on the part of the socio-political superstructure which crowned the edifice of the Siswal Harrapan civilization. This crisis seems ultimately to have resulted in the fall of these great people.
Ancient Iranians used the term Aryan to describe their lineage and their language. Darius the Great, King of Persia (521 - 486 BC), in an inscription in Naqsh-e-Rostam (near Shiraz in Iran), proclaims: "I am Darius the great King... A Persian, son of a Persian, an Aryan, having Aryan lineage...". The name Iran is a modern cognate of Aryan meaning the Land of Aryans. The term has become a term of art in the Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Zoroastrian religions. The Aryan tribes in the Indian subcontinent called their land Arya varta or Aryan expanse / Aryan land. When the ancient Persians lived in the Inner Asian Steppes and moved south into today's Iran, they named the place Airyanem Vaejah, or The Iranian Expanse, and today the word survives as Iran. Many present day Iranian boy and girl names reflect this ancient relation: names like Aryana, Iran-dokht (Aryan Daughter), Arayn, Aryan-Pur, Aryaramne, ... Contemporary anthropologists, who believe in the existence of an ancient Aryan race, now generally have the opinion that its closest descendants today are North Indians and Persians, and not the Germans. The recent advances in Archaeo-genetics have some interesting results for the Aryan invasion theory, but are still in the early stages. More recent results from a 2003 study show that, Indian tribal and caste populations derive largely from the same genetic heritage of Pleistocene southern and western Asians and have received limited gene flow from external regions since the Holocene.
The timeline of Vedic civilization is 4500 BC-1800 BC while that of Indus valley civilization is 3300 BC-1800 BC. The greatest river of the Rigveda was Saraswati, now dry and identified with Ghaggar, a seasonal river. It is believed that this river ceased to reach the Arabian Sea by about 1900 BC. Now, a dry river bed, that seems to fit the description of the Saraswati River, has been detected by satellite imagery. It begins in the modern Indian state of Uttaranchal and passing through Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan, reaches the Arabian Sea in Gujarat. Our knowledge of the early Aryans comes from the Rigveda, the earliest of the Vedas.
Some Dravidian and Indo-Aryan races who fled North India and came down to Tamil speaking lands also called themselves as Arayans or Arayars. It is possible that the present day Araiyars of Muthuraja community in Tamilnadu could be the same Arains who fled from Sindhu- Saraswati River basins and came down to South India.
Arayans (arayars ) of South India - A subcaste of Muthuraja : Arayan or Aravan or Dheevaran is an economically backward Malayali caste of Kerala, India. They inhabit the coastal regions of the state. The main source of income of this community is fishing. Many legends of historical and mythical importance is associated with this community. Most historians treat them as subsect of Mukkuvar community found across South India and Sri Lanka although native Arayans deny it. The Valans, Arayans and Mukkuvas are fishermen mostly living in the coastal areas of Thrissur district. These people could be Indo-Aryans with strong dravidian professionalism of fishing.
The Mukkuv‘r , a fishing community believed to have emigrated from Ceylon, are today found in Kanyakumari District, coastal areas of Kerala, Lakshadweep, and in some scattered areas of Karnataka. The word 'Arayan' connotes leadership. In Malabar, 'Arayan' is synonymous with 'Mukkuv‘r'. Many of the Mukkuv‘r call themselves 'Arayans' and at the same time call their leader 'Arayan'. Arayans were the 'masters of ceremonies' in the caste, affording leadership in the religious and social matrix of life. It is interesting to note that after about 1950, the functions of the Arayan have been appropriated by the clergy. The traditional roles of Arayans during festivals and social occasions are now lost. The Mukkuv‘r still like to be called Arayans, as a consequence of the low status extended to them socially. According to Thurston, they were placed in the social ladder below the Thiya and artisan groups. Social practice demanded that they stop 24 feet away when talking to higher-caste people. Because of this they resent being referred to as Mukkuv‘r.
Webmaster
Kokolu Anka Rao
Date : 17/07/2007
Nagpur, Maharastra, India
Pulli - A Chieftain of kalavars or Kalabhras:
These Kalavars are the same as Kalabhras. The chieftains of kalavar tribe mentioned in Sangam literature. Pulli was the name of a ruling kalavar chieftain and hence the region was also called pulli or pullikunaran. Mamulanur, the most important and perhaps the oldest poet, has seven poems referring to Vengadam. He refers to Vengadam as belonging to Pulli, the Chieftain of Kalvar, and notes that Vengadam was famous for its festivals. In another poem he refers undoubtedly to Tirupati as Pullikunran, the Hill of Chieftain Pulli. Another poem says these Pullis were liberal in gifts. Pulli was in the habit of handing over elephant tusks, barter in them for liquor prepared from paddy, and who wore anklets characteristic of warriors, was famed for conquest of the land of the Malavar, and for great gifts to those who went to him. The capital of Pulli which is prosperous because of the festivals celebrated in it.
Tiraiyan - A Chieftain of Kalavars or Kalabhras :
Tirayan or Thirayan in Tamil means one who works the seas- a sea farer. The word Thirai means wave or alai.
Thirayan = Sea man
Thirayar kudi = Sea people
.
Clans of Tiraiyans ruled Tirupati and Kanchi regions. The Tiraiyans of Pavattiri of Vengadam were different from Tiraiyans of Kanchi. Tondaimandalam was ruled in the 2nd century A.D. by Tondaiman Ilam Tiraiyan, who was a representative of the Chola family at Kanchipuram. It is believed that Ilam Tiraiyan must have subdued Kurumbas, the original inhabitants of the region and established his rule over Tondaimandalam. Kurumbas were Kurubas and it was a modification of the word kalabra. It is also said that one Tondaiman Man Tiraiyan was ruling over Kanchi during the 2nd Century A.D. It was the northern frontier of the Chola kingdom known as Tondaimandalam.
the most satisfactory theory identifies the Kalabhras with the Kalavar, and the chieftains of this tribe mentioned in Sangam literature are Tiraiyan of Pavattiri and Pulli of Vengadam or Tirupati. The latter is described as the cattle lifting robber chief of the frontier. The Kalavar must have been dislodged from their habitat near Tirupati by political events of the third century A.D., viz. the fall of the Satavahanas and the rise of Pallavas, resulting in political confusion in Tondaimandalam.
According to literary sources Karikala's son is said to have married a Naga princess and the child born to them was called Tiraiyan. The word Tiraiyan is derived from the legend that he was wafted on the shore by the waves of the sea (tirai-i.e.-wave). Interestingly an eighth century Pallava copper plate seems to lend support to this legend. Tira-laya (wafted on the shore) appears as the Sanskrit equivalent of Tiraiyan. This legend seems to have been popular long before 8th century. Karikala's conquest of Kanchi as suggested by the copper plate of Parantaka shows that it was a historical fact and that Tiraiyan was in some way connected with Karikala.
Kanchirayar is one of the surnames of Tamil Muthurajas. The two castes of the Muttiriyans and the Uras, who are in some obscure manner connected with Ambalakkaran, being perhaps descended from the same parent stock. The words Muttiriyans and Tiraiyans may be possibly related to each other.
Mutharayans => Muthirayans => Muttirayans => Muttiriyans => Tiriyans => Tiraiyans
It is said that Tiraiyans were the most powerful Indian ( Tamilian ) sea-faring people. They are thought to be the people who migrated from the banks of river sarswati when it started drying up. David Napier (in press) shows how the forehead markings of the Gorgon and the single-eye of the cyclops in Greek art are Indian elements. Although he suggests that this may have been a byproduct of the interaction with the Indian foot soldiers who fought for the Persian armies, he doesn't fail to mention the more likely possibility that the influence was through the 2nd millennium BC South Indian traders in Greece. This is supported by the fact that the name of the Mycenaean Greek city Tiryns the place where the most ancient monuments of Greece are to be found is the same as that of the most powerful Tamilian sea-faring people called the Tirayans.
The gangas or Kaivarattas and cholas or kolas, who came down to South India were well known for their sea faring activities. Cholas maintained a powerful navy and even invaded fareast lands.
The region of Tirupati (Vengadam) was within Asoka's Empire. Earliest Inscriptions found were definitely Buddhist, and South India was free from Brahmin influence. Tondamandalam was the land of Nagas and there was no Murthi in Vengadam in Sangam Age. Murthi came into existence during Buddhist rule. Old name of Vengadam was Pulikunram,land of Pullis who were Buddhists.
King Achchutavikranta was a king of Kalabharakula :
Accuta Vikkantan was ruling from Nandi hills, he sponsored Buddhist works in Pali and Tamil. A poem included in Veeracoziyam grammar's commentary has a poem on this Kalabhra king, though generally Kalabhras (KaLappirar) are Jains.
The history of Cholas of Uraiyur is exceedingly obscure from fourth to the ninth century C.E., chiefly owing to the occupation of their country by the Kalabhras. Buddhadatta, the great writer in Pali, belonged to Uraiyur. He mentions his contemporary, King Achchutavikranta of the Kalabharakula, as ruling over the Chola country from Kaveripatnam. He was a Buddhist, Tamil literary tradition refers to an Achchuta who kept the Chera, Chola and Pandya king in captivity. On the basis of the contemporaneity of Buddhadatta with Buddhaghosha, Achchuta may be assigned to the fifth century.
The Tamil grammar Yapperunkalam also refers to a Kalabhra king, namely Achutha Kalappalan. It appeared that he ruled the Tamil country from Uraiyur. According to traditions, he imprisoned the Chera, Chola and Pandyan rulers. He had extended patronage to Buddhism and Buddhist monasteries.
Possibly Acchuta was himself a Buddhist, a political revolution which the Kalabhras effected was provoked by religious antagonism. At any rate the Kalabhras are roundly denounced as evil king (kali-arasar) who uprooted many adhirajas and abrogated brahmdeya rights; there was no love lost between these interlopers and the people of the lands they overran.
Kali = Kala = Black
Kali Arasar = Black Aryans = Indo Aryans = Kalchuris
Arya => Araya => Arasa
Aryan => Arayan => Ariyan
Aryar => Arayar => Arasar = Arasan
King Acytavikranta or Acytavikrama who is described as 'Kalambakulnandana' or 'Kalabbhakulanandana' (also Vaddhana) is said to be a Colian king as per some references. Coliyans are Koliyans or kolis. Achchutavikranta caused the dispersal of the Cholas. In the writings of one Buddhadatta who lived sometime during this period, mention is made of a certain Achyuta-Vikranta of Kalabhra-kula who is referred to as "ruling the earth."
The Muttaraiyar and Kodunabnalar chiefs of Kalabhra origin, according to one view, were feudatory to the Pallavas and the Pandyas respectively, and in the contest between two powers, they fought on opposite sides. The Muttaraiyar ruled over Tanjore and Pudukkotai as the feudatories of the Pallavas from the eighth century to eleventh. There is a reference to Perumbidugu - Muttaraiyan II who attended the coronation of Nandivarman Pallavamlla. One of the titles of the Muttaraiyar was Lord of Tanjore. Vijayalaya Chola, who conquered Tanjore from a Muttaraiyan in the ninth century, was a Pallava feudatory. A vindication of the law of nemesis is discernible in the victory of a Chola chief over a descendant of the Kalabhras who had overthrown the earlier Chola kingdom. Kalabhras were rivals to Cholas and during later periods the Mutharayars became rivals to Cholas. This points to the fact that Mutharaiyars were the descendants of Kalabhras. <
The Telugu speaking Mudiraj are known to be the variants of kolis of North India and now they are known as Muthuraja in Tamilnadu.
Koli => Koliyan => Coliyan
Thus after the Sangam age, the Cholas were forced into obscurity by the Kalabhras, who disturbed the placid political conditions of the Tamil country.
Kalappirar => Kalappan
Kalappans are fishermen folk and this shows that kalabhras could be kolis or a variant of kolis such as Mutharayars.
King Kalabhran:
The Velvikudi plates of the third regnal year of Ndunjadaiyan Pandya (c.765 - c.815) say that Palyagamudukudumi - Peruvaludi Pandyadhiraja gave the village of Velvikudi as brahmadeya (gift to a brahmana). It was enjoyed for long. Then a Kali king named Kalabhran took possession of the extensive earth, driving away numberless great kings (adiraja), and resumed the (village mentioned) above. It would appear from the brief account that the Pandya country was seized by the Kalabhras long after Mudukudumi. They overthrew many adhirajas and resumed even brahmdeya lands. Thus they were terrible and ruthless conquerors.
King Kurran :
From about the end of 4th century about the last quarter of 6th, the Pudukottai district in Tamilnadu, like many other parts of Tamil Nadu was under the Kalabhras. It must have come under the King Kurran, inscription of whom has been found in Pulankurichi near Ponnamaravathi in the district. This region was ruled and dominated by Mutharayars before Vijayala Chola defeated the Mutharaya kings and established his kingdom at Thanjavooru.
Kalabhra Dynasty :
Kalabhras were the South Indian dynasty who ruled between the 3rd and the 6th century C.E. The last Sangam ended around the 2nd century CE with the invasion of Kalabras from the North India. It is also said that Kalabhra dynasty was also known as a Buddhist kingdom of India. They were contemporaries of the Kadambas and the Western Ganga Dynasty and started their rule their feudatories. The collapse of the Mauryan Empire and the revolution gave Kalabras and Satavaganas in Andra an upper hand.
The word Sangam is probably of Indo-Aryan origin, coming from Sangha, the Buddhist and Jain term for an assembly of monks. In Tamil the word means "assembly" or "academy". Jain cosmology and mythology are also found mentioned in the early Sangam poems.
The Kalabhras, who were Jains from Karnataka, were the next most important group to rule kongunadu. They overthrew many kings of the land and got a stranglehold of the country. The Jain influence in our region could have intensified during this period. The south-western part was under the control of the Chera kings who ruled the Southern part of present-day Kerala. Pandyas ruled south-eastern Kongu, proof of which lies in excavated copper plates. Telugu and Kannada communities such as the Kammalars, Kaikolars and Reddis could have established their settlements here during kalabhra and vijayanagar rule..
An obscure dynasty, the Kalabhras, invaded the Tamil country, displaced the existing kingdoms and ruled for around three centuries. Some time after 300 C.E. the whole south India was upset by the predatory activities of the Kalabhras. These people, possibly from the south Deccan, were not Tamil speakers, and could have once been part of the Satavahana kingdom. After the demise this kingdom, its various dominions split up and established their independence. Kalabhras arose out of this political confusion, and trying to carve themselves a territory, invaded the land of the Tamils. The Tamil dynasties were not prepared to face this new threat and their defiance quickly crumbled. Kalabhras, not bound by the norms and customs of the Tamils, upset the existing order by their ways. They are speculated to be the followers of Buddhism and did not respect the traditional Hindu values. There was a political chaos during the Kalabhra rule.
During the end of 3rd Century A.D. the Tamil Kings went into oblivion (became smaller kings) due to Kalabiras (kalabhras). The 3rd Tamil Sangam stopped with that. (Till now there is no history pointing to who the Kalabiras are. But Thiru.R.Devasirvatham thinks it was an internal revolt that happened through out India that lead to Chaos through out India. It should be noted that this was the period when the Buddist Mauryan Emperor Brihadratha was murdered by one of his commanders and a Brahminism / Hinduism based society started emerging in North India).
Raghavacharya, who assigns date prior to that of Sankaracharya, to all Alvars, mentions that according to Poygai Alvar, the Vengadam hill was the habitat of elephants, which the "Kuravars" or "Kurbas" who inhabited or frequented the hill used to capture and tame and also scare away huge pythons. He observes that, the Tamil term Kuravar used by the early Alvars is corruption of "Kuraba", who were residents of this area and also of Kurnool, Mysore, Salem, Koimbtore and the Nilgiris. He mentions the names of Kurubalakota, Kurubalpatti, Kuruba Nagalapuram, Kurumba Palayam, Kurumbapatti, Kurumbharhalli etc. in various areas. He says Kurabas or Kuravar were a verile people, who were in possession of Tirumalai Hills and surrounding area before Pallavas conquerred it.
Kalabhras => karabhras => kurabhras => Kurabras => kurabars
Kurabars => kuravars => kurubas => kuruvas
Velvikudi inscriptions of the third regnal year of Pandya king Nedunjadaiyan (c.765 - c. 815 C.E.) say that Pandya king Mudukudumi Peruvaludi gave the village of Velvikudi as brahmadeya (gift to a Brahmins). It was enjoyed for long. Then a Kali king named Kalabhran took possession of the extensive earth, driving away numberless great kings (adhirajas).
Pallavas held sway over this Kanchi region from the beginning of the 3rd century A.D. to the closing years of the 9th century except for the interval of some decades when the region was under Kalabharas.
After successive invasions from the North by the Kalabhras and other Vadugas on the Pandiyan kingdom, Nadars were forced out of power and almost became extinct in the 18th century. The term "Nadar" in Tamil literally means "one who rules the land".It is an abbreviation of the word "Nadalvar" ("Nadu" plus "Alvar"). A warrior caste and the initial rulers of the ancient pandiya nadu (Pandiya Kingdom), Nadars are well known for their bravery throughout the southern part of tamilnadu.
The earliest record of Onam is found during time of Kulasekhara Perumals around A.D 800, soon after the Kalabhra Interregnum of Kerala History. Until the eighth century the political history is mostly unknown and is usually known as the Kalabhra Interregnum. Some say that most probably they were the people of Mahabali, who ruled Kerala up untill atleast the sixth century. According to them the Kalabhras probably refers to Keralaputras.
The Chalukya plates are interesting. From the point of history, Kalabhras were ruling in the Chola country around 5th century. Accuta Vikkantan was ruling from Nandi hills, he sponsored Buddhist works in Pali and Tamil. A poem included in Veeracoziyam grammar's commentary has a poem on this Kalabhra king, though generally Kalabhras (KaLappirar) are Jains. It was KaDumkOn2, the first Pandya (after sangam era Pandyas) along with a Pallava (KaaDuveTTi) who put an end to Kalabhra interrugnum. It looks by 5th century Kalabhras are the real kings in Chola and Pandya countries.
In the dawn of historical period, the ancient Kongu country was ruled over by the Velir chiefs. An active trade between Kongu and the classical Roman world had attained it's peak during that period. After the close of the Sangam epoch from about 300 A.D.- 600 A.D., there is almost a total lack of coherent information regarding events in this Tamil land. It was said that the Kalabaras, who were described as the evil rulers overthrew many kings of the land and got a strangle hold of the country.
It is speculated that a warrior race called Kalabras were causing havoc all over south India, soon after the visit of Cosmos and then onwards the Greek ships stopped arriving. The last of the travellers that reached the Malabar coast was Cosmos Indicopleustes. He was a Nestorian from Alexandria. He must have arrived between AD520 and AD525.
Kalabhra Interregnum & Dark Age :
The bright Sangam Age is followed by a dark period when the country came under the control of an alien race called the 'Kalabras.' During the Kalabras rule, there was a great chaos and confusion. Eventually they were expelled by the Pandyas and the Pallavas.
Kalabhra Interregnum - With the ending of the progressive Sangam Age that was beamed with the literary advance in South Indian literature, the light faded and Kerala underwent a dark phase that lasted almost for four centuries. This epoch is known as 'Kalabhra Interregnum' and has been referred as the Dark Age in the history of Kerala. The Kalabhra Kings created mayhem and disrupted the social and political order of the South Indian Peninsula by overthrowing and deracinating the Adhirajas of Chera, Chola and Pandya dynasties which were a part of present day Kerala and Tamil Nadu. These valorous Kalabhra Kings ruled with an upper hand, relentlessly for almost three hundred years from 300 AD to 600AD. The reign of Kalabhras of South India finally came to an end in the 8th Century AD when the Pallavas, Pandyas, Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas extirpated them from South India.
The popular belief was that the Kalabhras remained subordinates to the Gangas and Kadambas of the Kannada region. Later, they might have migrated into the Tamil country. The Velvikkudi and Dalavaipuram copper plates also mention about the Kalabhras. The inscriptions at Thiruppugazhur and Vaikunda Perumal temple in Kanchipuram also refer to the Kalabhra rule. The literary sources for this period include Tamil Navalar Charithai, Yapperumkalam and Periyapuranam.
Kalabhra interregnum is called as 'dark period' because it is so called by earliest Pallava and Medieval Pandya sources. We have very few sources to study the history of the Kalabhras. Little is known about the transition period of around three centuries from the end of the Sangam age (300 AD) to that in which the Pandyas and Pallavas dominate the Tamil country. This is one of the reasons to call this period as Dark Age.
From the Velvikudi plates of the third regnal year of Ndunjadaiyan Pandya (c.765 - c.815), it would appear from the brief account that the Pandya country was seized by the Kalabhras long after Mudukudumi. They overthrew many adhirajas and resumed even brahmdeya lands. Thus they were terrible and ruthless conquerors.
As a result of following buddhist and jain faiths by Kalabhras, Hindu scholars and authors who followed their decline in the 7th and 8th century C.E. generally tended to paint their rule in a negative light. It is perhaps due to this reason, the period of their rule is known as a 'Dark Age' an interregnum. Pallavas and Medieval Pandyas, who accepted the varnashrama and Brahmanical orthodoxy, completely routed out the kalabhra "heterodox" religions- Buddhism and Jainism. Both Buddhism and Jainism were practically extinguished. Hence, these "orthodox" sources portray Kalabhra period as "dark period".
Brahmins also declared the non-Hindu kalabhra kings as Sudras (Kshudras) as they had withdrawn the rights of brahmins over the temple lands given by earlier Hindu kings. They were abused by the Brahmins and their history was wiped out. But the Buddhist books still preserve their history.
Kalabhras displaced Chola, Chera & Pandyas :
Kalabhras by invading the Tamil country disturbed the prevailing order. Kalabhras were a South Indian dynasty that ruled over the entire Tamil country between the 3rd and the 6th century C.E., displacing the ancient Chola, Pandya and Chera dynasties. Some songs about him are quoted by Amitasagara, a Jain grammarian of Tamil of the tenth century A.D.
The upset of the existing order due to the Kalabhras must have affected the Chera country as well, though there is little evidence on this country in this period apart from the late legend of the Keralotpatti and Keralamahatyam. According to these, the rulers of the land had to be imported from neighbouring countries, and they assumed the title of Perumal.
The early Pandyan dynasty of the Sangam literature went into obscurity during the invasion of the Kalabhras. Cheraman Perumal was the last of Chera Kings. After him the kingdom was annexed by Kalabhras.
The history of Cholas of Uraiyur (near Trichinoply) is exceedingly obscure from fourth to the ninth century, chiefly owing to the occupation of their country by the Kalabhras. Buddhadatta, the great writer in Pali, belonged to Uraiyur. He mentions his contemporary, King Achchutavikranta of the Kalabharakula, as ruling over the Chola country from Kaveripatnam. He was a Buddhist, Tamil literary tradition refers to an Achchuta who kept the Chera, Chola and Pandya king in captivity. On the basis of the contemporaneity of Buddhdatta with Buddhaghosha, Achchuta may be assigned to the fifth century. Thus after the Sangam age, the descendants of karikala Chola were forced into obscurity by the Kalabhras, who disturbed the placid political conditions of the Tamil country.
Buddhadatta of Uragapura is said to have flourished when king Accutavikkanta of the Kalamba (Kadamba) dynasty was on the throne. It is difficult to identify King Accuta or Accutavikkanta (Acyta Vikrama) of Kalabhra or the Kadamba dynasty. But the Kalabhras once made a great influence over the Chola territory.
Cholas during this period almost completely disappeared from their native land. They seem to have held on to their old capital city of Urayur. The ancient Chola kingdom once famous in Tamil literature and in the writings of Greek merchants and geographers faded in to darkness after c 300 C.E. The Tamil country was invaded by a non-Tamil people from the north and north-west. These people known as Kalabhras are still a mystery to historians. The Cholas had to wait for another three centuries until the accession of Vijayala in the second quarter of the ninth century to reestablish their dynasty by defeating the famous king Muttharayan of Thanjavur. < br>
It looks by 5th century Kalabhras were the real kings in Chola and Pandya countries. The Cholas disappeared from the Tamil land almost completely in this debacle, though a branch of them can be tranced towards the close of the period in Rayalaseema, the Telugu Cholas, whose kingdom is mentioned by Yuan Chwang in the seventh century A.D. These Telugu Cholas were known as Renadu Chodas.
Kalabhras were anti Hindu & anti-Brahmin :
The Velvikudi inscriptions of the third regnal year of Pandya king Nedunjadaiyan (c.765 - c. 815 C.E.) say that Pandya king Mudukudumi Peruvaludi gave the village of Velvikudi as brahmadeya (gift to a Brahmins). It was enjoyed for long. Then a Kali king named Kalabhran took possession of the extensive earth, driving away numberless great kings. They were bashed and demoted to nonentities by the Kalabras.
Kalabhras, as adherers of Buddhism, attached little importance to the rites and rituals attached to people's Hindu belief. They took over lands deeded to Hindu Temples, which were under brahmin control. After the Sangam Age, Hinduism was flourishing in South India.
Kalabhras were of Secular outlook :
The secular outlook of the Sangam period gave way to the religious outlook of the Kalabhras. Efforts were made to remove the evils from the society. The Tamil Siddhars like Thirumoolar had preached their philosophical ideas. Morals and ethics had been preached through education and literature.
In Tamilnadu a casteless, Sangam period came to an end at about the 2nd or 3rd Century A.D. with the attack or upraisal of Kalavars. Kalavaram means upraisal, revolution, chaos in Tamil; The Kalavars were later on called as Kalabras. The raise of the Kalabras made sweeping changes in the South Indian Society.
When the Cholas and Pandyas came back to power after driving the Kalabras, their original secularist / democratic society that prevailed in ancient period was not restored.
Kalabhras were Jain & Buddist Kings :
Historians speculate that these people followed Buddhist or Jain faiths and were antagonistic towards the Hindu and Brahminical religions adhered by the majority of inhabitants of the Tamil region during the early centuries C.E. It is said that Kalabhras attacked and defeated Tamil Kings who were persecuting Jains.
One theory is that the Kalabras was a Jaina sect that overan the Southern kingdoms. Another theory is the South Indian kingdoms were influenced more and more into Jainism in response to incessant wars.
Pandya and adjoining countries were invaded by misterious people known as Kalappirar between 1st and 3rd centuries and nothing is known of where they came from or what happened during their rule. Kalappirars were Jains, and appeared to have come from Karnataka, a Jain strong hold. During the Kalabhra period, heterodoxy, opposed to Brahmanical orthodoxy, reigned supreme. The period of Kalabhras was marked by the ascendancy of Buddhism, and probably also of Jainism, was characterized by considerable literary activity in Tamil. Both Buddhism and Jainism became dominant religions during the Kalabhra period. Particularly, the Jain monks had preached Jainism in the Tamil country. They were patronized by the Kalabhra rulers.
kalabiras => Kalbras
Kalabiras => kalapirars
Kalapirars => Kalappirars
The Buddhist divine Buddhadatta describes at length in his works the prosperous cities of Kaveripattanam and Bhutamangalama in Chola-ratha in each of which there is said to have been a great monastery. Buddhism flourished in Kaveripattanam (Poombuhar) two thousand years ago. The port town of Kaviripoompattinam has been mentioned in the temple inscriptions, ancient literature and travelogues by different names like Kaganthi, Sampathi, Palapukaz, Moothur, Mannagathu, Vanpathi, Cholapattinam Kabaris Emporiam, and Kolappattinam. The name Kolapattinam and Cholapattinam indicates that the city was founded by cholas / Kolas / Kolis. Even after Sangam Cholas period Poombuhar occupied a significant place during the regime of Kalabras. After the Kalabras in the 6th century A.D.,Poombuhar came under the Pallavaregime.
Prof., Ramaswami Ayangar asserts that these valiant Kalabhra kings were the devoted followers of Jainism. He proved it on the basis of copper plate of Veluikudi and Painyapuranam of Tamil language. Jainism flourished after their reaching in Tamil country. Shri Ayangar presumes that these Kalabhras were a branch of Kalchuri clan. The Kalchuri kings of M.P. were supporters of Jainism. The evidence on this is that they were closely related to Rashtrakuta. The Rashtrakuta kings had their faith in Jainism. The influence of Jainism during reign of Kalchuri kings of Kalyani was perceptible. The prominent king Vijjala of this clan and his several statesmen had adopted Jainism. Rechmayya, the minister of Kalchuri State set up the image of Tirthankar Shantinath at Shravanabelagola.
Baddiga Amoghavarha was a Rastrakuta king who ruled parts of Andhra Pradesh and later on a king by name Baddige bhupathi ruled Telugu lands near Vemulavada. The surname Baddigam belongs to Telugu Mudiraj people and they are matrimonially related to kokolu, who are also Mudiraj in the town of Addanki in Andhra Pradesh. Kokolu seems to be the modification of the name of famous kalchuri clans - Kokkola or Kokkalla or Kokkula, who once ruled central India. It may be a coincidence but Baddiga Amoghavarsha was also matrimonially related to Kokkola clans during medival times.
During the end of the Kalabhra rule, the religion Saivism began to emerge as a great religion. Some of the Kalabhra rulers had embraced Saivism. However, it was only after the end of the Kalabhra rule, the Bakthi-cult flourished in the Tamil country through which both Saivism and Vaishnavism began to flourish. After the 5th Century A.D. the Pallavas and Later Cholas who were Mallas, destroyed the Kalabras and rose to power but gradually and partially adopted Brahamanism because by the time Brahamanism became an unavoidable phenomenon
12 years of famine in North India could have forced Kalabiras to invade South India :
KaLabhras are believed to be originally from Jaina faith & Karnataka. In ancient Magadha and the Maurya heartland, agriculture seems to have been more intensive -- combining more labour and supporting more non-farming elites per unit of land -- over a larger territory than anywhere else in the subcontinent. Most agrarian territories that felt the fleeting impact of Maurya power were inhabited predominantly by pastoralists, shifting cultivators, and small settled farming communities.
It is now an undisputed fact that Jainism entered into Karnataka and south India during the days of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya when Bhadrabahu, the distinguished leader of Jainas and the last of the Jaina saints known as sruta-kevalis, after predicting twelve years famine in the north India, led the migration of the Jaina Sangha to the South. Thus it is stated that the Jaina history in the South commences from the 3rd Century B.C. as according to all Jaina authors the death of Acharya Bhadrabahu took place in 297 B.C. at Shravanabelagola. But in this connection it is strongly asserted from further historical researches that this Bhadrabahu tradition is the starting point of a revival and not the commencement of the Jaina activities in south India and hence regard that Bhardrabahu was in fact the rejuvenator of Jainism in south India. In this regard, it is argued that if south India would have been void of Jainas before Bhadrabahu reached there, it is least conceivable that an Acharya of Bhadrabahu's status would have led the Jaina sangha to such a country and for the mere sake of dharma-raksa, that is, protection of religion. Again, in this relation various archaeological, epigraphic and literary evidence are brought forward to prove the antiquity of the Jainas in south India and it is asserted that Jainism had reached south India long before Sruta-kevali Bhadrabahu.
From the above it appears that the 12 years famine in North India forced Jain kings and warriors to migrate and invade South India in hoards. The Muttarasa related Western Gangas seems to be the leaders in this invasive migration to South India displacing the well established Chola, Chera and Pandyan Hindu kingdoms in the South India.
Kallars along with Maravars and Agamudaiyar are warrior people related to Muthurajas and an ancient martial caste in TamilNadu, South India. Kallar, Maravar, Agamudayar, are all originated from the ancient Tamil race called kalabhrar of the ancient Indian subcontinent. All these warrior people had a common factor of ruthless fighting quality similar to Mudiraj / Muthuraj which made them commandos and suicide squads to win or die for their masters. This quality of do or die commando spirit of Kalabhras continued to flow in the blood of band / Mudiraj, kallars, Maravars and Agamudaiyars. Tevar kings descended from Marava and Kallar hunters. According to legends, Kallar, Maravar and Agamudaiyar were bureaucrats, warriors, and chieftains; Kallars were fight initiators, Maravar were frontline defenders, Agamudiayar were police force, Servai were government servants. These could be the North Indian Kalaveeras ( Kalabhras / Kalappiras) who came to South India with Jainism after the arriaval of Chandragupta Maurya to Karnataka in South India.
Marava is a North Indian word meaning - kill and Maravar means killer. Maravars are the courageous breed and were involved in the major wars that Tamilnadu witnessed. Agamudayar also known as Agam Padaiyar or defending soldiers indicating a specialization as soldiers. They are given the title servai. Among Jaiswals, there is a sect known as kalaris. Padayatchi derived from the Tamil word Padai, meaning army or members of an army is also title or suffix given to various Tamil Nadu related castes such as Vanniar, Maravar, Agamudaiyar and Kallar. It is also used by a section of Mukkuvar caste in Sri Lanka.The popular theory says these people to be descendants of Kalabhras.
These warrior people who invaded Chola, Chera, and Pandyan kingdoms later on got well established in South India by intermixing with their rival kings matrimonially. That is why we can see chola, chera and pandya related surnames in Mutharayar community.
Buddhist & Jain Literature :
This dark period of kalabhras marked by the ascendancy of Buddhism, and probably also Jainism, was characterized also by great literary activity in Tamil. Most of the works grouped under the head, 'The Eighteen Minor works' might have been written during this period as also the TirukkuRaL, NaalaDiyAr, Cilappadhikaram, Manimekalai and other works. Many of the authors were the characterised to belong to the `heretical' (meaning Buddhists and Jains) sects. The literary sources for this period include Tamil Navalar Charithai, Yapperumkalam and Periyapuranam. Achutha Kalappalan had so patronized the Tamil poets. A Buddhist scholar namely Buddhadatta lived in his kingdom.
The Kalabhra rule in the Tamil country had witnessed the growth of education and literature. Sanskrit and Prakrit languages had been introduced in the Tamil region. Epics like Seevaka Chinthamani and Kundalakesi were written. Nigandus were also composed during the Kalabhra period. The Buddhist and Jain monks had contributed much to the growth of education. The Buddhist educational institutions were called Ghatikas. Scholars like Buddhadatta, Buddhaghosha and Bodhidharma lived during this period. The Jain Palli had remained important educational centers during the Kalabhra rule. The Jain Palli (School) at Thirupathirippuliyur remained an important educational centre during this period. Sarva Nandhi and Vajra Nandhi were the two great Jain scholars, who lived in this period.
According to 'Chulavamsa', Buddhadatta and Budhaghosa are certainly represented as contamporaries. The formar belongs to Uragapura [Uraiyur] near modern Trichinopoly in South India. He himself speaks patriotically of the kingdom of Cola and associates his literary activity with the reign of Accutavikkanata or Accutavikkama of the Kalabbha or Kalamba [kadamba] dynasty. Accuta Vikkantan ruled from Nandi hills, and he sponsored Buddhist works in Pali and Tamil. A poem included in Veeracoziyam grammar's commentary has a poem on this Kalabhra king, though generally Kalabhras (KaLappirar) are Jains.
Kalabhra => Kalabbha => Kalambha => Kalamba => Kadamba
Around 300 CE, the Tamil land was under the influence of a group of people known as the Kalabhras. Kalabrahs were Buddhist and a number of Buddhist authors fourished during this period. Jainism and Buddhism saw rapid growth. These authors perhaps reflecting the austere nature of their faiths, created works mainly on morality and ethics. A number of Jain and Buddhist poets contributed in the creation of these didactic works as well as grammar and lexicography. The collection the minor eighteen anthology was of this period. The best known of these works on ethics is the Tirukkural by Thiruvalluvar. Kural as it is popularly known, uses the Venpa meter and is a comprehensive manual of ethics, polity and love. It contains 1,330 distichs divided into chapter of ten distichs each: the first thirty-eight on ethics, the next seventy on polity and the remainder on love. Other famous works of this period are Kalavali, Nalatiyar, Inna Narpathu and Iniyavai Narpathu. Nalatiyar and Pazhamozhi Nanuru, a work of four hundred poems each citing a proverb and illustrating it with a story, were written by Jain authors.
Cilappatikaram is one of the outstanding works of general literature of this period. The authorship and exact date of the classic Cilappatikaram are not definitely known. Ilango Adigal, who is credited with this work was reputed to be the brother of the Sangam age Chera king Senguttuvan. However we have no information of such a brother in the numerous poems sung on the Chera king. The Cilappatikaram is unique in its vivid portrayal of the ancient Tamil land is unknown in other works of this period. Cilappatikaram and its companion epic Manimekalai are Buddhist in philosophy. Manimekalai was written by Sattanar who was a contemporary of Ilango Adigal. Manimekalai contains a long exposition of fallacies of logic and is considered to be based on the fifth century Sanskrit work Nyayapravesa by Dinnag. Kongu Velir, a Jain author wrote Perunkathai based on the Sanskrit Brihat-katha. Valayapathi and Kundalakesi are the names of two other narrative poems of this period written by a Jain and a Buddhist author respectively. These works have been lost and only a few poems of Valayapathi have been found so far.
Strangely enough, even the modern scholars such as Sastri like to call this period as `dark' only because it was an anti- Brahmanic age, not withstanding the creation of the excellent literature. This is the psyche of Indian scholars. Nothing appears great to them unless it is done for bettering the cause of chaturvarnya.
Decline of Kalabhra Rule :
At the end of the eighth century A.D, South Indian kingdoms such as the Pallavas, the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas and the Pandyas succeeded in overthrowing the Kalabhras. The rule of Kalabhras of South India was ended by the counter invasions of Pandyas, Chalukyas, Pallavas and also Rastrakutas. Kalabras were displaced around the 6th century by the revival of Pallava and Pandya power. They were conquered by Pallava Simhavishnu and Pandya Kadungon. There are other references to the Kalabhras in Pallava and Chalukya inscriptions; they are said to have been conquered by Simhavishnu and Narasimha Varman I and by Vikramaditya I and II.
The Pandyan dynasty revived under Kadungon in the early 6th century, pushed the Kalabhras out of the Southern part of Tamil country and ruled from Madurai. Their sway was put an end to by Kodungon, who may be assigned conjecturally to c.590 - 620. The persecution and eventual exodus of Buddhists from Tamil Nadu to Kerala in the seventh century was occasioned by the fall of the Buddhist Kalabhras at the hands of the Pandyas. Aalavaipathikam records that around 640 A.D., Sambanda Murti, a Brahmin, won over the Pandya royal family and caused the massacre of 8,000 Buddhist monks in Madurai. Buddhist nuns were reportedly made into devadasis and relocated in the Hindu temple precincts.
The Telugu Pallavas ruled over the Tamils after the Kalabhras. By around the same period in sixth century, the Pallava king, Simhavishnu had defeated the kalabhras and captured Tondaimandala and Cholamandalam from them. Pallava Simhavishnu overthrows the Kalabhras in Tondaimandalam around 560 - 580 AD. After Sangam Chola's period Poompuhar occupied a significant place during the regime of Kalabras but after the 6th century (AD) Kalabras, Poompuhar came under the rule of the Pallava, who built Pallavaneesswaram temple. Thus, the Kalabhra rule in Tamil country came to an end due to the ascendancy of the Pandyas and Pallavas.
It is said tha Vikramaditya II defeated the Kalabhras. Vikramaditya II (733 744 CE) was the son of King Vijayaditya and ascended the Badami Chalukya throne following the death of his father. His most important achievements were the capture of Kanchipuram on three occasions, the first time as a crown prince, the second time as an emperor and the final and third time under the leadership of his son and crown prince Kirtivarman II. This is attested to by another Kannada inscription, known as the Virupaksha Temple inscription which alludes to the emperor as the conqueror of Kanchi on three occasions and reads Sri Vikramaditya- bhatarar- mume- Kanchiyan- mume parajisidor. The capture of Kanchipuram which in itself symbolised the cumulative power of the three traditional kingdoms of Tamil country placed the Pandyas, Chola and the rulers of Kerala kingdoms at the mercy of Vikramaditya II. He then overran these kingdoms and defeated a Kalabhra ruler as well. These victories were inscribed in his inscription on the shores of the Indian ocean.
The seven Rathas at Mahaballipuram had been built by Buddhists and the sudden abandonment of the unfinished Rathas could have been due to the persecution of the Buddhists, as the Kalabhras gradually lost their political power.
In the year 800, immediately after the fall of the Kalabhras, it succeeded that Cheras under king Kulasekhara (800- 820), to restore their power.
Tirugnanasambandar (7th century AD), one of the Saivite hymnologists who came after the Kalabras who patronized Prakrit, sang that the God had created Sanskrit and Tamil.
Webmaster
Kokolu Anka Rao
Date-29/09/2007
Nagpur, Maharastra, India.
go TOP
08 BANT / BUNT ORIGINS
Some sections of Telugu Mudiraj people are known as Bantlu ( Bants ). The Tuluva speaking people of this community in Karnataka region are known as Banta ( Bunts ). These people bacame famous as members of suicide squads who are comparable to present day commandos to fight the terrorists.
The name - Bant or Bunt seems to have originated from the word Banjara. The Banjaras are the descendants of Vanaras who became famous due to their active association with Sri Rama in his war against demon Ravana. Rama's wife Sita was abducted by Ravana during Rama's exile to forests. While wandering in the forests, Sri Rama became a loving master to all kinds of vanaras of Kishkinda kingdom. Historians have almost unanimously agreed that the Kishkinda kingdom was once located in region of Hampi of present day Karnataka.
These people of bant / bunt community were once concentrated in Rayalaseema districts of Andhra Pradesh and Bellary districts of Karnataka, and later migrated to Western Karnataka and other places. In all probability they are the descendants of vanaras of Kishkinda kingdom. Vana or Bana means forest. Chara or Chala means dwell ( = Move).
Vana = Bana = forest
Chara = Chala = Chal = move or dwell
Vana + Chara = Vanachara
Vanachara = Vanjara = Banjara = = Forest Dweller
Vanachara => Van(ch)ara = > Vanara
Vanachara => Van(cha)ra = > Vanjara => Banjara
Banjara => Bantzara => Bant(z)ara => Bantara
Bantara => Banta => Bant => Bunt
Bantara => Banta => Bana
We all know that Hampi lies in Bellary districts which was once an integral part of Rayalaseema of Andhra state formed after reorganization of states based on language in independent India. Bellary was once a place of majority Telugu speaking region in continuity with Rayalaseema. Even today, there is considerable Telugu speaking population in Bellery districts, though their strength is steadily decreaing due to Regional language policy of Indian states.
Thus, we can conclude that the vanaras of kishkinda kingdom were the ancient Telugu speaking people of present day Bellary & Rayalaseema districts. Tuluva language was a variant of Telugu language which has sufficient proof with lingustic experts. The bunts who moved to South West India speak Tulu language which has more similaritis with Telugu and this part of country is now known as Tulunadu. So, the Tuluva speaking bunts and the Telugu speaking bants ( Mudiraj = buntu ) are one and the same people and are the descendats of vanaras of Kishkinda kingdom ruled by Vali and then by Sugreev.
The Chola -Mutharayar research center, Thanjore also concluded that Mutharayars and cholas were the descendants of Sugreeva. Quite interestingly, Hanuman, the army general of Sugreeva is well known as Sri Rama BANTU. The vanaras who participated in the war of Sri Rama against demon Ravana of Srilanka were all known as Sri Rama Bantus ( bantlu = bants ). It appears that the vanaras of those times were also known as bants and the bant word became synonymous to servant due to their faithful services to their masters in both war front & royal palaces since Ramayana times. Today, bant or bantu means a faithful servant.
Bant = Faithful Servant
Sugreevan's brother Bali and Banasura's father Bali may be different but this name seems to belong to Vanaras / Vanarajas who are in most probability one and the same people of dravidian vanara races.
Bunts of Tulunadu :
Today, the maximum population of bunts / bants are known to live in Tulunadu of Karnataka state. The word Bunta in Tulu language implies a powerful man or a soldier. Buntas were bravados and leaders in the battlefronts. Bunts are part of a group called Nadavas, who mainly reside in the northern part of Tulu nadu. The Nadavas or Nadavars are said to be the Nattars of Tamilnadu who are part of Mukkulathors relating to Mutharayars.
The Bunts are a traditional community of agriculturists Tulu Nadu. The Bunts also have a strong presence in Mumbai and Bangalore. They are well spread in the city retail hotel business in Bombay and many parts of India. Bunts are a community hailing from different parts of South Karnataka like Mangalore and Udipi districts. We all know that Udipi hotels are a brand name in hotel industry through out India and the world. Shetty is one of the popular sunames of Bunts as majority of them were once tax collectors during medieval times. The Bunts follow the matriarchial system, where the daughter (not the sons) inherits the family property.
Tulu Nadu lies along the Malabar Coast, and shares a number of geographic, culinary, and social traits with the neighbouring Konkan and Kerala regions. Tulu Nadu is bounded on the west by the Arabian Sea and on the east by the Western Ghats. According "Grama Paddhati" , the mythical account, Tulu region was a part of Kerala created by Parashurama by reclaming the land form the sea. This literary work in the modern form is believed to be around from 15th century. Tulu Nadu is a region on the southwestern coast of Karnataka, India, consisting of the districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi. Also, northern Kasaragod of Kerala state was traditionally part of Tulu Nadu according to some Malayalam works. This is the region in which Tulu is spoken. Historically, Tulunad was the two separate lands of Haiva and Tuluva, located successively south of the Konkan, and considered as a part of the Malabar Coast of Kerala, which is immediately south of Tuluva.
Tulu people used the word 'bant' or 'bante' initially for trusted person specifically a body guard who can be trusted. Initially 'bant' was a profession of trusted security guards especially for kings and chieftains before becoming a caste indicator. Koti and Chennayya from billava caste were professional bants (= body guards) for Ballala chieftains according to Pad-danas. Since a large number of Tulu farmers, (okkaliga / nadava) were professional bants during the Tulu history, the word was subsequently attached to them as a caste indicator.
The community of Bunts (anglicized from Buntas), also referred to as Nadavas, form an important and integral part of the socio economic culture of Tulu nadu, in coastal Karnataka. As a community, Bunts are next in number only to the Billavas of Tulu nadu. They are reputed to be agriculturists par excellence. Bunts are part of a group called Nadavas, who mainly reside in the northern part of Tulu nadu. They are thought to have had a common origin and culture as the Ezhavas / Thiyyas of Malabar and Nadaars of Tamil Nadu. As the name Nadava implies, originating from the word nadu or territory, the Bunts are owners of land. The Bunts of southern Tulu nadu speak Tulu language, a form of language that is used in commerce in the region, called Common Tulu.
There are different categories like Bantaru, Nadavaru, Jain Bunts, Masaadika Bunts, Parivaara Bunts, Setru, Halarusetru, Baraga, Ullaye, Dokkaludethi, Kartharu, Palavaru, Okkelakalu.
Bunt Warriors : Bunta means a powerfulman or soldier. According to some other sources BUNT might have been derived from the word "BUNTA". In the early centuries of the Christian era, there were smaller Tuluva kings, who were basically bunts. Some were independent and some were under the suzerain of overlords like Kadambas, Chalukyas and Hoysalas. There were constant skirmishes and fighting, and the 'Buntaru' or warriors were important stabilizing segments of the population. In due course the Bunts succeeded in becoming owners of lands that did not fall into the hands of the priestly class, namely Brahmins.
Banjara => Bantzara => Bant(z)ara => Bantara
Bantara => Bata => Bhata = warrior or soldier
The fighter in them was known as bhata ( warrior ) or bunta. Bunts are culturally very much rooted. In the olden days Tuluva bunts were credited with being masters of "Kalari" the martial art which is now associated with Kerala. In fact Malayalam poems like "Vadakkan Paatu" - a story about North Kerala Kalari masters talks about them going to the "Garadis" ( as these training centres were refered to in Tulu Nadu) for advanced training in Kalari. It is worth to mention here that Mudiraju warriors ( Bantlu ) were also said to be the head of research wing of martial arts in Telugu Kakatiya kingdom at Warangal.
The Alva ( or the Alupa) Dynasty - incidentally Alva is another Bunt surname - ruled without interuption for almost a 1000 years over the small territory of coastal Karnataka.
Krishnadevaraya ( or Vikramidtya ) of the Vijaynagar Empire fame who was one of the greatest rulers of India was a Telugu speaking bantu of Tuluva origin who incidentally was a great scholar of Sanskrit and Telugu. All the Vijayanagar rulers were Telugu speaking kings and they were known to bants. Telugu was the official language of the Vijayanagara Empire. Most of the capital cities of Vijayanagar empire were located in Telugu speaking regions. Even Hampi was a Telugu speaking land during the time Vijayanagar empire.
Bunts are singers, musicians and artists : Bunts are associated with Yagsha Gana, and other forms of art and Deity worship. Tulu Nadu is especially rich in folklore and there are many epics in Tulu, the most famous being the "Siri Paddane". It is also the land of other interesting artforms like the Yakshagana , Bhoota Kola, etc.
Religion of bunts : Bunts are basically Hindus. Though small but prominent minority of bants follow Jainism. For example- the Dharmadhikari of the famous Manjunatheshwara temple near Mangalore is a jain Bunt. In fact some of the old Bunt rulers of TuluNadu like the Chowtas were Jains. This is the reason that you will find a significant number of Jain monuments near Udipi / Mangalore, the most famous of course being the Jain bastis of Moodubidri and the Gomateshwaras at Karkala and Dharmastala. It is worth to note here that a lot of Muttarasa kings followed jainism and gigantic statue of Gomateswara Bahubali was built by a minister of rachamalla of Western ganga Muttarasa king.
It is believed that they had been helping the kings, as second - in - command enjoying the king's trust and confidence by discharging their duties with devotion. Bunts sometime known as "Naadavas" residing in the northern part of South Kanara extending from Baindoor to Chandragiri River, are a branch of Bunts' community, who speak Kannada. In Tamil "Naadu" means a country or a region developed in agriculture and farming. This indicates that Nadavaru were the people who belonged to Nadus settling down with agriculture.
There seems to have been a close relationship between the Bunts and Jains in Tulu nadu. Not only are their last names similar in many instances (Ajila, Ballala, Hegde, Banga, Chowta etc.), but they also have similar customs. Some of the old Bunt rulers of TuluNadu like the Chowtas were Jains. The people of Chowti surname are a part of Mudiraj community today.
Chowta => Chowti
Aliya santana is followed by both Bunts and Jains in Tulu nadu, perhaps the only Jain community in India to follow this matriarchal system of inheritance. Bunts of higher social standing were said to have converted to Jainism, though it is not clear when this conversion predominantly occurred. The balajigas of Karnataka who are related to North Indian Banjara tribes and Telugu speaking Balijas were also known to be the prosperous jains of Karnataka.
Language of Tulu bunts : Tulu is not the only language of Bunts, they also Speak Kannada as Mother tongue. The percentage is almost 50:50. Besides Tulu, Kannada (the state language) and Konkani are also widely spoken in the area. The Tulu speakers are known as Tuluvas. Most of them migrated to tulu region from goa, which can be seen from the fact that they speak konkani which is not a local language.
Bants are also known as Nadavas. It is said that the Nadava are mentioned in a 13th century inscription for the first time in Tulunad area. It was the period when Tulunad was under the suzerainty of Vijayanagar kingdom. Possibly, Vijayanagar administrators referred to local cultivating community as as nadava to distinguish from the soldiers brought along with them from Vijayanagar mainland. Presently, Nadava are a Kannada speaking community widespread in Uttara Kannada. According to the Nadava sources, about five centuries ago, five Nadava families migrated from Kundapur area and settled around Ankola and Gokarna in Uttara Kannada district.
Nadavas of Tulu Nadu :
The word Bunta in Tulu language implies a powerful man or a soldier. The community of Bunts (anglicized from Buntas), also referred to as Nadavas, form an important and integral part of the socio economic culture of Tulu nadu, in coastal Karnataka. They are reputed to be agriculturists par excellence. Bunts are part of a group called Nadavas, who mainly reside in the northern part of Tulu nadu. They are thought to have had a common origin and culture as the Nayars of Malabar and Nattars of Tamil Nadu. As the name Nadava implies, originating from the word nadu or territory, the Bunts are owners of land. The Bunts of southern Tulu nadu speak Tulu language, a form of language that is used in commerce in the region, called Common Tulu.
There are no records of the origin of the Bunt or Nadava community of Tulu nadu. It is strongly felt that they first made their appearance very early in the history of Tulu nadu, and they migrated from Northern regions of Rajastan and surrouding areas.
The Nadava and the Bunt community of Tulu nadu is a mostly affluent community that has seen many changes in their centuries of habitat in the region. Originally thought to have migrated from Northern regions, or even brought by the kings as soldiers and protectors of land, now they are mainly landlords and cultivators. They are similar to the Nayar communities of Kerala and the Nattars of Tamil Nadu.
Another group of people with similar culture was the Nayars of Tulu nadu. They have disappeared as an entity from Tulu nadu but the inscriptions found in Barkur from the medieval period as well as the Grama Paddathi, which gives the history of Brahmin families in Tulu nadu, have made several references to the Nayars. Kadamba king Mayuravarma, who is credited with bringing Brahmins from Ahichatra (from the North), also settled Nayars in Tulu nadu. It is postulated that the Nayars were later absorbed into the social stratum of the Nadava community. Manual of Madras Administration Vol II (printed in 1885) notes that the Nadavas are the same people as the Nayars of Malabar and the Bunts of Southern Tulu nadu. In Malabar and south of Kanara as far as Kasargod, they are called Nayars and their language is Malayalam. From Kasargod to Brahmavar, they are termed as Bunts and speak Tulu. To the north of Brahmavar, they are called Nadavars, and they speak Kanarese.
E. Thurston wrote in his Castes and Tribes of Southern India (1955-56), "This is a caste of Kanarese farmers found only in South Kanara. The Nadavas have retained four sub-divisions*, one of the most important being Masadi. they seem to be closely allied to the Bunt caste of which Nadava is one of the sub-divisions. The name Nadava or Nadavaru means people of the nadu or country.
Masadi (masadika) is the most common Tulu speaking sub-division of Bunts in Southern Tulu nadu. Nadavas are Kannada speaking people that live in Northern Tulu nadu from Brahmavar to Baindoor. Parivara Bunts also live in the northern parts and follow some of the Brahmin customs. Jain Bunts are those who converted to Jainism during the reign of various Jain rulers, especially Hoysalas.
The term Nadava meaning those who reside in the nadu as farmers. Nadu also means 'to plant', and Bunts could have been primarily farmers who later took up arms and thus were associated with the military class. They were the builders of nadus (land), and as warriors whose main occupation and chief obligation was to protect the land.
Nadavas are the people of Nadu (town). The term basically indicates that these the stake holders of the land of Alvakheda or Tulunadu. Having a good physique, they were the soldiers of the ancient kingdom. One of the community namely Aluva (surname) perhaps belong to the royal family of Alupa. The community is commonly called as Bantas in Kannada or Bunts in English (soldiers).
Nadava - Kalachuri link proves their mudiraj connection :
If Nadava - kalachuri link is accepted as true, then the Bant Mudiraj and the Bunt Nadavas are one and the same people. The mudiraj connection to Kalchuris is already well explained under pages "kalabhras" and "kalchuris" in this website.
There are a few opinions about the migration of Nadavaras to Karnataka. One school of thinking is that in the eighth century, during Kalachuri Dynasty, Nadavaras came to Karnataka from Rajasthan for the propaganda of jainism.
'Nadavara' means husband (Vara) of Country (Nad). They are also known as Jain Nadavaru. Supposedly they were converted to Hinduism from Jainism around the sixteenth century. Nadavara may be related to the Bunts community of South Kanara. Nadavaras religious beliefs, food habits, living style, and etiquettes closely resemble that of the Bunts.Nadavaras were famous chieftains during the rule of the Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara Empires.
At the beginning of eleventh century Nadavaras were high-ranking officials in the Hoysala Kingdom. To this day Nadavara women worship Queen Shantala (Shanti), the wife of Hoysala King Vishnuvardhana (1108-1152 A.D). Shantala was the daughter of Honnayya Dandanayaka (Chief General) and Machekka. She was a famous dancer who choreographed her dance routines from Bharata Natyam postures and Yakshgana expressions.
Nadavaras were famous chieftains during the rule of the Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas and Vijayanagara Empires. There is no evidence of Nadavaras origin prior to the Rashtrakutas. In the sixth century the earliest Rashtrakuta clan ruled Malva Region (Western Central India). Gradually Rashtrakutas moved southward to Maharashtra and Karnataka in the eighth century. There are a few opinions about the migration of Nadavaras to Karnataka. One school of thinking is that in the eighth century, during Kalachuri Dynasty, Nadavaras came to Karnataka from Rajasthan for the propaganda of Jainism. Kalchuri Dynesty is originally from Rajasthan, ruled in various parts of India including Kalachuris of Karnataka, from the 6th century to 13th century. Even today there are Nadavaras in Ankola Seeme(county) who worship ancient Kalachuri shrines. They believe that they are the descendents Kalchuris of Rajasthan. The Kalachuri King Bijjala (1130-1167 A.D) was related to Nadavaras of Ankola Seeme.Rashtrakutas and Nadavaras are believed to be Kalchuri clans. They were all related by matrimonial alliance. Considering the associations with Rashtrakutas, Nadavaras migration from the Malva Plateau along with Rashtrakutas is also a valid scenario. The Nadavaras were valiant horsemen in the army of the Rashtrakutas.
At the end of the fifteenth century under the Saluva kings, the Vijayanagara Empire was sinking in chaos and lawlessness. The King of Vijayanagara, Saluva Narasihma DevaRaya (1485-1491 A.D) in 1488 A.D appointed Tuluva Narasa Nayaka from Dakshina Kannada as the chief general to supress the growing unrest. After taking over the reign, without wasting any time, he recruited Nadavars along with Bunts to the cavalry of the Vijayanagara infantry. It is also said that Saluvas were Kalachuris from North Karnataka.
In the sixteenth century, due to the negligent regime of Aliya Rama Raya, Vijayanagara succumbed to Sultanates of Bijapur at the battle of Talikota in 1565 A.D. Nadavaras took refuge in Western Ghats once again. They were spread all across Western Ghats in Uttar Kannada.In seventeenth and eighteenthth centuries, the scattered population started migrating to coastal areas. The flow of Nadavara people was consolidated in twenty villages on the banks of the Gangavali and Aghanashini rivers of Uttar Kannada, Karnataka. They refrained from eating meat and fish until they settled on the coast of the Arabian Sea. Three Nadavara Chieftains with their families escaped from Goa to Uttar Kannada in the 17th century.
Romani gypsies who are also related to Banjaras have a similar meaning of "husband" to the word Roma. Romanis are also believed to migrate from Rajastan to Europe via Persia. We will have more detils about Romas in this chapter under a separate heading.
Nadava - Nattar - Kallar link proves their relation with mudiraj :
In Tamil, the heads of Nadus were called Nattars. The most important feature of the Chola administration was the local administration at districts, towns and villages level. Village autonomy was the most unique feature of Chola administrative system. Nadu was one of the important administrative units of the Cholas. Nadus had representative assemblies. The heads of the nadus were called Nattars. The council of nadu was called nattavai. Representatives of the Nattavais and nattars promoted agriculture. They also took care of the protection of the people and tax collection. These Nadus were same as Muthas in Telugu speaking lands. The head of Muthas were Mutharachas (Mudiraj) similar to Nattars in Tamil speaking lands.
The Bunts are thought to have had a common origin and culture as the Nayars of Malabar and Nattars of Tamil Nadu. As the name Nadava implies, originating from the word nadu or territory, the Bunts are owners of land. The name Nadava or Nadavaru means people of the nadu or country.
Kallar men worked as Kavalkarars (Village protecting police = Kapus) or watchmen, in hundreds of villages throughout the erstwhile Madura District in Tamilnadu. These Kallars are often said to blackmail the cultivators (village farmers) into paying in return for the return of the stolen cattle. In late 1985, the Madras board of land revenue raised the possibility of declaring as 'criminal tribes' the entire body of 'martial castes' in the Southern districts of the presidency - Kallar, Marvar, and Agambadiyar, numbering upward of one million individuals. By coincidence Kallars were ex-communicated by villagers at that point of time in an anti-Kallar movement. In Madura district talukas of Dindigal, Palni and Periyakulam responsibilty for rural protection was assumed by Kallar, Valayar and Koravar watchmen. Valayar and Koravar watchmen were also targeted in the anti-Kallar movement. The Kallars were 'in their origin soldiers out of work' noted the Madras Board of land revenue in 1896.
Mr. Pandian's dissertation focuses specifically on the Piramalai Kallar community of southern Tamil Nadu. The Kallars were the most significant of the castes notified under the colonial Criminal Tribes Act of 1911. Charged with highway robbery, cattle rustling and many other putatively habitual crimes, the Kallars were subjected to an extraordinary degree of repression and police supervision. In addition to such measures, the colonial state also made a series of agrarian interventions that took agriculture as a potent vehicle of social reform, from minor land grants to massive regional irrigation projects. Mr. Pandian has conducted his ethnographic research at the head of the Cumbum Valley, where a voluntary agricultural settlement was opened for the Kallars in 1917.
During the Chola period, there was an influential non-brahmana landed group called the nattavars or nattars meaning the people of the territory of the nadus. But inscriptions refer to only the influential representatives of the nadus implying that the nattavars were the landed elites and the representatives of the big landholders. They collected dues, imposed forced labour and have been portrayed as an exploitative class. They were actual controllers of local production, having under them small landholders, cultivators and perhaps artisans and merchants. Nattavars controlled funds for worship in the temples and conducting repair works. Their power was rooted deeply in the locality. The Chola period nattavars were mainly the Vellalas tied to each other by kinship network. Some of the locally entrenched Vellala landed communities emerged as big landowners with titles like nadudaiyan or nadalvan. Some of them also had titles like arayan, used by the big landholders in the later Chola period. The nattavars included todays Pillais, Mudalis, Reddis, and Vanniyas. One of the nattavar groups, the Vanniyas from fourteenth century onwards joined the Vijayanagar army.
Nattavar => Nattar
Nattavar => Nattava => Nadavar => Nadava
The Nadavar chieftains of Vijayanagara were appointed as the liaisons to the Sonda Kingdom. The Nadavar chieftains remained as advisors even after the fall of Vijayanagra.
The Nattars and kallars are one and the same people and who belong to one the three clans of Mukkulathor ( Devar = Thevar ) relating to Mutharayar community of Tamilnadu. A large population of Kallar and Marvar clans of Thevar group are Ambalakarars of Mutharaya community. For more details, please see web page on "Various names" in this website.
Kallars and Marvars are believed to be the descendants of Kalbhras who once invaded South India uprooting the then Chola, Chera and Pandya adhirajas. Kallars along with Maravars and Agamudaiyar are an ancient martial caste in TamilNadu, South India. Kallar, Maravar, Agamudayar, Agamudaya Mudaliar or Udayars all originated from the ancient Tamil race called kalabhrar of the ancient Indian subcontinent. From kalabar first people are called as piranmalai kallar according to place the title changes as maravar, agamudayar, cholarkula tanjore kalla nattar, pandiya vellalars, chola vellalars, chera vellalar or (having pillai, Mudaliar title), vellalamudaliyars, agamudaya mudaliars or udayar etc.
Kalabiras => Kalabras => Kalbras => Kalvras => Kallars
"Kallar" as a fearless tribe show many signs of independence and non-submission to any form of subjugation. Throughout Tamil history, they had fought against incursions into their territory, including the repulsion of Muslim and British colonialists. They were expert soldiers and in the olden days, were often favoured by the Tamil Kings in their military recruitment. One of the weapons the Kallars have in common with the Australian natives is the boomerang. They were, and still are, largely farmers as well.
Some of the common surnames between Telugu bants and Tulu bunts : The common vanara / vanjara / banjara ancestry of Telugu speaking bants and Tulu speaking bunts can be assertained through the common surnames which are prevelent among these two groups of bunts / bants. Some of the Telugu bant surnames are given here with Tulu bunt surnames within the brackets. They are - Adapa ( Adappa ) , Panja ( punja ), setty ( shetty ). There may be some more such surnames which may prove their common ancestry though they got separated today by language and geography.
Telugu and Tulu languages might have originated from the language of Vanaras of Kishkinda :
Some experts point about Tulu being part of Telugu family. For example in Tulu numbers - "Eight" is enuma in Tulu and enimidi in Telugu. However it is "entu" in Kannada, "ettu" in Tamil/Malayalam). The root langauge of Proto- Kannada- Malayalam branched out of Proto-Dravidian in Maharashtra region. This clan migrated along West coastal region. Tulu branched out because of Telugu family language influence. Then Kannada branched out as it spread inland from coastal region. Then Proto-Malayalam-Tamil clan continued their journey along Kaveri river and Tamil branched out in Tamil region.
Another example is communities in this region - about Shetty surname. The people of this community belong to, "Banta". In Telugu region, Bantu was an erstwhile suicide squad(Now, members of this community are called Mudiraju). This suicide squad of bodyguards was a common feature in South Indian region. In Telugu region they were called Bantu, in Kannada region they were called Garuda, in Malayalam region they were called Chaver and in Tamil region they were called Tamizh. They were the last rung support in an army(or for a feudal chieftain), I believe. Curiously, a Tulu community name finds an echo in Telugu region.
The intersting conclusion is that many south Indian languages ( at least TuLu, Kannada and Telugu ) have this word bant / banta / bantu in them that mean the same or have similar shades of meaning.
The dictionary says bantu = A soldier, an armed attendant, a police officer, a servant; In Telugu langauage, the names normally ends with U and preferably with - Du, Mu, Vu, Lu. Accordingly, the word BANT transformed into BANTU. Bant actually means an employee of a king i.e normally a soldier or an interior palace guard - but becasuse of their utmost faithfulness and loyalty towords their masters and jobs, the BANT word became popular to these people as servants who opted for domstic jobs in the houses of rich people. Thus the actual meaning of Bant had undergone a great change.
Bant (Tulu), banta (Kannada) and bantu (Telugu) all these words basically imply the same meaning that is a reliable assistant and / or bodyguard. The Telugu meaning of Bantu, a suicide squad, is only expansion of the basic meaning. In early days, Bantu meant a professional bodyguard who can be relied upon. Possibly, this profession was practiced by some Bantu persons who migrated from their original homeland due to adverse living conditions. Subsequently, the word Bantu meant any reliable bodyguard. Thus the word Bantu became an indicator of a profession. the Sanskrit word bhata could have been derived from the word bantu/ bant. The Sanskrit bhata means a soldier or guard; without connotation of any of the reliability, bodyguard tags implied in the said South Indian languages.
Bana Rajas ruled Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh : During the eighth century A.D. and the 9th century grants were made very near to Tirupati for the Siva and Vishnu temples as may be seen from inscription in Gudimallam in Chittoor District, Tiruvallam (North Arcot District) and Tirumukkudal (Venkatesa's temple). Among the donors are the Bana Kings (Mavali Vana Rayas) one of whom Vijayaditya Banarayas a donor for the Tiruchukanur Tiruvilankoyil about the closing years of the 9th century A.D.
The earliest inscriptions no.3 in the Tirupati Devasthanam refers to the birth of the Bana prince Vijayaditya Mahavali Banaraya, also a feudatory of Vijaya Danti Vikrama varma, and No. 4 mentions his stipulation for two food offerings to be made daily to three Deities, viz., the Tiruvilankoyil Perumanadigal, the Tirumantirasalai Perumanadigal and the Tiruvenkatattu Perumanadigal.
The Banas were a dynasty of powerful chieftains, who appear on the Tamil scene from the beginning of the Christian era, and played a subordinate role to all the major powers of the Tamil country. They are seen ruling Madurai, a part of Ramnad, and even a part of Kongu country. From 14th to middle 16th century their epigraphs are found in regions Madurai, Ramnad and Pudukottai. It was during Mallikarjuna Raya's (of Vijayanagara kingdom) reign, Banas controlled much of Madurai and Ramnad (Ramanathapuram). From the inscriptions, it appears that Irangavillidasan Navali Vanaraya Bana, Bhuvaneka Vira Samara Kolahala, Sundar Tol-udaiyan, Tirumal Irunjolai Mahabali Bana were the chiefs at Madurai as well as Ramnad.
They were called in all these records, Mahabali Vanadarayar. They were great Vaishnavites and were deeply devoted to Lord Vishnu of Alagar Koil and the Andal temple at Srivilliputtur. The main Vimana of the Andal shrine of Srivilliputtur was built by the Bana Chieftain. Before the advent of the Ramnad Sethupati Chieftains, Ramesvaram and its pilgrim route were under the control of the Banas. They assumed the title Bhuvanekavira and Setumula Raksha durandharan.
There is one dated bana inscription which refers itself to the reign of the Bana king Banarasa, who was also in charge of the Ganga six-thousand province when Ballaha i.e., the Rashtrakuta king led a campaign against Kaduvetti Muttarasa, for not paying tribute. On this occasion a certain servant of Banatattaran, himself a servant of Vijayitta, while returning on a horse near Kuntiala, died after slaying Ganamurti. Since the characters of the record are of the 9th century A.D. it may be assigned to the time of Vijayaditya II.
According to Tamil Inscriptions of the Chola Dynasty No. 76. Udayendiram Plates of Prithivipati II. Hastimalla - It is referred to under the title Sembiyan-Mavalivanaraya. The second part of this name consists of Mavali, the Tamil form of Mahabali, i.e., 'the great Bali,' who is considered as the ancestor of the Bana kings, and Vanaraya, i.e., Banaraja or 'king of the Banas.' The first part of the name, Sembiyan, is one of the titles of the Chola kings. The whole surname appears to mean: Mahabali-Banaraja (by) the Chola king.' Sembiyan means Sibi Chakravarty and he is also in the group of banarajas (Bants).
Sibi Chakravarty was also a Bana king : The Sibi / Sembiyan cut his body flesh and gave it to Vishnu, who came to him in disguise of kite (Garuda). Such an extreme action of cutting his own body to stand by his word could be possible only by people like bunts who could dare to take up such suicidal jobs for their kings.
Mahabalis and the shrine of Mahavallipuram (Mahabalipuram) : Many people think the place Mahavalipuram was the city of King Mahavali in ancient times. King Mahavali was the grandson of Prahlad, the illustrious devotee of Vishnu, whose non-believing father, Hiranya Kashyipu, had been killed by Narasimha, the fourth incarnadon of Vishnu. Mahavali too, was a true devotee of Vishnu. But he had one defect - pride - a vice which God always dislikes. It was out of his love for Mahavali that Vishnu came down to earth to teach humility to his proud devotee. It was also necessary to isolate Mahavali from earth and heaven.
According to tradition, a king performing a yajna was required to satisfy his guests, priests and Brahmins, by granting them anything they wanted. This particular king, Vali or Mahavali, was extremely proud of his wealth and power. He had declared that there was nothing he could not grant when asked. At sunset, when the king's alms-giving was ending for the day, a dwarf-like Brahmin appeared before him. "What can I do for you?" asked the king. The rest of the story is very well known to the entire world.
It seems that while Vanarayas were the kings (ruling class people), the vanras were the common people belonging to the same race known as bunts / bants / banjaras / vanjaras / vanaras. They were the rulers in Telugu speaking Rayalaseema and bellary districts of Andhra- Karnataka region. This is the region from where it believed that the kalabhras ( ancestors of mutharayars ) invaded Tamil and malayalee speaking lands.
Vana Rajas and Hero Stones : According to Mr. M. Gandhi, Curator of the Government Museum, Vellore, a feudatory called Mavali Vanarayan, under Dantivarman, ruled the area around modern Thiruvalam. Vanarayan's headquarters was Vanapuram. A 9th century `herostone' built during the region of the Pallava King, Dantivarman, has been unearthed recently at Balekuppam in Katpadi taluk. The `herostone' belongs to this vassal's period. The `herostone', which was erected during the regnal year of Mavali Vanarayan in 816 A.D., has a height of six feet and is four feet wide. The hero, shown in relief work, rides on a galloping horse. He has a beautiful turban on his head. He throws a spear with his right hand and a dagger dangles from his waist band.
The heroes are those stones ercted by the kings in memory, gratitude and respect towards the suicude squad members ( mudiraj bunts ) who died for the cause of king and country. Kodagu region and South India is full of such hero stones ( Veeragull = warrior stones ).
Bali Chakravarty was a Bana king in whose honour Onam was celebrated in Kerala state : Onam celebrates the visit of King Mahabali, a king of ancient Dravida to the state of Kerala every year. The festival is celebrated with fervour as King Mahabali is greatly respected by his subjects. Mahabali is also popularly called Maveli and Onathappan. He is believed to have ruled in South India before the Ramayana event and his empire is believed to have extended from the Vindhyas in the north to the far out in the south.
In ancient times Kerala was ruled by an asura King Mahabali who was very wise and greatly loved by the people. Because of jealousy, the king of gods, Indra, hatched a plot to oust Mahabali. The gods sought the help of Vishnu to curb Mahabali's power. To execute the scheme Vishnu disguised himself as a Brahmin boy, Vamana, and went to the asura King. He asked as much land as he could cover in three steps and King Mahabali agreed to the request. Vamana immediately began to grow as big as the universe and with two steps, he covered the earth, the heavens and the nether world. He looked at Mahabali to place his third step and the King offered his head for Vamana to place his foot. Vamana pushed Mahabali down to the ground and before he disappeared Mahabali asked Vishnu for a boon to come to the earth once a year to see his people and the request was granted. This event is celebrated as Onam. A major attraction of the onam celebrations are the famed snake boat races along the backwaters at Champakulam, Aranmula and Kottayam. About a hundred oarsmen in each boat row huge and graceful odee (snake boats) to the rhythm of drums and cymbals and songs praising Mahabalis reign.
Mavalis of Maharastra were Bana warriors : Mavalis are the descendants of Mahabali Chakravarty. Parli Fort (or Sajjangarh)was built by one of the kings of Delhi in the thirteenth century. Parli was the favourite residence of Ramdas Swami (1608-81), the spiritual guide or guru of Sivaji (1627-8o), who gave it to the Swami in indm. The existence of these makes it probable that a fort had been constructed before Musalman times. It was subsequently occupied by them, and surprised by a detachment of Sivaji's Mavalis in May, 1673. History of the Marathas' note with pride the bravery of Sivaji's army consisting mainly of Mavalis and Kolis ( kolis are related to Mudiraj) .
Shivaji's Mavali / Maratha soldiers clearly demonstrated their courage and martial tendency by fearlessly attacking in a pitched battle the combined and formidable Bijapur army made up of elite forces of Arab, Abyssinian, Persian and Afghan mercenaries.
During British rule in India, Colonel, Nuttall, who succeeded Lieutenant Graham, was ordered to raise a corps of Kolis, the hereditary rivals of the Bhils, who, in Maratha times, had been among the foremost of the brave Mavalis or west Deccan soldiers. The corps was recruited chiefly in the hilly parts of Junnar in Poona, Akola in Ahmadnagar, and Nasik.
Kusundas were Bana Rajas in Himalayan hill ranges :
Kusundas are also known as one of the indigenous peoples of Nepal. Kusunda is one of the ethnic groups of peoples whose language and culture are believed precious to the students of ethnology. Their tribal name is myahq - 'king of forests'. Kusundas are also called Banarajas - Kings of the forests, because they used to live in the forests, called themselves *myahak had a kind of taxation system over Rautes. Kusundas were Kings and Rautes were their subjects. Generally Rautes run away if they happen to see a Kusunda from a distance. This can be noticed even today along the Raute track in the Surkhet district of Midwest Nepal. both 'Banaraja' and 'Kusunda' are names given to the 'myahq peoples' (Kusundas) by other communities.
Kusundas are also said to be the offspring of 'Kusha' - Rama's second son born from 'kusha grass' in Valmiki's Cottage. This story is well depicted in The Ramayana. Chepangs also believe they are the offspring of Sita's first son Lohari or Lava who is also very famous in the Ramayana. Lohari and Kushari were two sons of Sita. The Kusundas believe that they are offspring of Kushari - Kusha. Later Lohari and Kushari became rivals. Then the Kusundas and Chepangs began to live separately. Some of the Chepang cognates have some similarity with that of Kusunda's. Both Kusunda and Chepangs are found in the hills of Nepal.
Here, once again, we come to the same point that these banarajas were also closely related to solar king of Srirama who in turn belong to emperor Mandhata from whom the kolis are said to be descended.
Tihar festival in Nepal was related to bana king Bali chakravarty : Folk legends describe Bali Raja as a beneficent ruler behaving well with the people, a hero struggling to give a life of equality and prosperity. In contrast, without any errors of this king, without any tyrannous actions he is called a "rakshasa" and the so-called avatar of Bishnu comes forward as "Baman" to deceive and destroy him. The story in the Puran goes like this - Baman Dev, who is believed to be the fifth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, came to the palace of King Bali (Baliraja) when he was performing Puja. King Bali was very popular for giving alms to any one who came to his palace.
Baman Dev asked for only three steps with Baliraja. Baliraja,without knowing who the Baman was, agreed to fulfil his demand. To Baliraja's great surprise, Baman Dev with his two steps covered the Earth and the Universe and asked the great king where he would place his third step. Bali was confused and did not know what to say. At this moment Baliraja's wife used her presence of mind and suggested him to offer his own head (Deusire) to place Baman's last step. For Baliraja greatest alms charity, he gained Lord Vishnu's favour and also attained salvation. It is believed from that day Baliraja's citizens celebrated the day as Deusire. There is also a belief in the month of Kartik (the month when Baliraja donated his head) if one donates something, it will do good to the alms-giver. This was how the tradition of Deusi and Bhailo originated. The Tihar festival in Nepal is also the occasion for all the Deusire and Bhailire enthusiasts to go around their neighbourhood to collect money and sweets.
Bana king Bali Chakravarty is said to be from Munda race :
Historians also belive that bants came from North India. In 1945 a Vaisali Sangh was organized to revive the ancient glory of Vaisali. Several statues have been dug out of this tank. Local tradition has it that there were 52 tanks, and that Basarh was the residence of the Puranic Bali Raja. Vishnu appeared here in the fourth incarnation in the shape of a dwarf, and asked Bali Raja for as much ground as he could cover with his three feet. Two of his feet covered heaven and earth, and the third he placed on the head of Bali Raja and sent him hurtling into hell as punishment for his great pride. The villagers believe in the legend that the Bawan Pokhar was the scene of this occurrence.
Mahabalis => Mabalis => Mavalis
The descendants of Maha Bali chakravarty are known as Mahabalis. These kings are also referred as bana / vana rajas.
Banaraja = Banaraya = Banarasa = forest king
Vanaraja = vanaraya = vanarasa = forest king
Bali Chakravarty could be a Bant :
It appears that even the bana kings in the lineage of Bali Chakravarty who ruled Kerala and South India belonged to banta / bantara / banjara group. Hanuman is also often known as Mahabili due to his immense strength. Mahabali means a warrior of great strength. Sugreeva's brother was bali / vali by name. These vanaras were also all bants. The bana kings are also known as Mahabalis / Mavalis. A section of Mutharayar kings came from Mahabalis. It is undestood that Kaduvetti Muttarasa, whose daughter was given to a pandya prince in marriage, was a Bana king and assumed the title of Muttarasa. It is possible that balijas / Kapus who share a lot of common surnames with Mudiraj are the descendants of these bana kings of bali chakravarty. There are several common surnames between mudiraj and kapu communities giving rise to speculation that they are one and the same people at one time.
Bali chakravarty as a man of bant origin is discussed in more details at the bottom of this chapter - bant origins.
These bants / bunts were highly faithful and loyal in their duties to their masters and never hesitate even to die for their masters. The Mudiraj who are also known as bantlu ( bants ) were well known as "suicide squad members' during medieval times. It may not be Exaggeration, if it is said here that Hanuman who went to Srilanka in search of Sita was truely on a suicide mission to do or die job for his master Sri Rama. The bantlu and bants were also became famous as members of suicide squads all over South India during the rule Vijayanagar kings. Several memorials were built for these faithful bantlu ( bants / bunts ) by their kings to express their gratitude and respect for their sacrifies towards the king and country. Such memorials can be seen even today in the Kodagu region which was once ruled by Mudduraja ( Mudiraja ) kings. There are bants in Kodagu and there is Kodagu district bantara sangha in Medikeri which is the district headquarters of kodagu district. This also indicates that Muddurajas (Mudiraj) in kodagu and Karnataka are bunt descendants.
It is believed that most of the Vijayanagar kings were banta / bunts starting from Sangama dynasty to Araveedu dynasty. All these kings were in some way or the other related to todays Mudiraj people. The Telugu speaking bants are now known as Mudiraju. Today the bunt people are mostly concentrated in Tulu Nadu. It is widely believed that the famous ruler of Vijayanagar empire Sri Krishna Deva Raya of Tuluva dynasty was a Telugu speaking bunt of Tuluva origin.
Banasura was son of bana king Bali :
The most benevolent king Bali, who had donated the whole earth to Lord Vishnu, disguised as a dwarf, had hundred sons. Banasura was his eldest son. He was intelligent, generous, and truthful and was respected for his qualities. He was also a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Bali's dynasty continued with his son Banasura.
Banasura had his capital at 'Shonitpur' near Kedarnath in the Himalayan region. He had thousand hands. He did penance for thousands of years. While Lord Shiva performed his famous 'Tandav Nritya', he used to play the 'mridanga' with his thousand hands. Pleased by his devotion, Lord Shiva asked him to demand any boon. Banasura replied: "O Lord! Just as Lord Vishnu protects my father, similarly I too am desirous of having you as my protector."
Another legend is that Masarh is the ancient Sonitpur, the seat of Aniruddha, and the grandson of Lord Krishna. Tejpur in Assam is also claimed to be the ancient Sonitpur, the capital of Aniruddha. A large image identified as that of Vishnu was found at Masarh towards Karisath village. This eight feet high image has been removed and is now preserved at the Patna Museum.
Bana (also called Banasura) in Hindu mythology, was a thousand-armed asura and son of Bali. Banasura was a powerful and terrible asura. All people even the king of earth and Devas of heaven were afraid of him. Bana was a follower of Siva. Banasura ruled in present day central Assam with his capital at Sonitpur (Present day Tezpur, Assam). Banasura as he was bevolved devotee of Siva asked a boon. With irresistible desire for war he asked he can fight with except him, then lordsiva says whenever his Flag on this chariot falls he will be defeated, since that day he is waiting for his flag to fall. This flag falls during the war between aniruddha.
According to legend, Masarh is the seat of Banasura or Banaraja whose daughter Usha was married to Aniruddha, a grandson of Lord Krishna. Masarh is an ancient village full of relies. The old name of the village, as mentioned in the inscriptions in the Jain temple of Parasnath at the village, is Mahasara. According to legend, it is the seat of Banasura or Banaraja whose daughter Usha was married to Aniruddha, a grandson of Lord Krishna. Hiuen Tsang visited the village and the village is identified to be Hiuen Tsang's Mo-cho- so- la. General Cunningham of the Archaeo- logical Survey of India mentions that the village was originally called Padmavatipura till Vimalanatha, a Jain Kshatriya of Masarh, a village elsewhere, became the proprietor of the village and changed the name to Mahasara.
According to a story from mythology, Jamdagni Rishi is the father of Parashuram, one of the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu. After his intense prayers, Shiva appeared before him. Jamdagni Rishi asked for a secluded place, full of nature's bounty. Shiva told him to go to Malana. Malana was already in the control of a Rakshasa when the Rishi reached there The Rakshasa Banasura resisted him. The conflict between Jamdagni Rishi and Banasura ended with a peace treaty, according to which, administration and justice were to be handled separately. While administration was with Banasura, justice was kept under the preview of Jamdagni Rishi. During the festivals, the first sacrifice was to be made to Banasura. With the passage of time, Jamdagni Rishi gained superiority over Banasura, but the village retained its traditions, which are still followed there.
The genealogy of Banasura is as under :
- Brahma's son was Paricha'
- Paricha's son was Kashyapa,
- Kashyapa's son was Hiranyakashipu and Hiranyaksha,
- Hiranyakashipu's youngest son was Prahlada,
- Prahlada's son was Virochana,
- Virochana's son was Bali,
- Bali's son was Banasura
- Banasura's wife's name was Kandala
Bana is a gotra of Jats found in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in India. Banas are descendants of King Banasur. Their capital was at Bayana in Bharatpur. Vana Ganga river gets name from Banas. The princess of Bayana was Usha married to Anirudh. There is a temple at Bayana constructed in memory of Usha. Virkvansi Jats and Sinsinwar Jats of Bharatpur later on occupied Bayana. Bana is a rigvedic ruling clan. Byawar near Ajmer and Bhadawar, Kadiyar Khanda in Bikaner, Giradhpur, Chitauli, and Chandaudi etc famous villages of Meerut are inhabited by Bana jats. Bana is a village in Churu district inhahited by Bana gotra Jats.this village established by bhoj who is bana.
Descendants of Banasura : Bana is a gotra (clan) of Jats found in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in India. Banas are descendants of King Banasura. Their capital was at Bayana in Bharatpur. Usha temple, at Bayana, was built during the reign of Raja Laxman Sen, by his wife in memory of Usha. There is mention of Bana Chieftains along with Pallavas and as feudatories of Cholas in Tamil Nadu.
Kanyakumari is not only a tourist centre but also a pilgrimage spot, considered very important by all Hindus. It is the place where Devi herself assumed the form of a maiden for the purpose of killing the demon, Banasura. The rock on which she stood in penance, on one leg, before slaying Banasura, is the same rock on which Vivekananda Rock Memorial is constructed now. Her footmark is left on the rock, permanently embedded on the rock. There is a structure constructed around Her footmark, known as 'Sri Pada Mandapam.'
Vanaras of Kishkinda kingdom during Ramayana time :
The vanaras are well known to the world through famous Valmiki sanskrit epic "Ramayana" and they had an independent kigdom known by name Kishkind in the region of Hampi in Bellary districts of present state of Karnataka. It was once a part integrated Rayalaseema where Telugu is spoken as mother tongue. Though the majarity speak Kannada in Bellary today, there still exists a minority community of Telugu speaking people native to the region.
Vanaras lived in forests, mountain caves, and seashore. Vanaras had civilization and cultural similar to humans. Vali ruled the mighty Vanara kingdom with Kishkinda as Capital, once situated near Bellary town in Karnataka State in South India. The name Bellary could mean Bal- Hari refers to Vali who could suppress enemy's energy. Sugriv succeeded as the next Vanara King after Vali's death. Vali had an unusal and miraculous power to obsorb half the energy of the enemy and thus making him weak to fight against him .
Bala = Bal = Strength or Energy
Hari = Obsorber or destroyer
Balahari => balhari => Ballari = Bellary.
Vanara (Sanskrit) literally "human with the tail of a monkey". It popularly refers to the race of ape-like humanoids in the Hindu epic Ramayana who were brave and inquisitive by nature. According to the Ramayana, the Vanaras lived primarily in the region of Kishkindha in present-day southern India, in the midst of Dandaka Forest, where Lord Rama met them during his search for Sita. The Vanaras helped Rama in his search, and also in his battle against Ravana, Sita's abductor. The greatest and most famous vanara is Lord Hanuman, a loyal devotee of Lord Rama,. Some of the other notable Vanaras were Hanuman's mother Anjana, his foster father Kesari, Sugriva, Vali and Angada. These vanaras are known as Rama bantlu ( bants = followers or servants ).
Kishkindha Kingdom (also known as Kishkindhya), was the kingdom ruled by a Vanara King Sugreeva, the younger brother of Vali, during the Ramayana period. This was the kingdom where he ruled with the assistance of his most intelligent minister, Hanuman. This kingdom is identified to be the regions around the Tungabhadra lake (then known as Pampa Saras) near Hampi in Karnataka. The mountain near to the lake with the name Risyamuka where Sugriva lived with Hanuman, during the period of his exile also is found with the same name.
During the time of Ramayana ie, Treta Yuga, the whole region was within the dense forest called Dandaka Forest extending from Vindhya range to the South Indian peninsula. Hence this kingdom was considered to be the kingdom of Vanaras which in Sanskrit means Forest Dwellers.
After Vanara king Vali had been slain by Raghava Rama, Sugriva, the younger brother of the king, regained possession of Kishkindhya, and along with it, the lordship of the widowed queen, Tara. Rama, meanwhile dwelt on the beautiful breast of the Malyavat Mountains (a mountain range, in Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu) for four months, duly worshipped by Sugriva all the while.
Hanuman was the best-known figure among the Vanaras. He was the prime-minister of the Vanara king Sugriva who was installed on the throne of Kishkindha by Raghava Rama. Hanuman was the son of Vanara chief, Kesari. Sugriva's elder brother Bali was the former king of the Vanaras. He was slain by Raghava Rama. After Sugriva, Bali's son Angada became the king of Kishindha. .
Dr. A. Sundara (1932-) distinguished archaeologist, epigraphist and historian has identified the present Hampi-Anegondi area as Kishkindha or the land of Vanara tribe of Ramayana. The Kannada word Hampe or Hampi has derived from the Sanskrit word Pampa. (or vice versa!) Pampa is a tributary of the Tungabhadra river. Dr. Sundara has traced earliest human activities in the region round about Hampi, from savagery to the stage of urbanization. He has identified Anjanahalli near Hirebenekal, where human figures with long tails are depicted in the more than 10,000 year old rock paintings, as one of the Vanara establishments. Besides Anjanahalli (Anjana + halli or village) named after mother of mighty Maruti or Hanuman, Kishkindha (Vanara capital) cave of Sugriva, (Sugriva guhe) Sitheya Seragu (Sita's apparel) and other places mentioned in Ramayana could be easily identified, tracing the hoary past of Hampi region. According to Sundara, Kishkindhapura or capital of Vanaras lay on the main trade-route connecting Sannati (or Suvarnagiri in Gulburga district).
Kishkindhya and the southern India were the most populous territoires of Vanaras. However they were also found in the forests of Himalayas. Bhima in his wanderings have seen the abode of the Vanara chief Hanuman in the plantain wood, on an elevated rocky base in the mountains of Gandhamadana (in Himalayas).
One current research on Valmiki Ramayana shows Vanaras had culture parallel to humans, well understood the commands given in Sanskrit by Rama, the Crown Prince of Ayodhya, and were superior in strength and size particularly of those Vanaras living in Himalayas etc. To be more frank, the vanaras in general means the Dravidian race people living from Himalayas to Kanyakumari.
Bana kings of Bali and Banasura could possibly belong to these vanaras living in Himalayan range.
Vanara seems to be totemic representation of a Dravidian Tribe :
The Vanaras seems to a tribe with the monkey totem.The Ramayana belongs to a period when most of India was jungle with tribal forest-dwellers. India still contains several tribes with animal totems. An early issue of the Bellary District Gazetteer gives us the interesting information that the place was inhabited by the Vanara people. The Jaina Ramayana mentions that the banner of the Vanaras was the vanaradhvaja (monkey flag), thereby reinforcing the totemic theory. Similarly, Jatayu would have been the king of the vulture-totem tribe and Jambavan of the bear-totem tribe. Elugu means bear and this surname belongs to Telugu Mudiraj people. Among Mudiraj there are many more such surnames such as puli (lion), Nakka (fox), bathuladuck), Guvva (Dove), etc., representing animal and bird totems.
Vanaras were a strongly built tribe with extraordinary skills as architects, brass & steel craftsmen, builders etc. Hanuman the hero of Ramayana, was a highly learned person, having mastered all the Vedas and shastras. Anjana, Tara and Ruma were very beautiful ladies. They were not monkeys. Perhaps, these Vanaras had habitats as mentioned in Ramayana, in Himalayas and Mahendra hills on the Western coast. They could have been monkey-worshippers. Their symbol included the ape and they are termed, as Kapis!
The word "Kapi" for monkey also means an elephant in Sanskrit. "Kapiloha" means brass. The Vanaras were well known in the production of brass metal. The fact that some prehistoric remains of metal-smithery were discovered in the region, leads one to believe that Hampi-the Vanaraland was a stronghold of Vanara master-craftsmen who excelled in preparing standard arrows along with other metal craft. Incidentally the area round about is, still rich in iron and manganese ore. Many known and unknown battles were fought for the possession of this region for tools of battle-craft. In following centuries, craftsmen of 'Kapiloha' might have come to be recognized as "Kapis" or monkeys, who played a crucial role in RamaRawana battle of Ramayana.
These VANARAs are very intelligent generation with having their own social systems, religious ideas, marriage systems, language, education, autocracy system of kingdom, with other important branches like army, and other controlling systems.
It is also said by some historians that the kings who ruled forest dwelling people were known as vanarayas (vana = forest; Raya = king) and the kings who ruled cultivated agriculture lands were known as kshatriyas / kshatrayas (Kshatra = Agricultural land ; Raya = king).
Boyas were the descendants of Vanjaras and vanaras :
Boyars migrated from Indo-Iran around 5th century BCE to Indian sub-continent and later in 9th century to Turkey and Romania. Having Dravidian roots, they came from indus valley and invaded south region.
The gypsies of Romania, who are also known as Romanichal in parts of Europe could be these Boyars. The Boya vanras belong to the same race to which Sri Rama belonged and hence he got unprecedented help from vanaras in his effort to recover Sita from Demon Ravana, the king of Srilanka. Sri Rama was not an Aryan as many South Indians believe but he was an Indo-Aryan with Dravidian roots.
Boya and Valmiki are the names in vogue for one and the same people. Boya consider themselves as descendents of Valmiki. Boyars are mainly found in South India as Hindu Telugu speaking community and non-orthodox kshatriyas. Boyars arrived to Andhra - Orissa region during Indo-Aryan migration around 5th century BCE.
Boyar warriors served as military regiment between 10th century to 15th century in Chalukya, Chola, Vijayanagar and Hoysala empires. The Musunuri Nayaks were Boyars and Kamma warrior chieftains in the Kakatiya army, who regained Andhra in 1326 from the Delhi Sultanate in the aftermath of the Kakatiya defeat. King Pratapa Rudra's Kakatiya kingdom was ably served by seventy five chieftains called Nayaks. The Nayaks who belonged to various agrarian castes such as Boyar, Velama, Kamma, Reddy, Telaga, Balija, etc. were divided by mutual jealousy and rivalry but they are valiant cousins.Boya Palaiyakkarar (Polygar) who was to administrate their Palaiyams (territories) from their Fortified centers. Palayakarar is one of the surnames of Tamil Mutharaiyars today and Veera Pandya Kattabommana was a king of Telugu Palayakarar origin and the first to revolt against British. The Ramoshi Bedars proved to be a great terror to British, who were later on declared as criminal trimes. Their chief function was to collect taxes, maintain law and order, run the local judiciary, and maintain a battalion of troops for the Nayak.Later in 17th century distinguished themselves as smiths, sculptors, nobles, leaders, priests, landlords, temple sculptors, arm traders, and sea farers .
Boyars are non-pure Kshatriyas and they are called as ' Boya ' in Andhra Pradesh ' Boyar ' in Tamil nadu and in Karnataka as ' Bhovi '. Boya, Boyar, Boyi, Bhovi are the hereditary and clan title. Boyar caste consists many gotras. Boyas worship Tirupati Lord Venkat Ramana, Mariamman, Shiva, Subramanya, etc. These are the who belong to the caste of Bhakta ( Bedara ) Kannappa.
Boyas or Bedars or Bedars or Vedars were non other than the descendats of Vanaras of Kishkinta kingdom of Ramayana times in South India. These were the vanara warriors who were controlled by Sri Rama in the war against Demon Ravana of Srilanka to rescue Sita. These peple are also known as Ramoshi bedars and Ramoshi kolis.
Rama + Vashi = Ramoshi = Controlled by Rama
Ramoshis = people controlled by Rama
Rama => Roma = Sriram
Chala = Chal = Move or Follow
Anuchar = Follower
Rama + Anuchar = Ramanuchar
Ramanuchar => Romanuchar => Romanichar => Romanichal
A lost link between Boyars of India and Europe. There was a great migration in Indus valley in 5th BCE. The boyar warrior caste, a Kshatriya community was split into many groups took different direction and invaded many regions. By and large there are more similarities in culture and origin . Temple inscription and Religious texts also denotes about boyar caste and origin. Asian Boyars are distant cousins Romanis of East asia and Europe.
Ramoshis were descendants of Vanjaras and Varanas :
Today's Ramoshi was called Boya, Bedar, Berad, Vetan and Vedan. In Andhra it was called Boya and in Karnataka and Tamilnadu it was called Berad and Bedar. Ramoshis of Maharashtra have come from mostly Karnataka and their surnames are same as Berad-Ramoshi of Karnataka. Their original language is southern. They first got settled in Karnataka and later migrated to Maharashtra. Word 'Bhuyal' in Berad's language seems to have originated from Boya. Some kolis also call themselves as Bhuyal and from this it becomes clear that kolis and bedars are vanara related tribes who assisted Sri Rama in his fight against Ravana.
Boya, Dorabiddu and Valmiki are the names in vogue. Dorabiddu means sons of sardars. Boya consider themselves as sons of sardars and descendents of Valmiki. During Kakatiya and Vijayanagar rules in Andhra a head of a region was called Nayak, and traditional 'vatandars' were called Naykar. During Vijaynagar rule, these Nayak kings were assigned duty of protecting province of Tungabhadra. Many Berads became Palegar on their own bravery. Nayak in Telgu means Ownner or Head. May be this is origin of word.
The original man was Guh ( Guhudu = One who helped Sri Rama to cross the river Ganga at the time of exile). According to Rajguru of Shorapur princely state, Berads come from Tamilnadu migrating to Karnatake during Vijaynagar rule.
This geographical location of Bedars / Bedars tally with Rayalaseema and Bellary districts of Kishkinda kingdom of Vanaras. Ramoshi means the followers of Sri Rama (Vanaras).
Karttikeya is said to be the patron deity of thieves, and it is in this capacity that the tribe called Ramoshis, who are known to be thieves by profession, worship Khandoba. It is also believed that Khandoba is a corrupt form of the Tamilian God Skanda. Berads of Karnataka worship Mallikarjuna, Mauti, Vekatesh as main deities and also worship Yellamma. Boyas worship Tirupati Venkat Ramana, Mariamma, Kanathrathan etc. Most of Berads are Shaivaites. They worship Shiva and engage Jangam or Lingayat Swami for religious functions. Many balijas and balijigas are also Lingayats.
Vasudev formed a revolutionary group, known as Ramoshi, with the help of Ramoshis, Kolis, Bhils and Dhangars which waged a struggle to overthrow the British Raj. He founded this secret organisation that raided the rich English businessmen to obtain funds for the liberation of the country. Inumerable Berads sacrificed their lives in uprisings against the British. History knows very few names. The Berad Nayaks of Gokak, Pachapur regions in Karnataka organized and rebelled against the British. Berads participated in the revolt of Kittur Channamma and Sangoli Rayanna in Karnataka. Hari Ramoshi was hanged at Jejuri and Berads at Mudhol.
Almost every fort of Shivaji had a settlement of Berad-Ramoshi warriors at its foothills. And that 50 Ramoshis captured Fort Purandhar near Pune defeating the Mughals.
A certain Bahirji Naik from Berad-Ramoshi community served as Chhatrapati Shivaji's intelligence chief. And someone called Umaji Naik led an uprising against the British in the first half of the 1800s in Pune district. History did not record their brave deeds; instead it made them history sheeters: the British declared the Berad-Ramoshis a criminal tribe. Ramoshis made their journey from first-class warriors to criminals due to the courtesy of the Criminal Tribes Act, 1871.
A recently released book has 14 stories circulating among the Berad- Ramoshis, who live mostly in south Maharashtra and in Karnataka where they are known as Beydurs. One of the most interesting stories in the book concerns the disarming of the Berads of Halgali, near Mudhol in Karnataka, in November 1857. During the first war of Independence, the British made it mandatory for people to surrender their arms. Lt-Col. G.B. Settunkar was entrusted with the task of implementing the order in south Maharashtra and north Karnataka. The Berads from Halgali village in Mudhol refused to surrender their arms. Settunkar and his colleagues marched to Halgali. For almost two days the entire village fought along with the Berads and stopped the army from entering the village. As a last resort, the army set ablaze the village by throwing in fireballs but the Berads did not give up. In the end, 19 of them were captured by the British and killed.
The book opens with the story of the Battle of Wagengere (Wakinkheda) in February 1705. It was the last battle of Aurangzeb and it is believed that the families of Maratha generals, who were fighting the Mughals since the death of Shivaji in 1680, were sheltered by the king of Beydur, Venkatappa Naik IV. The brave Naiks surrendered only after they learnt that the families of the Marathas were given a safe passage out of the Wakinkheda fort. Shorapur kingdom was founded in 1636 by Gaddipida Nayak. The British annexed it in 1858, after king Venkatappa Nayak was found dead in mysterious circumstances.
Erukalas seems to be part of Kalabhras
Erukalas are Telugu speaking aboriginal bhil tribes of India. In Telugu Bhil means Bow. They are known as Nishadhas in North India. They known as Korwa in Central India. Erukalas are spread in Andhra, Tamilnadu and Karnataka. These Erukalas are known as Kaikadis in Maharastra. It is widely believed by historians that Kakatiya kings of Warangal were Erukalas from Maharastra. Ekalavya of Mahabharat fame also belonged to Nishadha tribe and he was king of Nishadha kingdom. Ekalavya's father was a commander in the army of Jarasandh. In Telugu language, Eruka means Sooth saying or Fortune Telling.
Bhil => Vhil => Villu = Bow
Eruka = Sooth Saying or Fortune Telling
Kaikadi => Kakadi => Kakati => Kakatiya.
Erukalas were declared as criminal tribes by British. These people are variants of Bedars, Ramoshis of Maharastra, who were also declared as criminal tribes by British. All these tribes fall under the category of Bhil - koli - Mudiraj block.
Historians believe that Mutharayars of Kodumbalur in Tamilnadu were the descendats of Kalabhras. Kalabhras are said to belong Telugu speaking lands (mostly from Tirupati) and attacked Tamil, Malayalee speaking lands uprooting chola, chera * pandyan Adhirajas. It is also said that Kalabhras were either variants or branch of Kalachuris of Central India. These Eruklas, Bedars and Ramoshis who are wide spread from U.P to Andhra seem to belong to kalabra warrior races.
Erukalas or Korwas seem to have all the traits of Kalabhras and they were also highly anti brahmin in their attitude just as Kalabhras.
HISTORY books describe the Korwas of Madhya Pradesh as a "criminal tribe". They are most savage and terrifying," observed Col Philip Dalton, a surveyor during the British Raj. The Korwas have long been hounded out from their homes in the plains and have turned into forest-dwellers in the Sarguja range. Various clans trace their descent to a particular tree or animal. The Hazeda Korwas, for instance, belong to the bamboo tree, the Mudiyas are from a canine lineage while the Ginu Korwas are said to have descended from an ant hill!
All these clans of Korwas have a common strand that binds them together and it is their faith in Khuria Rani. "The goddess is believed to have protective powers," informs M.K. Mishra of the Tribal and Rural Development Institute in nearby Jashpurnagar. "A goat, coconut, red hen, milk, vermillion and lighted lamp are offered on every auspicious occasion to appease the deity. "Before the British banned human sacrifice, the Korwas sacrificed a Brahmin male child to the goddess every year. Even today, no Brahmin enters the temple of Khuria Rani."
The Korwas are expert hunters and love to kill a bird flying or an animal running. Before setting out on a hunt, they worship their bows and arrows while seeking the blessings of Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga. They are also very fond of dacoity and proceed on expeditions, often accompanied by their women.
Why Thirupathi was sacred to Bant ( Bant = Bantara = Banjara) Vijayanagar kings ?
Thirupathi or thiruvengadam is a part of Rayalaseema and Bellary districts of Telugu speaking people where the Kishkinda kingdom of vanaras existed during Ramayana times. Aranya Kanda itself refers to the Rama's visit to sage Matanga's hermitage where he meets Sabari-which happened to be beyond the Narmada. Close to the hermitage, Sugriva lived in exile on Rishyamuka Hill, which is north of Hampi (Karnataka) and within a few miles from Anegondi. In fact, the belt from Tirupati Hill, birthplace of Hanuman (Parashar Samhita), to go Gokaran on the west coast, an area dominated by Vanaras provides an excellent ground for studies by archeologists, anthropologists and others. Various places in the south with religious and historical background concerning Rama's sojourns compel millions to believe that ancient Lanka was nothing but the present Sri Lanka. The other two places of historical importance in A.P. are (i) Parnasala (hut) from where Sita was supposed to have been abducted (thought to be situated near the Nasik region by some), (ii) Lepakshi (means: O bird, get up) where the bird Jatayu supposedly died.
Le = getup or standup
Pakshi = O Bird
Lepakshi = O Bird getup
Vanaras during Mahabharata time :
Vanaras were described as one of the Exotic Tribes of Ancient India along with many others, in the epic Mahabharata also. During Dwapara Yuga, the Pandava Sahadeva was said to visit this kingdom, as per the epic Mahabharata, during his southern military campaign to collect tribute for Yudhisthira's Rajasuya sacrifice. The epic Mahabharata describe them as a tribe dwelling in the midst of forest. They were encountered by Sahadeva, a Pandava general who led a military campaign to south India. Mahabharata describes the physical presence of only Hanuman among Vanaras and Jambavan among Rukshyas. Hanuman meets Bhima and Arjun in different occasions. Krishna, the hero of Mahabharata marries Jambavan's daughter, according to a story on Lord Vinayaka. Rama blessed Hanuman, Vibhishan, Jambavan, Maindh, and Dwividh to be eternal. During the period of the Pandavas, Mainda and Dwivida were the two kings of Kishkindha. They have battled with the Pandava Sahadeva. Dwivida had also battled with Vasudeva Krishna.
Vanaras were Neolithic people of Ramayana Times :
According to Prof. S.R. Rao, the President of the Society for Marine Archaeology, Ramayana cannot be dismissed as a myth, just as it was done earlier in the case of Mahabharata. In the case of Ramayana, strong tradition depicts Hampi in Karnataka as Kishkindha, which was visited by Rama. The culture of Kishkindha at that time was of Neolithic levels. the culture (seen in Kishkindha) has several Neolithic sites spread over Patapadu and Pusalpadu in Bellary district.
Another important site is Bandi Pushala Chenu in Bellary-Kurnool area where excavations of the typical Harappan steatite wheel-like beads are found. These beads occur in all Harappan sites as early as 3000 BC. Bithur near Kanpur, a traditional Ramayana site, had yielded weapons of the culture, archeologically designated as ochre-coloured pottery (OCP), ranging from 1500 to 2000 BC or even 3000 BC near Ghaneswar in Rajasthan. When Rama came to Kishkindha, the Vanaras were the same Neolithic people, whose help he took, said Prof. Rao.
The archaeological dating of Neolotihic culture ranged from 4000 BC in Uttar Pradesh to 7600 BC. in pre-Harappan sites of Pakistan. On this basis, Ramayana should be dated at least to 3000 BC, if not earlier. The Mahabharata, he said, mentioned Ramayana, while the Ramayana did not mention Mahabharata. There is no negative evidence to say that Ramayana was a myth. Ramayana is built on a core of truth depicting the life of a particular people and period, Prof. Rao added.
Nala Sethu was built by vanaras :
Vanaras and Rukshyas together made Nala Sethu and fought against Rakshasa army of King Ravana in Lanka city under Rama's supreme commandership. It is called Nala Sethu as the Sethu was built with the stones and boulders thrown through the hands of one of the vanaras by name Nala. It is said that the stones thrown by Nala could float in the water.
When confronted by Shri Ram, Samudra Raja suggested a path to build the Bridge and asked Sri Ram to get the help of Nala, the Builder of the Bridge, and the son of Divine Visvakarama to get the work done with the assistance of Vanaras. Vanaras were not the monkeys in the ordinary parlance as of today. They were very learned & very mighty and lived in palatial houses and ruled a kingdom.
Nala Sethu represents ancient India and its heritage. It's world heritage too. Nala Sethu establishes the fact Vanaras, Golanguls and Rukshyas, distinct species existed during Ramayana period, were much superior to humans in size, warfare, engineering skills. Valmiki Ramayana clearly described that the vast land mass of Nala sethu was built by Vanaras, Golanguls, and Rukshyas. Vanaras and Rukshya army had built the bridge to cross over the seas with the sole intension of restoring Sita, Rama's wife abducted by Rakshasa King Ravan from a place near Nasik to Lanka City existed then in Sri Lanka. On the commands of Rama, lakhs of Vanaras have gone to forests and broke hilltops, broke trees and brought to seashore.
The Setu, the bridge, built by vanaras is believed to have been there connecting these places. Even geographically the unusual narrow projections of land far into the sea from Ramanathapuram to Dhanushkodi on the Indian side and correspondingly from Mannar to Talaimannar across the sea support the possibility of existence of such a bridge all along. It is possible that the middle portion may have been washed away in course of time. This bridge must have been present in the Mahabharata period. The Parashar Samhita says Arjuna, after his victory over the South, finds this bridge and learns that it was the one constructed by vanaras with mountains.
Hanuman
He is a vanara who aided Lord Rama in rescuing his wife, Sita from the Rakshasa king Ravana. He was trusted lieutenant of Lord Rama, messenger to a distraught Sita, and the saviour of Lakshman. He was also a selfless devotee of Sri Rama.
According to(Parashar Samhita Tirupati Hill is birthplace of Hanuman. It was on Anjanadri, one of the seven hills forming Tirumala, that Lord Anjaneya was born after his mother Anjanadevi performed penance there. There is one Hanuman Temple at Tirumala where Hanuman's mother Anjana did penance. As per scriptures, Hanuman's monkey mother Anjana performed twelve years of 'tapasya' here in Tirupati, in her wish for a child!. This may be one of the reasons why one of the seven hills of Thirupathi is known as Anjanadri. Hanuman was the son of Vanara chief, Kesari. It comprises seven peaks, representing the seven hoods of Adisesha, thus earning the name Seshachalam. The seven peaks are called Seshadri, Neeladri, Garudadri, Anjanadri, Vrishabhadri, Narayanadri and Venkatadri.
The belt from Tirupati Hill to go Gokaran on the west coast was an area dominated by Vanaras. Today also this belt is infested with bunt / bant / bantara people who either speak Tulu or Telugu. As explained above the bantaras were the descendants of banjaras and in turn they were vanjaras and vanaras. Hanuman is also known as Rama bantu ( bant ) in Telugu. Miss world and Hindi actress Aiswarya Rai's mother tongue is Tulu and belongs to this bunt community. From the similarity of names and on the basis of nativity, there seems to be some relation between ThondaMAN people and HanuMAN. Thondaman people who are said to be the natives of Tirupati hill range (vengadam) and related to Mutharayar warrior kings of Pudukottai.
Hanuman was born in the Treta Yuga, to Anjana, a female vanara and wife of Kesari. Though Hanuman was raised by Kesari, his biological father was Vayu. Being Anjana's son, Hanuman is also called Anjaneya (pronounced Aanjanθya), which literally means "arising from Anjani". In the morning of the first 14th day of Chaitra in a cave on the Rushyamuk mountain, Anjana gave birth to her son Hanuman. Hanuman Jayanti is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Hanuman, the monkey god widely venerated throughout India. It is celebrated during the month of Chaitra.
Hanuman meets Rama during the latter's 14-year exile in the forest. With his brother Lakshmana, Rama is searching for his wife Sita who had been abducted by the rakshasa emperor Ravana. Their search brings them to the vicinity of the mountain Rishyamukha, where Sugriva, along with his followers and friends, are in hiding from his elder brother Vali, the Vanara emperor with whom he had a serious misunderstanding.
Hanuman's search mission to the south started from the sea coast (Arabian) nearer to the Vindhya ranges presumably via Lakshadweep, where he comes across Minaca hill. Eventually he landed on the island (Lanka), which was surrounded by seawater, and had coconut trees.
Where is Lanka ?
Some historians believe that Larkana or Larkano, the fourth largest city located in the Northwest of Sindh Province of Pakistan could be the demon Ravanas Lanka.
Larkana => Lankana => Lanka
Mohenjo Daro (formerly called Brahmasthala) used to be a riverine island surrounded by the waters of the Indus and today's Larkana (Sindh) is referred to as an island as per local Sindhi tradition. Rakshasas are referred to as mlechchas (barbarians) and this might be derived from the name by which the Indus country was referred to in ancient West Asia - Meluha. And their language, as evidenced in the Indus seals is thought to be proto-Tamil.
Larkana is located on the south bank of the Ghar canal, 40 miles south of Shikarpur town, and 36 north-east of Mehar. One of the world's oldest archaeological sites, Mohenjo-daro, lies 26 km away from the Larkana City. Sindh and Rajastan are two regions identified by historians from where Indo-Aryans ( Black skinned Dravido-Aryans) migrated to South India for different reasons at different times.
Mohenjodaro Literally place of the dead and situated in Larkana district of Sindh, Pakistan. R.D.Banerjee first discovered this site of Indus Civilisation in 1922. It is also widely believed that Dravidians( = Vanaras ) migrated from Mohenjo-daro and the Indus civilization seen there belonged to Dravidians.
In 1924 scholars in history were roused by the announcement of Sir John Marshal that his Indian aides particularly R.D. Banerfee, discovered (1922-23) at Mohenjodara in the Larkana district of Sind now in Pakistan, the remains of a Civilisation one of the oldest of the World.Dravidians it is believed that before the coming of Aryans in India, the greater part of Northern and North-Western India, the culture of the Dravidians is known as Dravidian Culture was very ,advanced.
The Valimiki Ramayana itself is supposed to have been written in 500 BC and describes events which happened much earlier (880,148 years) - or at the very least, around 1500 or 2000 BC. The original Ramayana could possibly taken place in this region much earlier than Valmiky. Valmiki might have just written it which he heard it bhil ballads. In ancient times, the ballads was the only way to pass on the history from past to future. Natually, the historians of those days used their freedom to reorient the locations and incidents as per their geography and time.
The Tamil connection could explain why later narrators like Valmiki, trying to reorient the Ramayana's geographical references with respect to their new environs on the Gangetic plains, placed Lanka in the extreme South - the new home of the Dravidian people - and lacking any suitable islands within the peninsula, zeroed in on Sri Lanka.
The innumberable places identified in South India and Srilanka with Ramayana could be due to its wide popularty in Hindu masses who were overwhelmingly the Dravidians who migrated from North Indian Sindhu-Saraswati river basin to South India.
Vali & Sugreeva :
Vanaras were a tribe who dwelled in the interior of dense forest. During the time of Ramayana, the central part of Indian peninsula was covered by a dense forest by the name Dandaka Forest. Most of the Vanaras lived in this dense forest. Kishindha was their stronghold, that had sway among the whole of the Vanara tribes spread all over the Indian Subcontinent. It was situated in this forest, located now near the Tungabhadra river in Karnataka state of India. Some literature describes them as monkeys, some as apes.
It may be a coincidence but the founders of the Vijayanagar kingdom Harihara Raya & Bukka Raya and the later rulers of this kingdom were all said to be bants / bunts, who are the descendants of the vanara warriors. The Balijas of Andhra Pradesh who claim the famous emperor Sri Krishna Deva Raya of Vijayanagar empire were banjara descendant warrior - trading coommunity who once belonged to bant sections of Telugu Mudiraj community. This will be dealt in detail in this chapter itself.
There are some historians who believe that whole Ramayana actually took place in Sindhu, Rajastan & Punjab region of present day Pakistan. Hanuman jumped and crossed over one of the rivers in Punjab. It is reasonable to think of making a bridge across a river but not sea. It could be true as most of the banjara - vanjara people who spread all over India and the world are from this river basins. It is also a fact that lot of Dravidians / Vanaras (boyars, , bhils, kolis - Indoaryans ) migrated to South India due to invasions from North. Saint Valmiki, who was the descendant of dravidian migrat from North to South India might have heard of Ramayana vocal story narrated by bhils and rewrote the whole thing by aligning the events and locations to South Indian subcontinent. Valmiki also perhaps included himself as one of the characters in Rayamana as care taker of pregnant Sita during her exile to forests to immortalise his name. Valmiki was also a descendant of dravidian vanra race. The custom of marrying a brother's widow (sugreeva married his brother Vali's widow Tara) is still prevelent in these river delta areas.
Vanara Madhuvanam : The Kollimalai hills in Salem area near Rasipuram houses a hill temple to Murugan. This is an ancient temple glorified by the Tiruppugazh hymns of Arunagirinathar. This temple is said to date back to the period of ancient tamil kings who ruled the region. Subramanyar ( God of Vanjaras ) is enshrined as a hunter in the sanctum, and there are shrines to Shiva, Parvati, Vishnu, Idumban and Vinayakar. It is also referred to as Madhuvanam, or the forest of the monkey king Sugreevan. This temple is also associated with Matsya Muni - believed to be a Siddha. There are several beliefs associated with the numerious fish in the streams on the hill.
In the Hindu epic Ramayana, the vanara Vali was king of Kishkindha, a son of Indra and the elder brother of Sugriva. He was killed by Rama, an avatar of Vishnu. He was famous for the boon that he had received, according to which anyone who came before him lost half his/her strength to Vali, thereby making Vali invulnerable to any enemy. Once Ravana called Vali for a fight when vali was doing his regular shiva puja. He took Ravana in his tail and took around all worlds. Vali accepted the compromise offer of Ravana in spite of Ravana being the enemy of his father Indra. Hence Rama slew him with an arrow in his back. Rama punished Vali for his evil deeds. It is said that Vali was reborn as the hunter Jara who killed Lord Krishna by his arrow in the Dwapara Yuga.
In Hindu mythology, Sugriva (Sanskrit), also spelled Sugreeva, was the younger brother of Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara or monkey kingdom Kishkindha. He was the son of Surya, the Hindu deity of the sun. As king of the monkeys, Sugriva aided Rama in his quest to liberate his wife Sita from captivity at the hands of the Rakshasa king Ravana.
These vanaras seems to be Indo-Aryans. Ruksharaja (Ruksharaaja) was a monkey form created by Brahma and who was changed into a female monkey. Later this female mothered Sugriva (through Surya) and Vali (through Indra), and was then changed back into a male. Surya and Indra are Aryan Gods. Hence it appears that Vali and Sugreeva were Indo-Aryans born to a Vanara ( Dravidian ) woman and Aryan fathers. Bhoyars and Vanjaras are also said to be the Indo-Aryans.
Brothers Vali and Sugreeva are the royal apes of Kishkindha forest. They were great warriors and terrible fighters. They can fight days and weeks together continuously with their enemies. However, Vali has denied the younger brother his fair share after a misunderstanding, and has banished the younger brother from the kingdom.
Sugreeva had run away from his kingdom in the fear of his elder brother Vali. Vali was very powerful and cruel king of Kishkindha. He had once defeated the mighty Ravana also. As it happened, once a demon Mayawi challenged Vali's supremacy. Vali accepted the challenge and fight broke out between the two. They entered one cave and continued their fight inside. Vali specifically told Sugreeva to remain stationed at the mouth of the cave and wait for him for fifteen days. "I will kill this demon and return", Vali told Sugreeva.
But even after more than fifteen days, nobody returned. one day blood was seen flowing from the cave and Sugreeva thought that Vali must have been killed, and it was likely that the demon would kill him too. So Sugreeva ran away to his kingdom and waited for Vali. But Vali did not return even after a few weeks. Therefore he declared himself to be the new king in place of Vali.
A few months passed thus. The injured Vali recovered from his wounds and regained his strength to return to his kingdom. He was trembling with rage when he found that his unfaithful brother has acceded to his throne. He suspected foul play and thrashed Sugreeva almost to death. Somehow Sugreeva escaped and ran for his life to take shelter on the heights of Risyamuk mountains.
The whole dispute between Vali and Sugreeva arose due to a custom that prevailed in those days among the Vanaras and also due to the confusing circumastance that made Sugreeva to become the king of Kishkinda. Thses vanaras had an accepted practice or custom of marrying their own brothers wife, in case of brothers death due to any reason.
We all known that Bant / Bunt / Banjara women are most beautiful. Lady Tara was the daughter of the Vanara physician, Sushena and grand daughter of Brihaspati. Tara is said to be Sarvanga Sundari (whose all organs are beautiful). Tara was a beautiful queen of Vali at first and later she became wife of Sugreeva when Sugreeva became the king of Kishkinda. Vali became furious, upon seeing Tara by the side of his brother Sugreeva. Vali doubted that Sugreeva declared himself as king Kishkinda only to marry his beautiful wife Tara. Vali's doubt could be taken as a genuine one by this world, if Sri Rama did not make friendship with Sugreeva. Vali banished Sugreeva from his kingdom and taken Sugreeva's wife Ruma as his second queen. Vali's wife Tara once again accepted Sugriva as spouse as per the advice of Vali in deathbed.
This practice of marrying own brother's wife (sister-in-law ) after the death of a brother is still in practice in certain communities in Punjab, Haryana and Rajastan even today.
Jambavan :
Jambavantha (also known as Jambavan or Jamvanta) (Sanskrit) is a bear belonging to one of the vanara classes in Hinduism and believe to lived from Krita Yuga to Dvapara Yuga. He is also considered King of bears and first son of Brahma , before Humans were created. In the epic Ramayana, Jambavantha helped Rama find his wife Sita and fight her abductor, Ravana. Later, it is he who makes Hanuman realize his immense capabilities and encourages him to fly across the ocean to search for Sita in Lanka. Jambavan has been a great statesman among Vanaras and Rukshyas. Powerful King of Rukshyas, Jambavan brought Rukshyas and entrusted to King Sugriv. Sushen and Jambavan along with huge army of Rukshyas looked after safety of entire vanara army and Sugriv in front of them. Jambavati, the daughter of Jambavan, was also married to Sri Krsna.
The Madigas of Andhra Pradesh believe that they are the descendants of Jambavan.
Vanjaras :
Vanjaras are vanaras and basically belong to bhil and boya dravidian tribes of India. Vanzaras live a nomadic life like gypsies. The Vanzaras never stayed at one place for more days or even hours. They moved from one place to another with their cattle and scarce household means. When there were bare means of transport like the modern day railway and trucks, Vanzaras were the transporters. They used to rear bulls for this purpose. They were very happy and prosperous at one time. The Vanzaras moved from one place to another in a large number. Their dwellings looked like a big camp. They use donkeys for this purpose. They are originally from Marwad and have preserved that culture. Phoolaji, Adaji etc. Are commonly found names for males and Sona, Teji etc. in females. The Vanzaras are dark whitish in complexion. They are well built and strong. Their attire is similar to the Marwads. They keep big whiskers and moustaches. They were a dhoti in Marwadi style, tight shirt, coaty and a Marwadi turban. The women-folk are charming and beautiful. They wear large petticoat and kapadi. The string for tying the petticoat is knitted with artificial pearls.
Vanacharas => Vanajaras => Vanjaras = Vanzaras
Vanjara is the corrupt form of "Vanaskara" i.e. moving about in forest. Vanjara means burners or the inhabitants of woods, while yet others say that the word means an arrow. It may, with equal plausibility, be referred to Vanachara (Sanskrit meaning wanderer in the forest), on account of the nomadic character of the tribe.
The true derivation is perhaps from the Sanskrit term "Vanja" (trader, merchant) which is also responsible for the term Bania and Banijiga (meaning trader). The merchant / business class people of banjaras could possibly came to be known as Banijigas.
Bana = Vana = forest
Vanaras = Banaras = Banas
Vancharas = Vanjaras = Vanaras = Forest dwellers
Vanjaras <=> Banjaras
Vanachara => Vanjara => Vanzara = > Vanara
The name, Dandeshwar, came from Dand Mahadev (idol of God Shiva). The Vanzara were the people who used to keep oxen or bullock and donkeys for transporting goods from place to place. At the end of one-day journey, they used to have a rest camp at some convenient place where they could find enough water for the animals. They found this convenient place to be where Dandeshwar is situated now.
Dandeshwar was located on the route from Surat to Nashiik. It was a very important route for transporting goods from Surat to Nasik, Poona, Karnataka and South India. The Vanzara selected the camping place at Dandeshwar because it offered the unique land situation whereby they could make a big pond or a small lake with only one dam wall and they built the present Talav at Dadeshwar. These Vanzaras erected Dand Mahadev from which the place came to be known as Dandeshwar near present Kohdiar Mata temple and the school building in the village of Dandeshwar, to their faith into God Shiva.
Vanjara sikhs :
Local Sikhs in Maharastra consists of the Vanajara and Sikligar Sikhs, who have a large presence in the state enjoy a place of pride in the politics and administration of the state.
The imposition of the "Criminal Tribes Act, 1871", classified the Vanjaras / Sikligars as criminals. The Bedars of Karnataka and Maharastra, who are racially related to these Vanjaras were also declared as criminal tribes by British. Similarly the Marvars and Kallars of Mukkulathors relating Mutharayars were also declared by British as criminal tribes. It is simply because that these bant / Bantara related communities are descended from a true warrior races of vanaras and never accepted suppression by alien powers at any point of time. They had the do or die sucidal character in their blood, which is one of the basic character of a true warrior.
The nomadic wanderers, Vanjaras tribe of Rajput origin came into the Sikh fold quite early during travels of Guru Nanak Dev. For their livelihood, the Vanjaras had been trading in all types of human consumables along with weaponries for rulers of the time by traveling in big caravans from one corner of the country to another. The Sikligars among the Vanjaras were excellent iron smiths capable of manufacturing all types of weapons. Few of their families from Marwad first came into contact with Guru Hargobind for the first time (1595-1644), when they offered services for weapon manufacturing and recruitment as Sikh soldiers. Later on, with association of Sikligar soldiers, the Guru fought and won all four battles against Mughal tyranny and laid the foundations for a Dharam Yudh. The Sikligars converted to Khalsa by taking "Khande di Pahul" of Guru Gobind Singh during Baisakhi of 1699 and played commendable role in arms manufacturing and fighting for the Khalsa cause. In the last stage, they accompanied the Guru to Hazoor Sahib in Nanded. The Vanjaras still consider Sri Hazoor Sahib as their highest place of worship. Some of the prominent Vanjara Sikhs who dedicatedly served the Gurus were Bhai Mansukh, Bhai Makhan Shah, Lakhi Shah, Ude Singh, Bachitar Singh. Some of them who sacrificed their lives were from the family of Bhai Mani Singh. Later on, they joined Khalsa Raj service under reigns of Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839).
Three Marwari tribes are intimately related to Sikhism and suffered martyrdom since Guru Hargobind's time. These are Rathores, Pawars / Parmars and Chauhans. These Sikhs tribes are forgotten brethren of Sikhs. Sikligar name was given by the 10th Guru to those descendants of Bhai Ram Singh (Marwari Lohar) who would manufacture weapons for war and then polish them (Sikli means to polish). According to history there are two Ram Singhs, one described above and another Ram Singh Parmar, grandson of Bhai Mani Singh, who fought alongside Guru Gobind Singh at Chamkaur Sahib. He was expert in wielding weapons, and was arrested alongwith Banda Bahadur and martyred in Delhi. Sikligar history is traceable only after 1595 AD. The name Banda Bahadur also indicate their connection to banjara / bantara people.
Banjara => Bant(z)ara => Bantara => Banta => Bant
Banjara => Ban(t)zara => Banzara
Banjara => Band(z)ara => Bandara => Banda
The Bandai Sikhs : They were the sikhs brought into the fold by Banda Singh Bahadur and instead of being called Singhs of the Guru they called themselves Bandai(banday) of the Guru and were Keshdhari and Amritdhari. Here also the terms "Banda" and "Bandey" are used as "Servant or follower" similar to the case of "Bantu" which refers to Mudiraj of Andhra Pradesh. Banda means faithful servant or follower of a master.
Bantu = Mudiraju
Bantu = Banta= Banda = Bandey
Bhatra / Bhatsikhs : they were Bards / Vanjaras etc. came from all over Asia to settle in Punjab/North India to preach and be near the Guru. They were some of the first Sikhs as they converted during the Udasis of Guru Nanak to SriLanka, Mecca & Assam besides other places.. Again they are considered Puritan Sikhs.
Labanas / Sikligars / vanjaras : they are all practically the same. Vanjaras were travellers, LObanas Salt traders and Sikligars weapon Makers. They are settled all over India in small clusters known as TandasThey call themselves Rajputs and treat Guru Nanak as their Guru besides Lakhi SIngh Vanjara. Labanas of North India are well assimilated in the Sikh. They number 71 lacs in Andhra, 67 lacs in Karnataka, 62 lacs in Maharastra, 58 lacs in UP, 52 lacs in Rajasthan, 47 lacs in MP, 33 lacs in Orissa, 35 lacs in Bihar and 18 lacs in Gujarat. About 80% of Vanjaras are below poverty line and are illiterate.
The Vanjaras of Gujarat (and Rajasthan) are now demanding that they be given the status of Scheduled Tribes which this community has in the rest of India.
In the rural population of the Akola district, there are a number of tribals called Gonds, Korkus and Vanjaras. The Vanjaras ( Labanas / Lobanas / Lomanas / Lamanis / Lamans) have an important temple at Pohra in Mangrul tahsil and this is designated as the temple of Pohradevi. There is no statue inside except a flag and a tamarind tree planted years back by the famous Saint Sewabhaya. Worship at this shrine is said to keep out chances of all troubles including snake bites.
Labanas are vanaras :
Lamans are also known as Vanjaries in various parts of the country. The term Laman also seems to be derived from "Laman (salt), the Tribe being the chief carrier of salt in the past. So Labanas or Lobanas or Lomanas or Lomanis were possibly the vanjara salt trasnporters / sellers in medieval times. These tribes were, in the past, engaged in carrying grain and supplies for armies, before the opening of cart roads and railways The term Lamani is also supposed to be derived from the word lavan (salt), the tribe being the chief carrier of salt in the past. The gotra or surnames such as - lohana, Lovana. Etc in in punjab could be related to these these salt transporting vanjara communities.
Lavana => Lamana => Labana
Labana => Lobana => Lubana
Labana => Lobana => Lomana
Labana => Lomana => Lomani
Labana => Lamana => Lamani => Laman
Labana => Lambana => Lambada
Labana => Lambada => Labada
Labanas are an Indian tribe. The Labanas of Punjab and Haryana are mostly Sikhs. The Lobanas are well-known in the history of the Punjab in general and that of the Sikhs in particular since the days of the last two Sikh Gurus. During the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Lobanas were recruited into the Khalsa Army. They proved to be good soldiers. In Ludhiana and Jhang districts, the Lobanas claimed to be the descendants of Chauhan Rajputs of Jaipur and Jodhpur. In Gujrat district, they claimed to be Raghuvanshi Rajputs. The Lobanas of Kangra and Hoshiarpur districts claimed their origin from the Gaur Brahmins of Pilibhit. A good number of them traced their origin from Gaur Brahmins who came to the Punjab from Ranthambore in Aurangzeb's time. It appears to be more appropriate to regard the Lobanas as a sub-division of the great Banjara tribe, forming one of their principal sub-castes.
Lobanas (or Labana) are a tribe which live all over India. Labanas have their own language called "Lubanki" which is a dialect. However, this language is only spoken by Labanas outside the Punjab, state of India. The Labanas of Punjab and Haryana are mostly Sikhs and speak mainly Punjabi or Hindi. The term Lobana appears to have been derived from LAVAN ("salt") and the BANA ("trade"). The Lobanas were the great salt-carrying and salt-trading community. They were occasionally called Banjaras.
Lobanas were the warrior who protected the trade routes. They fought with an iron sheild( Lo means iron and bana means iron sheild). The book Labana Itihaas, by Sardar Harnam Singh describes Lobana as associated with the word Loh-Bana, and here Loh means Iron, and Bana means dress. People who dress in Iron Armour. As per this book, there was a battle between the Labana warriors, and another king. The valour with which these warriors fought gave rise to the phrase Loh-Bane. The same book also gives an alternate description as being the Hindu Lord Ram's Son Lau's descendents - Lau - aana. THe Ghotra is warrior cum labana clan as related with LUV(Son of ram). This implies that Sri Rama belonged to vanara warrior group and hence vanaras from all over India and Asia fought for the cause of Rama against Ravana.
Originally, the Lobanas were transporters and carriers. They supplied grains and other things of necessity in different parts of country. They had their own pack of animals. The trade was conducted in the shape of caravans and was responsible for security particularly in the dangerous tracts like forests and deserts. It was his duty to arrange fodder and make other administrative arrangements. He lived like a prince and wore a chain of pearls hanging from the neck.
Lobanas, Vanjaras are said to have nomadic roots and have been related to the Lambada or Labada tribe of Andhra among others, and there are some who believe that they are of the same stock as the Gypsies or Roma people in Europe. Labana's also have been linked with Gypsies from Turkey.
Vanacharas means vanaras. Chara or charan means moving. The people who moved or dewlled in forests were known as vanacharans or vanacharas or vanjaras or vanaras. There is a group among them who are known as charans or carans.
Vanachara = forest deweller
Vana = Bana = Forest
Chara = charan = caran = chalan = move or dewell
Labana => Lambana => Lambada => Labada
Lambadas of Andhra Pradesh are Labanas of North Indian Banjaras :
The charas or caras are called gypsies because of their former migratory life. The other gypsy tribes in India are - the banjaras in the North India and the lambadas who settled in South India. The charas are probably the only gypsies who are accompanied by solo dancers. India's Lambadis, who are said to be closely related to European Gypsies, traditionally live in isolation from the surrounding dominant Indian culture.
The Lambanis (a.k.a. Lambadis, Romanis) are the nomadic tribes of India. They go from place to place in search of a livelihood. They have their own language, culture and a unique social structure. It is fairly well accepted that the Gypsies found today all over eastern Europe and the Balkans actually migrated from India centuries ago. The Lambanis mostly lead a poor, uneducated, and yet a very colorful life.
LAMBADIS are tribals who are also known as Sengalis and Banjaras. The Lambadis are a large picturesque tribe who is found throughout Deccan though most of them are found in Andhra Pradesh, especially in Telangana. They are recognised as Sheduled Tribes recently in Telangana.
These tribes are known by various names like Lambadi, Lavani, Lemadi, Lumadale, Banjara, Bangala, Banjori, Banjuri, Gohar- Herkeri, Goola, Gurmarti, Kora, Gormati, Singali, Sugalis, Tanda, Vanjara and Wanji. The Lambadas originated in Rajasthan but are now concentrated in Andhra Pradesh. These are also found in Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Orissa and West Bengal. They speak Lamani and Telugu.
A large number of Lambadas live in tandas that dot the Konchavaram reserved forests on either side of the Karnataka-Andhra Pradesh border. The tandas are mostly located in arid, inhospitable areas like Gulbarga district in northern Karnataka and Ranga Reddy district in Andhra Pradesh. Each tanda has a population of between 1,000 and 2,000, the majority being Lambadas. There are around 100 tandas in the Konchavaram forest area. The Lambadas, who speak Gorboli, a mixture of Hindi, Rajasthani and Gujarati, originally migrated to the Konchavaram forests from Rajasthan.
The Lambadas, Banjaras and Sugalis are some of the tribes of Andhra Pradesh. They come from the same racial group. Apart from Andhra Pradesh, Lambadas are found in several other parts of India as well. They keep migrating to various parts of the country in groups. The Lambadas regarded as an intelligent, strong and sturdy group. Most of them are agriculturists. The word "Lambada" generally means people living away from the society but with an inherent instinct to protect themselves from enemies.
The Lambadas speak a dialect known as "Lambadi". It is quite different from Telugu, Kannada and Marathi. It is pre-dominantly influenced by Marwari of Rajasthan and Gujarati. They are physically strong and well-built, brave and industrious. The Lambada women are very good-looking. Besides agriculture, they depend on sheep and goat-farming for livelihood. It is said that in older days they worked as carriers - transporting goods and merchandise on bullocks. The Lambadas used to migrate from October to March from their native places in search of livelihood. They generally go for harvesting and other agricultural activities in the neighbouring areas. Normally, the Lambadas do not live in villages but settle down in groups away from them. The Lambadas remain in their 'thandas' only for six months. The Lambada children are invariably made to work and they do not go to school.
In Tamil Nadu, they are found in the forested and hilly tracts of Dharmapuri and Salem. There are 10 settlements of the Lambadis in Dharmapuri and two in Kolatur in Salem. The gypsy tribe Lambadis speak the Gorboli dialect which has no script. Donkeys were used to transport electronic voting machines (EVMs) to remote areas like Girimalai, Chittamalai, Palsilambu and Kottamalai in Dharmapuri district for elections.
Bant / Banjara women are most beautiful : The Lambada women are very good-looking. Upon finding the charming looks of the Lambada women, the bandits of the ruling class began to enslave them for physical exploitation. This upset the Lambada society and they began to migrate to several parts of the country in order to protect themselves from the attrocities of the ruling class. Interestingly, they chose some of the interior forests to ward off any danger or threat to their community. Tribal communities in Rajasthan and Gujarat such as the Lambadas are known for their colorful attire, embroidered by hand and decorated with mirrors.
Lambadis are also called Banjar. They are found mostly in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhyapradesh, and Maharashtra. The Lambadi women wear a very colouful Rajasthani style dress and lots of Jewellery. The clothes they wear are decorated with pieces of mirror and cowri. They wear ivory bangles and innumerable ornaments.
The dance performed by the Lambadi is not vigorous. But when the dance is to the beat of drums, it gains momentum. The language in which the songs are sung is of their own. They have very meaningful folk songs among them.
The women belonging to bant / bantara / Banjara communities are normally very beautiful. The bant queen Tara, the wife of vali of kishkinda kingdom is said to be very beautiful. Her beauty could most probably be one of the reasons for the fued or misunderstanding that arose between vali and sugreev. These vanaras had a custom of marrying brother's wife in case brother dies for any reason. The beauty of Tara, the custom of the community and the circumstances in which vali got trapped in side a demons cave might have created a natural suspecion in the mind vali and banished sugreeva from his country. At present, the bant / bunt girl Aiswrya Rai became miss world and she is regarded as one of the most beautiful women known on the earth since centuries.
The Gollars, Kurubas and Lambadas are herders in South India and all these people are related to bunt / bant / bantara / mudiraj community. There are sizable number of scheduled tribes, who constitutes an integral part of hindu community. Among tribes, koyas, lambadas constitute sizable population.
Vanjaris :
The Vanjaris and the Banjaras in olden times were one and the same. What holds good in the case of Bhils generally holds good in the case of other unsettled tribes, the Vanjaras, Varlis, Kolis and Tadvis. Vanjara or Vanjari is a corrupt form of Vanacara i.e. moving about in the forests. Vanjaras once wandered about with their flocks of oxen over vast areas.
Their business was to bring bullocks from Malva, to load them with wheat and go from place to place to sell it. They went down the ghats, even to the Konkan districts. Once they used to carry their wares to Surat, Navsari and Kalyan in the west and Nemad, Nagpur and Jabalpur in the north and east, with their bullocks packed and in bands or armies of thousands, but the growth of transport facilities like railways and metalled roads nearly killed their trade.
There are ten divisions among the Vanjaras and they differ widely in their habits, though they are said to be alike in temper brave, proud, spiteful and touchy. Though generally well-behaved, the wandering, Vanjaras were often under police surveillance. There are ten divisions among the Vanjaras and they differ widely in their habits, though they are said to be alike in temper brave, proud, spiteful and touchy. Though generally well-behaved, the wandering, Vanjaras were often under police surveillance. They mostly worship Balaji or Khandoba. Some of the divisions eat together but do not intermarry.
Every settlement of the Vanjaras has its hereditary headman who is called Naik who acts as arbitrator in caste disputes. He also used to direct the movements of the caravan while travelling. Naiks or Nayakas played an important political role in the kingdom of Kakatiya and Vijayanagar empire. The Telugu version of the word Nayaka is Nayakudu. A Nayaka was basically an arbitrator in peace time village activities but it also acquired a distinctive meaning of "Leader" as Nayak used to lead his warrior men in the wars.
The Banjara, however, though a nomad, is a serviceable one, for he is engaged in trade. With his bullocks he is the carrier of Central India, and is to be met with all over that section, bringing salt and other commodities and returning with interior
produce.
Naik = Nayak
Nyay = Nyaya = Justice
Nyayaka = Arbitrator ( judge ) = one gives justice
Nyayaka => Nayaka => Nayakudu
Today the emergence of the modern economy, industrialisation and quick transporting facilities deprived them of their hereditary calling, e.g., the Lamanis (Vanjaris) who were engaged in carrying grain and salt from one place to another lost their occupation. Lad Vanjaris and Lamani Vanjaris are two sub-castes found among them. Lad Vanjaris have adopted agriculture as their main occupation, while the Lamani Vanjaris are still nomads. Vanjaris are fair looking, healthy and proud. Their ladies are. beautiful, shy and religious-minded. Lamanis are also known as Vanjaris in various parts of India.
Punjabi Vanjaras consider themselves followers of Guru Nanak and Lakhi Shah Vanjara (Labana) their leader and legacy and their roots are in Rajasthan, they are Rajputs. Vanjaras came into Sikh mainstream during Guru Gobind Singh's time when weapons were required again. Vanajaras and Sikligars helped Banda Bahadur with both men and material in his campaigns of Punjab especially Sirhind. These Sikhs tribes are forgotten brethren of Sikhs. Sikligar name was given by the 10th Guru to those descendants of Bhai Ram Singh (Marwari Lohar) who would manufacture weapons for war and then polish them (Sikli means to polish). In provinces of Maharashtra, Andhra and Madhya Pradesh these tribes call themselves Sikhs. They are well entrenched in Sikhism and no amount of efforts by other communities have lured them away. Three Marwari tribes are intimately related to Sikhism and suffered martyrdom since Guru Hargobind's time.
Balijas were descendants of Mudiraj bants (Bantlu) :
It is understood that one of the earliest basic professions of balijas was trading. Hence, the Balijas are doubtedly the descendants of banjara trading community of North India. These Banjara trading community people in North India are known as Bania / Banajigas. These banajigas are known as balagigas , baligigas , and balijas.
In Andhra and Tamilnadu, the Balija community is a subcaste of Kapus, who are closely related to Mudiraj warrior community. These people are the descendants of the vanjara or banjara warriors who not only undertook trade and transport but also protected their people while moving in trade routes with costly consignments. We can see that some of the balijas today mentioning their subcastes as - Gajula Balajiga , Setty Balajiga, Telugu Balagiga, Balajiga Naidu , Balajiga, Balijiga, Banajiga (kannada), Banijiga (Kannada). Korishetty subcaste of banajigas also indicates that they are the descendants from kori sect of kolis who are related people to Mudiraj. These names Banajiga, Banijiga, Balijiga , Balajiga and balija are due to modification of the name - Banajiga.
The kannada Bnaijigas are mostly lingayats / veera shaivas / Veera Banajigas and are considered as the mainstream Lingayats during Vijayanagar empire. In fact the large building activity seen among the Jains was due to the fact that the main commercial / trading class of Karnataka, the Vira Banajigas had become ardent Jains. The Vοra Banajigas of the south practised Jainism. Basava, a minister was able to convert many of the local chiefs such as the Santaras, rulers of Coorg, etc., from Jainism to Vira-Shaivism. The Banajigas are the great trading class. The subdivisions are numerous, but there are three main branches-the Panchama, Telugu, and Jain Banajigas-who neither eat together nor intermarry. The first are Lingayats, having their own priests, who officiate at marriages and funerals, and punish breaches of caste discipline. Telugu Banajigas are very numerous. The Saivas and Vaishnavas among them do not intermix socially. The latter acknowledge the guru of the Srivaishnava Brahmans. They frequently take the vow to become Dasari. The Panchala have a guru of their own ,caste, though Brahmans officiate as purohits.
Mummurudandas of Kurugodu was a Banajiga king and he was said to be brave of the brave, protectors of the submissive, cruel to the wicked, good to the good and conquerors of powerful enemies. Today the Banajigas constitute about 30% of the total population of Lingayats and are the largest subcaste group. The Telugu Banajigas and Balajigas are the Balijas.
From the above, it appears that the warrior class balijas / kapus were once part of the Telugu Bants ( Bantlu ) of Mudiraj community and slowly got separated into a distinct community at a later stages due to various political and professional reasons. This could possibly one of the reasons why Balijas claim that Sri Krishna Deva Raya belonged to their community. The balijas who were once formed the Bants (Bantlu) section of Mudiraju can also be considered as the descendants of Bali chakravarty, who was bana king of banjara race. The bali and Sibi names are widely prevelent among Mudiraj and cholas. The Kapus are believed to be the Telugu Cholas.
Banajara => Banijara => Balijara => Balija
Banajiga => Balajiga => Balijiga => Balija
Banajiga => Banijiga => Balijiga => Balija
Banajiga => Banadiga => Badiga
Banajara = banijara = Lambadi = Lambadigal
The kannada people of badiga community also seems to be the descendants of banajigas of North India. There is a novel on Naika Banijara to prove that most of the Naika / Nayaka titles were used by banjara / koli descendants.
It is also becoming evident that balija / kapu caste, once represented the bant sections of Mudiraj community. There are several surnames of Tuluva bunts which are common to both Mudiraj and Balija communities today. This stands as a strong proof that Telugu Mudiraja bants and Tulu speaking bunts are one and the same people.
Some common Mudiraju - Balija (Kapu) surnames list :
- Thota
- Setty
- Mekala
- Bonam
- Dasari
- Muccherla
- Neelam
- Alla
- Thota
- Ganji
- Yadla (Yedla)
- Ambati
- Akula
- Mutyala
- Gurram
- Adapa
- Thupakula
- Talari
Some look alike (similar) common Balija / Kapu - (Mudiraj) surnames list :
- Kapu / Balija <=> (Mudiraj)
- Pakanati <=> (Paka)
- Linga <=> (Lingala)
- Racha <=> (Rachapalli)
- Nerati <=> (Neerati)
- Basava <=> (Basaveni)
- Nimmakayala <=> (Nimmala)
- Chilakalapalli <=> (Chilukupally)
- Sunkara <=> (Sunkari)
- Manda <=> (Mandana)
- Kommana <=> (Kommanaboina)
- Maddimsetty <=> (Maddi)
- Chintalapudi <=> (Chintala)
- Yerra <=> (Yerrabhaneni)
- Addala <=> (Addakula)
- Kommula <=> (Kommu)
- chintalapudi <=> (Chintala).
Lingamsetty, Siddamsetty, Loksetty are also some of the surnames of Mudiraj which look similar to those of Kapus with trading links. Gangireddy, Yamareddy are some of the surnames of Mudiraj having Reddy title and indicate that their ancestors were village heads. Such surnames are also there in kapus.
There are some common / look alike surnames which can be seem among Telugu Mudiraj bants - Tuluva Bunts and they are as mentioned below :
- Adapa <=> Adappa
- Alla <=>Alva ( Alva => Alla)
- Athiracha <=> Athikaari
- Bairi <=> Baari
- Bandari <=> Bhandari
- Butta <=> Bunta
- Chwoti <=> Chowta
- Konda <=> Konde
- Madaboina <=> Mada
- Maddula <=> Maddala
- Malla <=> Mallala
- Manapati <=> Maana
- Naidu <=> Nayak / Naik
- Palla <=> Pala
- Panja <=> punja
- Paka <=> Pakkala
- Rai <=> Rai
- Rajaboina <=> Raja
- Setty <=> shetty
- Samala <=> Samani
- Sanda<=> Santa
- Vallaboina <=> Vala
- Varma <=> Varma
The sanskrit word 'vanijya' was pronounced in Gujarati as Vanajara, in Rajastani as Banajara, in Urdu as Banjare, in Hindi as Banzara, in Marathi as Banjari. A Vanjari or a trader seems to be occupational description, is etymologically identical with Vanijya which means trade or commerce. These tribes were in the past engaged in carrying grains and supplies for armies, before the time of cart-roads and railways.
Banachara => Banjara => Banajira => Banajiga
Banajiga => Bania
Banajiga => Bana
Banajiga => Banaji => Banij => Banijya
Banijya <=> Vanijya = Trade / Businees
The term "Banij" meaning trader or perhaps from "Baniji" , meaning pedlar's pack is used in the west of Punjab, as a generic term for pedlar is derived from Banjara. Indeed it is to be feared that in that part of province persons have been shown as Banjara in consequence of their occupation only.
Most Baniyas and Vaishyas had their roots in dravidian warrior races at one time. These people who belonged to warrior communities became specialised in trade and business and helped in keeping the royal treasuries filled with money which was required by the kings. The political or ruling power that does not bring money to the ruler has no meaning in human society. So the business men and traders in the ancient times were from the royal palaces and closely related to king community. There are some surnames of vaishyas and baniyas which one come across in mudiraj and other warrior communities. Some vaishyas also worship Goddess Ankamma who is widely known as Goddess of Mudiraj.
As per the central list of backward classes in Karnataka, certain communiies names are clubbed as one at state Sl. No:14 and central list no. 167 and they are - Balija, Balajiga, Banajiga, Bale Balajiga, Dasa Banajiga, Naidu, Bogam Teluga, Telaga Balija, Teluga Banajiga, Setty Balija, Setty Banajiga, Kasban, Mannu r/ Munnar, Mutrasi, Matracha, Janappan, Balegara, Lingayat Balegala / Baleshettaru. Badigas are the original tribal settlers of Nilgiris. Badigas and Banajigas seems to be related people at their racial roots. Aadi Banajiga is one more name of Banajigas which is not seen in this list and they lift palanquins Muharram rituals in Karnataka. Banajigas are also there in Andhra Pradesh who are traders and they speak Telugu.
This aspect of clubbing all these communities into one group brings out the hidden fact that Balija and Mudiraja communities are rooted in Bantaras / Banjaras. Banajigas are lingayats in Karnataka.
Banjara a synomym for Vanjari. Brinajari a synomym for Lambadi.Banjara, Brinjari, Lambadi, Lamane, Vanjara, Gohar, Herkeri (Carnatic), grain and salt carriers, cattlebreeders and cattle dealers, found all over the country but especially over the districts of Warangal and Adilabad, which abound in rich pastures (A.P), Lamadi/ from Lamban - length- which has perhaps probable reference to the long line or train in which their bullocks move. Guguria Banjaras take their name from trading in Gugur - a kind of gum. Sukali is referred to, as a name of Lingayat (Sukali Setti) whose trade of fire wood selling was very prosperous and was taken by Banjaras when they came to Southern India.
Sri Krishna Devaraya was a Telugu speaking Bunt :
It is believed by some historians that Sri Krishna Deva Raya was a kuruba bunt. Kurubas of Karnataka are the equivalent of Telugu Yadavas. Bunt represents a banjara race than any caste.
Sri Krishna Deva Raya was basically a Telugu speaking king. We know that Telugu speaking bunts are known as Mudiraj and no other caste people of Andhra Pradesh are known as bunts.
The balijas are the same people who are also known as Balijigas or Balajijas or Banajigas and these people are known as bunts in Karnataka. So, the Telugu speaking Buntlu (Mudiraj) in all probability could be non other than the ancestors of present day Balijas. This concludes that Sri Krishna Deva Raya was either a Mudiraja or a Mudiraj Bantu ( Balija) king. His father was General Narasanayaka under Saluva Narasimha Raya from Tulunadu and mother was a Telugu speaking woman.
Romanis / Gypsies of Europe :
The historians today agree that the wandering Romanis and Gypsies are the descendants of Indian Banjara wanderers. Roma gypsies who claim to be the direct descendants of Lord Rama, the 'sons of Ram', and has migrated from India more than 700 years ago to various parts of the world, are in the capital in search of their lost roots. The Romas whose forefathers were driven out of their homeland by raiders centuries ago, say they have clung to their culture and heritage all these years. The Romas speak a language called Romany which is very much similar to Hindi, Punjabi and some other Indian languages. Another Roma scholar, Mrs. Agnes (Belgium) has worked among Indian Banjaras and feels that Romas have direct links with the Banjaras, Jats and some pastoral and nomadic communities of India.
Gypsies widely use to refer to themselves (and literally to mean man or husband): rom among European Gypsies; lom in Armenian Romani; and dom in Persian and Syrian dialects. Rom, dom, and lom aare all in phonetic correspondence with the Sanskrit domba and the Modern Indian dom or dum, which refer to a particular group of tribes who may look familiar. In Sanskrit domba means "man of low caste living by singing and music." There are references to the Dom as musicians from the sixth century. The Dom still exist in India; they are nomads who do a number of jobs: basketmaking, smithing, metalworking, scavenging, music-making. Not surprisingly, many people have leapt on a Dom theory of origins for the Gypsies.
According to Sampson, a company of the caste known as Dom left India, and spent some time in Persia and the borders of the Med- iterranean (the "D" is a particular d with the tongue turned upwards, typical of Indian languages). The Dom settled there and are known as Dom to this day. The company then moved into Armenia. Again some settled and these are known as Lom (or Bosha)the initial D of their name changing to L under the influence of Armenian. The rest moved into Europe where the D became R (still with the tongue turned up!) and later a guttural sound, and these are the Rom or Romanies of Europe. After 1945 doubts were expressed concerning Sampson's derivation for the name Rom. Other etymologies than Indian Dom were proposed, such as Ramta (wandering). Very recently, Dr. Ian Hancock of Texas has cast doubt on the Dom-Lom-Rom link.
The Roma are a distinct ethnic minority, distinguished at least by Rom blood and the Romani, or Romanes, language, whose origins began on the Indian subcontinent over one thousand years ago. No one knows for certain why the original Roma began their great wandering from India to Europe and beyond, but they have dispersed worldwide, despite persecution and oppression through the centuries.
They arrived in the Balkans from India in the middle of the thirteenth century because of the spread of Islam into the Byzantine Empire; the ancestors of the Gypsies had in fact left India in the first place during the first quarter of the eleventh century as troops resisting Islamic incursions. Gypsies were at first associated with the Muslim threat. Being non-white, having no country, alien in language, dress and religion, they were quickly and easily targeted as scapegoats. Nevertheless their artisan skills, particularly in metalworking, made them indispensable to the Balkan economy; as they started to move away from southeastern Europe to escape the increasingly rigorous demands upon them, legislation began to be put into effect making them the property of their employers. By the early fourteenth century, they had become slaves in Moldavia and Wallachia
Being of Indian descent, Gypsies have retained an Indian cultural and linguistic heritage as well; Romani is widely spoken, and is certainly one of the healthiest immigrant languages in the country, transmitted from generation to generation with little danger of dying out in the foreseeable future. This is because language is a principal factor of Romani ethnic identity, and because certain cultural events require its exclusive use. If one cannot speak the language, he simply cannot participate. One such event among the Vlax is the kris or Romani Tribunal, a kind of internal "court" which deals with problems within the community. Such courts take place several times a year, usually in Houston or Fort Worth, and have their origins in the Indian panchayat.
The Romani language is of Indo-Aryan origin and has many spoken dialects, but the root language is ancient Punjabi, or Hindi. The spoken Romani language is varied, but all dialects contain some common words in use by all Roma. Based on language, Roma are divided into three populations. They are the Domari of the Middle East and Eastern Europe (the Dom), the Lomarvren of Central Europe (the Lom), and the Romani of Western Europe (the Rom). There is no universal written Romani language in use by all Roma.
It was primarily through comparative linguistic studies of the Romani language with various north Indian dialects and languages that the origins of the Roma people were traced back to India. Half of the Romani population shows evidence of North Indian origin according to genetic studies and their language is closely related to Sanskrit and Hindustani. The Romani language contains many militaristic terms, indicating they were a nomadic warrior. Analysis of the Romani language has shown that it is closely related to those spoken in central and northern India, Punjabi in particular. This linguistic relationship is believed to indicate the Roma's and Sinti's geographical origin. Loanwords in Romani make it possible to trace the pattern of their migration westwards. They came originally from the Indian subcontinent or what is now northern India and parts of Pakistan. The Romani language is usually included in the Central Indo-Aryan languages (together with Western Hindi, Bhili, Gujarati, Khandeshi, Rajasthani etc.).
Romnichal or Romanichal is a neologism by which groups of Romani people (often known as Gypsies) found in some parts of the United Kingdom, notably England, refer to themselves in their own language, Anglo-Romany. The name is not universally accepted by English Roma, who will often call themselves "Romany Folk". They are thought to have arrived in Britain in the 16th century. The word "Romnichal" derives from "Romani chal", where "chal" is Anglo-romani for "fellow". It is not clear how they are related to the other main Romani people in the UK, the Welsh Kale, or to other Roma groups. They (and their descendants) are also to be found throughout the United States and also in Australia.
Romanis also entered France from the South in the form of the Gitanos of Spain and North Africa (where they cohabited with Berbers). Finally the Romani arrived in Britain in the late 14th and early 15th century. These tribes, tens of thousands large, themselves consisting of several Clans, or extended families, often several hundred scattered people with common name. Mainly in Britain and North America; Divided into two tribes, the Romnichal proper, of England and Scotland / Ireland, and the now almost extinct Kale of Wales, though the difference is slight.
Since these Romanis and Gypsies are vanara related wandering people, their origins need to be seen from an angle of Sri Rama. The Romanis are recognised to be of Indian origin and they are closely related to Banjaris, who are in turn related to bants and bedars. Some of the bedars and kolis are also known as Ramoshis or Romashis. So, these Romanis could in all probability belong to the same race of Ramoshis.
Ramoshi means people who were controlled by Sri rama. Romanichal could also mean the people who followed Sri Rama. In Bombay, many Romashis were employed in the public force, mostly as village watchmen (who were equivalent to kapus in Andhra Pradesh).
Ramoshi => Romashi => Roma => Romani
Chara = chala = chal = move or wander
Anuchar = followers or wanderers
Rama + anuchar = Ramanuchar = vanaras = vanjaras = banjaras
Ramanuchar => Romanuchar = Romanuchal
Romanuchal => Romanichal = Romani
In reference to the term 'Romanichal' and meaning 'sons of Roma'. The term 'chel' was - as told to me by a very old Sinto - the old word used which would be equal in English to that of 'tribe' or 'clan' or similar, thus, Romanichal would mean 'a Romani tribe'.
Ksatriya Parivrajaka. Rama, the son of king Dasharatha, has been given this name because Rama who belonged to the royal kstriya (warrior) class was also a wanderer. He roamed about in the forests while in exile for fourteen years. Abhidhana Rajendra Kosha (Vol. VI) says that Rama acquired the meaning of wanderer because the Jain sources held him to be the wanderer in his previous and future lives.
Here, we can say that "anuchar" means fellow tribes men / clan members / followers of Sri Rama. Sita treated Hanuman and other vanaras as her sons and hence Romanichal also means "Sons of Rama".
Rama => Roma = Sri Rama
Ramanichal => Romanichal = Sons of Sri Rama = Followers of Sri Rama
An early attestation of Indian service-providing population migrating westwards is the persian poet Firdusi's Sahaname from the 11th century AD. It includes the story of Persian king Bahram Gur who, in or around 420AD, invited a population of around 10000 Indian musicians, called luri, to come to persia and serve as official performers. After attempts to settle them failed, the luri remained nomadic entertainers. The luri musicians have often been associated with ancestors of Romanis, although no direct connection can be established.
The other nation closely associated with the Romani are the Dom. These are a genuinely aboriginal people who migrated from India to the Middle East. They were, and are, showman and musicians by trade as are many Romani. They also had a cult of thieves, with a trickster-thief deity (Kartikeya ?) , while some Romani, revered the two 'thieves' crucified with Christ as patron saints. However the Romani language is quite different to Dom language, and the Romanis regarded the Dom as being of a 'lower caste'. The Dom were also closely linked with Tantric practises, and Dom women were typically chosen as sexual partners by left hand path Tantricists, due to both their low social status and alleged attributes. Dom were often divided into professional 'tribes', such as Biharis, performers and musicians; Madari, bear and animal trainers; Sapere, snake charmers; and Loharis, blacksmiths. The closely related tribes of the Banjaris, or Lambadas (traders), and the Lambanis, perhaps even more ancient than the Dom, were preservers of an archaic form of Shakti devotion. Apparent links between the Roma and the Dom include the Bihari clan, a Romani family named after a Dom tribe. A likely scenario is that some Dom tribes were absorbed into the Romani nation .
According to researcher Roger Moreau the oldest and most eastern location definitely associated with the Romanis was Dasht i Nawar, 'the desert of the Gypsies', near Ghazani in Afghanistan. They lived there for three hundred years until the mid 11th century he claims and most ot their early militaristic language supposedly derives from this time. He concludes they were resettled Indian mercenaries ( members of suicide squads like bants) following the Islamic invasion of India. They then migrated into Persia and across the Persian plain westward. This is now often considered part of the orthodox theory of Romani migration.
Isrealis & Sumerians may be to related to Indian bants / banjaras :
We knew that gypsies are the banjara (bantara / bant ) people of Indian origin who migrated from Sindhu - Sarswati river basin to West Asia, Europe and even America. The extensive excavations carried out at the two principal city sites, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, both situated in the Indus basin, indicates that this Dravidian culture was well established by about 2500 B.C., and subsequent discoveries have revealed that it covered most of the Lower Indus Valley. These ancient dwellers in India were Dravidian, and in fact, their culture had developed a highly sophisticated way of life which compares favorably with that of contemporary urban civilizations in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Recent analyses of the order of the signs on the inscriptions have led several scholars to the view that it appears to be ancient Dravidian akin to Old Tamil / Telugu, presently spoken throughout the southern part of the Indian Peninsula.
The recent discovery of Sindhu valley seals in Sumeria and other other countries prove that Sri Rama Chandra also ruled Sumeria, Mesopotamia and Babylonia during which period the banjara seafaring traders migrated to those alien countries where they established great civilizations. The ancient Dravidian, who are ethnically and culturally linked to the people who established great civilizations in Sumer, Elam and Harappa, were already literate even as early as the 3rd. millennium B.C. The trade links between Sumeria and the Harappan civilization (Meluhha & Mesopotamian texts) are well-attested, e.g. the names Arisena and Somasena in a tablet from Akkad dating to ca.2200 BC.
Recent research indicates that hewbrew contains several Telugu words giving rise to speculation that the Sumerians could be bants relating to Telugu / Tamil speaking vanaras of Indian continent.
In a path-breaking revelation, a young research scholar of Potti Sriramulu Telugu University has come out with recorded evidence linking Telugus and Israelis on the basis of Telugu words found in Hebrew literature. The disclosure was made by Samyuktha Koonaiah in her presentation at a seminar on `Telugu History and Culture' on the concluding day of the three-day All India Telugu Conference here on Sunday. She quoted epigraphic evidence traced from Bahrain in support of her argument.
Ms. Samyuktha, who is doing her research on `Andhra Pradesh - The missing link - Tilmun language and Telugu', said a 1794 BC stone tablet established that the Sumerian-Assyrian culture had its roots in Andhra Pradesh.
The records of Telmun are scattered around the world in various universities and museums in countries like America, England and France to help us find more information about the Dravidian language. The archaeologists unearthed Ea-Nasir's house along with the trade documents which gives us an glimpse of the ancient trade, trading materials and the way of life. The archeologists dated Ea-Nasir to 1794 B.C. Through my theory I discovered that the people Telmun and Sumeir spoke in Telugu language.
It appears that ancient dravidian language from Sindhu to Sri Lanka was a kind of ancient Telugu. The Bhils in North India got their name from Telugu word Vhillu ( Bow). The Gonds got their name from Telugu word Konda (hill). The European gypsies who are known as Romanichal are non other than the vanaras who were the followers of Sri Rama . The English word "Man" was derived from "Manu" who was a dravidian king.
Rama => Roma
Chara => Char => Chal = move or follow
Ramanuchar => Romanichal => Followers of Sri Rama
In fact, an article titled `The Seafaring Merchants of Ur' published in the American Oriental Society in1954 by A. L. Oppenheim contains several Telugu words to prove that Abraham migrated from the `land of darkness', the `Andhaka Desa' as the Andhra region was known in the past, she said. The mutharayars, cholas, kolas, kolis belong to seafaring community of India and they constructed famous sea ports along the coastal lines of India. According to Matsya Purana, Lord Siva assumed a ferocious form to kill the demon Andhaka.
Andhaka Desa = Andhra Desa
Another word common to both the languages is "Ur." Mentioned in the old Babylonian records, it is similar to that of `ooru', a village in Telugu. A name of a woman, those records suggest was "amelu" Alimelu or Alarmelu?
This gives rise to speculation that the seafaring banjara traders used to move from India to farway lands. Christ was a descendant of black skinned - headed Abraham from the soil of present Israel. It is said that christ came to India to learn spiritualism and went back to Israel where was crucified. It is also said that two of the collegues who were put on the cross along with Jesus were banjaras / gypsies who were perhaps of Indian origin. Even some historians believe that Christ did not die on the cross but he was brought to Kashmir valley in India where he died after living his lefe. Even the three wise men who visited and presented gifts to infant christ could be Indian banjara men. This too gives rise to speculation that Christ was perhaps an Indian banjara descent or related bant race.
The name of Jewish Abraham could be a modification of the Indian name Abbarama or Abburama or Abhirama. Abraham could mean Lord Rama. Vanras were the devoted followers of Sri Rama and also belonged to the valmiki - koli caste of sri Rama. The name of Srirama is given by many Indians to their children and this could be the practice even by Kishkinda / Sndhu vanaras.
Seraiah, Meraiah, Ramaiah etc., are the names found in the Holy Bible. These names are also the common names used in Andhra Pradesh. Amma, Aiah are also found in the Holy Bible.
Ayya = Ayyah
Appa = Appah
Abba = Abbah
Ayyah = Appah = Abbah = father / Sir / Lord / Swami
Sri Rama = Rama
Ayyah + Rama = Ayyah Rama => Ramaiah
Appah + Rama = Appah Rama => Ramappa
Abbah + Rama = Abbah Rama => Ramabba
Ramaiah = Ramappa = Ramabba = Ramaswami = Lord Rama
Abbah +Rama = Abbahrama
Abbahrama => Abbarhama => Abrahama => Abraham = Lord Rama
Abraham was born with the name Abram in the Babylonian city of Ur (Iraq). According to the Torah, Abraham was brought by God from Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) to the land of Canaan. This is thought to have occurred around 2000 BC-1700 BC. Abraham was a faithful man, and he believed in the one true God. Abraham's faith was tested by God. Abraham was asked by God to leave his country and go to a land that God would show him (the land of Canaan, which later became Israel).
Abram (Abraham) was the father of the people of the "old Testament", which makes him the father of many nations, the Jews, the Christians, and the Muslims. Abrahams Ur is also mentioned as Habiru. Some Scholars are of the opinion that the word Hebrew was derived from the word Habiru. Abba meaning father. The river Penna flows in Nellore District. The word Penna is an Hebrew word. The word Penna is also the first and second alphabet of the Hebrew language.
According to The Holy Bible The home land of Abraham was Ur and Harran. When excavations were conducted by the A.P Archeology Deparment in the Kamakur Village in1992, archeologists came across a more ancient site which is known as Ur / Oor located just beside Kamakur. According the Holy Bible Abram (Abraham) lived in Ur. When excavated a temple site in Ur, the floor was laid with baked bricks with raised platform of two feet in height, which is the first level. In the corner of the second level we found a goat's foot print, at the end of the third level we found a sacrificial alter made of stone. In the Holy Bible Abraham sacrificed a got instead of his son. Telugu Mudiraju people who worship Goddess Ankamma also sacrifise goat during Ankamma kolupu.
Kooniah's are the royal family in Kamakur village (head house name of the village) in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. Koniah are coniah's were royal family in ancient Israel. In India and Kamakur the symbol of mother goddess is known as Sri Chakra, which has an exact resemblance to the Jewish star. Hindu Mother Goddess is also known as Sumeria Devi, (queen of sumair) one of her thousand names of Lalitha Sahasra Namam. During the ancient times the present day Iraq was known as Sumer,and the legends of Telmun were discovered in Sumer.The Sumarians Holy Land was Telmun. Saturday is an Special day of Lord Venkateswara ( Balaji ) in Andhra Pradesh. Sabbath day is Saturday,(Gods day),the ancient people of the Holy Bible worshipped God Bal. Tirumala mountain has 20 names. sumeria mountain is one of them. The word Balija is derived from the people who sacrificed their children to god. The ancient people of the Holy Bible sacrificed their children to God Bal.
Edla - surname of Isrealis and that of Andhra kamakuru (Jewish ?) Surnames sounds similar mudiraj surname -Yedla. Chintala surname of Kamakuru (jews) and that of Mudiraj sounds similar to Isreali surname CINTA.
The Sumerian civilization is one among the great civilizations of the ancient world. The reason that the Sumerian civilization is glorified mainly because it gave birth to the stories of Genesis in the Holy Bible, based upon the Telmun stories.
S.Kramer, in the Sumerians, claimed that the Indus Valley was called Tilmun/Dilmun by the Sumerians. The marriage of the Dravidian cult goddess Paravati, in Siva temples to insure effectively the fecundity and prosperity of the Dravidian people is analogous to the holy marriage of Dumuzi and Inanna, the Sumerian mother-goddess.
The Harappan gods were represented as animals on seals. The Unicorn seal depicts Mal (Vishnu or Kataval). The castrated bull on some Harappan seals was probably the goddess Kali. Siva was probably the short horn bull on some Harappan seals, while the elephant represented Ganesha or Pillayer. The Dravidian people are the descendants of the Harappan people They call Ganesha: Pillayar. They recognized Pillayar as the shrewdest of animals. He is associated with Harvest time, abundance and good luck.
The Dravidian speakers founded the Harappan civilization and wrote the Indus Valley seals. The miners from the Indus Valley controlled the lazurite ores of Badakhshan and Afghanistan. The Dravidians exported these metals to Mesopotamia. So, the dravidian banjara traders moved on their ships on sea routes upto mesopotamia, sumeria and babylonia and established great human civilizations. This could be the reason why Tilmul closely resembles to Telugu language in meaning and soundings.
The Sumerian god Dumuzi, may be a great ancestor of the Tamil. Prof. Muttarayan has suggested that the word Tamil, may be an evolute of Dumuzi, the name for the Sumerian moon-god. Originally Tammuz / Damuzi was supposedly a king of Uruk. According to Sumerian tradition Dumuzi lived in the neither world.
The Sumerians not only migrated from Telmun and settled in Sumer, they were also known as Assyrians. The Assyrians seems to be known as Asuras in India and Bali chakravarty of bana king race was known as Asura. They maintained active trade contact between these two lands, and as a result many trade transactions and documents were discovered, which gives us an idea of what their life was like in he ancient time.These documents and trade transactions were latter deciphered by great men like sir Henry Creswicke Rawlinson, A.L.Openhime, Michale Rice, Kramer etc. These deciphered records are an treasure trove for historians.
Research findings suggest that `Barbar' or `Barbaras', a native tribe living in the south of the Vindhyas was a common name in Assyrian culture. An earliest instance of calling children `Bullutu' was similar to that of the Telugu usage Bulli, Bullodu etc, she said. Another `provincial spelling' in Telmun literature and references to Sumero- Akkadian vocabularies contain this sentence `ni imta ha-is' similar to that of `nee intiki vachchi' (come to my home).
Old Babylonian legal documents which were unearthed by archaeologists contain evidence of this letter belonging to one member of the Guild of Dilmun, Ea-Nasir. One of its lines when pronounced in Telugu becomes "ayya adhi annakimmani, tusi (tuchi) immani, maaki antundhi" (something to the effect `I have asked you to give it to my brother after weighing'. It was a deal about copper ingots.
Quoting several such examples Ms. Samyuktha said there was sufficient proof to link those Sumerian cultures with the Telugus. Hebrew, Sumerian and Assyrian records abound in such descriptions and suggest that the present Israelis belonged to Andhra Pradesh. Trade continued with them through the Port of Bahrain.
According to Yakobi, there is the lost history of Jews in south India. He believes that Jews migrated from northern India, perhaps Afghanistan or the North-East Frontier region (Manipur, Mizoram) sometime during the 9th or 10th centuries C.E., and settled around the area of Nandial in what were at that time nascent Telugu-speaking areas. He claims currently to be writing a comparative philological study of Hebrew and Telugu, which argues that Hebrew is the unrecognized source of many words in proto-Telugu, the still-unreconstructed Dravidian language that anteceded Sanskritic influences. Yakobi also claims that Telugu Jews for centuries formed a distinct kulam (birth-marriage-occupation group, or as it is often poorly termed, caste). They maintained, he says, distinct customs, eating habits, occupations, and literacy in Hebrew.
The Sabbath services are original, beautiful and moving, much of them dedicated to song. The congregation poignantly and powerfully sings the Hebrew of the Psalms to Telugu folk melodies. The Telugu Jews were grouped with outcasts, and associated particularly with the Madiga community of untouchables. It is worth to note here that Madigas are the descendants of wise vanara bear - jambavan.
Andhra Pradesh is known as Naga Nadu. Other Hindu titles; Andhaka, "Blind", apparently from its dimness; Aryika, "Honorable", or "Worthy"; and Invaka (Invala), of doubtful meaning. And Theli of Chaldis and of the Hebrews is perfectly matching with the land of serpent. The Telugu bants and Tuluva bunts worship serpents and they were once known as Nagas in South India
Sr Rama chandra ruled Sindhu, Babylonia, Mesopotamia & Sumeria :
The presence of Telugu words in Hebrew gives rise to speculation that banjaras / bantaras / bants ( Mudiraju bantlu = Balijas) spread their presence from Sri Lanka, to Sindhu, Iran and up to Sumeria. These Banjaras could possibly be trasporting wood of Dandakaranya from western coast of Indian peninsula to far away lands of Sumeria, mesopotamia and babylonia, where great civilizations flurished which were similar to those existed in Kishkinda and Sindhu valley. Vanaras were not only great port city builders but also expert seafaring merchants. The very word Vanij or Banij was derived from the word Banjara.
The ancient Sumerians, frequently in their own writing, referred to themselves as the black-headed people. Black Hebrews have existed since biblical times. In fact, they are the original or proto-typical Hebrews. Their story begins with the Patriarch Abraham (2117-1942 B.C.), a native of the Sumerian city of Ur in ancient Mesopotamia. Archaeological discoveries have proven that the earliest inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia were members of the "Brown Race," i.e., the Negroid branch of humanity. It has been confirmed that the ancient Sumerians were akin to the modern Black Dravidians of India. The Sumerians also had an affinity with a people known as the Elamites, the very first Semitic group mentioned in the Bible. Thus Abraham, the native of Sumerian and the founding father of the Israelite nation, was a black man.
Again the Sumerians called themselves rather proudly '"sag gig-ga'' the black headed people. Now the word 'kalingka' which was used to describe the Dravidians about the time of King Asoka, appears to be an evolute of 'gig-ga'
Gig-ga => kiringka => karinggka => kalingka
Also the word Tamil itself seems to be an evolute of Dumuzi, one of the most celebrated gods of Surner. Dumuzi or Tammuz in Semitic is probably a deified king, who seems to have led a highly romantic but tragic life. His death in the hands of a few rogues, beautifully narrated in 'Dumuzi's Dream', must have touched the Sumerians very deeply for a cult grew up around his death where year after year his death was mourned, lamented and wailed. What is significant for our purpose here is that the Telugu Dravidians called the Tami1 ' aravaalu meaning noise makers '. It may be possible that the noise they made was ritualized wailing, the oppaari, one of the chief features of the cult of Dumuzi. If this is true then initially ' Dumuzi must have been a sectarian name rather like Saiva Sakta, Vaishnava etc. The phonetic laws operative in Dravidian offer no problem in this derivation.
Arupu (in telugu language) = Shout
Aruvu = Arava (in telugu language ) = Shouting or Noise making
Vaallu = vallu ( in telugu language )= Those people
Arava +Vallu = Aravavallu => Aravallu => Ravollu = Shouting or Noise making people.
Dumuzi => Dumuzi => Tamuzi => Tamiz => Tamil
There is plenty of archaeological evidence for the trade between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. Impressions of clay seals from the Indus Valley city of Harappa were evidently used to seal bundles of merchandise, as clay seal impressions with cord or sack marks on the reverse side testify. A number of these Indus Valley seals have turned up at Ur and other Mesopotamian sites. "Persian Gulf" types of circular stamped rather than rolled seals, also known from Dilmun, that appear at Lothal in Gujarat, India, and Faylahkah (Failaka Island in Kuwait), as well as in Mesopotamia, are convincing corroboration of the long-distance sea trade.
We find an earliest record known to us which dates back to 2520 B.C. and mentions that the people of Telmun or Dilmun brought wood in a ship from a foreign country to Lagash king of UR-Nanshe. They are said to be well connected with the harappan dravidian people living in Sindhu river valley. This Sindhu river is also said to be Telmun river by some historians.
Sir Leonard Woolley unearthed ruins of a Ram chapel at Ur, It is likely to throw some light connecting the ancient Hindu culture connecting India, Iran and Sumeria. This Ram Chapel Ur is the earliest known memorial to the great Rama and may have been erected by Dilmun merchants who resided nearby. Dilmun was always mentioned in the Sumerian txts together with Magan and Melukkha. It seems that these three states were some how allied to each other. Rama seems to be a great king of Sumer, Elam and Sindhu.
Historians have found that sumerians were undoubtedly people who, about 2,000 B.C., lived in Sumeria, the "Fertile Crescent" between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (in present-day Iraq). From about 700 B.C. to 700 A.D. they would have spoken and written in an ancient language called "Aramaic". (Historians believe that Jesus would have spoken in Aramaic.). Being good land for growing food, the Fertile Crescent was a war-torn area, and each tribe worshipped idols of its own godsTo escape these wars, one large tribe, led by a man called Abram, migrated 2,000 Km westward till they reached a prosperous country called Canaan (present day southern Israel) at the Mediterranean Sea. As in Sumeria, the local tribes here worshipped idols of their gods. Anyway, Abram's flock settled here. .( This practice of worshiping idols of different Gods by different tribes is similar to that of Indian custom of idol worship and those idols often represent the totems of tribes and their surnames. )
The cambridge ancient history contains priceless information relevant to Indian ancient history. In the highly authentic Sumerian king list appears such hallowed names as Bharat (Warad) Sin and Ram Sin. Sin stands for Chandra and hence Ram Sin means Rama Chandra.Ram Sin was the longest reigning monarch of Mesopotamia who ruled for 60 years. Lakhamana was mentioned in the Bible as Lakhamar and he ruled as a great king.
]
As the Ramayana shows, there cannot be any doubt about Rama's presence in Haryana, Punjab, Sindh and Afghanistan but due to the difficulty of deciphering Indus writing Rama's presence in the Indus area remains unknown. The famous Orientalist I. M. Diakonoff gave the significant clue that names of ancient Medians often included the affix Rama, in preference to common deities like Mitra, Ahura Mazda etc.. T. Cuyler Young, an eminent Iranologist who has written on the history and archaeology of early Iran in the Cambridge Ancient History and the encyclopedia Britannica, writes that one can look for early Hindu and Sanskrit connection outside of the sub-continent. `Ram' was a sacred name in pre-Islamic Iran; Arya Ram-anna was an early ancestor of Darius-I whose gold tablet is an early document in Old Persian; Ram is an important name in the Zoroastrian calendar; the Ram Yast is devoted to Rama and Vayu, possibly an echo of Hanuman; many Rama-names occur in Persepolis tablets. Ram Bazrang is the name of a Kurdish tribe of Fars. Frye lists many Sasanian cities with Ram-names: Ram Ardashir, Ram Hormuzd, Ram Peroz, Rema and Rumagam. Ram-Sahristan was the famed capital of the Surens. Ram-alla is a town on the Euphrates and also in Palestine.
The Harappan Civilization was known to be flourishing in the 3100 1900 BC period. The mature Harappan culture ended by about 1750 BC. According to Dales, the decline of Harappan is linked to the decline of Sumerians after Ram Sin (1822 - 1763 BC). The decline of both Sumerian and Sindhu civilization seems to be linked to the death of Rama and not to the invasion of Aryans or floods.
A recent claim by a retired archaeologist (M.V. Krishna Rao) relates to the career of Sri Rama based on the vedic sanskrit seals created in the 3100 1900 BC period. According to Krishna Rao, the Harappan seals tell us that Rama was born not in Ayodhya, but in the present state of Haryana. He further claims that according to his study of the seals, Rama invaded Babylon and defeated and killed the famous Babylonian ruler Hammurabi whom he equates with Ravana! This account, if true, would call for a radical revision of both Indian and Babylonian history. Hammurabi is a well-known historical figure. He is known to have died in 1750 BC of natural causes and not killed in battle.
In his interpretation of the Ramayana, Dr Rao has identified 'Rama Sana' of Indus seals with 'Ramachandra' and thereby with king 'Rim Sin of Larsa' in Sumer, who ruled the vast lands of Sumer, Elam, the Indus Valley and the present-day Iran and Afghanistan from 1753 to 1693 BC.
There is also a reference to Rama performing a successful fire ritual (or launching a fire missile) which again is mentioned in the Ramayana. There is another reference to RamaΉs successful crossing of the sea which again touches on the Ramayana. Of particular interest is the presence of SriRama in at least one West Asiatic seal from pre-Sargon layer in southern Mesopotamia. We know from Zoroastrian scripture that Rama was well known in ancient West Asia. The readings suggest that this goes back to a period long before 2500 BC.
The Vedic Civilization was of course largely a maritime one, as indeed was the Harappan a fact noted by David Frawley. The seals confirm it. There is recent archaeological evidence suggesting the presence of Indian cotton in Mexico and Peru dating to 2500 BC and earlier.
Hinduism & Jewish God
Evidences of Hinduism in Dravidian are forthcoming not only by the symbolic elements - monuments, emblems, sculptures and so forth - In the Indus Valley civilization but also from Sumerian literature, where the language is pre Sangkam archaic Tamil. Sumeria existed where ancient Babylon was and where lies the modern Iraq. This Sumeria which existed there is in fact Kumari, the land of the First Sangkam where the scholars composed texts of great excellence under the presidentship of Lord SIVA himself.
The gods and deities worshipped by the Sumerians appear to be essentially Dravidian deities. The terms an, an-na are strikingly similar to annal (lord, something huge, lofty etc) and annai (mother, mother goddess). The roots an/an seems to mean something tall and high and in Sumerian, 'an' means 'sky' to which corresponds the Tamil, an van and possibly so Ta. The term 'anna' which probably means something great , is further qualified by ni/in to indicate universal greatness, greatness in the superlative. The Sumerian anna then is possibly the protoform of the later. Ta. Annai and annal terms used for describing the mother archetype (ambal, uma, anai, amma etc) and the male consort whether Siva, Vishnu or any other archetypes or gods. annal described in this text appears to be the same deity that in historical period came to be called Siva. That Anna-Inanna pair is in fact the primordial Siva-Sakti also follows from a number of descriptions that delineate the kind of relationship that exists between them.
It should be noted that Indus Valley civilization is of the Dravidians. The teakwood from Chera country found in the place called 'Ur' the capital of the Sumerian Kings shows the trade relationship between South India and Sumeria before 4000 B.C. K.K. Pillai points out the trade relationship between Babylonians and the Tamilians noted on the clay plaques were found in Nippur in Babylonia. They also give evidence for the settlement of Tamilians in Babylon.
One of the ancient Dravidian worships that could be seen in the Dravidian religions is the 'memorial stone worship.' The memorial stone found in the Indus Valley worship is called Sivalinka . The term Sivalinka was coined in the later period (after 3rd c.A.D.) but this worship is very ancient. In the term 'Sivalinka', Siva denotes God of love and linka means symbol. Hence the term 'Sivalinka' means symbol of love or symbol of God. It is totally misinterpreted and degraded by the Aryans as a phallic symbol, since it is an object of Dravidian worship. The Indus Valley civilization shows the Ancient Dravidian worship explicitly. Many memorial stones called Sivalinkas (which mean symbol of love or God) are excavated in Harappa and Mohenjadaro and Ring Stones and symbols like Swastika etc., occur. Mother goddess worship or female worship played a significant role in the Indus Valley. Usually the goddesses and gods are symbolically represented by horns on their heads. Sacrifice did take place in the Indus Valley worship . Bull is often seen on the Indus Valley seals and trees are venerated as they are very often seen on the seals.
Memorial stone worship is widely prevalent in Israelite worship and it is known as a stone pillar in the Old Testament of the Bible. For instance, when Jacob had a vision, he took the stone which was kept as a pillow by him while he slept on the way, and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. A stone pillar stands as witness between Laban and Jacob. Before Moses went up on the mount Sinai, he built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and set up twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel and an altar. Hence, the stone pillar worship was widely prevalent in the Israelite worship.
Abraham's ancestors were idolaters and polytheists (worshippers of many gods). Joshua reminds the people, "Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods". Archaeology shows that both Ur in Lower Mesopotamia and Haran in Upper Mesopotamia were centers of moon worship. Even the names Terah, Laban, Sarah, and Milcah contain elements that reveal allegiance to the moon-god. Nanna, the moon-god, was the main deity of the Sumerian city of Ur, later known by its Semitic name, Sin. Worship in Sumer involved temples as well as ziggurats with small temples on the top. These temples were staffed by priests, singers and musicians, as well as male and female prostitutes.
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title. It represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relation of God to the Jewish people. The various names of God in Judaism represent God as he is known, as well as the divine aspects which are attributed to him. The numerous names of God have been a source of debate amongst biblical scholars. Some believe that the different aspects of God have different names, depending on the role God is playing, the context in which God is referred to, and the specific aspects which are emphasized. The debate may be due to the fact that Westerners can not think of relating the origins of Isrealis and Judaism to Hinduism / Harappan Dravidian Sindhuism .
The jewish conception of the divine nature is similar to aspect of God in Hinduism, where a God is praised with 1000 names of his attributes. In Hinduism the name of a God can be seen in many names of the other God. When a God is praised with 1000 names, the primary aspects are mentioned on the top and then the other aspects in descending order. Finally in Hinduism also there is only one God who does every thing in the name of different Gods and attributes. The same is the case in Judaism also.
The root of the words is literally 'Godlike', but the use varies significantly depending on which god is being discussed. It is similar to :
Latin 'Deus' ( Dyaus ) = Greek 'Zeus' = Deva (Divya) in Sanskrit
In Jewish belief, God is defined as the Creator of the universe. According to some, God, as Creator, is by definition separate from the physical universe and thus exists outside of space and time. Alternatively, the construct of God incorporating all of reality is also offered in some schools of Jewish mysticism. Notably, in the Tanya, it is stated that to consider anything outside of God is tantamount to idolatry. So, Judaism is also says the same which Hinduism says.
According to Hinduism, every thing in this universe is God; He is everywhere inside as well as outside. Nobody can stop interpretaions, as they araise due to incomplete knowledge of individuals, however great they may be. Accoding to Aadi Shankaracharya, God is NON-DUAL; But he never said it as ONE. It means that it appears as many but in reality it is not many.
The most important and most often written name of God in Judaism is the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter name of God. Because Judaism forbids pronouncing the name outside the Temple in Jerusalem, the correct pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton may have been lost, as the original Hebrew texts only included consonants. Some scholars conjecture that it was pronounced "Yahweh", but some suggest that it never had a pronunciation. It stems from the Hebrew conception of monotheism that God exists by himself for himself, and is the uncreated Creator who is independent of any concept, force, or entity; therefore "I am that I am".
This may be equated to Hindu "Om Tat Sat". Om is that truth which is always there.
I am = Om
That = Tat
I am = Sat
I am that I am = Om Tat Sat
The idea of 'life' has been traditionally connected with the name YHWH from medieval times. Its owner is presented as a living God, as contrasted with the lifeless gods of the 'heathen' polytheists: God is presented as the source and author of life. The name YHWH is often reconstructed as Yahweh, based on a wide range of circumstantial historical and linguistic evidence. Most scholars do not view it as an "accurate" reconstruction in an absolute sense, but as the best possible guess, superior to all other existing versions, and thus the standard convention for scholarly usage. It is also, however, a historically used name within the Samaritan tradition. By contrast, the translation "Jehovah" was created by adding the vowel points of "Adonai."
Yhwh = Yahweh = Jehoweh = Jeevah (in sanskrit)
Yhwh , Yahweh and finally Jehoweh seems to represent the Hindu Jeewa = Jeeva = Jeevah = Jeevaatma, the GOD, who is present in all the living beings in this wporld. The God who is present everywhere in all living and non-living throughout the entire universe is Paramaatama. According to Advaita theory of Aadi Shankaracharya, Jeevaatama and Paramaatma are non-dual and one and the same. They appear to be two different ones or separate from each other till an individual soul gets merged with the eternal one - "Om Tat Sat'.
All modern denominations of Judaism teach that the four-letter name of God, YHWH, is forbidden to be uttered except by the High Priest in the Temple. Since the Temple in Jerusalem no longer exists, this name is never said in religious rituals by Jews, and the correct pronunciation is disputed. Orthodox and Conservative Jews never pronounce it for any reason. Some religious non-Orthodox Jews are willing to pronounce it, but for educational purposes only, and never in casual conversation or in prayer. Instead of pronouncing YHWH during prayer, Jews say Adonai.
So, Jehowah of Judaism seems to perfectly match with Jeevah of Hinduism, giving to speculation the Israelis were the Telugu people whose roots were embedded in Harappan Hindu civilization.
Only Jehovah (Jesus = Jeevaatama) is human being's Messiah. He sacrificed himself to save human being from sins. Jesus said that he is the son of Lord & father and he further said that he is no different from the father.
These words of Jesus too confirms that Jeevaatama ( Jehovah = Jesus ) and Paramaatma ( Lord = father) are one and the same and the origin of Judaism from Hinduism.
Webmaster
Kokolu Anka Rao
Date- 27/12/2007
Nagpur, Maharastra, India
.
go TOP
09. BHILLALA - BHALLALA - VELLALA - RAJPUT ORIGINS:
Mutharayars are Vellalas and the Kalabhra kings were also Vellalas. Bunt Mudirajas and Vellala Mudaliyars are one and the same people. Later Cholas married Kodumbalur Vellala's sons and daughters. Kodumbalur Vellalas are believed to be either Mutharayars or a branch of Mutharayars. A section of Muthurajas have their origins in Tulu-speaking Vellalas (Bunts) of Karnataka. Many historians are of the view that some sections of Mutharayars in South India are Vellalas. The earlier cholas emperor karikal cholan belongs to Vellala from Uraiyur.
A section of Muthurajas are having their origins from Tulu speaking Vellalas (Bunts) of Karnataka. Vellala seems to be a modified name of Ballala. Ballala is one of the surnames of Tuluva Bunts of Karnataka, who are the counter part of Telugu Mudiraju Bantlu in Andhra Pradesh. It is also believed that Velamas of Andhra Pradesh were originally Vellalas of Tamilnadu. Mr.Pravaahan pointed out that Thevar title held by a Mutharayar caste man and hence the Thevars are also vellalas.
.
Bhillala => Ballala <=> Vellala
Vellala => Vellama => Velama
It is reported that Vellala (Ballala) bants migrated from Tulunad Karavali to Andhra in the historical period. This was because a part of Andhra was governed by Kannada Chalukya kings during the 7th to 8th centuries AD. In Telugu Mudiraju of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Mutharaya communities of Tamilnadu, bants form a subcaste.
We know that there are many sections of people among Mudiraj community having Bhil, bhilala, koli, Indo-Aryan and Indo-scithiyan blood. Many of these people were migrants from Sindhu, Gujarat and North India to South India due to various socio-political reasons. Mudiraj community appears to have obsorbed all kinds of warrior groups into its fold and they include tribes such as kolis, bhils, bhillalas, Erukalas, Kurubas, Rajputs, etc.
Vellalas of South India could be the migrated Bhilalas of North India
It seems that bhilalas North India and the Vellalas of South India are one and the same people. Even the Bhallala clans of Karnataka also seems to belong to this stock of warrior block. Some Historians say that Veera Bhallala was a Vellala king. Most of the Bilalas claim Rajput descent and many of them today claim to be the Rajputs.
Saiva-velalars were called by different names in different places. In Thondaimandalam, they were called "Mudaliars". In some places they were called "Saiva-Pillaimars" and "Karkarthars". Saiva-velalars are pure vegetarians and historically mostly engaged in farming activities.
Kalappirars or Kalabhras won Tamil country by War. Many say that Kalappirars were Velalars because they expanded Agriculture in Tamil country. The fact is that Bhillalas and Rajputs of North India were also experts in agriculture and farming.
Bhillalas of North India
Bhilalas are a clan of Bhil tribe. The Bhilalas are generally acknowledged as a mixture of Bhils and Rajputs. Yet the members of each tribe regard themselves as belonging to an ethnic unit separate from their neighbors and have developed a shared tribal consciousness. Many clans of Bhils and Bhilas migrated to South India at different times for different socio-political reasons.
Bhilala => Bhillala => Bhallala
Bhilala = Bheellala => Bhellala => Bellala => Vellala
Bhilalas are small, sturdy and well featured. Bhilala tribe is a tribal group located in the states of western and central India. They speak the Bhilala language which belongs to the Indo-Aryan linguistic family The Bhilalas are experts in handling the bow and arrow. The bow is a characteristic weapon of this tribe and they usually carry their bows and arrows with them. The men have since ages adorned "Teer-Kamthi", the bow and arrow, which has been their symbol of chivalry and self defence. . It appears that the bhilalas inherited this weapon and skill from dravidian bhil blood.
In feudal and colonial times, many Bhil were employed by the ruling Rajput in various capacities, e.g. as shikari because of their knowledge of the terrain. Many had even become warriors in armies. They were in the Mewar army of Maharana Pratap Singh and like Shivaji , were experts in guerilla warfare which the Mughals had trouble with so much. Today, there is a 'Mewar Bhil Corps.'
Bhilalas are of mixe blood
The Bhilalas are generally accounted aboriginal, but according to some accounts they are the descendants of intermarriages between immigrant Rajputs (Hindu) and Drvidian Tribal Bhils. The Bhilalas are a product of the union of the Rajput fathers and the Bhil women. Though called tribals, the Bhilalas consider themselves higher than Bhils in the local hierarchy. As per the information received from local areas of Bhilalas, the Rajputs ( Paramars & Solankis ) married the daughters of Bhil chiefs to get their support in the kingdom and the offspring are called Bhilala. Similarly, the Raj-Gonds are said to be due to mixed blood of Rajputs and Gonds.
Bhilala = Bhil + Rajput
Kolyabeda, Patel Phalia is situated in the southern part of Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh. It is 37 km from the district headquarters and 15 km from Udaigarh, the Block headquarters. This village panchayat falls in the Kolyabeda area. The village had two tribal groups, the Bhils and the Bhilalas. Both had different social practices and food habits. The Bhils were aggressive and outspoken, while the Bhilalas were mild-mannered. They however considered themselves to be one notch above the Bhils in the caste hierarchy. We may often come acorss violent rivalry between two tribal groups Bhils and Bhilalas in some parts of Mahya Prades due to widespread poverty..
The bhilalas just rank above the bhils and resemble patelias, a group of similar status. The bhilalas are divided into two sections the greater ( Bara = Bada ) Bhilalas and lesser ( Barela ) Bhilalas. The Rathwa Bhilalas of Gujarat are akin to the Bara Bhilalas. The Rathwa Bhilalas of Gujarat give their daughters to Bara Bhilalas of Nimar whereas the contrary is not true. Many bhilalas are ranked in Shudra category but they wanted to be accepted as Kshatriyas along with local Rajputs. They proclaim their Rajput origins and play down their tribal associations.
Geographical location of Bhils & Bhilalas
For thousands of years India's tribal people have lived on the banks of river they worship as their mother goddess, their shakti. They are an ancient people in an ancient land, the Bhils, Bhilalas and other tribes whose lives depend on a river that flows from central India to the Arabian Sea. In India, there are more than 50 million Bhils who follow their own religions and speak their own languages, uncounted, unnumbered and ignored by the Government.
Bhilalas are an aboriginal tribe in South Asia. The Bhilalas are an Adivasi community. The Bhils and Bhilalas live and work upon the shores of Narmada river. The Bhils and Bhillalas are tenacious and hardworking tribes.They live in the district of Jhabua, M.P, a highly drought-prone waste land. Jhabua is a sleepy town on the Gujarat - Rajastan border in Madhya Pradesh. This slumbering isolated village awakens once in a year at the bhagoria festival which falls a few days before holi. Bhaviskar (1955) has traced the criminality among the Bhil and the Bhillalas of Jhabua district in Madhya Pradesh, which is due to the growing control of the state over the forest resources and degeneration of cultivable lands. Jhabua is 151 km from Indore on the Indore-Ahmedabad highway.
The Bhilalas of West Nimar District, M.P follow the use of traditional herbal remedies. The main and majority of the population in Dhar District belongs to the Scheduled Tribes and they are about 54.5 percent people. Their highest concentration is in Kukshi Tahsil. The Bhils, Bhilalas & Barelas who inhabit this region Western Madhya Pradesh are part of the country's indigenous population.
The Sardar Sarovar Project, described as 'one of the most flawed projects' will displace mainly adivasi (tribal) communities in the Narmada Valley constituting Tadvis, Vasavas, bhils and Bhilalas and caste Hindu communities. Bhils and Bhilalas have inhabited the Man River plains cultivating corn, wheat, cotton and pulses on the fertile black soil irrigated by the perennial Man river. Hundreds of Bhils and Bhilalas are affected by Man dam project built on Narmada River by Madhya Pradesh.
According to Dr. Crooke, the country of the Nishadhas is stated in the Mahabhrata to begin where the Sarasvat disappears in the sands. The Nishdas were, according to the Aitarya Brahmana, forest robbers, and Mahdhara identifies them with the Bhillas. In the Agnipurana they are mentioned together with "other dwellers in the Vindhyas."
Bhillalas => Bhillas => Bhilla
Nishadas, Shabaras, Kiratas, Bhillas and numerous other such peoples often lumped together along with some other disparate groups as the panchama, the vahyas, or the aniyas figure continuously in our literature.
Garudeshwar is a place on the bank of Narmada. Temples of Narad, Garud and Karoteshwar are here. Some Bhillas live here. The bhils and bhillas always carry the Bow n' Arrow. The BHILLAs are supposed to be very passionate about their Arrows.
The name Bali also seems to belong to bhil royal clans. Rama cowardly murdered the mighty monkey-king Bali or Vali, brother of Sugriva by treachorously shooting him from behind a tree, while enticing them to both fight, and hence is proudly called `Balihantr'. Bali was cognate to the terms Bhillas, Bhils, Bhallas, Vellallas, Pulindas and Pulanyar, Valhanar, Velamas.
We learn of the Bhillas and the Nagas who, according to legend, lived here in Mount Abu in ancient times. The latter worshipped the Godess Durga, which points to the existence of a fertility cult, traces of which remain even in historic times. Bhils, Bhillas and Nagas are wild tribes of dravidian race. Historically this mountain terrain has been the sanctuary for regional warriors. It was because of this strategic topography that the invaders could never defeat the local rulers. As the attackers would attack, the local warriors would climb the familiar mountain ranges and from the top would assault the aggressors and force them to retreat.
After the separation of the continents (India from Africa) the Black man also existed in Asia: in India, invaded by other peoples, the remainder of the Black race sought refuge in the mountains in the central region called Vindhya. Even today these Black men exist: the Glondos, the Kolas, the Bhillas, the Meras of Aravali mountain, the Chitasy, the Minas and the Pahorias whose conquest has given rise to the name Pariahs.
Most Bhilalas were Chiefs
Bhils or Bhilalas of the west seemed to have formed some chiefdoms in late medieval times. Bhilalas are found at Vindhya ( dhauli, Vaijapur, and Chirmira in Khandesh, and in Nimar) and the Satpura hills. Originally the Bhilala territory was surrounded by the Satpura and Vindhya ranges whose deep forest cover gave them their livelihood. They claim to be Tilole Kumbis. But, as their name shows, they are generally supposed to be partly of Bhil descendant. In central India they are half Rajputs. The chiefs Bhils in Vindhya mountains are almost all bhilalas. The Raja of Mandhata, an island in Narmada about sixty four mils North of Bhushaval, is a Bhilala chief claiming descent from a Chohan Rajput Bharat Sing who is said to have taken the island from a Bhil chief in 1165 AD.
Subgroups of Bhilala
There are subgroups of Bhilala such as - Darbar Bhilala, Urappe Bhilala, and Rathiya Bhilala in Madhya Pradesh. In Maharastra they are divided into Rathawa, Naira and Mankar.
The Bhilalas of Gujarat & Rajastan are known as Garasias
It is said that tribalised Rajputs are called as Garasias. The emic identity of most Garasia communities is based on descent from Rajputs. The Garasias were an intermediate group but were most similar to the Bhils. The Garasias occupy the position of a hybrid group between the Bhils and the Rajputs, and that status differences would be evident in similarities between groups of commensurate status.Some Garasia see themselves as "tribalized" Rajputs while others believe that they are the progeny of the hypergynous flow of women from Bhil groups after the Rajputs conquered the area, these Garasias are sometimes called Bhilalas. There were basic similarities between the Bhils and conquering Rajput clans which may have facilitated inter-relations and understanding between the two groups. Rajput lineages are structured in patrilineal, exogamous, warrior clans similar to the Bhil lineages. These lineage structer similarities may have facillitated not only an exchange of women but also may have been responsible for the resultuing arrangements concerning land tenure.
The Garasias most closely linked to the Bhils, and both groups are linked to the Rajputs. This result may indicate that the Garasia are not a hybrid group though they do appear to descend from the Rajputs. Their close proximity to the Bhils could indicate a genetic relationship, but may also be indicative of status differences between both groups and the Rajputs and/or a lack of Hinduization within the Garasia and Bhils.
The historical record of Gujarat seems to allow for the possibility that the Garasias are tribalized Rajputs who fled into the Aravalli Hills to escape Moghul subjugation in the 11th century, and were subsequently associated with forest dwelling people. There are also records of admixture between the two groups and the clan names of the Garasia are taken from traditional Rajput clans, possibly because of eroded status of inter-caste couples after orthodox Hinduism began to enforce strict segregation along caste lines. Regional legends about the origin of the Garasias include tales of both Rajput refugees in the hills who retained their clan names as well as narratives of love marriages between the Rajputs and Bhils.
Culturally, the Garasias have similarities to the Bhils and Rajputs, and fall within the margins of the regional patterns of patrilineal, exogamous clans who negotiate bride price in exchange for women leaving their natal family for patrilocal marriage residence. The Garasias prefer arranged marriages and territorial exogamy but, like the Bhils love marriages are common and territorial exogamy is not as strictly enforced as clan exogamy.
The Garasias are a small Rajput tribe found in the Abu Road area of southern Rajasthan. The Garasias are concentrated in the Pali and Sirohi district while the Saharias are limited in some part of Kota district. Udaipur is a predominantly tribal district, inhabited by the Garasias, the Gametis, the Bhils and the Meenas. It is thought that they intermingled with the Bhils, as bows and arrows are widely used. According the legend the Garasia tribals are descendents from the Chauhan Rajputs of south-west Rajasthan. From Six centuries ago, after defeat in a battle, they fled to the hills, where they mingled with the local Bhil tribals to become a distinct group. The tribal population of Garasias is confined to regions around Mt. Abu and the Kotra region of Udaipur. If there be some truth in the legend of the Garasia origin, it is not surprising that their culture and habits have a semblance of Bhil culture where bows and arrows feature prominently, both for hunting and personal protection. However, their beginnings as fallen Rajputs give them a higher status than the aboriginal Bhils.
The Garasias have interesting customs of marriage through elopement which usually take place on the occasion of annual Gaur fair held during the full moon of March and April. After the elopement, which can be premeditated or spontaneous, a bride 'price' is paid to the bride's father. Should this agreement not work out the girl returns home with her father father who receives some money (for the inconvenience caused).
Widows are forced to remarry since their children and they are not given a share in their husband's property. The Garasias celebrate Nat, a feast of honor, for their dead which is performed only on Mondays, and a stone memorial called Sura is erected after the cremation. The religious practices of the Garasias are essentially Hindu and they are governed by a panchay at of five Patels (or judges) who administer justice and levy fines.
Garasias are the farmers formerly stayed in Lakhpa in Sindh and Kutch of Gujaratt. Garasias worship Goddess Jeejamah. "Chanri" is the most important and demanding article provided as property. Garasia Jats wear a long skirt. The upper arms of Garasia Jats are covered with plastic bangles.
Bhilalas are primarily farmers
The Bhilalas primarily work as farmers, farm servants, field laborers, and village watchmen. They grow crops such as millet, maize, wheat, and barley in the fields. The highlanders live in houses made with walls of sticks intertwined with twigs and small branches. Clay tiles, straw and leaves are used for the roof.
Religion of Bhilalas
Hindu gods are worshipped commonly and they are Hindus in general. They also practice some type of ethnic religion of their own. Every family has its own guardian deity. Bhilalas are very superstitious and they believe in taboos and curses The mountain of Rani Kajal near Jalsindhi is the most important goddess of the Bhilalas. Catholic Bhilalas are known to exist in some states..
Devotees belonging to various castes and communities including the Garasias and Bhils throng festival called Shamlaji Melo, also called the Kartik Purnima fair is held in the month of November every year in Gujarat.
Social customs of Bhilalas
Each village is led by a head man, Mandoi, who takes care of the domestic disputes in his village. Familial ties are very strong, and they believe in the connection between the living and the dead. Male descendants inherit the property. Their customs resemble those of Kumbis and other cultivating castes. The kumbis could be a branch or variants of Kuruma Erukalas. Kumbis, Kurumbas and Kurubas are all related to bhil erukalas (pardhis). Some of them got specialised in agriculture and some others in animal handling.
Kurumba => Kuruba
Kurumba = > Kurumbi => Kumbi
The Bhilalas marry from their own class. For marrying into a different class, they have to convert to the higher class and leave behind all family ties. The Bhagoria festival of the Bhilala and other tribes in this area is unique in its own way. This annual festival is celebrated with great fun and frolic, where a young man gets a chance to choose his bride from the crowd of women gathered there. The groom has to pay a dowry to the brides parents.
Bhil, Bhilala and Tadvi hill adivasis are not a homogenous group but maintain a strict social distance especially with respect to marriage and food-related sociality. In areas where they coincide, Bhilalas tend to have greater economic and political resources than the subordinate Bhils. Bhilalas will not accept water from Bhils who they derogatorily call padkhadya (eaters of beef).
Death rites are very important among the Bhils and the Bhilalas. If a person dies an unnatural death from a snake bite or a fight, it is believed that the soul will not find rest . A "Gatla" is constructed to appease his or her wandering soul and the installation of the Gatla is followed by communal feasting and the sacrifice of goats.
The Indian caste system among Kshudras further gets divided into high or low in their status depending on the (i) profession of group and (ii) type of animal meat eaten by the group.
Bhilala Art & Painting
The Bhils and Bhilalas have paintings portraying myths about creation called Pithora Paintings. Their paintings contain daily life objects and animals like horses, elephants and birds. Pithora paintings of the Bhilala tribes of Madhya Pradesh are well known. The paintings can be found on the mud walls of the huts of the Bhilalas.
Bhilalas are known for their colorful, embroidered garments. Tattooing is very common among the villagers. Bhilalas love dance, drama, and music. The women make lovely ethnic items including bamboo products, doll, bead-jewellery and other items that have for long decorated the living rooms all over the country.
The tribal groups found in Jhabua areas are Bhils, Bhilalas, Barelas, Patalias, Nayaks, and Mankas. Jhabua is known for votive horse figures. Horse figures, solid or hollow, are painted ochre and white.
Garasias are bhilalas who are concentrated in Gujarat, Rajastan & M.P border regions. Walar is an important dance of the 'garasias' which is a prototype of the 'ghoomar' dance. The beats of the 'mandal', 'chang' and a variety of other instruments, which provide a lively rhythm to their dance sequences, generally accompany their dances.
The Garasias, a hill tribe like Bhils and Meenas celebrate the Gangaur and Holi festivals with community dancing. The Garva is a peasant dance of Gangaur in which only women take part. The Valar is another Gangaur dance in which both men and women join. Uniformity of movement in the large group of dancers and agility are the notable features of this dance. In the Ger dance of Garasias, women are not allowed to participate. The dancers hold sticks or dandis and rhythm is kept with a big drum and a thali. It is a Holi dance full of life and vigour. Another Holi dance of Garasias is the Chang. One person plays on the chang and many dancers holding sticks in their hands move and jump in the disorderly crowd. The peculiarity of the dance lies in the rhythmic jumps and leaps of the dancers who sing romantic but obscene songs. Women do not join the dance but they accompany the jumping male dancers with songs.
Bhagoria Festival of Bhilalas is a mass Svayamvara
In Madhyanchal (M.P), tribes like Bhils and Bhilalas have a very peculiar method for their marriages. People choose their spouse in a festival fair called Bhagoriya. If both girl and boy are willing for the marriage, they elope and are afterwards are accepted as husband and wife. This marriage systems projects the outlook of their tribal society in giving freedom for the boys and girls to marry as per their choice but through a socially recognised process and functions. Such a system survives because of their strong believes in ethics and fundamental human rights. Above all, it reflects their faith in freedom of living as per their choice. They do not believe in the creation of a class structured artificial society.
This colourful festival of the Bhils and Bhilalas, particularly in the district of West Nimar and Jhabua, is actually in the nature of a mass svayamvara, a marriage market, usually held on the various market days falling before the Holi festival in March. As the name of the festival indicates, (bhag, to run), after choosing their partners, the young people elope and are subsequently accepted as husband and wife by society through predetermined customs.
It is not always that boys and girls intending to marry each other meet in the festival for the first time. In a large number of cases the alliance is already made between the two, the festival providing the institutionalised framework for announcing the alliance publically. The tradition is that the boy applies gulal, red powder, on the face of the girl whom he selects as his wife. The girl, if willing, also applies gulal on the boy's face. This may not happen immediately but the boy may pursue her and succeed eventually.
Vara = Var = Bridegroom
Svayam = Self Chosen (by Bride)
Svayamvara = An occassion to choose a bridegroom by a bride and vice versa
Bhaag => Bhag = To run or elope
The Bhagoria haat also coincides with the completion of harvesting, adding to it the dimension of being an agricultural festival as well. If the crops have been good, the festival assumes an additional air of gaiety. In the life of the Bhils and Bhilalas, Bhagoria is not merely one festival but in fact a series of fairs held one by one at various villages on their specific market days, commencing eight days before Holi.
Bhagoria is a riotous celebration of life and love marked by music, dance and clouds of colour. Bhagoria is also the time when the young choose their life long mates, elope with them and then marry if they like each other. During the festivities a girl smears the forehead of a young man she desires with gulal (coloured powder). If the boy is similarly inclined he reciprocates the gesture and more often than not they vanish into the forest. The couple live together for five to seven years. Then if they still wish to stay together, they marry. If not they are free to choose yet again at the next Bhagoria. Once a couple met, the boy would treate the charming young lady to kulfi, sugarcane and a joy ride.
Bhilalas are Environmentalists
In the beginning, the Bhilalas believe, there was only water. The frustrated and wet folks beg their lazy god to create land so that they can get dry and stay that way. Poor god is put to all sorts of trouble before this wish can be granted. An amazing message in the values of our environment. This was the reason why they fought with Aryans who burnt their forests in the name of Yagna and occupied the lands for urban settlements. The Bhilalas of West Nimar District, M.P follow the use of traditional herbal remedies.
Bhils and Bhillalas are part of Rajput clans
After theSaka or Indo-Scythian people who invaded India in the second century BC some Nagas mixed with the Scythians especially at North India. Nagas are dravidians. 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.
Rajputs regard the Bhils, though tribals, as one among them. The North Indian Villavar clans might have been assimilated by the Rajputs. Villavars were the primary rulers among the Dravidians who once ruled the whole of India. Villavars were 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 either a sub group of Villavars or a closely related group. The Ezhavas or Illavas of Kerala also could be a Villavar tribe. 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. These titles indicate that these clans migrated to South India from North and Central India.
Villavas are Bhillavas. InTelugu language, Villu means Bow. The knowledge relating to bow and arrows is known as Vilu- vidya. Bhils are Dravidian Bowmen of North India. In Andhra Pradesg, the Bhil equivalents is Boya, the koli equivalent is Koya. These bhil people are also known as Meenavars and Villavars. While Meenavars ( Kolis) are fishermen, the Villavars ( Bhils) are hunters from Drvidian race. Kolis of solar lineage are certainly part of Rajput clans. Sisodias are one of them.
Vhillu = Bhillu = Bow
Vhillu => Bhillu => bhil
Bhillu => Bhillava => Billavar
Vhillu => Villu => Villavar
Bhallals, Bhallas and Behls of Punjab could be Bhilalas
Most of the Sikh Gurus belonged to Bhil - Bhilala - Koli - Rajput block of warrior clans. The Bhilala Rajputs of Rajastan seems to be penetrated into Punjab, who later came to be known as Bhallal and Bhalla. The Sikh Guru Khatris include the Bedis, Trehans, Bhallals and Sodhis. Nanak belonged to the Bedi caste and Guru Gobind Singh to the Sodhi caste.
Bhalla also called Bhallar in Panchap. Bhalla - means spear. Thus Bhalla is derived from Bhalla, a spear. It is also one of 72 ½ sections of the Maheshri Banias. Bhallas are found in Lahore and Ferozpur but also throughout Panjab.
The ancestors of Guru Nanak and the succeeding Nine Gurus were the Kashtriyas of the Solar Dynasty, Kings Raghu, Aj, Dashrat, and Sri Ram Chander and their descendants, who were the rulers of North western part of India. A section of the descendents of this dynasty became the great scholars of religion and became the exponents of the Vedas. From these scholarly traditions, which were maintained in this clan, they came to be known as Baidis (vedis), Trehans, Bhallas and Sodhis. It was in Baidi clan, Guru Nanak was born in 1469 C.E., Guru Angad Dev in Trehan clan, Guru Amar Das in Bhalla clan, and Guru Ram Das in Sodhi clan; the six remaining Gurus, from 5th to 10th Gurus, were the descendants of Sri Guru Ram Das Sodhi. Guru Gobind Singh has described the origin of Baidi and Sodhi clans in Bichitar Natak, Chapter 2.
These tribes are known by different names as Bahelia, Chita Pardhi, Lango Pardhi, Paidia, Paradi, Paria, Phans Pardhi, Takankar and Takia. These tribes are found in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Their language is also described as Pardhi. The Pardhi Bhil are a migrant people, scattered over a wide area of central India in the states of Andrah Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. Their language, Pardhi, is one of the Bhil languages. Their name is derived from the Marathi word paradh, which means "hunting." Behelia and Bahellia are Pardhis. The Behels and Bahels could also be the descendants of Pardhis.
Bhillavas of Tulunadu in South India
Bhillavas are native fishermen community of Tulunadu and they seems to be related to Bhils. These people could be the Bhillalas. Bhillava may a modification of the word Bhillala.
The Bunts, Mogaveeras, and Bhillavas- the traditional merchant classes - are the major communities in coastal belt of Karnataka comprising Mangalore, Canara and Udipi constituencies.
Bhillala => Bhillava => Billava => Bhillama => Bhilla
Billava is one of the largest Hindu communities of Tulu and also found amongKannada speaking Kundapura region of Karnataka and some parts of Kerala including Kasargode District. They were previously engaged in Martial Arts (Garadi), Toddy tapping, Ayurvedic and liquor business and racially same as of Ilava (now known as Ezhava) community of Kerala. It is believed that billava and ilava are derived from a Proto-Dravidian word. The word Billava is the variation of Villavars or Archers who were a warrior caste among the Dravidians who ruled most of India, along with their allies Meenavars(fishermen)during ancient times.
Bhillamas
Bhillama, the founder of Devagiri of Yadava dynasty could be the descendant of Bhil - Bhillalas. It is said that there was one Bhillama king, who was known to be Yadava. Aurangabad district was under Chalukyas and after that Yadavas of Devgarh in Saka 1110, of whom Bhillama, the first king, may indeed be the Bhil raja of the legend, but who ruled only 5 years and not 50. Some mixed blood bhils of Rajput origin are known as bhillalas. The most chiefs of Bhils were Bhillalas. Some Bhils and Bhillalas also assumed the title of Nayak or Naick. Many bhil Erukalas were employed by Royal courts of Gujarat to handle their animal herds and later they labelled themselves as Yadavas as their claim of Rajputs was not accepted by the then society. Gaikwads are one such clans who call themselves as Yadavas but they are related to Kaikadi Erukalas (Pardhis) to which Kakatiya dynasty belonged.
Similarly the Kurubas, who are labelled as Yadavas too belong to Bhil - Erukala tribes of Pardhis and the Kurumbas could most probably the same people as those Kurubas. This makes it clear that the kurubas / bants / bunts who establishe Vijayanagar kingdom were one and the same people in their racial blood. This also makes it clear the close racial relation between Mudiraj, Kurubas and Yadavas.
Bhallala ( Ballala ) clans of Deccan & South India
It appears that some bhilala chiefs penetrated into Deccan & South India and established their kingdoms. Hoyasala Bhallalas seems to be one such clans who made a great name for them.The Ballalas (Hoysalas) were an enterprising and warlike race professing the Jain faith. It is a well known fact that Mudirajas ( Muthurajas) were one of the earliest kings who supported Jainism in South India. It appears that Ballalas were appointed as heads of administrative units by Mayura Varma. The Hoysala Ballalas were originally feudatories of the Western Chalukyas in 12th Century A.D.
Bhilala => Bhillala => Bhallala => Ballala
Bhilala = Bheellala => Bhellala => Bellala => Vellala
Bhilala => Bhallala => Ballala => Vellala
Some historiand believe that Ballalas were Yadavas or a branch of Yadavas ( Gvalas = Gaulis = Gollas ) which may not be correct. Gaikawads are also said to be yadavas which is not correct. Gaikawds are related to Kaikadi Erukalas from whom the Kakatiyas emerged. Gaikwads are originally a variant of Bhil Erukalas who were employed by Gujarat Royal courts to handle their animal herds. Similarly the Ballas are the descendants of Bhilalas who were a mixed race resulted due to union of Bhils and Rajputs. It might be possible that the Bhallalas descended from bhil - bhillala related Rajputs having Skythian blood. Yadavas are also said to be mixed race having Skythian blood.
Gai = Cow
Kaapala = Kavala = Kavali => Kaval = To protect ( or To look after )
Gai + Kaval = Gaikawal => Gaikawad = > Gaikwad
Gaikwad => Gaikwadi => Gaikadi => Kaikadi
Ballalas of Nidamburu : Around seven to eight centuries ago, Ambalpady was under the reign of Jain Ballals. The Jain rulers of this place were known as 'Nidambaru' and the place was called Nidamburu. The king was called Ballala and the palace where he lived was called 'Beedu'. Nidamburu Magane, a group of several villages, was being ruled by a family of jain chieftains called Ballalas. Nidamburu Beedu is situated in Ambalapady. It was the practice then to worship shakthi for the success of the rulers and Ballals of Ambalpady started worshipping Mahakali and considered her the mother goddess of the Palace. It is believed that people of this region were worshipping goddess Mahakali and later Jain Ballalas also considered her as their goddess. They were worshippers of Goddess Mahakali. Shiva and Shakti worship is generally of a Bhil & Bhilala cult. Mudiraj worship Goddess Ankamma ( Ankali = Mahankali )
Hoy Sala" (Strike Sala!) said the guru Sudatta Muni to his student, Sala who was in an armed combat with a tiger that had entered a temple. The student struck the animal in one blow, immortalising himself and his victim. The guru was so pleased that he asked Sala to establish a kingdom and the Hoysala dynasty was established. The folklore became so popular that every temple of the Hoysalas has a carving of this story. Historians dismiss the myth, but stories like these have a certain fascination about them. It could be possible as the bhallas were bhilalas relating to Bhils & Rajputs.
Hoysala Ballalas were originally feudatories of the Western Chalukyas, and Chalukyas are said to be overthrown in the 12th century by the Ballalas (Hoysalas). Belur, the erstwhile capital of the Hoysala dynasty ( Bhallalas ) who ruled parts of South India from 11th to 14th century. Belur, originally called Velapuri, the capital city of the Hoysalas set on the banks of the river Yaguchi. The Hoysalas were not hereditary kings but they ruled for 300 years. According to some historians Bukka and Harihara may have been feudatories of the Hoysala Ballalas.
Barkur, village in the Udipi tiluk of South Kanara District, which is about 74 km from Mangalore was the traditional capital of Tuluva, the country of Tulu-speaking people, it was long the local seat of the representatives of the Hoysala Ballalas of Dorasamudra, who were Jains by religion. Ballalas were said to have gained importance in Tulu nadu after the marriage between Hoysala king, Vira Ballala and the Alupa queen Chikkayi Tayi. Ruined tanks, Jain shrines and sculptures are still extant. The place has several temples, containing inscriptions of historical importance.
The Alupas were most probably related to the people having surname "Adapa". This Adapa surname belongs to Tulu bunts, Telugu Bants (Mudiraj) and Balijas. Balijas were most probably part & parcel of Mudiraju bantlu during medieval times.
Alup => Adupa => Adapa
They were natives of Malnad, Karnataka and were tribal chiefs ( Bhilalas ? ) who were subordinates of the Western Chalukyas. Some inscriptions show them as lords of the Male (hills) while some indicate that they were descendants of the Yadava clan. They may not be yadavas but could belong to Bhil-Erukalas who were employed by rayal courts to handle their animal herds. Historically though the first Hoysala family record is dated 950 AD and names Arekalla as the chieftain, followed by Maruga and Nripa Kama I (976 AD). But the kings who shaped the dynasties were Vishnuvardhan and Veera Bhallalla who became independent from the Chalukyas. patronage to arts along with their exploits on the battlefield a baffling 1500 temples built in 958 centres, of which the three famous ones are Belur, Halebid and Somnathpur.
Anegundi chiefswere probably feudatories of the Hoysala Ballalas. Ballalas ruled over the greater part of Mysore, and portions of the modern districts of Coimbatore, Salem and Dharwar, with their old capital at Dwarasamudra (the modern Halebid); but in 1310 the Ballala king was captured by Malik Kafur, the general of Ala-ud-din and Malik Kafur went to the Malabar coast where he erected a mosque, and afterwards returned to his master with enormous booty.
Veera Ballalas They are multiple kings who ruled Hoyasala Empire in South Indian state of Karnataka. They had their political interactions with Chola and Pandya kingdoms of Tamil country. Ballalas belonged to hunting community to which Mudiraj & bhil warrior people belonged. Hunting is one of the passinate passtime activity of bhil hunters.
According to a legend the capital city Bangalore owes its name to the Hoysala king, Veera Ballalla. The story goes that the king lost his way while hunting in a forest. After a long search he met an old lady in the forest who offered him shelter for the night and served him baked beans for dinner. To show his gratitude to this lady, the King constructed a town and named it as "Benda Kalooru" which means Baked Beans.
Veera Ballala I (1102 - 1108 CE) was king of the Hoysala Empire. His rule was short and uneventful other than subduing the Chengalvas and the Santharas. It is claimed he made some unsuccessful attempts to overthrow the overlordship of the Western Chalukyas but was brought under control by Chalukya Vikramaditya VI.
Veera Ballala II (1173 - 1220 CE) was the greatest monarch of the Hoysala Empire. Ballala II was unhappy with the shrinking size of the Hoysala kingdom during the rule of his not too popular father Narasimha I. With the help of some malnad chiefs, Ballala II overthrew his father and assumed control of the kingdom. He was the greatest monarch of the Hoysala Empire. During his forty seven years of rule, the Hoysala kingdom consolidated to the extent of being called an independent empire.
This is proven by his successes against the Seuna, Southern Kalachuri, Pandya and the waning Kalyani Chalukya and Chola dynasties. His period also saw prolific literary activity in Kannada. He patronised Ranna and Rudrabhatta. During his forty seven years of rule, the Hoysala kingdom consolidated to the extent of being called an independent empire. The Kedareshwara temple at Halebidu and Amritheswara temple in Chikmagalur were some important temples built by him.
Rajaraja chola was rescued by the intervention of the Hoysala Ballalas, a newly-risen dynasty which had subverted the Western Chalukyas of Kalyani and established their capital at Halebid in Mysore. In the ninth century the Chola kings. annexed the whole, ax l subsequently it passed under the Hoysala Ballalas. Ballala II was married to a daughter of Kulothunga Chola III and vice versa. When the Pandyas attacked the Cholas, Ballala's sent crown prince Vira Narasimha II who fought successfully to maintain the Chola kingdom and drive back the Pandyas. Guttu and Illa households, which were under the jurisdiction of the Ballalas.
Veera Ballala III (1291-1343 CE), was the last great king of the Hoysala Empire that ruled over what is now the South Indian state of Karnataka. He ruled during a time of tremendous political and cultural uncertianity, when all othert major Hindu kingodms of the Deccan and South India had fallen to the Musilm invasion from the north.
An unsung hero in Indian history is King Veera Ballala III who was the first King to rule the entire Deccan Plateau and south of Vindhiyas. It was due to him that Mohamed Bin Thuglaq wanted to have his capital moved to Devagiri and later he had to get back. His mother tongue was Tulu. He was a Ballala. His capital was Hampi in the north and Tiruvannamalai in the South. Malik Kafur was conquered and arrested by this King but he let him off when Malik Kafur sought pardon, truly the Indian way. Later by foul means Malik Kafur's men killed this King near Tiruvannamalai and skinned him alive and put the stuffed skin in the walls of Madurai Fort. He died without issues. His Chief of Army staff succeeded to the Kingdom.
The Ballalas (they are the present day Ballals of Karnataka who have Tulu as their mother tongue) came to the present day Tamilnadu and settled there. They were the warriors in his kingdom and their descendents are the Tuluva Vellala Mudaliars or Pillais in most of Tamilnadu's northern parts and some in the south. The Mudaliars are a variant of Mutharayars. Pillais are a subcaste of Mutharayar / Muthuraja community of Tamilnadu.These Ballalas are known as vellalas in Tamilnadu and some other parts of South India
Mutharayar =Mutharaiyar => Muthariyar
Muthariyar => Muthaliyar = Mudhaliyar = Mudaliar
Koti & Chennaiah were the trusted bants of Ballals
The Padumale royal house of Ballalas employed the legendary twin Billava ( Bhil) brothers koti and chennaya as bants ( body guards ) and this also points to the fact that ballalas were bhilalas having bhil blood.
Located on rugged terrain in Sullia, Yenmoor saw a bitterly fought war between its chieftain and that of Panja between 1640 and 1646. During the war, Koti and Chenaiah, who were known for their physical strength, mental agility and moral values, fought against tyranny and oppression, and laid down their lives for the cause of social justice. They are worshipped in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi besides Kasaragod district in Kerala.
Koti and Chenaiah, who were from the backward Billava community, were adopted by Panja Kemara Ballal. However, when they grew up, Panja Ballal's minister tried to misuse their integrity and strength to oppress the poor. When Koti and Chenaiah protested, the minister imprisoned them on false charges. They escaped and pledged their allegiance to Yenmoor Deva Ballal, a chieftain who was known for his virtues.
Later, in a war between the two Ballal chieftains, Koti was injured and he died in the arms of his brother. Chenaiah died a few minutes later. The twins were believed to have been 35 years of age. Today, they are worshipped in 230 shrines, or "garodies", in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod. According to Historian Manohar Prasad - the region witnessed the arrival of rulers of small kingdoms, including the Alupas and the Chowtas, and regents such as the Ballals. After the fall of the Vijayanagar Empire.
Temples built by Ballalas
Arunachaleswara Temple is said to have been built by a Vellala king ( also known as Bhallala king or Bhalla king ). As we enter the second compound, we first notice the tower. This was constructed by Ballala. Chennakesava Temple is sheer poetry on the walls as each sculpture is a masterpiece and stories come alive from every stone. It comes as no surprise that the temple took a century to complete. Started in the 12th century by Vishnuvardhana, who was earlier known as Bittiga, this temple was completed by Bhallala and it took a total of 103 years to build. The Kedareshwara temple at Halebidu and Amritheswara temple in Chikmagalur were some important temples built by Ballalas.
Bhallala = Ballala = Vellala
Ballals are the descendants of Ballalas of South India
Ballal surname resembles Vellala of Tamil Nadu. Also Ballal was the title of few Hoysala kings too. Ballalas were initially Godees Kali worshippers. Later Hoysala kings became and afterwards they converted to Vaishnavite Hinduism.
The later Ballals were the feudal lords of Mangalore at one point of time and they built a Durga temple there, calling the deity Mangala Devi. In the year 968 C.E., the then Alupa ruler Kundavarma renovated the temple. The town around the temple grew and came to be called Mangalapura, the land of Mangala Devi. This towns name got anglicized as Mangalore.
Jains of Shanthara dynansty came from Mysore area to Tulunad in the 12th Century and got married to the ladies of Tulunad Aluva Kings. Their offsprings, Jain Bunts became Ballals and ruled Tulunad till 18th Century. There are about 99 households of such rulers. Most of the Heggades are Ballals. Chowta is one such surname of Tulu bunt ballala clans. This surname is also seem among Telugu Balijas, who were most probably the Mudiraju bantlu during medieval times. Chowti is one of the surnames of Mudiraj today.
Around 500 years ago a Royal family of Ballals lived in a beautiful region of Kuntikana (Kuntal-a type of plant, Kana-Forest) in a place called Manjakottage.This Region was a fertile plateau surrounded by river Varada, paddy fields, coconut, areca-nut and banana plantations, with an eye-catching view of hills and mountains.
Vellalas of South India
Vellalars are a dominant caste of Tamil agriculturalists of Tamil Nadu, Kerala states in India and in neighbouring Sri Lanka. They are also found amongst the Tamil diaspora around the world. Although they were originally associated with farming, today they are found in all walks of life.
According to Keralolpathy, Vellalas are Cultivators, Accountants & Village Officers of Tamilnad. During the Perumal rule they brought "Vellalas"-the cultivators and accountants of Tamilnadu - to Keralam .They settled permanently here and many of them became Traders and Accontants. They were posted as Accountants in Government posts and hence were called "KanakkaPilla".
Most subcastes of Vellalar in general are believed to be the first of the group of Tamils to be Sanskritized.
"Kallar, Maravar, Agamudai-yar mella- mella vanthu Vellalar anarkal"
is a popular Tamil proverb prevalent in India and Sri Lanka about the origin of Vellalars. That is Vellalar are a fusion of upwardly mobile members from castes such as Kallar,Maravar and Agamudaiyar according to the principles of Sanskritisation. Kallar, Marvar, and Agamudayars are the three clans of Mutkkulator relating Muthraja community in Tamilnadu. Kallars most probably got their name from Kalabhras from whom mudiraja and muthuraja clans descended.
Kalabira => Kalabeera => Kalabra => Kalbar => Kallar
Common titles are Pillai, Mudaliar and Gounder. When southern parts of Tamilnadu came into the control of Telugu Nayak Chieftains, Vellalar were employed by them as accountants, hence they assumed the title Kanakku Pillai, in Kerala they use the title Karnam Pillai. They have been commanders of Chola and Pandya armies as well as respected ministers and administrators.
Historians have defined vellalas as dravidians, who did cultivation using water. So they are basically farmers. Vellalars are agricultural people and in Tamilnadu they are classified into Vellalars and Karalars. Vellalars are one who control the "Vellam" i.e floods in the river and grow crops and Karalars are one who control "Kar" i.e Clouds in the form of Tanks and Lakes and grow crops.
In Thelunku nadu ( Telugu Nadu = Andhra Pradesh ) they were called "Velar". Those vellalas who lived in Kongunadu was called "Gounders". Mudaliars and Reddiars of Thontaimantalam (Chengalpet & North Arcot Dists), Pillai of Chola (Kumbakonam ,Thanchavoor,Thrissinappally) Pillai of Pandya (Madura, Ramanathapuram, Thirunelveli) and Gounder of Kongunadu (Coimbatore & Selam) were Vellalas .They are either "sivas" or "vaishnavas". In "Pathittupathu" Vellalas were called "Uzhavar". Vellala King Mavel Aai founder of "Aai vamsam" created theVenadu . In Tharisappally sasan of 9th century AD, there is mention about Vellala -"velkulasundaran". In former Travancore and Kochi Vellalas were entrusted with account keeping. They were called "kanakkapillai" accountntant. Muthalpidi and parvathyakars of olden days were all vellalas. Accountants were respectfully called "Pillaiannan".
Mudaliars & Pillais of South India are Vellalas
Vellalas are "Vaisyas" and majority were Saivas (follwers of Lord Siva). The foster son of King Rajasekhara of Panthalam, Ayyan Ayyappan was "Vellalakulajathan". In Kerala and Sree Lanka vellalas are thriving.50% of Sri Lankan origin Tamilians are vellalas. Almost all political, business and academic leadership of Tamil community of Sri Lanka has been provided by vellalas.
The Vellalas were the key caste in the Tamil social system. There are three layers of Vellalas in Tamilnadu.
The first layer consists of Saiva Vellalars - Saiva Mudaliars and Pillais. They are vegetarian, literate and sophisticated like Brahmins except priestly duties but were also major landowners, feudal lords and powerful like Rajputs or Thakurs of Northern India. Further, there are a number of sub-castes/clans among them like Thondaimandala vellalar, Karkatha vellalar, Tirunelveli saiva vellalar, etc.
The second layer consists of a number of unique castes which do not intermarry at all. The castes like Kongu Vellalar, (Western Tamilnadu) Pandia Vellalar,(Madurai) Chozhia Vellalar,(Trichy & Thanjavur) Tuluva Vellalar (North Tamilnadu), Arcot Mudaliar,(North Tamilnadu) Nanjil Vellalar (Kanya Kumari) are concentrated in specific parts of Tamilnadu and are similar to Reddies, Kammas, Vokkaligas and Lingayats.
The third layer consists of certain castes who have started using the title of vellalar like Isai vellalar (Temple musicians and dancers), Devendrakula Vellalars (Pallars, agricultural labourers), etc. According to V.Kanakasabhai - vellalars constitute the ulavar community in the Tolkappiyam -equivalent to Ksatriya-Vaisya varna.
Baramahal records say that in the mythology - the vellalar was born from the banks of ganga nadi, making them Ganga-vamsa, and on the creation of the vellalars the daivangal (deities) invested him with poonool(sacred thread), to show he is dvija (belongs to vaisya caste) from his birth.
Some section of vellalas gave up meat eating and became vegetarians- they were called "Saiva Vellalas ".This process started in Pallalav period.The Saiva Vellalas carry titles like PILLAI and Mudaliar , depending in the area of domicile. The saiva vellalas of Pandia and Chola K ingdoms carry the title "PILLAI" and those from Pallalva Kingdom used to carry the title MUDALIAR. Vellalas from different parts of Tamilnadu migrated to Malanadu of Kerala. They were called Thenkasy vellalar (Anjoottikkar-500 families) , Kumbakona vellalar etc.
Pillai may stand for Saiva pillai from Tirunelveli region or other non veg Pillai from Tamilnadu also Saiva Pillai means a Pillaimar who worship Lord Siva of Saiva religion. 'Saiva' generally refers to those who adopt the vegetarian diet, apart from the Sivan. Hence Saiva Pillais are entirely vegetarian, whereas other Pillais are not.
The views of Bishop Caldwell were found to be extremely useful by the newly arisen Vellala elite which was contending for higher status in the Varna hierarchy of caste. Bhilalas who became vellalas were predominantly dravidian with mixed blood. This may be true as these people were originally Bhilalas of North India and were looked as inferior to Rajputs, and continued to struggle to ascend the social ladder after migrating to South India.
According to Nettor commission report (1968) 0.75% of people in Kerala are Vellalas, who are Tamil origin pillai group. Now there are 2.25 lakh vellalas in Kerala.
it is common knowledge that the tilling of the soil and the cultivation of Paddy, the staple food have been in the primitive age mainly in the hands of a well known community of south India called "Pallar". The "Devendra Kudumpars" or "Devendra Kula Velalars" are none - other than "Mallars", the people of Marutha Nilam who were the founders of the three Kingdoms of Chera, Chola and Pandyas. These aborigins were later reduced to the state of serfs under the Telugu (Kingdom of Vijayanagar Rulers) and Muslim Rulers. The Vijayanagara Rulers deprived these people's land holdings and they were reduced to abject poverty. Since they worshiped Indran, the Lord of the Region, they called themselves as"DEVENDRAKULATHARS".
Vellala in Ceylon is the non-brahmin high caste Hindu. About 90 per cent of the well educated Hindus belong to this caste. Traditionally they are cultivators, and even now, although many of them have obtained posts in Government service, they still retain.. Although some Vellalas are strictly vegetarian, others will eat mutton, fowl and certain kinds of fish, but they will not touch beef, pork, turtle and other kinds of fish. Some of the Vellalas claim to be called Chetty Vellala and to belong to a slightly higher caste than the other Vellalas, but although many of the villagers recognize their claim, there is little support for it, and in fact they actually inter-marry with the other Vellalas.
Kongu Vellalars
The history of the Kongu Vellala Gounder caste is one of the most obscure along with the history of the Kongunadu region itself. The Gounders have been credited by many as unique among the other caste groups of the region and southern India as a whole. The Kongu Vellala Gounders are appreciated for their varied qualities like untiring hardwork, objective nature, high moderation, honesty, humanitarian spirit, commitment, philanthrophy, strong bonding, innovative mind and reliability.
The Gounders are the single largest agrarian and intra-marriagable caste hailing from the Kongunadu (Sans: Ganganadu) region which forms the western part of the present linguistically organised Tamilnadu state. Reasearch and common knowledge have shown that these people, alongwith their long seperated cousins, the Vokkaliga Gowdas of southern Karnataka are some of the most well organised groups from Southern India. The Vellalas show even more intricately arranged Socio-cultural hierarchy than the Vokkaligas.
Ganga => Gangu => Kongu
There are various themes of origin of the caste. The common undercurrent in all of them is, that the original name of the caste is Gangakulam, which is descended from the king Gangadatta (Sans., meaning one given by the Ganga). The name Kongu Vellala Gounder is a relatively new, post-independence classification necessiated nomenclature.
Kongu Vellala Goundar are a land-owning and a feudal caste of Tamil Nadu, India. They are native Tamil language speakers. Their legends allude to the Chola country as their origin. They are divided into a number of clans and have unique customs that distinguish them from other communities.
Vellala Gounder are considered to be native Tamil speakers of the Kongu Nadu, an ancient division of Tamilakam that was also Sanskritized as the Gangavadi region and included parts of northwest Tamil Nadu, portions of neighbouring Kerala, and the southern Mysore region of Karnataka. According to legends the Kongu Vellalars were originally from the Chola empire and later migrated to the Karur, Salem, Namakkal, Coimbatore, and Erode districts in modern day Tamil Nadu owing to a conflict with the Chola rulers.
The Kongu Vellalar still maintain their tribal and clan divisions. The Tamil word Koottam or "Kulam" is used to denote a clan. There are about 149 of them listed. People belonging to the same clan do not intermarry. Each clan has its own guru called the Kulaguru and a deity called the Kuladeivam.
The Vellalar were warriors who supported the Cholas and the Cheras during wars. They were of great assistance to the king in various positions and ranks in the army. The community enjoyed high reputation, influence, popularity and respect even from the Sangam age. They got the title 'Kamindan' from the king for their meritorious service and loyalty. Later the title got modified to 'Gounder'. They also had the right to crown the kings of the Cheras, Cholas and the Pandyas.
Western Ganga kings assumed the title of Muttarasa and their descendants are Mudiraj today. It is also said that Muthuraj, Mudiraj, and Mudaliars are vellalas and from warrior block.
Vellalas built Ankalamman and many temples in South India.
They built the Mankombu Bhagavathy temple. Vellalas from Kumbakonam got settled at Erattupetta and Poonjar. They built the Ankalamman Kovil. The Vellappattu temple of Palai was also built by Vellalas. According a Thamra Sasan Vaisyas came from Kaveripoompattanam built Puliyannoor temple in AD 1242. A number of Ayyappan kovils are built by Vellala community. Vellalas constructed the Palai market. Ankamma or Ankalamman is the Goddess of Mudirajas and Cholas who ruled South India.
There is one city Ankaleswar in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is difficult to say, if this city name in any way related to Goddess Ankaleswari or Ankali. But one thing is clear that the dravidian bhil, bhilala, koli, rajputs migrated to South India from Sindh & Gujarat.
Kerala Vellalars claim on Lord Ayyappan. About ten generations ago there lived a Vellala youth by name AYYAPPAN know as AYYAN. We do not know anything about his parents except that his uncle was one Perisseri Pillai of Erumeli, Kottayam dist, Kerala. Ayyan became the army chief of the Pandalam royal family. Ayyan, who belonged to the Vellalar Kulam, was instrumental in the defeat of Udayanan, who attacked the Sabarimala and tried to demolish the ancient Sastha temple in the thick forest of present Pathnamthitta dist. The Royal family of King Pandian had migrated from Tamilnadu about 800 years back. Pandian King reconstructed the destroyed Sastha temple at Sabarimala with the help of Ayyan, Vavar, a Muslim youth from Kanjirappally, Kadutha, a Nair youth from Muzhukeer, Chenganoor, Alapuzha dist. During a clash Ayyappan was killed. Perissery Pillai, uncle of Ayyan constructed the KOCHAMPALAM - old small Sastha temple - at Erumeli, opposite the VAVAR PALLY (MOSQUE), constructed by Muslims in memory of Vavar swamy.
Kingdoms of vellalars in South India
Although the tamil word Vellala means the cultivator, there is ample evidence to indicate that the original Chera , Chola and Pandia Kings were Vellalas. According to Thurston also, the Chera, Chola and Pandyan kings and most of the petty chiefs of Tamilakam, belonged to the tribe of Vellalas.". Ulkala (Orissa) was ruled by vellala kings in 11 century AD. Those vellalas who migrated from banks of Ganga was called "Gangavamsa vellalar". These Vellalas established the Western Ganga kingdom in the region of Rayalaseema & Bellary. In Karnataka they had a kingdom. Their kingdom was "Ggangawathi". Gangawadi kings are known as Western Gangas and one of the kings of Gangawadi was Sripurusha who assumed the title of Muttarasa ( = Mudiraja = Muthuraja). Shivamara Muttarasa was the son of Sripurusha Muttarasa.
Muttarasa = Mudiraja = Muthuraja
Gangawathi => Gangawadi
Vellalas rose to high social status durin Dutch & English rule in Sri Lanka
The Jaffna Vellalas were brought by the Dutch for their tobacco cultivation and in Sri Lanka their status has been elevated from agricultural labourers to farmers so that they could dominate in Jaffna over the Sinhalas who had lived there before they were absorbed into the Tamil community and culture under Koviar and other casts. In three hundred and fifty years the Vellalas became dominant in Jaffna with the help of the Dutch. The Vellalas were the darlings of the Dutch as well as the British and the latter connived with them to undermine the status of the Sinhalas.
The problem, whatever it may be called, began in the eighteenth century with the Dutch importing agricultural labourers from South India for work in their tobacco cultivation. These people found "home" not only in Jaffna but in places such as Natal in South Africa. They were called Vellalas in Jaffna as well as in Natal and were agricultural labourers as shown by the records in Natal. Though there were some Tamils in the Arya Chakravarthi kingdom in Jaffna the Tamil Vellalas imported from India soon became the majority bypassing not only the Tamils who were living in Jaffna after the twelfth century but the Sinhalas and the Malayalam speaking Velakkaras who had been living there.
In 1707 the Dutch in order to prevent this exodus codified the Thesavalamai Law, which happens to be a Muslim Law in South India as shown by late Mr. Gamini Iriyagolle, which encouraged the Vellalas to stay or to keep their land among the relatives. However those who remained in Jaffna soon formed into a so called high cast relegating the inhabitants who were there into the so called low casts. Thus the imported agricultural labourers became the farmers, under the auspicious of the Dutch while the farmers (govias) who were there became low cast "koviars".
The Vadugas were Sinhala kings and they lived originally in Telugu speaking Andhra Pradesh before coming to Sri Lanka through matrimonial links from Madurai. They were referred to as Malabars and spoke Telugu or a language that was close to Telugu but probably with a flavor of Tamil. The language spoken by the Vadugas was referred to by the Sinhalas as Andara Demala (or Andhra Demala as pronounced by the ordinary Sinhalas who had no liking for the mahaprana) that describes the essential characteristics of the language. Though the king belonged to the Vaduga clan he was the king of the Sinhalas and he reined over the Sinhala nation state that was established by the king Pandukabhaya ( Maurya related Buddhist king). These kings were most probably related to the kalabhras who invaded South India.
Most vellalah families used the generic title of Mudali in the kalveddus. This practice had caste connotations, and did not necessarily refer to the title of any office held.
Velamas of Andhra Pradesh
Velamas seems to be a variant of vellalas South India relating to bhillalas of North India. Velama is one of the older feudal castes or social groups in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. They ruled parts of Andhra Pradesh during 14th and 15th centuries.
Bhillala => Bhallala = Ballala
Ballala <=> Bellala => Vellala
Vellala => Vellama => Velama
Several conflicting theories have been postulated on origin of the community - (i) Velamas migrated from Bihar, banished by Chanakya for supporting the Nanda dynasty, (ii) Velamas belong to one of the original Aryan races of North India who migrated to South India during the times of Chanakya, and (iii) Velamas were soldiers in many Telugu kingdoms such as Chalukya, Chola, Kakatiya and Vijayanagar and came to dominate the land through their service to the kings. It is possible that Velamas were bhil- bhilala related tribal warrior people, who were expelled from Bihar.
Some believe that Velamas and Kammas are from the same origin. when Ganapathi deva of Kakatiya dynasty had no sons and his only daughter Rudrama devi became the queen of kakatiya dynasty, these people got split. People who are more liberal and who supported Rudrama Devi became Kammas and those who are more conservative and opposed a lady taking over the thrown of Kakatiya kingdom were Velamas.
Thandra Papa Rayudu, Palnati Brahmanaidu, and Rani Mallama Devi are known for their bravery and they said to be velamas. Their heroic traditions such as ' Sati ' prove that they are of Bhil, bhilala & Rajput descent with extensive inter mingling with other martial races of India. Velamas are well known for their liberal outlook, which is obvious from the war of Palnadu.
Recharla gotram is found common among the people of Mudiraju, Velama Raju and Kamma Nayaks. Padma Nayaka is a subsect of Velamas who are spread across Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu. Various Padmanayaka Velama Generals have worked with different Kings of Kakatiya Dynasty in and around the then Capital Orugallu (now Warangal City), in Andhra Pradesh. Some of the Padma Nayaka's who fought battles along with other Nayakas and emerged victorious during Kakatiya rule.
Raja Recherla Singama Bhoopala Nayaka, first independent King of Velamas and is closely followed by Devarakonda Recherla Chiefs. Vala family of Recherla Velamas is said to have ruled from Molangoor fort of Karimnagar as feaudatories of Kakatiya King Prathaparudra. The Golconda fort was administered by Recherla Vellamas who ruled over Golkonda, Rajaconda and Devarconda. Their capital was Rajaconda. After the defeat of the Recherla Velamma kingdom, the three forts were ruled by the Bahamani Kings (1364).
Rajaputs of Punjab, Rajastan and North India
The Rajputs proper were of mixed origin of Indo-Scythian blood pre-Muslim invaders such as Scythians, Bactrians, Parthians, Hunas and Gurjaras who came in before, say, the end of the 7th century. The Indians here means the Dravidian bhil - kolis of North West Indian frontiers. These dravidians are generally highly accommodative and they mixed well with the intruding & invading alien races to live in hormony.
They were reputed descendants of the Kshatrinjas (warriors and rulers) mentioned in the Rig Veda (Rajanya), the occupational caste of all clans of Hindus who undertook the act of Government. They were derived from three sources, the sun, the moon and fire, and should be of warrior status from princely lineage. So far we have only found four tribes from each source. Legend says that when Rama with the Axe destroyed all Kshatrinjas, the gods went to Mount Abu and from the sacred fire-pit produced five fire-born tribes.
The term 'Rajput' does not occur in early Sanskrit literature nor do we hear of Rajput clans before the eighth century A.D. This proves that they were a later addition to the population of India. During the troubled times that followed the breakup of the Gupta Empire, many foreign races such as the Huns, the Gurjaras, etc. settled in the Punjab and Rajputana and became Hinduised in course of time. The upper ranks of these foreigners, whose main occupation was war, came to be known as Rajputs, while the humbler folks ranked low in social status and developed into inferior castes such as Gurjaras, Jats and others. Some of the Rajput clans are descended from low caste native tribes raised to importance.
Thus many of the most distinguished Rajput clans such as the Chauhans, the Pariharas, the Pawars (Paramaras), the Solankis (Chalukyas) are descended mainly from foreigners, called Scythians by Tod. While others are descended from indigenous tribes of inferior castes elevated to the rank of Kshatriyas. The Rashtrakutas of the Deccan, the Rathors of Rajputana, the Chandels of Bundelkhand are examples of the Rajput clans formed by the promotion of the indigenous tribes of inferior social status. Thus, the huge group of the Rajput clans include people of the most diverse descent.
This presumption receives support from the familiar legend about the fire pit at Mount Abu in southern Rajputana. The legend appears in the Chand Raisa and other works. It groups together four Rajput clans into a brotherhood based on their common origin from a sacrificial fire pit at Mt. Abu. The clans mentioned are the Pawars (Paramaras), the Pariharas (Pratiharas), Chauhans and the Solankis or Chalukyas. They are all mentioned as being "Agnikula" or fire born. The legend shows that the four clans mentioned are all related to one another and that they all arose in southern Rajputana.One of the main profession of Agnikula Kshtriyas is fishing.
Later Bhilalas came into existence due to union from Rajput warrior men and Bhil women. Many of these Bhilalas claim themselves as Rajputs. They also consider themselves to be above the bhils in their status. They were basically farmers and also opt for soldier jobs These bhilalas who migrated to South India came to be known as bhallalas and vellalas. Hoysala dynasty, Vijayanagar empire, etc were some of the dynasties that were established by Tuluva Vellalas of South India and these people can be related to Rajput clans of North India.
On the southeast Kashtavata (modern Kishtwar) and Bhadravakasa (modern Badarwah) were ruled by the local Hindu rajas. The Rajas of Chamba (ancient Champa) often had matrimonial alliances with the Lohara Kings which reigned over Kashmir. To the west of Champa and south of Bhadravakasa was situated Vallapura the Billavar of to-day in Jammu district. The chieftains of this territory were independent and have been described by Kalhana often.
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. 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.
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.
Rajasthan is the region of the proud Rajputs who are generally regarded as the personification of Chivalry and whose exploits and bravery in battle are legendary. Rajputs are generally stoutly built people of good height. Rajputs are Scythian descent- a stock which moved out from the Caucasus in Central Asia towards the Indus Valley on the one side and the Germanic parts of Europe on the other.
Rajaputs people who belong to a martial caste predominant in Rajasthan. Tod presents his theory that the Agnikunda sympolizes elevation of Huns etc. to kshatriyahood, and thus all the Rajaputs are descendants of central Asians like Huns. The Huns are known to have been regarded as one of the 36 clans of Rajputs. Todd assigns Scythian origin to the Rajputs. Scythians came to be known as Sakas in South Asia, and were absorbed in the Hindu fold as Kshatriyas. Gen. Cunningham and Maj. Todd agree in considering the Jats of Indo-Scythian stock. Maj. Todd classifies Jats as one of the great Rajput tribes. They belong to one and thesame stock.
Cunningham and Tod regard the Huns to be the last Scythian wave to have entered India. Herodotus reveals that the Scythians as far back as the 5th century B.C. had political control over Central Asia and the northern subcontinent up to the river Ganges. Later Indo-Scythic clans and dynasties (e.g.Mauryas, Rajputs) extended their control to other tracts of the northern subcontinent. Scythians did rule a substantial part of India from Punjab to Northern Maharashtra. It was Todd who suggested Scythic ancestry for Jatts , Khatris and Rajputs. Scythians were mostly absorbed into the Hindu fold as warrior castes. The settling of the Scythians in Rajasthan set the stage for the rise of the Rajputs who were the offspring's of the Indo-Scythians. With the passing of time this new race proliferated into a number of new clans. Rajasthan thus became the homeland of these groups of warrior clans, collectively called Rajputs, who dominated this region for over a thousand years. Gujarat and Rajastan are the primary locations where the people Scythian and their mixed blood Rajputs originally lived.
Nevertheless the bravery and, sense of pride and honor amongst Rajputs is unparallel in the history of India. Chivalry was the hallmark of the Rajputs. They fought with courage and determination. Death to defeat was the theme of Rajput warring ideology. They would face the enemy with all the might even if defeat were imminent; in which case jauhar ( mass suicide by jumping into fire pits = a kind of sati practice ) was performed. In this grim ritual women and children would commit suicide by immersing themselves in a huge funeral pyre. It was for these qualities that some of the Rajputs rulers and chieftains adorned the court of most of the Mughal rulers especially Akbar.
With the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Rajputs were gradually able to recover their lost territories and status. These turn of events were however short-lived, as very soon the British set foot on the Indian mainland marking the beginning of one of the most eventful phase of Indian history.
Sacrificial pillars are another remnant of the Scythian. They are abundant in the regions surrounding Rajputana which comprise the historic Sakasthan. Similar is the tradition of bunts and Mudiraju bantlu who used to establish veerakallu ( rock memorials for the dead warriors).
The religion of the Scythians was Sun-Worship in all its forms; the Rajput is thus not surprisingly a Sun-worshipper. They are thus referred to in Sanskritic and Prakritic tradition as `Sauras' (devotees of Surya). Indeed, the Saurashtra peninsula in Gujarat is named after the Scythic Solar deity. Saurashtra' denotes `Sun-worshipper', a common term for the Scythians. The northwest Southasian region continues to be the most Scythic region in the world. Kolis are one of the tribe to which most of the solar race kings belonged. Some of the Rajput clans such as Kachuwas are from Suryavamsi lineage.
Saura = Surya = Solar = Sun
Saura +Rastra = Saurastra = A country where people worship Sun.
The Sun, the Supreme God of the Saura Rajputs, forms the most important theme for Rajput architecture. The main entrance of Oodipur (Udaipur) is referred to as the Surya-pol. The chief hall of Udaipur palace is called Surya-mahal. A huge painted sun adorns the hall of audience and is behind the throne. These prove that most of the triumphal monuments of the Indo-Scyths were erected to the Sun, further confirming their Saka ancestry.
Certain inscription of the 9th and 10th centuries show that the then reigning Rajput families drew their descent from Ram of Suryavamsi or Solar clan the former Rajput rulers of Bikaner, Mewar, and Jaipur claimed their descent from 'Suryavamsi clan.
The difference between the Scythian race and the Aryan race is that the Scythians generally burry their dead and the Aryans burned them. The people of Indians tribes with mixed blood with the above races too followed the same custom.
Rajputs having Scythian-Kushan-Hun origins are indeed related to Iranians. Scythians came to be known as Sakas in South Asia, and were absorbed in the Hindu fold as Kshatriyas. Sakas, Yavannas (Greco-Bactrians), Pallavas (Parthians) ultimately became Kshatriyas. The Huns are known to have been regarded as one of the 36 clans of Rajputs.
The traditional occupations of the Rajputs is military service and at times agriculture. Rajputs and Bhilalas are normally landholders. However, due to their natural ability in warfare and their discipline, this would give them opportunities to rise through the ranks and eventually become rulers or at least hold high positions in office.
The Rajputs were classified as a martial race by the British colonial government and recruited for the military establishment during the subcontinent's colonial period. It is very clear from the Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Prithviraj Raso, Akbarnama, and present genealogy that they intermarried with the royal families only. The rule of primogeniture allowed only the eldest male offspring of a king to succeed him. The rest were known as Rajputras. The word Rajput is claimed to be a corruption of Rajputra. Lord Rama of the Hindu Pantheon was a Kshatriya of the Raghuvanshi or Suryavanshi clan which is said to continue to this day in the royal descent of the Udaipur and Jaipur royals.
The 36 Rajput clans are first mentioned in Kumarpala Charita of Jayasimha and then in Prithviraj Raso of Chandbardai. The lists include classical clans like Ikshvaku, Soma, and Yadu, well-known Rajput clans such as Bargujar, Parmar, Puwar,Chauhan, Chalukya, Rathore, Parihar, Chandela etc as well as lesser known clans such as Silar (Shilahar), Chapotkat, Tank, etc.
Rajput which literally means 'son of rulers'. Rajput clans rose to prominence in the 6th century, establishing kingdoms in Rajasthan and across northern India. The Rajputs resisted Muslim incursions into India, although a number of Rajput states became tributaries to the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire during those empires' peak of expansion. As these empires weakened, the Rajputs reasserted their independence.
Chalukya Solanki Rajputs in Deccan India
After the decline of the great Andhra nation, the Chalukya Rajputs ruled the Deccan from the fifth to the twelfth century. It is known from inscriptions that a Rajput family of the Chalukya tribe reigned at Kalyani, west of Bidar, on the borders of the Carnatic and Maharashtra. The Western branch of this royal house held their sway over the Maharastra country, and had its capital at kalyan. Jaya Sinha, the founder, is said to have descended from the Balabhi dynasty of Gujarat. Chalukya word seems to be resulted from modification of the word Solankia.
Solanki => Solankia
Solankia => Solunkya => Solukya => Cholukya => Chalukya
Solankia <=> Solunkia <=> Seleukia
Seleukia => Seleukya => Chelukya => Chalukya
According to one theory , the Chalukya were descendants of the "Seleukia" tribe of Iraq and that their conflict with the Pallava of Kanchi was, but a continuation of the conflict between ancient Seleukia and "Parthians", the proposed ancestors of Pallavas.
CHALUKYA, the name of an Indian dynasty which ruled in the Deccan from A.D. 550 to 750, and again from 973 to 1190. The Chalukyas themselves claimed to be Rajputs from the north who imposed their rule on the Dravidian inhabitants of the Deccan tableland, and there is some evidence for connecting them with the Chapas, a branch of the foreign Gurjaras. The dynasty 'was founded by a chief named Pulakesin I., who mastered the town of Vatapi (now Badami, in the Bijapur district) about 550. His sons extended their principality east and west; but the founder of the Chalukya greatness was his grandson Pulakesin II., who succeeded in 608 and proceeded to extend his rule at the expense of his neighbours. In 609 he established as his viceroy in Vengi his brother Kubja Vishnuvardhana, who in 615 declared his independence and established the dynasty of Eastern Chalukyas, which lasted till 1070.
Chalukyas ruled Gujarat. It was with Chalukya (Solankis) that Gujarat witnessed progress and prosperity. In spite of the plundering of Mahmud Ghazni, the Chalukya kings were able to maintain general prosperity and well-being of the State. In 973, Taila or Tailapa II. (d. 995), a scion of the royal Chalukya race, succeeded in overthrowing the Rashtrakuta king Kakka II., and in recovering all the ancient territory of the Chalukyas with the exception of Gujarat.
The dynasties of Pallava and Western Cholukya fought with each other for several centuries without any obvious success. Western Chalukyas also fought with Cholas on boundary issues. The Eastern Cholukyas aligned and merged into Cholas through matrimonial alliances giving birth to a new class of Chalukya- chola clans.
Solankis worship Goddess Kalanka
Takankars and Takias are Pardhis closely related to solankis. Sloankis worship Goddes Kalanka and Mudiraj people worship Goddess Ankala. Goddess Ankala ( Ankalamma ) seems to be modified name of Goddess Kalanka or its variant.
Kala = Black
Anka = Aank = Eye
Kalanka => Ankala => Ankalamma => Ankamma = Goddess having black Eyes.
The Langoti Pardhis are also called Gaon Pardhis and are further subdivided into Chauhan, Ponwar and and Solanki, all three being names of well-known Rajput clans. As a rule they marry girls from another class, thus a Chauhan would marry a Ponwar girl and so on. In religion, besides worshipping their ancestors, they worship goddesses who are now identified with the Hindu goddess Devi but who are known in the caste by different names. Chauhans worship Amba, Ponwars worship Marai Mata, and Solankis Kali or Kalanka. The pipal tree is held specially sacred.
The idol of Kalanka Bhawani is taken to a tree two or three miles from a village and placed with its face to the east. In front of it a fire-place of earth is made, on which wheaten cakes or sweetmeats are prepared in a large fry-pan. These are taken barehanded out of the boiling oil by any Pardhi who is possessed by the goddess. A. young buffalo or a goat is brought to the spot and stabbed in the left side of the neck; the idol; is besmeared with the blood which spouts out, and the worshippers then taste it themselves. The animal is then killed.
There is one Kalanki Devi temple in Maharastra and also one in the river valley of kaligandaki in Nepal. The Kalanki Mandir is a temple which is a very sacred placein Nepal. Although simple in appearance, it most certainly has a visual appeal to it. The temple itself is basically a hole in the ground with a very clean stone tile floor, and retaining walls which only go as high as the street. A red fence about 6 feet high allows people passing by to view the shallow interior. Around the fence on all four sides are bells that are attached to the red painted fence. Four metal golden painted snakes grow of from each corner from the sunken floor of the temple, as the heads of the snakes converge together over the middle of the floor. The only thing inside is a small shine of a Hindu goddess that faces the steps that descend into it. Next to the temple there is the neighborhood water tower which has the appearance of a train box car held up by four metal posts.
This makes it clear that bhils, bhillalas, Bhallalas, Bhillavas, Bhillamas, Vellalas and some mixed blood Bhil Rajputs are all one and the same people of India from Sindhu - Saraswati river basins and migrated to different parts of India due to various socio-political reasons of the changing times of those days. The comparitively low status Bhillalas certainly gained a very high social status as Vellalas as they moved towards South India.
Webmaster
Kokolu Anka Rao
Date : 15 / 04 / 2008
Nagpur, M.S, India
BACK
HOME
Our Caste Names & Subcastes : Mudiraj Muthuraj mudhiraj Mudiraja mudhiraja Muthuraja mudduraja muddhuraja mudduraju muddhuraju Mutharacha Mutharasu Mutharasi Mutrasi Mutharayar Mutharaiyar bunt bant bantulu bantlu Aryar Arayar Araiyar Aryan Arayan Araiyan valavan valayar valaiyar Ambalakkarar gounder koli koliyan kolian raju rajulu Bedar Ramoshi Valmiki Tenugu Tenugolu Tenugollu Tenigolu Tenigollu