Were they the so called "Aryan" invasions that came through the Khyber and Bolan

passes as the European historiography had concocted? The probe began. Kannadigas
indeed stand out as teachers to Tamils, by negative examples.
We ind that most o the invasions on the Tamil country !ere rom Karnata"a. #t began
!ith the Kalabhra invasions around $%& A. '., and their pillage over the Tamil country
or over three centuries. Then came the (hlau"ya, )oysala, and *i+ayanagara ,aya""a
invasions on the Tamil land. The Telugu -allavas ruled over the Tamils ater the
Kalabhras.
Then came the .uestion o studying the history o those alien invaders. We ind in the
/angam Tamil (lassics re.uent reerences to a semi0barbarian and erocious stoc" o
people !ho roamed around beyond the *1n"adam 2Thirupathi3 hills.
They served as mercenaries to many o the ancient /tates, particularly the 4auryas. They
!ere called Vadugar in Tamil classics. These *adugar got split into Eastern *adugar and
Western *adugar, as !as the case !ith the 5erman barbarians brea"ing up into Eastern
and Western 5oths. The Eastern *adugar gradually became Telugus. The Western
*adugar, !ho !ere called as Ksar in the /angam literature, became the Kannadigas. The
northern raction o these K6sar !ere called as Mrattar7 and they became the Marathis
later. The northern segment o the Telugu *adugar in Kalinga bro"e into Oddars or
Oriyas.
The irst ever territory that the K6sar or the Kannada *adugar occupied in the ormer
(hera country !as the Tulun8du, as the Tamil literary evidences tell. Then they came
do!n to the present 4ysore, then called as Erumaindu. #t !as thus called as it !as
con.uered by a *adugan called Erumai. )e participated in the Thalaiy8lan"8nam battle
against -andyan ,edunche9hiyan o the /angam Age.
The successive invasions o these *adugar barbarians and their overrunning the (hera,
(hola and -andya empires o the anti.uity !as the cause or the all o the Tamils and
their sub+ugation and classiication into lo! class aborigines.
Brahmanism, as an apartheid !ay o lie, in act, had its origin only in the (hera country
2Kerala3 through the legendary person in -arasur8ma.
Whereas the Aryan concept had its root in the north.
The British colonial intellect conused Brahmanism !ith Aryanism, and had imposed a
alse historiography by branding Brahmanism as an import rom the north. Though born
do!n the extreme south in the (hera country, Brahmanism !as carried into the (hola
and -andya countries only through the Kannada and Telugu 2or the *adugar3 Brahmans.
Manu Smruti, !hich !as !ritten in Karnata"a, !as adopted as the social code by the
court o -uli"esi ##, the (halu"ya monarch. The (halu"yan epigraphical eulogies o
mnavakula or Mnava Dharma !ould sho! it. #t !as the *adugar colonisers !ho
imposed birth0based caste discriminations and untouchability on the Tamils in the (hola
and -andya /tates.
These indings helped the enlightened among the Karnata"a Tamils to diso!n and
discredit the 'ravidian ideology and rediscover their Tamil identity. /o the beacon is no!
in the hands o the Karnata"a Tamils.
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. ,on0Tamilian people o ,orth: #n the case o non0Tamilian people, speciic names have
been mentioned li"e Kosar;, 4oriyar<, ,andar=&, Tondaiyar==, and *adugar=$. Kosars
belonged to Tulu country and they !ere living south o the *indhya and near the shores
o !estern ocean. ,andar and 4oriyar are no others but the ,andas and 4auryas o north
#ndia. Tondaiyars !ere ound in the orests o *engadam hills !here elephants !ere
abundant. /o they !ent on expeditions, captured, trained and ormed them into a brigade.
The trained elephants brought ire!ood to the >ishis and they ate the ood o their
country only. ?rom this, !e can iner that Tondaiyars !ere having similar vocation li"e
Ariyars, as ar as elephants are concerned. *adugar !ere having their lands beyond
*engadam and they spo"e a dierent language. Another point to be noted is that at one
place 2-uram. @A;3, the *adugars are denoted as Bvada vadugarC. The term BvadugarC
connotes that they !ere rom the north and hence the expression Bvada vadugarC is very
signiicant, as it actually denotes Bnorthern group o northernersC. This can be compared
!ith the expression Bvada AriyarC and vadavariyar" denoting Bnorthern AriyarC, but such
expressions are ound in /ilappathi"aram and not in the /angam literature ta"en or
discussion. But the important point to be noted is the usage o BAriyarC, !hile the !ord
BAriyarC is generally used to denote the people o north or the "ings o north, the above
mentioned !ords Kosar, ,andar, 4oriyar, Tondaiyar and *adugar are used to denote only
particular groups o people !ho lived in the north o Tami9hagam.
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The Tamils and the Andhras
By -A,'#T 4. >A5)A*A A#DA,5A>
#
E? the countries !hich ma"e up the southern portion o #ndia it is !ell0"no!n that those
in !hich Tamil, Telugu and Kanarese are spo"en are the countries !hich may boast o an
ancient culture and a memorable past. The cultural and historical inter0relations bet!een
these countries are naturally o great interest. Though the Kanarese language and
literature are old and rich, still the intimacy o the contact o the Tamils !ith the Andhras,
the ruitulness o the contact and the importance o the en.uiry may !ell +ustiy our
going irst into the relations bet!een them.
-hilologists are agreed that in the 'ravidian group o languages Tamil, Telugu and
Kanarese all into a class by themselves. E them the irst t!o are the languages entitled
to be considered the more ancient. Though Kanarese has no mean literature, still the
belie o the ancient Tamil scholars !as that the Kanarese language is a product o the
intermingling o Tamil and Telugu. Fayam0"ondan, the prince o poets o the early years
o the t!elth century A. '., spea"s o Kanarese being a +umble o Csome Telugu and
much TamilC.
=
The truth o this observation !ill not be lost on those !ho have studied old
Kanarese. 4alayalam is, indeed, another language pertaining to this group, but it is
ittingly treated as a daughter o Tamil. That the mountainous regions s"irting the !estern
sea !ere ormerly a part o the Tamil country and that the language spo"en there !as not
dierent is obvious enough rom the old 4alayalam literature and the inscriptions ound
in that area. This is !hy Kamban, as great a scholar as be !as a poet, spea"s o
4alayalam as i it !as not in his days a language very dierent rom Tamil.
$

# Tamil, Telugu and Kanarese belong to one class, !hich language is the parent? Ene
may coness to an inability to oer a solution acceptable to scholars in general. There are
some amongst us !ho hold that Tamil occupies that relationship. #t is accepted on all
hands that Tol"appiyarCs Tolkappiyam is the earliest and most authoritative. This !or"
divides the country !here Tamil is current into t!elve divisions and classiies the !ords
that come rom lands li"e *adugu beyond those t!elve divisions as !ords o oreign
origin. -anam0paranar too, a contemporary o Tol"appiyar, describes the Tamil land as
limited on the north by the *en"ata )ills and does not claim that its domain extended
urther beyond. Ka""ai0padiniyar, also an ancient Tamil poet, mentions distinctly that
*adugu, the land !here the Telugu language is current, ormed the northern limit o
Tamil.
@
#t !ill thus be patent that long beore Tol"appiyarCs times Tamil and Telugu had
been current side by side as t!o independent languages. To +udge by the Tamil literature
no! available, Telugu !ould seem to be entitled to an anti.uity e.ual to that o Tamil.
'uring the /angam period the Tamils "ne! the Andhras under the name Vadugar
G
and
their language as Vadugu. /imilarly, the Telugus called the Tamils by the name Aravar
and their language Aravam. The !ord Vadagar is only a variant o Vadugar, a northerner.
Fust as the country to the !est Kudakku! became Kudaku so the country to the north
Vadakku! became Vadagu and, later, changed to Vadugu.
%
This derivation is also
indicated by the lines o Ka""ai0padiniyar already .uoted and by the phrase C*adugar o
the ,orthC in another !or" o the /angam age. #t seems that even in the times o the Hast
/angam the country north o the *en"ata )ills !as considered the country o the
*adugar.
I

/ome o the Kanarese too seem to have been called *adugar.
A
#n conse.uence o the
Andhras and the Kanarese having been called by the common name o *adugar in the
days o the /angam, it has been surmised that they !ere then one race and that their
language too must have been "no!n as *adugu and that it is only later that Kanarese
must have branched o into a separate language.
;
But llam0Ko0Adigal, the great epic0
poet o the /angam age, mentions distinctly those !ho spea" the Kanarese language as
Karunadar,
<
and other classical !riters ma"e mention separately o the lands !here
Kanarese and Telugu !ere respectively spo"en.
=&
The northern portion o the 4ysore
state and parts o the districts o Bellary and Anantapur seem to be "no!n even no! as
Badaga0nadu and the Kanarese o those areas are "no!n as "adaga#varu and "adaga#
natti#varu. A poem o the /angam mentions an Erumai as a C*adugar chieC in !hose land
lo!ed the river Ayiri.
==
This is evidently the Agiri !hich alls into the Tungabhadra. #t is
this country !hich !as probably the extreme southern limit o the Aso"an empire as is
evidenced rom inscriptions ound in the vicinity.
# these be so, it ollo!s that the Telugus !ho !ere to the north, and the Badaga
Kannadas !ho !ere to the !est, o the Tamils !ere "no!n generically as the *adugar.
The poet, 4a0mulanar, says that it is beyond the lands o a chie o the name o Katti that
the language changed into that o the *adugar.
=$
-erhaps the chies !ell0"no!n as Katti0
4udaliyars in the days o the *i+ayanagar empire and later belonged to the lineage o this
Katti.
=@
#t is !orthy o note that these Katti04udaliyars occupied those portions o the
Tamil country !hich 4a0mulanar assigned to Katti. There are reasons to hold that the
land called *adugar0munai and placed beyond the lands o this Katti is identical !ith the
Badaga0nadu !e have already mentioned.
=G
#t is these Badagas that seem to be reerred to
by /t. /undara in one o his psalms on a shrine in the Kongu country.
=%

#n *embatturarCs Tiru#viliaiyadal $uranam the Fain "ing !ho captured 4adura is called
in one place Cthe Karnata"a "ingC and at another place as Cthe *adugu "ingC.
=I
These
reerences sho! that the term *adugar !as also used to devote the Kanarese, some o
!hom seem latterly to have settled in the Tamil country.
=A

The amous commentator ,achchinar"u0#niyar and the author o the old commentatory
on the %annul state that o the lands surrounding the Tamil country those in !hich
Kanarese, *adugu and Telugu !ere current !ere distinct entities.
=;
The Telugu country
being treated as distinct rom the *adugu country, !e have +ustiication or holding , that
they had the Badaga country in mind in dra!ing the distinction. Ether!ise !e should
have to suppose that they treated the northern part o Andhra as the Telugu land and the
southern part as the *adugu land, and see" support or this vie! in the act that the Tamil
country itsel !as divided into the /en0Tamil and the Kodum0Tamil lands. )o!ever this
may be, the later Tamils ignored !hat distinction there might have been and applied the
terms *adugar and *adugu to the Andhras and theAndhra language.
,o evidence is orthcoming to sho! that the Andhras styled themselves *adugar. /o too,
the Tamils never called themselves Aravar, though a lexicographer !ho lived so late as
three centuries bac" chronicled that !ord indicated the Tamils. To the ancient Andhras
the Tamils !ere "no!n not as Aravar but as Aruvar. When "Jayam0Kondan describes the
terror !hich the Tamilian army o Kulottunga0(hola struc" into the hosts o the Kalinga
"ing, he says that they applied the name Aruvar to the Tamils.
=<
That it is only the term
Aruvar !hich !as current in early times is clear also rom an old stan9a on the same !ar
.uoted in the Dandi#Alangaram.
$&
These instances establish that the Andhras called the
Tamils in early days by the name o Aruvar. Those regions o the Tamil land !hich ad+oin
the Telugu country are Aruva and Aruva0vada0talai and the people o these regions !ere
"no!n as Aruvalar. We may thereore ta"e it that the *adugar applied the name Aruva
irst to the people o these regions and then applied it generally to all Tamils.
II
Het us no! loo" at the relationships bet!een the Tamils and the *adugar. #n the irst
period, the earliest, the Tamils and the Andhras lived in amity7 in the second the Tamils
attained supremacy over the Andhras and in the third the position !as reversed. The irst
period is the age o the /angam: the early Tamil !or"s "no!n as the /angam poems do
not sho! that, even though there might have been small dierences on the rontiers o the
Tamil country, there !as any mar"ed antagonism or that any serious conlicts arose in
conse.uence. #n t!o o these poems !e have mention o the *adugar helping ,annan and
the 4auryas but they seem to be Kanarese o the Badaga country and not Andhras.
$=
The
three great "ings o the Tamil country, the (holas, the -andyas and the (heras, do not
seem to have been guilty o the ambition to bring under their control lands beyond the
Tamil country. #t !ould even seem that they !ere so attached to Cthe good land !here
Tamil !as spo"enC that they had no love or mixing it up !ith lands !here strange
tongues !ere current:
$$
the evidences in support o this vie! are many and convincing.
When "ings o the north made incursions into the south the three great "ings o the Tamil
country dre! together and repulsed all their attempts at gaining even a oot0hold.
$@
The
Tamil country !as thereore soil !hich even the ,apoleons o the north had to let alone.
The strength o the Tamils in even the days !hen practically the !hole o #ndia had come
under the su9erainty o Aso"a is obvious rom the circumstances that his over0lordship
stopped short o 4ysore and that he sent ambassadors to the three great Tamil "ings. ,or
did the amous empire o the 5uptas cast its shado! over the Tamil land. #n those early
days, the Tamil !ere neither ambitious o ruling over others nor supine enough to be
ruled over. Evidences o the *adugar attempting to lay their hands upon the Tamil
country being !anting absolutely, they must have lived in peace and concord !ith the
Tamils. But ater the days o the /angam the relations changed. The change !as due not
to their o!n dierences but to the invasions o "ings rom north. When the northern
"ings o the -allava and (halu"ya dynasties con.uered Andhra and Karnata"a their eager
eyes !ere cast on 'ravida as !ell. #t is thenceor!ard that !e mostly hear o conlicts
bet!een the Tamils and the northerners in the Tamil country and beyond. Hight on these
masters is thro!n by the poems rom $andik#Kovai .uoted in the commentary on
#raiyanarCs Kalavuiyal, the hymns o the *aishnava saints and others and some copper
plates. Wars !ere ought bet!een the Tamils and the *adugar !hen the -alla vas too"
root in the Tamil land. An old Tamil poem spea"s o ho! the herds o co!s ta"en rom
the *adugar in !ar by the army o the -allava !ho ruled over the Tondai country !ere
capable o giving mil" or the !hole !orld.
$G
Hi"e the -allavas, the (halu"yas too
established themselves in *engi, a part o Andhra, and in course o time came to be called
Andhras. The (holas had to advance against them and !age urious !ars in the Telugu
country. The northern !ars o (hola0"ings li"e0 >a+ara+a # and >a+a >a+endra # are !ell0
"no!n. )istory records ho! *ira0>a+endra con.uered *engi and made a git o it to a
(halu"ya o the name o *a+ayaditya. #n the commentary on the Vira#soliyam, a Tamil
grammar composed in honour o this *ira0>a+endra, occurs a stan9a !hich chronicles this
event.
$%
The (holas and the (halu"yas o *engi !ere not merely ranged as opponents in !ar:
they entered into marital relations !ith each other and three generations o (hola
princesses entered the *engi amily: as brides it is "no!n that *imaladitya # the Eastern
(halu"ya 2=&=%0=&$$3 married Kundavai, daughter o the great (hola "ing >a+ara+a #7
>a+ara+a0,arendra 2=&$$0=&I=3 the son o the (halu"ya *imaladitya # married
Ammanga0devi, daughter o >a+endra #, himsel son o >a+ara+a #, and *i"ramaditya # o
the Western (halu"ya line married the daughter o *ira0>a+endra (hola. These alliances
tended bring peace to these dynasties, and in the process o the Eastern (halu"ya
alliances o the (holas brought the Andhra country under the dominion o the Tamils.
When the Eastern (halu"ya "ing !ho !as the husband o Ammanga0devi, daughter o
>a+endra # died about =&I$, the son o that couple, prince >a+endra, ascended the throne
o the Andhra country. The direct (hola line, having become almost extinct at this time,
and the (hola "ingdom having no "ing at its helm, this >a+endra came do!n rom the
Andhra country, put or!ard the claim that the (hola throne !as his in his right as the
daughterCs son o >a+endra (hola #, laid hands on the "ingdom and mounted the (hola
throne in =&A&. Thus he became the lord o the Andhra country and the (hola empire. #t
is this >a+endra that is !ell "no!n under the name Kulottunga # and under the epithets
CAbhayaC and C*i+ayadhara C. )e deserved the title Cthe Hord o both lineagesC, inasmuch as
he !as entitled to t!o cro!ns,Kthat o his ather, the (halu"ya "ing, !ho belonged to
the lineage o the 4oon, and that o his maternal grand0ather, the (hola "ing, !ho
belonged to the lineage o the /un.
$I
)is pro!ess !as elt by his enemies all round and he
emerged victorious in every contest. Anantavarman (hoda05anga, "ing o the Kalinga
country, having once ailed to pay tribute in time, Kulottunga sent an army under his
commander0in0chie, Karuna"ara0 Tondaiman and brought that country under his control.
This !ar it is that urnished the theme or Fayam0"ondanCs Kalingattup#parani, a !ar0
song the li"e o !hich no other literature in the !orld can boast o. )e ruled the (hola
empire rom 5angai0"onda cholapuram, in the heart o the Tamil country, nominating his
sons *ira (hola and *i"rama (hola as *iceroys o *engi. En his death in ==$& A. '., his
son *i"rama (hola ascended the throne. #t is in his days and in those o his son
Kulottunga ## and his grand son >a+ara+a ## that great Tamil poets li"e Etta""utta and
Kamban and -ugalendi lourished. These "ings too !ere rulers over both the Tamil and
the Andhra countries and some o the viceroys !hom they sent rom the (hola country
settled in Andhra and in a generation or t!o turned Andhras. C*elananduC and C-ottappiC
(holas are examples o this process.
The Tamil scholars o those days !ere also !ell versed in the literary !or"s o the
Andhras. The &apparungala#virutti, a reno!ned commentary !hich must be attributed to
the tenth or the eleventh century A. '., cites an old prosodical !or" in the Andhra
language said to have been !ritten by one *anchi. Though the reading in the printed
boo"s is C*an+i,C some manuscripts may be ta"en to yield the reading CAvaran+iC
2Aparan+i ?3. (ompetent Telugu scholars are not able to trace an author o this name. The
existence o so early a prosodical treatise sho!s that the Andhra literature must have been
very rich. )ere !e have proo positive that the absence in the present day o Telugu
!or"s earlier than those o ,annayya0Bhatta 2==th century3 cannot support the vie! that
there !as no Telugu literature prior to his days.
'(nd(r(d )rom TAM*+ ,y
>. /E/)A'>#0A#DA,5A>, B.A., B.H.
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