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vMADRAS UNIVBBSITY SPECIAL LECTURES

ONINDIAN HISTORY AND ARCHiBOLOGY

SECOND SERIES

THE BEGINNINGS OF SOUTH INDIAN HISTOEYj


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PUBLISHED BYTHE MODERN PRINTING WORKS,MOUNT ROAD, MADRAS.


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I THEBEGINNINGS OFSOUTH INDIAN HISTORY

S. KRISHNASWAMI AIYANGAR.PBOPESSOR OF INDIAN HISTORY AND ARCHEOLOGY,UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS

MADKASTHE MODERN PKINTING WORKS,MOUNT ROAD.1918

Prick Rs. 3/12.] [5 ^ n^.^.


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First Editi(yn: March 1918.All Rights Beserved.


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PREFACE.The following pages contain the substance of the

oourse of Special Lectures delivered before theUniversity of Madras in January and Februaryof this year. I have also included in this course byway of introduction two other lectures ; the first ofthese was intended to be the inaugural lecture forthe University and the second delivered on a previousoccasion, both of them bearing directly on the subjectof this course. In one or two cases the lecture asdelivered was revised to give it the necessary expan-sion to make it fuller. Otherwise the volumecontains no more than the special course of lectures.The sources of matter for these lectures have

often been exploited by fits and starts, for variouspurposes on occasions by different writers. No one,however, made a constructive critical attempt tomake these yield the results they were capable of,except the late Mr. Kanakasabhai Pillai of theMadras Postal Service. His work, giving as it doesobvious evidence of great learning and considerable


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VI PREPAOB.insight, still fell short in the essential particular thateach one of the sources tapped was not subjected toa detailed criticism in respect of its historical worth.Notwithstanding this defect it is monumentalwork which deserves better of the Tamilian thoughhis conclusions may not all of them stand the test oftime and criticism, Since his time we haveadvanced considerably, and most of the classics havebeen edited critically by Pandits who deserve publicthanks for the labour and learning brought to bearupon the work. Improvements are certainly possi-ble and will surely come if some interest is evincedin the results of that work. The names of PanditMahamahopadhyaya Swaminatha Aiyar of Madras,the late Pandit Binnattur Narayanaswami Aiyar ofKumbhakonam and Pandit Kangaswami Aiyangarof Vaniambadi deserve special mention in thisconnection. It gives me the greatest pleasure toacknowledge my obligation to their work. I shouldnot forget, however, another labourer of an eldergeneration, the late Mr. C. W. Thamotharam Pillaito whose loving labours we are indebted for a num-ber of Tamil works which otherwise would havebeen ordinarily inaccessible.In regard to the late Mr. Kanakasabhai's work

a criticism was fashionable that his work was* patriotic'. It was Johnson that said * Patriotism is-


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PREPAGE. ^11the last resort of the scoundrel.' This remark ofthe great Doctor may have had its application inhis time and may not be altogether without it inother times. The late Mr. Kanakasabhai might havelet his patriotism get the better of his judgment onoccasions. I have carefully tried to avoid layingmyself open to such a heavy charge. My troublehas been the difficulty of making facts already knownagree with those we may arrive at. This is a test notalways applied in recent investigations and both thestatement of facts so-called, and the suppressing ofthose that may be inconvenient, have in some casesgone together. I have tried scrupulously to avoidboth, though both errors of omission and commis-sion are possible. Too much has been attempt-ed to be made of epigraphical evidence recently, andthe late Mr. Venkayya's name was quoted againstme in the connection. I had known the late Mr.Venkayya for near a score of years before hislamented death, and I may even say that I amobliged to him for a part of tbe inspiration thatultimately led me to this field of work. Mr.Venkayya was in substantial agreement with mein regard to the general position, but he had hisdoubts as to the Silappadikaram and Mariimekhalaibeing of the same age. I am almost certain thathad he lived dcw, he would have accepted, the con-


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Ill PREFACE.elusions I have arrived at. I leave the reader tojudge for himself in regard to these conclusions ; allI wish to state here is that I have not allowed* patriotism ' to take command of evidence.

In regard to the evidence of this body of materiala few words may usefully be said here. The wholecollection of literature that goes by the collectivename ' Sangam Works,' is of the nature ofanthologies with few exceptions. They were occa-sional poems, the objects of which were generallythe celebration of the achievements of patrons.Having regard to this character of theirs they aresometimes very outspoken ; but generally they shewa tendency to * add another hue unto the rainbow.* Itis, however, easily possible to allow for the panegyristin the poet. These poems fall into two classesaccording to the conventions of Tamil Rhetoric.Those relating to the * field of action ' are directand connect themselves with specific events andincidents in the life of the patron. Those ' dealingwith emotion * are less direct in regard to thepoints of reference, but they have to celebratesomething connected with the achievements of theactual patron addressed or that of his ancestors.Judiciously used the latter provide material asvaluable as the former does. The only com-parison possible in respect of these is the pre-


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PRBPACB. latHomeric lays or the bardic tales of the days ofchivalry in Europe, or even India. There areabout twenty collections that will go into thisolass. Of these all but two of the more importanthave been printed. The others remain yet to bepublished.

In the use of this wealth of material, whichundoubtedly is of the nature of contemporary evid-ence, what is required is such a general study aswould give an idea of the * general lie of the land '

before specific use of the material is attempted. Muchof the work that is generally done suffers from awant of this preliminary equipment. In thefollowing pages I have had it before me all thetime to avoid this. How far I have achievedsuccess, it is not for me to say.

I take advantage of this preface to make cleartwo points in the work which seem ambiguous. Onp. 48 Pinna Timma is referred to as the grandsonof Ramaraja. This latter is likely to be understoodas the Ramaraja wi:io fell at Talikota. The nextfollowing sentences seem to confirm this impression.Both Pinna Timma and Rama of Talikota werealike grandsons of another Bama Raja, who servedwith distinction under Narasa and his son ViraNarasimha. Pinna Timma and his brother Vittalawere fisst cousins of Ramaraja, and conducted the


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X PREFACE.expedition to the South and organised the MaduraProvince under Sadasiva and Kamaraja. The nextpoint calling for remark here is on p. 223 where thefirst sentence, beginning on this page, refers to theabsence of mention of Fattini in the poem underdiscussion. It is quite likely that this was due tothe fact that this poem was written before Sengufc-tuvan's northern invasion and the building of thetemple of Pattini which came after the 50th yearof his reign, when the others of his achievementsdiscussed had become well known (vide Silappadika-ram canto XXVII. 11. 118-128 & 11. 165-175).

I have the greatest pleasure here in acknowledg-ing my obligations to the Syndicate of the MadrasUniversity for having sanctioned the expenses ofcopying for my use the Ahananuru manuscript inthe Government Manuscripts Library ; to Eai SahibH. Krishna Sastrigal for his kindness in lendingme the impressions and the office transcripts of twovaluable Pandya grants: namely the Velvikkudigrant, and the larger Sinnamanur Plates ; and toPandit Maha. Swaminaiha Aiyar for having been atthe trouble to copy and supply me with two of thevaluable poems in the collection from his excellentlycollated text of the Ahananiiru. I am equallyobliged to Mr. M. K. Srinivasa Aiyangar, the Pro-prietor of the Modern Printing Works, for having


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PBBPAaB. Xtycheerfully undertaken the publication of this work,and for having done it so well, putting the workthrough the Press in less than three weeks. Oneof my research students, Mr, N. R. Sattanathan,B. A. (Hons.) took the trouble of preparing theindex and the errata which it was found impossibleto avoid owing to the rapidity with which the workwent through the Press. I acknowledge withpleasure my indebtedness to him for these goodoffices.

1st Ml^ehlhs. ] ^- Krishnaswami Aiyangar.


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INTRODUCTORYI

RESEARCH IN INDIAN HISTORYWHAT HISTORY IB

* History is fable agreed upon * was howhistory was understood at one time when theidea of history primarily as a piece of lite-rature held sway. We have since gone a longway from that position. Without attemptingto set forth what history is, a task whichbaffled the genius of far greater men thanI am, I may make an extract from one of theleading, thinkers of the day on matters ger-mane thereto, to gain an idea of what isactually understood by the term. Lord Mot-ley has it in his Notes on Politics and History,* History, in the great conception of it, hasoften been compared to a mountain chainseen far off in a clear sky, where the peaksseem linked towards one another towards


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^ INTRODUCTORYthe higher crest of the group. An ingeniousand learned writer the other day amplifiedthis famous image, by speaking of a set ofvolcanic islands heaving themselves out ofthe sea, at such angles and distances thatonly to the eye of a bird, and not to a sailor


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RBSEAEGH IN INDIAN HISTORY 3the play as if it were the fifth act, and soconceive^ the plot all amiss. The event isonly comprehended in its fullest dimensions,and for that the historic recorder, like orunlike the actor before him, needs insightand iinagination.'" Further on, the same greatauthority says : * All agree that we have nobusiness to seek more from the past than thevery past itself. Nobody disputes with Cicerowhen he asks : *^Who does not know that it isthe first law of history not to dare a word thatis false ? Next, not to shrink from a word thatis true. No partiality, no gru^e." Thoughnobody disputes the obvious answers, have amajority of historical practitioners complied ?'

HISTOEY OF HINDU INDIAThese extracts are quite enough to indicate

on the one hand what history is according tothe most enlightened modern opinion and onthe other, what difficulties coafront a labourera journeyman labourerin the vast fieldsof that history in India as yet but littleexplored. Even from the coveted height ofthe eagle if one oasts his eyes upon the^


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4 INTRODUCTORYfeist.ory of Hindu India one feelsone hardlysees enough even of the volcanic islands, andthe few that he might be able to see, one feelshe sees but too dimly through the mist of ageand increasing distance. It is notorious thatIndia has but little history of her own.

WANT OF CHRONOLOGYIt was the illustrious historian of India,

Blpbinstone, that observed in 1839 that, inregard to Indian History, 'no date of a publicevent can be fired before the invasion ofAlexander; and no connected relation of thenational transaction can be attempted untilafter the Muhammadan conquest.* Oowellextended the application of this caution tothe whole of the Hindu Period, writing as hedid in 1868- During the next half century wehave advanced from this position a long wayindeed, and Vincent A. Smith's Earhj Historyof India is the most substantial vindication ofthe possibility of compiling a connected historyof Hindu India, but even so much advancedoes not invalidate the first part of Elphin-stone's dictum/


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KESEAEGH IN INDIAN HISTOEY 5AN OXFORD CHAIR FOR INDIAN HISTORY

ONLY BRITISH CONNEOTIGNIfe is nearly half a century since, that the

first attempt was made at Oxford to institutea chair or something near it, for the study ofIndian History ; but the work of this founda-tion was, however, limited to the history of theBritish connection with India. The inauguraladdress delivered in January 1914 by thepresent occupant of this position. Rev. WilliamHolden Hutton, b. d., contains the followingappeal anent this question : He (the Eeader)is instructed by statute to lecture on ** TheRise, Growth and Organization of theBritish Power in India." This leads me tosay what I think very much needs saying to-day. It is a grievous weakness in the Uni-versity's provision for learning that there isnothing done for the study of Indian Historyin ancient and mediaeval times. I should liketo direct the attention of those who have thecontrol of the Chancellor's Fund to thisstrange omission. A period of the world'shistory of extraordinary interest and of reallyenormous importance is entirely neglected in


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S INTKODUCTORYour provision lor learning, education and re-search. It is true tliat we have distinguishedscholars who have, from time to time, dealtwith a part of this subject, such as ProfessorMacdonnell and Mr. Vincent A. Smith ; butthe former has already a subject so widethat only his knowledge and energy couldadequately deal with it, while the latter has^I deeply regret to say, no official position inour midst.

NO PROVISION FOR GENERAL INDIANSTUDIES

Purely Indian History, with its literatureand philosophy, Indian Geography, historicaland descriptive, (except so far as I am toldto deal with it) a subject of extraordinaryfascination in itself, Indian archaeology, areunprovided for in this University. In spite ofthe generosity which created, and has, fromtime to time, enriched the Indian Institute, itstill fails to play the important part it mightplay, and was intended to play, in the educa-tion at Oxford. What the Chancellor of theUniversity said in 1909 is, I am afraid, stilJtrue.


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RESEAECH IN INDIAN HISTORY TTHE INDIAN INSTITUTE

' The Institute has not in any appreciabledegree provided a meeting-ground for the Eastand West, or a place of social intercoursebetween English and Indian students. ItsMuseum has failed * to bring together atypical collection of objects suited to educat-ional purposes and sufficiently complete togive a fair idea of the industrial occupations^domestic and religious customs of the peoplesubject to our rule;' or * to present a fairepitome of India, eminently attractive notonly to indologists, but to ethnologists andanthropologists of all nationalities.' Thescheme of constant lectures by distinguishedAnglo-Indian administrators and Orientalistswhich started under happy auspices, has falleninto desuetude. The Institute possesses nopermanent endowment, and is ill-provided inrespect of stafi and attendance^ besides beingquite unable to extend its sphere of influence.'

k


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8 INTRODUCTORYTHE DEMAND OF THE GREATEST OFOXFORD HISTORIANS (BISHOP STUBBS)

I believe that this is largely due to the factthat we have still left unheeded the declarationof the greatest of Oxford historians, made solong ago as 1876, when Mr. Sidney Owen hadbeen teaching Indian History in Oxford foreight years. *At the present moment wewant', then said the Begins Professor ofModern History (after proclaiming anotherneed which is still, as I think most disastrously,unsatisfied) :

" We want a permanent chair of IndianHistory. The labours of our friend, the presentIndian Reader, have shown us how.thoroughlythat study, the importance of which canscarcely be over-rated by Englishmen, falls inwith the current of our University work. Isay a permanent chair, because that is asubject of permanent necessity, not a subjectlike palaBOgraphy or numismatology, in whichthe labours of one good professor may servefor two or three generations, and the endow-ment of the man is of equal importance withthe endowment of the chair or study."


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KESEARCH IN INDIAN HISTOEY 9That demand of Dr. Stubbs, made nearly

forty years ago, is not yet met. I appeal tothose whose interest in India is real, whodesire that her history should be fally knownaad rightly understood, who desire that sheshould be recognised in her greatness' amoagthe nations, to Indian princes, and toEuropeans who have made fortunes in India,to provide for the creation of a Professorshipof Indian History in the University which isalready so clearly linked, and could be linkedmore closely, to the Indian Empire.

THE SAME NEED FOR INDIAThis was the demand made for Oxford forty

years ago, already provided with some kindof equipment to meet this particular need.Thanks to the Universities Act of 1904 andthe enlightened generosity of the Governmentof India it has become possible for us now tothink of doing something to reclaim that partof the history of our couotry of which the dist-ant Oxford Professors of History shewed them-selves so solicitous nearly half a century ago.


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10 INTRODUCTORYTHE MATERIAL AVAILABLE FOR MEETING

THIS NEEDThe difficulties that have to be overcome in

any work of research in this field are manyand require talents of the highest order overa wide field of study. Broadly speaking thesources of Indian History can be grouped intothree broad classes, namely :

J. Indian Literaktre {Traditionary andHistorical) ;IL Foreign Literature, chiefly the works

of travellers^ (S;c,\III. Archaeology, Monumental, Numi-

smatic and Epigraphic.L INDIAN LITERATURE

The first of these classes falls naturally intotwo groups, namely, (a) Ordinary literature,embodying traditional history in regard tostriking incidents and personalities. Thesefind casual mention in works with no histori-cal object of any kind and will be of invalu-able service in the construction of history. Thechief difficulty that besets the subject hereis the absence of any chronological clue.


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BESEAECH IN INMAN HISTOKY 11which many of the classical works of Uterafeurewant generally, either in Sanskrit or in ourDravidian Vernaculars. There are some workswhich, either in the preface or in a colophon atthe end of the work, give invariably the nameand ancestors of the author, sometimes alsothe name and ancestry similarly of the patron ;and occasionally the date of composition orcompletion of the work. Where this clue isavailable the work is of some value tothe historiannot generally for history asit is ordinarily understood, Political Historybut as throwing some side-light upon a sociahreligious or other feature of general history.

Arrangement upon a ChronologicalScheme

The greater part of the literature of thecountry has first of all to be carefully studiedcritically and arranged on a well-plannedchronological scheme. This is true alike ofSanskrit and Vernacular literaturethe onlydifference being that in regard to Sanskritsome work has already been done, while inregard to the Dravidian languages which areof material importance to the history of this


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12 INTRGDUCTOEYpart of the country, the work has hardly re-ceived attention except in very rare instances.To the aspiring historian of South India thiswill prove the first preliminary spade workessential to any undertaking. He has unfor-tunately to deal with not any one language butwith three, four or five languages, accordingto the period and the locality to which hedirects his ambition and his attention. It ishere co-operation and combination, in theshape of a school of workers in history isrequired, each one of whom limiting hisambition to contributing to the main resultwithout special recognition or reward for eachbrick he might have directly contributed tomake.

Professedly Historical WorksThe next department of the literature . of

the country that has here to be taken intoconsideration is the purely historical litera-turea department in which, so far as theavailable materials goIndia is peculiarlyweak, so much so that we often hear it saidlihat the faculty for history is utterly absentin India. Bearing in mind that history as we


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RESEARCH IN INDIAN HISTORY 13understand fcbe term now is practically thework of nineteenth-century Europe, we canstill say with justice that Europe, is wellprovided with historical literature for manyages and many countries. So it is even withChina. In regard to India we can hardlysay the same, and when we limit our visionto the south we can almost say there is nonesuch at all. The absence of professed his-tories does not necessarily imply the absenceof historical material in literature. There ismuch of that kind of ore tbat can be minedin literature, but it requires the smelting fur-nace of criticism, with plenty of oxydisingmaterial in the shape of chronological datafrom other sources, and slag of confirma-tory evidence to separate the facts from thefigments of imagination in which these getembedded. Much of this is true even of thefew professed histories that we possess. Thetypical examples of such are Kalhana's Raja-tarangini, Baaa's Harsha Charitam andBilhana's Vikramankadeva Charitam for Sans-krit, the Kongudes'a Eajakkal in Tamil andvarious other smaller historical pieces found


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KESEAECH IN INDIAN HISTOKY 15upon to point out that the work that lies aheadhere, almost immediately in front of us, is acritical examination of these, and their pre-sentation in the form of a connected descrip-tion, so as ultimately to lead up to the writingof a hand-book of literature for each of theliteratures of these Dravidian languages onthe lines of similar works for Europeanlanguages we have in such number and variety.When this is done it will be found that theamplitude of the material available for historyis much more than we imagine at first-sight.II. FOREIGN SOURCES OF INDIAN HISTORY

GreekPassing on to the next division, * Foreign

sources of Indian History ' we have here avery large number of contributories in regularsuccession beginning almost with the Fatherof History, Herodotus. For Northern Indiawe have a number of Greek accounts ofvarying degrees of value historically from theage of Herodotus to the days of Asoka almost,and when this begins to fail, Chinese sourcesbegin to appear, about fche beginning of the


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16 INTBODUCTOBYChristian era. Of the Greek sources I mayjust mention besides Herodotus, Kte^ias,Megasthenes and Arrian, not to mentionQuinctus Curtius and Appollonious of Tyana.

ChineseOf Chinese sources there is the ChineseFather of History Ssu-ma-ch'ien in the first

century B. C. and from that time a largenumber of travellers came almost up to theMubamraadan conquest. Of these we needonly mention the well-known ones, Fa-hien atthe beginning of the fifth century and HiuenThsaug in the middle of the seventh. Ex-cepting this last none of the foreign sourcescited above have anything but an occasionalreference to South India. There is besidesthe recently discovered Tibetan sources whichhave not yet been adequately worked up tobe of use to the student.For South IndiaUnder this head South India is not without

its own share of illumination from outside.Megasthenes has a few references about thesouth. There is the Geographer Pliny, then

I


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RESEABCH IN INDIAN HISTORY 17comes in chronological order the unknownauthor of the Periplus o! the Erythraean Sea,and then Ptolemy. Past this period we areable to derive some valuable information fromHiuen Thsang. Last -of all there is MarcoPolo. For periods later than this we havethe Muhammadan travellers, some of themare of very great value, such as Ibn Batutahand Abdur Razak. There are besides a num-ber of other European travellers that came tosome part of the southern coast or the interior^Nicolo^dei-Conti who was a contemporary ofDeva Raya I, Varthema, the Portuguesetraders Nuniz and Paes, and others.

These Shed but Intermittent LightWith very few exceptions the light that

these throw upon the history of the countryis anything but continuous, and often the in-formation that we gain of the best amongthem can be regarded as of value only whenwe have other sources of information to con-trol them. All the same we owe it to themthat we have recovered a few bright chaptersof South Indian History, and we must acknow-


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18 INTRODUCTORYledge our obligations to the disinterestedlabour of European savants to whom entirelyis due the credit of having made these avail-able to us.

MUHAMMADAN HISTORIANSI have so far not made any mention of the

Muhammadan historians as a class : For thelater period of Hindu History of South Indiathese historians are of considerable importanceas outside sources, though hitherto they werethe only sources. I class them as outsidefor none of them, of design, write the historyof any State of Hindu India. Such referenceas they make are only incidental and bringthem in in the course of the history of theparticular Muhammadan State or States whosehistory they attempt to write. These againhave been made available for use by us by anelder generation of European scholars, thoughthere is still room for good scholarly workleft upon these.


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RESEARCH IN INDIAN HISTORY 19Aech^bological Sources

(I) MONUMENTALWe come last of all to the sources, archaeo-

logical. These have been divided into (1)monumental, (2) numismatic and (3) epi-graphic.These monuments in the shape of buildings,temples and structures of various kinds throwvery considerable light upon the religion, artand civilization in general of the particularperiod to which they belong. They also let418 in into the secrets of history in regard tothe various influences, foreign or local, thatmay have had operation in the productionof these monuments. To be able to studythese monuments, these monuments mustexist. So work in this branch of archaeology,as a necessary preliminary, takes the characterof an organisation for the preservation of thosemonuments that are visible ; then it requiresan organisation to carry on work in search fornew monuments, and the exposition of thosethat may be available for study.


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20 INTRODUCTOBYPrivate Effort Impossible in this LineIn a vast country like ours and having

regard to the character and condition of thesemonuments as they are, this becomes particul-arly a branch of study which does not lenditself at all to private work in regard to itsfirst branch ; the second branch of it, researchwork in monuments, may to some extent bedone by private workers but even in thisbranch organised work is so necessary forutility that it is only rich societies or Govern-ments that can undertake the conservationand research work satisfactorily, where thelatter involve as in the case of the Taxilaexcavations, or excavations carried on atpresent at Patalipura, a large outlay of expen-diture. After a period of neglect, work uponthis branch was undertaken by General Cun-ningham in the sixties of the last century asDirector-General ; but his work was confinedto Northern and Central India. A decadelater came on an expansion under Burgesswhen the whole of India was included for work.In either case these officers and their staffconfined themselves to research work alone


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EESEAECH IN INDIAN HISTOKY 21which ig embodied in the volumes of Archso-logical Survey XXII by the first, and XXXIIIby the second. A first shy attempt was madeat conservation of existing monuments in1881, and ultimately, thanks to the exertionof various influences, a more comprehensivescheme was put into force at the beginning ofthe new century, and we are now on a furtherstep forward in the development of archaBolo-gical work as the Government of India Re-solution on the subject indicates.J!?UMi8MATics : Largely Private Effort

so FABIt is in the second branch of arch^ological

work that private effort is quite possible to avery large extent, and a great deal of workhas already been done. There are very goodcollections of coins, seals, &c., in the variousmuseums in India and elsewhere. They haveall been carefully studied and catalogued, inaddition to much private work that has alreadybeen done. It is possible that this may turnout to be a costly fad to an individual butunder proper direction it need not be quite80 costly at all.


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22 INTRODUCTOKYInvaluable to the Cheonology of

Particulab PeriodsCostly or otherwise it is a very useful fad and

many parts of Indian History have 'becomepossible only by the study of coins, and severalothers have received much needed chronologi-cal assistance therefrom.

EPIGRAPHYLastly we come to epigraphy, which for the

part of the country with which we are directlyconcerned, is the most important of thesesources, and which has reclaimed to us losthistory in regard to various periods, localitiesand dynasties. For the period anterior toA. D. 400 these records obtained so far, are notvery many for South India. The total for thewhole of India, both North and South, is about1100 to 3200.Becords Preponderate in Number in South

India for Periods After A.D. 400For the period on this side of A.D. 400 the

number already brought to notice up to 1906,when the late Professor Kielhorn compiled hisindexes to the inscriptions, is about 700 for


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KESEAKCH IN INDIAN HISTOKY 23Northern India and 1090 for the South. Therehave since been added to these the-yearly,collections of which it is only a comparativelysmall number that has yet been placed beforethe public in a shape to be dealt with in thatmanner.

Large Numbers of these EecordsDr. Fleet, one of the greatest authorities

in Indian Epigraphy, has it, * And, where-as new records are every year being freelyobtained in Northern India it is known thereis in Southern India a wealth of material theextent of which can hardly yet be gauged/According to the same authority the collectionof transcripts made by Sir Walter Elliott was695 from the Kanarese country, besides aconsiderable number from the Telugu Districts.These are placed in the libraries of the RoyalAsiatic Society, London, and the University ofEdinburgh. Dr. Hultzsch had collected andedited about 300 inscriptions in the first twovolumes of South Indian inscriptions, andabout an equal number has been added sinceto the same publication by the issue of one


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RESEARCH IN INDIAN HISTORY 25liappens to be a donative offering to a templeor a Brahman it not merely gives genealogicaldetails of the donor and donee, but very oftenelaborate details of rural administration.Sometimes we come upon records of howjustice was administered, in these very docu-ments. In regard to the simpler details ofhistory these records describe them conciselyand accurately, and being not deliberately setout as history are all the more reliable. Agreat number of these records are preciselydated in some one era or another, or in regnalyears of the sovereign for the time being. Thusthey give us an amount of information of sucha character that ordinary histories even of amodern character will not usually give us ; sothat it is possible to construct from the ins-criptions alone something more than merepolitical history. Thanks to the exertions ofvarious scholars of the passing generation, wehave all the various Indian eras in use equa.tedto the Christian era and tables constructed togive equivalent dates.


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26 INTRODUCTORYCo-ordination of Work Desirable

These records, available to us in such largenumbers, have made it possible to compile apolitical history of India from the first cen-tury B.C. onwards with sufficient fullness upto the fourth century A. D. and with greaterfullness afterwards. But to make the bestuse of these records and get them to yieldall the results they are capable of yieldingwork in this line will have to go hand in handwith work in other departments of research' in which hardly a beginning has been made,beyond a preliminary treatment, in detachedwritings, of details which will have to behereafter brought together and handled onbroader lines in connected and more easilyaccessible works/Fleet's Two Desiderata : (i) Research in

MonumentsDr. Fleet calls for two lines of work of which

we have promise, one being taken up systema-tically and in a more liberal spirit thanheretofore, in the Government of IndiaEesolution on Archaeology, namely research


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'^ INTRODUCTORYgreat labour in the literatures of four or livelanguages, in thousands of inscriptions in allthese languages, besides the monuments,coins and works of art generally.

Sympathetic Study op Indian ArtIt is a hopeful sign of the times that these

last are coming in for their share of attentionat the hands of some individuals and Govern-ments, and what is more they are coming tobe studied with more of that sympathy whichhitherto was notoriously wanting. In thewords of Justice Woodroffe : *' It has been thefashion amongst European art- critics to decrythe merits of Brahmanical sculpture on the-ground of the alleged monstrosities of theHindu pauranic conceptions, which, it hasbeen said, are incapable of artistic treatment.The examples collected in this volume* will,it is hoped, help to dispel such misconceptionsand to refute the unjust criticisms which theyhave engendered, and will further a justerappreciation of the fact that Indian Sculptureis not a freak of Asiatic barbarism, but is a

South Indian Bronaes by 0. 0. Qaneooly.


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EESEARCH IN INDIAN HISTOBY 29worthy representative of a school of aestheticperformance as logical, articulate and highlydeveloped as those of any country in Europe,ancient or modern."

Vinceiit A. Smith's " History Fine Art inIndia and Ceylon/' Havell's "Ancient andMedieval Architecture," Gopinatha Rao's" Hindu Iconography," Gangooly'e " SouthIndian Bronzes " and a more systematic workupon a narrower field of work, only the Tamilcountry, namely " South Indian Architectureand Iconography " by Professor Jouveau-Du-breuil of Pondicherry, all works of recentyears do but indicate the rising interest inthis line of work.

Universities Shew InterestIt is therefore none too soon that the

University of Madras, along with a few othersof her sister Universities, resolved to utilisethe liberal annual grant of the Governmentof India for starting a school of Indian studiesby instituting Professorships and Readershipsin Indian History and Languages havingreference to South India chiefly. The success


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^ INTKODUCTORYor failure of this scheme depends upon theinterest it can evoke and the co-operation itcan enlist from among the alumni of theUniversitypast and present.In calling for sympathetic interest and co-

operation particularly from the Universitystudents here, I cannot do better than quotefrom Professor Maitland the words in whichhe once expressed the needs of historicalstudy, ' needs which are nowhere more explicitand evident than in regard to India.'

* More co-operation, more organisation,more and better criticism, more advise forheginners, are needed. And the need, if notmet, will increase. History is lengtheningand widening, and deepening. It is lengthen-ing at both ends, for while modern States inmany parts of the world are making history ata bewilderingly rapid rate, what used to becalled ancient history is no longer, by anymeans, the ancientest ; Egypt, Assyria, Baby-lonia, and even primeval man, are upon ourhands. And history is widening. Could weneglect India, China and Japan, there wouldbe still America, Australia, Africa, as well as


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KESEAECH IN INDIAN HISTOEY 31Europe, demanding that their stories shouldbe told, and finding men to tell them wellor to tell them badly. And history isdeepening. We could not, if we would, besatisfied with the battles and the protocols,the alliances and the intrigues. Literatureand art, religion and law, rents and prices,creeds and superstitions have burst thepolitical barrier and are no longer to beexpelled. The study of interactions andinterdependences is but jusc beginning and noone can foresee the end. There is much to hedone by schools of histonj : there will be moreto be done every year.'

Co-operation in this particular line is easierfor us as the languages that have to bemastered are many and the knowledge thatwould be really useful is a deep knowledge ofone or more of these. The other technicaldetails in the present state of work in the sub-ject are admittedly easy of acquisition. Indiantalent comes in very handy in archaeologicalwork and ought to be offered largely andaccepted liberally. It is only then that theschool of Indian studies will become a realised


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IITHE VALUE OF LITERATURE

IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF INDIANHISTORY

It is a notorious fact that Indian literaturehas few professed histories, and the infer-ence seems warranted that the historicalfaculty received no development in the country.History, as we understand it, is entirely aproduct of the nineteenth century even inEurope. Works which constitute good materi-al for history have been many, whatever theirshortcomings from the point of view of themodern historian. It is in the sense of profes-sed histories which may be subjected to criti-cism and used as material, that histories arewanting in India.

So the problem of constructing the historyof India as a whole, or of any part of it, issubject to this additional defect. Defectiveit may be and much more so than in European

33


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THE VALUE OF LITEBATUBE 35and may yield us results beyond our expecta-tions. I have not set myself to inquire herewhether it is so, nor whether all literaryevidence has been brought to bear on historicalresearch. I shall only try to show that theinquiry will not be in vain if it is made.

This inquiry necessarily leads us to thequestion of languages. For any work of re-search concerning India, Sanskrit is indis-pensable. This is clear from what we knowof the pre-Buddhistic period of Indian history.When we come to deal with South India,Tamil becomes equally essential. Of theother Dravidian languages, Telugu does nottake its available literature much anteriorto the ninth century A.D., and this litera-ture seems to be modelled upon Sanskritentirely. Kanarese has certainly a moreancient literature. A work of the ninth cen-tury undoubtedly is the Kavirajamarga ofNripatunga* If a work of poetics like this hadbeen written in the ninth century, we mightpresume that there was an amount of anteriorliterature to require this. Malayalam seemsto have grown out of Tamil in the early ceiu


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THE VAIiUB OF lilTBRATURE '37here, but literature so far as it can be of usefor the making of history.That literature can provide for history needsno proof now. The study of the literature ofPali, the veruacular of a part of Northern Indiain the centuries before Christ, opened to us afresh vista into the domain of the history of aa-cient India. Will the Dravidian languagessimilarly open another vista ? It is this que^tion I shall attempt' to answer here, confiningmy observations to Tamil literature, the oldestand the most voluminous of these southerntongues, as they are at present. That a system-atic study of this literature will yield resultaof great value even where one least expects itr,I can illustrate from the following incident inthe life of Kamanuja, the Vaishnava apostle.

Tradition states, and the Ghiruparamparais(histories of apostolic succession) record, thatKamanuja constructed the temple at the townof Tirupati, and enshrined the image ol'Govindaraja there. This image was believedto have been the image of Govindaraja atChidambaram, pulled out of the tepaple andcast into the sea by a certain Chola king, called


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8B INTBODUCTORYKrimikanta by the Vaishnavas, a persecutingOhola. So far as I kaow at present, thereseems to be no inscription bearing upon thisquestion, and the matter was believed to betraditional and nothing more. It was assertedin a court of law that the existence of theVishnu shrine at Chidambaram was due to thepious fraud of a Yaishnava Brahman, whoplanted the image of Vishnu over night, andduped the people, who woke up one morningto find the image of Vishnu in the Saiva (Holyof Holies). If the witness himself believed init., as in hoaesty we are bound to grant he did,he must have been a credulous person indeed.We are not concerned with his credulity orotherwise, but we are with the credibility ofthe tale. Stanza 86 i of the Tiruchchirram-balakkovai of Manikkavasagar states in thewords of the devotee that Vishnu was lyingin the court yard of the temple at Chidam-baram supplicating Siva, when, in response1 LfffiBiSL-iB ^rreoriifL ^tTemuirair neSaSemQ LfdjBfSujfr


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THE VALUE OF LITEKATUKE 41of all the three. Among the works ascribedto him are three ulas, as they are called, piecesof conventional, composition celebrating apatroQ as he passes in triumph through thestreets of his capital, appealing to his vanityby elaborate descriptions of the effects pro-duced upon the lady folk of the city. I takethe following extracts from the Kulottunga-cholaiiula ^ and Hdjarajanula ^ regarding theVishnu shrine at Chidambaram. These twopassages indicate iu no uncertain termsthat, in carrying out the renovation of thetemple, Kulottunga found the opportunityto get rid of the * old little gods ' which wereobnoxious to his piety. That the Vishnu shrinewas what was particularly offensive to this pious

^QJsS


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42 INTEODUCTOKYdevotee is clear from the expression QpoieSp^L^eQeo ^^(^S^i^^ which means * submergingin the sea, the former house '. This very ideaof the author and the same act of his zealouspatron j&nd expression in another work, theTaJcJcayagapparani. s It is clear then thatKulottunga II, the grandson of the first ofthat name, perpetrated this act of pioushostility to the Govindaraja shrine, whichled to the establishment by Ramanuja of theshrine at Tirupati town.

Last of all is a Sanskrit extract which letsus know how the Govindaraja temple came tobe again where it is at present. It is a quot-ation from the Prapannamritram of a certainAnantarya, a descendent of Andhrapurna whowas a contemporary of Ramanuja. It is a lifeof Ramanuja and his followers at the end ofwhich the author of the life gives his owngenealogy. In the course of this pedigree occurs

8 QpaarBp Ql(b^ sq^slb^ QurriL (zpar^ssTdsteo


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THE VALUE OF LITERATURE 43a passage,9 which, freely rendered^ means thatRamaraya, who came after Krishnaraja^ oncewent to Chandragiri taking with him his GVuruTatarya. Mahacharya (Doddayacharya, ashe is popularly called) of the Vadiilagotraat the height of fame for learning, was thenin residence at Ghatikachalam (Sholingar).He wished to restore the temple of Godnda-raja at Chidambaram (Chitrakiita), whichhad been uprooted by the Chola Krimikanta.Overcoming in argument the invincible

j?tr^^rf%^2 ^r^nrr ^^^ ii


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44 INTRODUCTORYSaivas, this great one in learning restoredthe Govindaraja temple at Ohitrakuta withthe assistance of liamaraya. This Govinda-raja thus established by Mahaoharya is evenyet to be seen at Chidambaram.

These are isolated facts gathered from anumber of works, showing no obvious con-nexion with each other. How are they to bebrought together and used to serve thepurposes of history ?The first essential to history is chronology.

If the facts are not placed in the order inwhich I have placed them, they will beunintelligible ; and to place them in thisorder more is required than mere individualingenuity. If the last fact of the above seriescould only be placed before its predecessor,the contention of the recent litigants wouldfind some' justification. Unfortunately, how-ever, for them I am not marshalling herefacts in law for a judge and jury, but factsof history for a critical student. The investi-gation of the historian ought first of all to bechronological.


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THE VAI4UE OF LITEEATURE 45The date of Manikkavasagar cannot yet be

rega,rded as a settled fact of history. Varyingdates are ascribed to him, as offcen- with aswithout evideace. Some refer him to the fifthcentury A.D. ; others to the ninth century;others agaia to an antiquity not definitelyascertainable. That Sundaramurtinayanardoes not iaclude him among the Tiruttondaris one fact all are agreed upon ; and that hew^as a contemporary of a Varagunapandyan isalso tradition accepted on all hands. Theepigraphifit would keep him to the Varagunaof the eighth century after Christ. Theliterary critic sees quotations and adaptationfrom Manikkavasagar in the works of theearlier adiyars of the Saiva hagiology. Thathis works were well known in the thirteenthcentury, and the work that readily challengedcomparison with those of Manikkavasagar wasthe Tiruvoymoli of Nammalvar are in evidencein the following linesio of the Satagoparandadi^

amoins Qu-ULjff^ QsvsrQup QoifT^Eia&r esiSS&jeSCiQu


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46 INTRODUCTORYascribed to Kamban, who, there are goodreasons for believing, lived in the twelfthcenfenry a.d.

In this, as is evident, Kamban comparesthe thousand of Nammalvar to a thousandmilch-cows, both to the renounced and to theworldly ; and the Tiruvasagam to cows whichgive no milk. We are not concerned withthe judgment here, but only with the fact ofthe case, although it must be said in passingthat this prince of poets in Tamil is far frombeing a fanatical sectarian ; for he says inthe Bamayana^^^ ^ it is impossible to attainsalvation for those who dispute in ignorancethat Hara is the greater or the world measuringHari.'

Regarding the two Alvars the dates are nomore fixed than for Manikkavasagar. Theyare both of them anterior to the middle of theeleventh century a.d., inscriptions of whichdate refer to the works of these Alvars as

11 ^rar^a,^&>s^j5ji osifluj^sem cissrei\sins(^

Uffa^Qssr peeDL^onfinj uif^Q^Quirio


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THE VALUE OF LITERATUBE 47having been held in high esteem. One ^^ ofthe decades of Tirumangaialvar refers to theoccupation of Kanchi by a king called Vaira-meghan in the following terms. The firstbeing, that is in Attahhuyagaram in Kanchi,that was surrounded by the forces and fame ofVairameghan of long garland and high crown,entitled to the respectful submission of thePallava, the ruler of the Tondas (people ofTondamandalam). It is often not noticed thattwo distinct personages are under reference : theruler of Kanchi (Tondayarkon)and anotherentitled to his allegiance, called Vairameghan.This last is in all likelihood the Kashtrakutaking of the name, and not DantivarmanPallava, the son of Nandivarman Pallavamalla.The only date so far known for Vairaniegha

Dantidurga of the Rashtrakuta dynasty isA. D. 754. The latter half of the eighthcentury a. d. may, therefore, be taken asthe age of Tirumangaialvar.is The earlier

[(jpi^LDn^sv suaSaCoLDsek

13 Yide Obapter XIX of the author's Aaoient India,


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4 INTEODUCTORYquotations would thon refer us to the eighthand ninth centuries A. D. at the latest for theexistence of the Govindaraja temple at Chi-dambaram.The next batch of references leads to the

inference that it was Kulobtunga 11, the sonof Vikramachola and the father of RajarajaII A.D. {circa) 1133 to 1150, who uprootedthe shrine in his pious work of renovationof the great Saiva temple. This is clear fromthe quotations themselves which are fromthe works of a contemporary author.

Lastly, the Sanskrit quotation refers thereconstruction to Doddayacharya through thegood offices of a Ramaraja who ruled afterKrishnaraya. It was in this connetion thatthis teacher (acharya) came in contactwith Appaiya Dikshita, the great South Indianscholar and philosopher. In his commentaryon Vedanta Desika's Yadavdbhyudayavi, thisscholar says that he took up the work of acommentary on this kavya at the instance ofPinna Timma, grandson of Ramaraja. TheRamaraja referred to is clearly the one that fellat Talikota. There is nothing very improbable


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6 INTRODUCTOKY'kadai, is believed to be the work which gavethe authority for the use of the word kavya.This work is ascribed to the period of themiddle Sangam, that is, anterior to the thirdSangam, the works of which we have in somenumber. I have put forward my argumentsfor referring the third Sangam to the earliercenturies of the Christian era ; hencethis work ought; to be referable to a periodcoeval with the beginning of the era of Christ.If only this could be established beyond adoubt, the history of Vikramaditya and Kan-ishka, about which there is yet considerabledivergence of scholarly opinion, would becomesettled to a degree not dreamt of by any yetbecause, Somadeva, the translator of theBrhatkatha, says in so many clear words thathe makes no change in the matter of theoriginal beyond the mere change of languageand the necessary abbreviation. It would behyper-criticism to dispute the assertion of theauthor without establishing a clear motive asan essential pre-requisite. This considerationhas not always been conceded to him.There is work to be done, therefore, in the


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CHAPTER I.SOUTH INDIA A DISTINCT ENTITY IN

INDIAN HISTORY.The term South India as a distinct expres-sion referring to the southernmost portionof our country, India, goes back to thedays of the Mahabharata in its presentform, for its authority. That distinction ithas maintained all through historical timeseven down to the present. The wholeof India north of the Vindhya Mountainsroughly is what is now known as Hindustan,.and was perhaps in olden times included inthe expression Uttarapatha. In days whenperhaps the geographical knowledge of Indiasouth of the Vindhyas was somewhatvague, the term Dakshinapatha seems to haveindicated all the country south of the Vindh-yas. But by the time of the compilation ofthe Mahabharata in its present form, Dakshina-patha seems to be limited to what we nowunnderstand by the term Dekhan.

59


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SOUTH INDIA A DISTINCT ENTITY 61state that he went to oa this frontier was Kish-kinda, (the modern Hampi). The next statethat he came to wâs Mahishmati (Mandhataon the Narmada river).

Similarly in the Eamayana, ^ Sugriva2 5ET?^ t%?:h ^^ ^[^ri^^cTiger^ I

^ =^ H^rviwt ^rff^f^RîT^ II ^ II3T^^^[JT5Rff =^ ^l^^rgq^^rT II ? o II

Rishikaa in the texfc is an obvious error,,for Rishfcikan.

* *

^ ^^4 î%(lf Rfla'm'^^dJM: II ? ^ II^^*^rK


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'62 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORYdirecting his search party to the south, gavethem the following description of that region,beginning from the centre, the river Saravatiin the Madyadesa which flows in a circle andloses itself in the sand. He divides this regionobviously into three portions :the regionnorth of the Dandakaranya and in the imme-diate neighbourhood of the Vindhyas ; thenthe region along the East Coast up to the riverKrishna; and then the region south of theKrishna. In the second region on the southof the Vindhyas figured Vidarbha, Kishtika,

îwq^r wwm ^1^^ mî\ II ? v9 II^fp%^ 3^f%: ^PcT âg^^^m^ II ?


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SOUTH INDIA A DISTINCT ENTITY 63and Mahishaka on the one side, Vanga,Kalinga and Kausika on the other. Then heputs in the Dandakaranyam in which isincluded the river Godaveri. Then come inthe country of the Andhras, the Pundras, theCholas, the Pandyas, the Cheras. Then is^iven a description of the Kauvery passing onto the hill Malaya, the residence of sageAgastya. Then is described the Tarnravarniriver, which they are advised to cross. Thenis described the fafnous place Pandya Kavatam,generally identified with Kavatapuram orKapatapuram in Tamil- Then is describedthe hill Mahendra across the sea in an island.The older Paranas such as the Matsya, ^Vayu, ^ and even Markandeya are not perhapso clear in respect of the distinction betweenthe two parts of the region south of theVindhyas, but they give the main divisionspractically along the same lines.

In respect of these works, however, it wouldbe impossible to make anything like a chrono-

^ Ch, 104 Ananda^rama Edn.^ XLV si. 70 onwards to the end the same edition

-as the above.


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64 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORYlogical inference, though ifc may now be taken a&agreed thafe both the works, the Mahabharataand the Ramayana may have to be referredto the fifth century B. C. It still is amatter of great doubt as to what exactlyis the age of any particular part of the work.In this respect, the Ramayana, stands some-what on a better footing than tbe Maha-bharata, and a statement made in respect ofany book or chapter of these works can bechallenged in respect of any chronologicaldatum. Hence while the occurrence of thenames of the divisions stated above is a matterof some importance, the references do notenable us exactly to fix the period to whichthe division would have reference. We maystate roughly, however, that these were probab-ly divisions definitely formed and familiarlyrecognised in the fourth century before Christ.Another class of literary sources which canbe exploited for the purpose is the BuddhistJatakas and Buddhist literature generally.The countries in India which figure amongthem have reference to about sixteen king-doms and a few tribal republics. Arranging


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SOUTH INDIA A DISTINCT ENTITY 65them on the map, the southernmost portionreached is perhaps Paitan on the Godavery inthe western extremity, Asraaka^ being the onlysouthern kingdom referred to there at all. Theearliest available Buddhist literature thereforedoes not take us very much beyond theVindhya mountains, and that seems reflectedin one beuedictory verse, which occurs at theend of several of the dramas of Bhasa. Theverse merely refers to a wish ' mt^j ourBajasimba bring the whole of the earthfrom sea to sea, and from the Vindhyas to theHimalayas under one umbrella, and rule itwith success.^

Passing on now to another class of Sanskritworks which can be dated closer than these,the researches of Sir R. G. Bhandarkar showthat to the Grammarian Panini the south wasa land unknown. The countries farthest tothe south mentioned by him are Kachcha,

3 The Mabahbarata in another place refers to A^maki(I, 63. 12) a Yddhava princess married to PrachinvanThis would indicate the upper reaches of the Godaverias at least one A^makn.


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68BEaiNNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORYfemale sovereign had an army of 500 elephants^4,000 cavalry and 130,000 infantry, andpossessed great treasure in the fishery forpearls, which according to Arrian were greatlysought by both the Grreeks and the Romans.The Arthasastra of Chanakya, referable to

the same time as Magasthenes, has two refer-ences known to me to the South. Speakingof pearls and their quality, Chanakya refers toTamravarnika " that which is produced in theTamravarni " ; Pandya Kavataka 6, that whichis obtained in Pandya Kavata. (p. 86 of Mr.Shama Sastry's Trans.)Further in the same chapter, but speaking

"this time of cotton fabrics, the Arthasastra has^ This Pandya Kavata, * a door-way of the Pandyas/

is a fine commeDtary od theKavatam PaDdyanam of thoBamayaDa. The commeDbator on the Arthasastra ex-plains it as a mountain known as Malayakoti in tha^Pandya country. It is rather of doubtful propriety thafca place where pearls are found should be referred to as a.mountain. It seems much more likely that the expres-sion Pandya Kavafca means, the door-way of entry intothe Pandya country from the sea and the Malayakoti ofthe commentator therefore, would then be the promontorywhere the Western Ghats dips into the sea.


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SOUTH INDIA A DISTINCT ENTITY 69reference to the fabrics of Madhura, which thecommentafcor explains rightly as southernMadura, and it may be noted also that amongother places remarkable for cotton fabricsfigures Kalinga, the Tamil name for clothgenerally being Kalingam. (p. 94, Ibid).Next in order of time, the edicts of Asoka do

specifically mention the southern kingdoms,and place them as beyond the imperial pale ofthe Mauryan Empire. Three of his rockedicts mention these, and they are edicts II,V, and XIIL

II. * Everywhere in fehe empire of King Priyadar-S^iD, beloved of the gods, as well as among tbo^e natioz^sand princes that are his neighbours, such as the Chodia$,the Pamdiyas, the Satiyaputra, the Keralaputa', Tambapa-mni, the Yana king, called Amtiyoka as well as amongthose who are the vassal-kings of that Amtiyoka, every-where king Priyadarsin, beloved of the gods, has foundedtwo (2) kinds of hospitals, both hospitals, for men andhospitals for animals. Everywhere where herbs whole-some for men and wholesome for animals are notfound, they have been imported and sown by the king'sorder. And wells have been dug by his order for theenjoyment of men and beasts.'

V. * Now a long period has passed, and the o3cial8called the Overseers of the Sacred Law have formerly


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70 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORYnot exififcef?. Now, when I had been anointecl thirteen-yarB, I appointed Overseers oi the Sacred Law. Theyare busy among all seofcs with watching over the sacredUw, with the growth ot the law, and with the welfareand happiness of my loyal subjeots, as also amongthe Yonas, Kamboyas, Gamdharas, litshtikas, Pitinikasand all other nations which are my neighbours,'

XIII. * But this conquest the beloved of the gods holdsthe chiefest, viz., the conquest through the Sacred Law.And that} conquest had boan made by the Beloved of thegods both hers in his empire, and over all his neighbours,ewen as far as six hundred yojanas, where the kiug of the7ona, called Amtiyoka dwells, and beyond this Amti*yoka, where the four (4) Kings dwell, viz,, he calledTuramaya, be called Amttkini% he called Maka, and hocalled Aiikasudara* ; turther in the south, where thoChodas and Pamdas dwell as far as Tambapamni ; like-wise where the king dwells, among the Vi^as, Vajris, theAmdhras, and Pnlidas everywhere they follow theteaching of the Beloved of the gods with respect to theSacred Law. Even those to whom the messengers ofthe Beloved of the gods do not go, follow the SacredLaw, as soon as they have heard of the orders of the'

*(l) Antiochus, Theoe, of Asia, 261246 B.C.(2) Ptoleny II Philadelphia, 285247 B.C.(3) Aotigonus Gonatas, 278239 B.O.(4) Magas of Gyrene, d. 258 B.C.(5) Alexander of Bpirua, 272? 258 B.C.


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72 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORYand Pitenikas. The Rishtikas perhaps werea vast group of people among whom Mahrattaswere the principal group, there being otherRashtikas or Rishtikas besides. There isnothing to connect them with the Arattas,but the Saurashtras or the name Surashtrafor the country may be originally traceableto them. It is a little more doubtful if thesame could be said of Gurjarashtra (Gujarat)and Pitenikas,^ the country round aboutPaitan on the Godaveri.We are justified by edict II quoted above,in distinguishing the empire of King Pryadar-sin and his neighbours the independentmonarchs, such as the Chola, the Pandya, theSatiyaputra and Keralaputra in the south, andAmtiyoka (Amtiyoks) and his vassal-kings inthe west. In regard to these southern mon-archs the Cholas, the Pandyas, and the Keralaare plain enough to us. They are respectivelythe coast country on the east extending per-

9 The form Paitan from Prabhiahtaaa is consideredunsound philologicaliy. Sans. Pritbishtana, beoom-ing Pabittaua thro : Payittana mbo Pittaria seems possi-ble as a folk etymology or apabhram^a philology even.


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SOUTH INDIA A DISTINCT ENTITY 73haps from the Pulikat to the Vellar in thePadukotta State with its capital at TJraiyur.

* The Pandya country next following extendingfrom coast to coast along a line drawn fromperhaps the point Kalimere to Kottayam, withits capital at Madura, and the Kerala countryalong the western coast}, extending northwardsof this, and including in it the northern halfof Travancore, the State of Cochin and con-siderable portions of Malabar. The Satiya-putra seems obviously to refer to the regionimmediately north of this and the name Satiya-putra seems normally to indicate the prevalenceof the Matriarchate or Aliyasantanam Law.These are put on a level with the GreekKing Antiochus. Theos (God), grandson ofSeleucus Nicator (Victorious) the rival andfriend of Chandragupta. This edict makesthe position clear so far that these states werebeyond the boundaries of the empire of Asoka.Coming down to edict V, which relates to

the appointment of Overseers of the SacredLaw, Asoka distinguishes between "My loyalsubjects and those among the Yonas and otherpeople, and then all other nations his neigh-


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74 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTOKYbours," which seems to indicate that the Yonaa^and the other people were in some sense sub-^ordinate to him perhaps tributary states underhim. The Edict XIII on the contrary makesthe division between his empire and all hisneighbours, and again puts Aihtiyoka and hisfour neighbours on a footing similar to theCholas and their neighbours the Pandyas.He makes the further distinction of those towhom the " Messengers of the Beloved of theGods'* are sent, and those to whom t'ley do notgo. The best commentary upoa cbis arrange-ment of his is in the Mahavamsa of Ceylonwhera we find the following"When the Thera Moggaliputta, the illu-minator of the religion of the Conqueror, had

brought the (third) council to an end andwhen, looking into the future, he had be-held the founding of the religion ia adjacentcountries, (then) in the month Kattika he sentforth theras, one here and one there. Thethera Majjhantika he sent to Kashmira andGandbara, the thera Mahadeva he sent taMahishamandala. To Vanavasa he sent thethera named Eakkhita, and to Aparantaka


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SOUTH INDIA A DISTINCT ENTITY 75the Yona named Dhammarakkhita ; to Maha-rattha (he sent) the thera named Mahadham-marakk hita, but the thera Maharakkhita hesent into the country of the Yoaa. He sentthe thera Majjhima to the Himalaya country,and to Suvannabhiimi he sent the two therasSona and Ufctara. The great fehera Mahinda,the theras Itthiya, Uttiya, Sambaia andBbaddasala his disciples, these five therashe sent forth with the charge : * Ye shallfound in the lovely island of Lanka the lovelyreligion of the Conqueror."' (Geiger's Maha-vamsa p. 82).The passage refers to the missions for the pro-

pogation of the faith sent under the commandof Asoka to various localities for the purposeof carryiug the teachings of the * EnlightenedOne * to those regions. Among the territoriesmentioned here are Kashmir, and Gandhara inneighbourhood. Then the next mission wasthat sent to Mahishamandala, which in thiscase may have to be identified with Mahish-mati, though the name Mahishamandala is ofequal application to the territory whi(5h isnow Mysore, as w^ill be shown later. The next


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76 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORYregion is Vanavasa, which is the Banavasi,12,000 district in the southern Mahrattacountry and Mysore. Then comes the regionof the northern Konkan coast and that isAparanta. Then comes Maharashtra ; thencomes the country of the Yona, which probab-ly was the region somewhere in the immedi-ate neighbourhood of India, Afghanistaa orBeluchistan. Then comes the country calledSuvarnabhumi, which is usually identifiedwith the gold-producing province of theMalaya Peninsula and Tennassarim (theChryse of the classical writers) ; last and mostimportant of all Ceylon, because it is thehistory of Buddhism in Ceylon that is thesubject of the treatise. This enumeration ofcountries seems to go so far only to confirmour classifications of the territories referred toin the Asoka edicts as(l)those of his empire pro-per, (2) of the dependencies of the empire and(3) of states in independent diplomatic rela-tions. If the Mahishamandala referred to herestands for the country of the Mahishakas roundMandhata, on the Narbada, for which there isvery good reason, then Banavasi is the


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SOUTH INDIA A DISTINCT ENTITY 77southerniDOst limit, and we find Indiasouth of the fourteenth degree of latitude outof the pale of imperial rule.

This is confirmed in another way thoughsomewhat less directly from the Mahavamsaitself. Duttagamani Abhaya on the occasionof laying the foundation-stone of the greatStiipa (Thupa) had called for an assembly ofmost of the leading Buddhists from the variousBuddhist centres. In response to this invita-tion there assembled :

1 Indagutta

2 Dhammasana3 Fiyadassi

4 Urubuddharakkhite 80.0005 Urudhammarakkhita,, 30.0006 Urusamgharakkhita 40.000

7 Mittinna

8 XJtti^ria

Bhikhus fromwith 80,000 Bajagaha (Bajagraha capifear

of Maghada). 12,000 laipataoa (the Dear-Park in

Beoares. 60.000 ,, Jatarama-vihara(Viharaoufc

side of SraTasti in NepalTharai.)

Mahavana (in Vaiâli.)Ghositarama (In Koâmbi)Dakkhinagira-vihara in

Ujjeni (Ujjain in Malva.)160,000 Aôkarama in Pupphapura

(Pataliputra or Patna.)280.000 Kashmir.


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78 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORY9 Mahadeva 460.000

10 yonamahadbammarak-kbita

11 Ubtara

12 Gbittagupfca

13 Cbandagupfca

14 Suriyagufcba

,. 30,000

., 60.000

30.000

80.000

96.000

Pallavabbogga(tbe Eief o! thePallavas probably inGujarat, also regions oftbe Indus).

Alasanda, the city of theYonas, Alexandria of theYonas which may be oneof the many Alexandrias,Alexandria near Kabnl,Alexandria near the junc-tion of tbe Jhelum andtbe Indus or Karachi^which was itself one oftbe Alexandrias.

Eoad of the Y i n d b y a nforests.

Bodhimanda-vibara ( i nBodhgaya).

Vacavasa country (Banavasiin the Dharwar dist.)

Great Kelaaa-vibara probab-ly Kailasa-vibara whichmay be from tbe region ofEllora in the presentNizam's dominions, orAmaravati, Guntur.

(Opusciti pp. 1 193, 194.)


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SOUTH INDIA A DISTINCT ENTITY 79Here again it will be noticed that the famous

Buddhififc centres do not come beyond Vana-vasa, and this has reference to the period A.B.382 to 406, or 101 to 77 B.C. on the basis ofB.C. 483 for Buddha Nirvana.

This position is confirmed by what we canderive from early Tamil literature but beforepassing on to that, we may say a word aboutthis Ceylon chronicle. This is a chronicle ofthe history of Buddhism maintained in one ofthe many monasteries of the Buddhists, andwas put together in its present form in thesixth century , A. D. by the Sthavira monk,Mahanaman, Tnat was done obviously incommentary upon the earlier, but somewhatless classical Dipavamsa which was composedin the fourth century A. D. as it stops shortin its account with the reign of Mahasena,who came to the throne sometime about A. D.306. Even this Dipavamsa is believed tohave derived its material from various Attaka-thas (Sans. Arthakatha, stories in expositionof the meanmg of various portions of theBuddhist gospel). Thus while it is possiblethat the reference has contemporaneous autho-


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80 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORYrity, we could have little doubt that it belongsat any rate to the fourth century A. D., if notearlier. This fourth century authority goesonly to confirm what is indicated in the edictsand what perhaps is unconsciously expoundedin early Tamil literature. We shall pass onto this last now.

i


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(^.HAPTER II.MAUKYAN INVASION OF SOUTH INDIA.

Till recently it was held doubtful that thereferences to the Choi a, Pandya and Keralain Asoka's edicts, had anything more in themthan a mere boast on the part of the BuddhistEmperor. The discovery of his edicts atSiddhapura, Brahmagiri and Jatinga Rames-vara hill in Mysore in 1892 did put the edictsupon a somewhat better footing in respect oftheir veracity. The discovery two years agoof a copy of Asoka's edicts in Maski, in theNizam's dominions, gave new and powerfulsupport to the contention of those thatmaintained that Asoka's territory actuallyextended to the frontiers of Mysore. Thislast discovery is of the highest historicalvalue, as the edicts are almost a replica ofthose at Sahasram and therefore of a timesomewhere about his thirteenth year. ^ TheMysore edicts seem later. If then, as the

1 Hyderabad Arcbselogical Series : No. 1. p. 3.81

6


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82 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORYMaski edicts shew, there was a southernprovince of Asoka, and if the Suvarnnagiri, thecapital of the Aryaputta and the Mahamatras,has to be looked for round Maski itself or inthe territory of- the Ancient Kuntala, 2 whenwas South India conquered and how far didthe conquest go actually ? Light is shed uponthis darkness from an unexpected source, andthat is, classical Tamil Literature.

Before proceeding to let this light in, it isnecessary to know what exactly is the presentposition of historians in regard to this matter.Mr. Viucent A, Smith in his Early History ofIndia (Third Edition), which is later thanhis monograph on Asoka, has on page 163'' The Tamil States extending'to the extremityof the Peninsula, and known as the Chola andPahdya kingdoms, certainly were independentas were the Kerlaputra and Satiyaputra stateson the south-western, or Malabar Coast. Thesouthern frontier of the empire may be des-cribed approximately as a line drawn from themouth of the Pennar River, near Nellore on

2 Para. 1. Ibid.


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84 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORYis usually described as Vadukarmunai, the*end of the Northerners * territory. Whenthis limit is passed the language also changes(Molipeyartem,^ the country where the spokenlanguage changes to another). The limit onthe other side is given as the Tulu land orKonkanam ^, the territory o the chief Nannanin the first century of the Christian era, which

Mamulanar in Aham. 210/11,

Mamalanar in Ibid 31.5 Aham 16. & Narri9ai 391.

ufTs&inn ea>SLj uea>p


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MAUBYAN INVASION OF SOUTH INDIA 85was broken into by a new people Ko^ar, as aresult of a war in which Nannan obviouslysuffered defeac^ and lost his state elephant.*^Thus then, Tamil literature ascribable toabout the first century of the Christian erasupports the statement that this line consti-tuted the southern boundary of the Mauryafiexcept for a difference of half a degree in theeastern end.The Dekhan, or Peninsular India, down to

approximately the latitude of Nellore, musttherefore apparently have been subjugated byeither Chandragupta or Bindusara, because itwas inherited from the latter by Asoka, whoseonly recorded war was the conquest of Kalinga;and it is more probable that the conquest ofthe south was the work of Bindusara than ifcwas effected by his busy father.' Mr. VincentA. Smith also notes that the Tibetan historianTaranatha (Scheifner p. 89) attributes toBindusara and Chanakya the conquest of thecountry between the eastern and western seas,

6 potest

Qeurrear^ Qwrrt^a G


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86 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HIBTORYThe fact of the conquest of the south ha&Femained so far an inference and no more. Inregard to the question which of the first threeMauryas did actually make the conquest thereis no further direct information than theinference we are left lio make from the knownextent of Asoka*s Empire and the statementof Taranatha regarding Bindusara's conquest,unless the last two lines quoted by Dr. Fleetfrom the Mahavamsa he held to imply Asoka'sconquest '^ of the south.Among the poets who constituted, according

to tradition, the famous third Academy atMadura we find the name Mamulanar, aBrahman scholar whose name, as an author, isheld in very high esteem in the Tamil world

^ 9c^ =^fe ^^%ft ^9R^ J?1T2?# I

(J. B. A. S. 1909 p. 29).' Having attained the BoIe sovereignty in four years '

of the first line need not have exclusive reference to theefanghter of his brothers if such could be held to be ahiatorioal fact. As a matter of fact it is very doubtful ifthe massacre of the brothers is at all a fact as rookedict V (Vincent A. Smito*s Asoka, p. 162, note 4)refers to hie brothers and sisters.


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MAURYAN INVASION OF SOUTH INDIA 87even now. His works were of the characterof fugitive poems which are found scattered invarious collections, all of them generally re-garded as having had the ' Sangam (Academy)imprimatur. Without basing his antiquityupon the fact, that his works are found in-cluded in these collections, there is enoughinternal evidence to show that he was an eldercontemporary perhaps of Paranar, and an exactcontemporary of the Ghola ruler Karikala andof Nannan, * the Woman killer '. He is re-garded as a separate person from the Tirumularof the 'Saiva School.' This author has anumber of references to the invasion of thesouth by the Mauryas, who, according to him,must have advanced, at least as far south asMadura and Podiyil Hill. This author, accord-ing to Nachchinarkkiniyar, the commentator,was a Brahman belonging to the family of theSage Agastya, and belonged to the partof the country hallowed by his presence,that is the country round the PodiyilHill in the Western Ghats in the South-Westof Madura and the neighbouring parts of theTinnevelly District of the Madras Presidency.


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88 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORYThe first reference ia this author to call

ôr notice is in Aham 15 where the authorrefers to the entry of a warlike tribe calledKosar into the Tulu Nadu of Nannan-Aham 251 of the same author refers againto these Kosar and states that these peopleadmihistered a crushing defeat upon theirenemies near Podiyil HUl.^ On this occa-sion, says the poet, Mohur not having sub-mitted, the newly-installed * Mauryas cameup at the head of a great army,' the rolling

^ Vide note 3.

eSeareffffaaS' Qpaîasuû i3t^^^nsk}&^Gîl^êsr S^GTi^^^ |5T^V)n) GlDT Ak.ilUuesSiuneoLLoSp ueaia^'êoeutsfiwaQs(Lp^n'2QST etiUiU GuDdfPiuir

Gêoiii^ Q^&refrQêS luesitQeatTiLiihunAham 261. Mamijlanar.

(Mahamahopadbyaya Pandit Swaminatha Iyer'stext obligingly copied by him.)


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MAURYAN INVASION OF SOUTH INDIA 89oars of which had to come up cutting theirway along hill slopes. The same poem has arefereace to the enormous wealth of theNandas, to which again there is another refe-rence in poem 265 ^^ of the same collection.In this passage is given the additionalinformation, which is reminiscent of the revo-lution in Patalipura, that * the wealth of theNandas, which having accumulated first inPatali, hid itself in the floods of the Ganges-*Hence the expression * Vamba Moriyar ' theMaurya novae hominae is justified in respectof this author, and his contemporaries. Poem

10 LfeaaaSp Qua/siS eSiueoeS^ihLj^iB^

i^ga


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90 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTOKY281^^ of our author, in the same work, containsanother reference to the same incidents withone or two additional details. These last are(1) that the Mauryas came south pushing theVadukar in front. (Northerners literally, butin later times the Telugu and Kanarese peo-ples) ; (2) that they cut their way across ahigh hill which barred their way. The ex-pression used actually in regard to the latterdetail even suggests a tunnel being cutthrough.

Leaving aside the texts for the present thepoints calling for consideration in thesereferences of Mamulanar to the Mauryas are(1) The fact of the invasion of the South bythe Mauryas, the southernmost point reachedbeing Podiyil Hill in the S.W. corner of

11 s'2eifT(^ff eSios=S(^tr eSoDirQs^eop c72fewr

Vide laafc two lines of note 9.Abam, 281.

(Maham : Swaminathaiyar'g text.)


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MAUBYAN INVASION OF SOUTH INDIA 91Madura. (2) The advance party of the inva-sion was composed of a warlike people calledKosar in one case and Vadukar in another. (3)The point of time to which these invasionsare referrable.

In regard to point 1, the texts of this authorare quite clear and unmistakeable. He issupported in regard to this statement by twoothers. One of them is called Paranar accord-ing to one manuscript, but the mauuscript inthe Madras Government Oriental ManuscriptsLibrary of Aham 69 ^^ shews the author'sname as Param Korranar. The language of thereference is equally clear, and quite similar inregard to the cutting of the way through ahill for the car to pass. Poem 17'5^^ of Puram

su(SS)iruSp(h ^siarpsortrfTttit^ QustecuJ7a.

Aham 69. Paramkorranar*.13 eS6aarQuiT0 Qis(Bfh(^


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92 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTOKYby Kallil Attiraiyanar, celebrating the patrdnAdan Ungan has an equally clear referenceto the army of the Mauryas cutting their way"through rock to let the road go through themiddle of the world. The commentator obvi-ously was not able to understand the refer-ence, and adopted in consequence a readingOriyar for Moriyar, making the passage seemlegendary. The far-fetched character of his


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MAUBYAN INVASION OF SOUTH INDIA 9Spassage ^^ in Paranar, a contemporary poetwith Mamulanar, states that this warliketribe entered Nannan's territory after a battlein which Nannan lost his state elephant.This Nannan's territory is, according tocertain poems, the Tulu-country {Vide Aham15) and according to others (Narriuai 391),Konkaaam (Tamil for Konkanam, or Anglo-Indian, Konkan). That this territory actuallytook in parts of Konkan and Canara orTulu is borne out by the fact that oneof his famous hills Elilmalai^^ exists to-day asSaptasaila or Elilmalai about 16 miles north ofCannanore. The Kosar then entered Nannan'sterritory through Konkan, and had a south-east trend in their movement through Kongu,(Aham 195 and Siliappadhikaram, Kongilan-gosar) till they reached the Podiyii Hill muchfarther south. These Tamil works refer tothese Kosar in association with the Mauryas,almost as constituting the advanced guard of

1* Kurumbogai 73. See nofce 4.15 Narrinai 391. See Note 3. Mont D'Ely of fche

medieval writers. Yule's Marco. PoIo Bk. III. Cb. 24.note 1.


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94 BEOINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORYtheir army of invasion. The Ramayana con-tains a reference to a people, called Kosakara^the equivalent of the Tamil Kosar, in thefollowing passage :

(IV. 40. 121 &o. Kumbakonam Edn.)The city of the Kosakara finds mention

among the states towards the east to whichSugriva directed one section of his great searchparty. The commentary explains the centreof reference to have been the 'Saravati/ ariver in Rajaputana which flows in a circleand loses itself in the sands. If it ispermissible to locate this on the basis of thedata available to us in this, the habitat ofthe Kosakara will correspond to Assam.The term Kosakara is explained by the com-mentary called Tilaka, as a people engaged inthe work of rearing silk-worms and manufac-turing silk. If this interpretation is correct,then there must have been in Bast Bengal awarlike people whose usual peaceful avocation


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96 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTOKYin Narrinai 170, ^^ where the Malayamanchief of Mullur is said to have salliedout and defeated single-handed the * Aryas 'that had .laid seige to the fort. We havealready referred to Pulikat as the limit ofAryan land in Kuruntogai 11,^^ and to the-change of language when one passed eitherthis or the hill Venkata (Tirupati).20 Thesetaken together seem to warrant the inferencethat there was a series of Aryan invasionsunder the Mauryas and their successors theAndhras, as distinct from Aryan settlementsprevious to these, and that the Tamil kingaand chiefs stemmed the tide of invasion suc-cessfully so far as to rank among the allies ofthe great Mauryan Emperor Asoka on termsof equality, as in fact they are referred to havebeen in the Asoka edicts. In this connectionit deserves to be noted that the same poet

18 ernpLSJQ&yrnpi^Qes^iEj QarrQpfBpatTss

ueO0L^ear Aifi^^ QeijirarQirrar Lofeoujear

Narririai 170, author Dot known..19 See note (1)20 Aham 16 & Narrinai 391. See note 3.


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MAUEYAN INVASION OF SOUTH INDIA 97

Mamulanar refers, in Aham 115, ^i to a chief-tain Erumai of Kudanadu (parts of Mysoreand Coorg). The chief's name seems to havestuck on to the country so far as to make itreferrable in Tamil literature as the territoryof Erumaiyuran. Hence Asoka's Mahisha-mandala which is a good translation of Eru-mainadu might still refer to this frontierstate, notwithstanding Dr. Fleet's satis-factory indentification of Mahishmati withMandhata on the Narmada. Mahishmatiwas a citythe city of Kartavirya-Arjunabut there is good authority for equatingthe name with that of the people Mahisha-kas and giving it the meaning that is usuallygiven. The connection with modern Mysoretown or state, is not quite proved though itis possible to understand that the wholecountry 'or any part thereof might have beenknown Mahishamandala. This is only by theway now.

What is relevant to the question is thatthe references to the Vadukar and Aryar in

Aham 15/14 Mamulanar.7


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98 BEGINNINGS OF S. INDIAN HISTORYthis latter batch are to either contemporaneousor to almost contemporaneous events. Thedefeat of the Aryar by the Malayaman on theone side, and the destruction of Pali and thecrushing of the Vamba Vadukar (newly estab-lished norDherners) there by Ilanjetchennicannot refer to the same early period as theMaurya invasions of Mamalar. These have anorganic connection with the defeat of the Aryasby Imayavaramban Perumseral Adan,^^ Pand-yan Aryappadai Kadanda Nedum Seliyan ^^

22 îftojir âtmfSuj QuiBeiD^ oSloluld

Padirruppattu I (i) 2325 & II. ^^^^

Ljsa/D^H' spL9p QpeSfiosr^L-earasrSiLi^ eSpî^'ûu uTa^L^tuCcariB^CffifujsSr

Silappadikaram XXIII. 11. 14-15.


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I

MAUBYAN INVASION OF SOUTH INDIA 99and Karikala^* who all lay claim tovictory over the Aryas, and to havingerected their respective emblems the bow, thefish and the tiger 'on the face of the Hima-layas. '^^^ All these seem to refer to action takenby the Tamils in concert, when the Centralpower in the North began to weaken, to beatback the Northerners from the South, therebeing perhaps in it also the Southern Hinduhostility to the Northern Buddhism. Taken to-gether the references seem to warrant the inf

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