The Beginings of Civilisation in South India

8/13/2019 The Beginings of Civilisation in South India

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The Beginnings of Civilization in South IndiaAuthor(s): Clarence MaloneySource: The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 29, No. 3 (May, 1970), pp. 603-616Published by: Association for Asian StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2943246.

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The Beginningsf Civilizationn South ndiaCLARENCE MALONEY

EARLY civilizationn theTamil regionof South India may be distinguishedfrom he ess complex gricultural illage evel of culture y the criteria hichareusuallyused to define ivilization. hough the grandeur f earlyTamil civiliza-tion houldnot be exaggerated ecause t was on the fringe f the area of diffusionofearly lassical ndian civilization, e do have evidence f the existence f literacyand literary raditions, ormal eligions nd philosophies,monarchiesnd empires,extensive rade and commerce, pecialization f labor, substantial uildings, ndurbanization. he most mportant ource s the literature f the "Sangam" period,writtenduring the first hree centuries fter Christ. Though this literature sdifficulto use as a source of anthropologicalnd historical ata because of itslyrical uality,thas the advantage f havingbeen transmittedo ourtime ssentiallywithout he accretions f Indian epic literature. therdata come fromnotices fSouth India in early Greek, North Indian, and Ceylonese iterature. here aresome earlyrock-cut aves with brief nscriptions,nd a small scattering f archeo-logicaldata. t is probable hat hecivilization f thePandiyan Pandya) regiongoesback othe ourthentury.C.How did this civilization volve? To what extentwas its development heresultof external ultural stimuli, nd what were the patterns f cross-culturalcontact?Why did the Pandiyankingdom t the extremityf the ndian peninsuladevelop complexities f civilizationbefore territoriesyingto the north? Thesequestionshave notbeen answered, xceptbythetacit ssumptionhatearlyclassi-cal Indian civilization diffused outhward overland.One difficulty ith thisassumptions that here s no evidence fany early ivilization ocatedbetween heMysoregold fields,with theirMauryan remains, nd thePandiyan region.More-over,the earlyurban complexes f the distantAndhra deltas,as archeologicallydefined, onsisted argelyof Buddhist nstitutions,nd had littleor no knownimpact n the arly andiyas.It is clear thatthe script, ormal eligions, ynastic raditions,nd other eaturesof thecivilization f theearlyTamils developedfrom ssimilationnd adaptationof the Indian GreatTradition which cannotbe termed Sanskritization"n thiscase,as the anguagemediumwas Prakrit, r Pali). There is neither rcheologicalnor literaryvidence f any previous Dravidiancivilization"n thefarsouth, utIronAgeculturewaswidespread hroughouthepeninsula.It is the contentionf thisarticle hat thePandiyandynasty,ogether ith thecivilizationt represented,rose argely hrough hecultural timulus f coastal eatraffic.his authorbelievesthe same was also trueof the C6las (of the Kaveribasin) and the Ceras (of KErala).' This sea trafficriginatedmostly n Gujarat

Clarence Maloney is Associate ProfessorofAnthropologyt EvangelCollege, pringfield, is-souri.The writingf thispaperwasmadepossibleby a fellowship rom the American nstitute fIndian Studies n I963-64.1The wider ontext, nd also moredata on this

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604 CLARENCE MALONEYand Sindhu, hough rom heMauryanperiodon it camefrom he Bengalsidealso.Sea tradewith heMediterraneanadnegligible ermanentffectn South ndia.It is clear thatsea trafficmanating romdistantpartsof India impingedonCeylonto suchan extent hat t transformedhe culture f that slandand broughtit within heorbit f Indian civilization. his was buta precursorf the mpactofIndiancivilizationn all ofSoutheastAsia. Fromthe ocation ftheearliest nownportsof India, it is apparent hatmostof thissea traffickirted hepeninsula. tappearsthatthe processes f acculturationf the Pandiyanregionwere similarto thosewhichoccurred n Ceylon and in the lands acrossthe Bay of Bengal.Moreover,heculture hatdeveloped n Ceylonwiththe arrivalof various mmi-grants,who blendedwiththeindigenous opulation o form he Sinhalese,was adynamic orcewhichspilledover ntothe Pandiyanregion, s we shallnotebelow.To someextent, othcoasts fthe ndo-Ceylontraitsmaybe thought f as havingacted s a single enterf diffiusionf ndiancivilizationnthefar outh.

EarlySea Trade. The most mportantery arly ttractionf the extremeouthwas pearls, vailablechieflyn the Indo-Ceylon traits. he authorof theArtha-sastra ists number fplacesfromwhichpearls ame, he majorityf whichcanbeidentifiedn thePandiyancoastor in northern eylon,and also describesmanyvarieties fpearlsand pearlnecklaces.2Megastheneswrites hat Heracleshad dis-covered hesea pearland had adornedwith t thepersonofhis daughter andaia,and had givenherthe southern ortion f India as herkingdom;he also narratessomefantastic eresay bouthow pearlswere obtainedfrom he ocean.?There islittle oubtthatpearlsofthe Pandiyan oast werewell known n thenorth y3OOB.C., andperhapsmuchearlier.4In thesecondand first enturies.C., Chinesetraders ame to SouthIndia andpurchased argepearls,as well as glass and rarestones,givingsilk and gold inexchange.They traveled n shipsof the "barbarians."5earls fromthePan.diyancoastwereprobably radedup theeast coastof India aboutthesame time, orthatwould have been the likely ourceof thepearlsensconced n the Buddhist tupasoftheAndhradeltas.The stupa tBhattipr61ut the mouth f theKrsnaRiver, orinstance,ontainedixty-twoearls; tscaskets re datable otheearly econd enturyB.C.6Pearlsof the Indo-Ceylon traits etainednotorietyufficientlyo findmentionin the worksof suchGreekgeographersnd historianss Ptolemy, liny,Arrian,and Aelian,who describe he pearl fisheriesnd state that theybelong to thePandiyanking, nd inform s thatthepearlswerefished ycondemned riminalsand were marketedt ports nd emporia longthatcoast.7ndeed,a pearlmarket,subject re discussed ytheauthorn The EffectfEarlyCoastalSea Traffic n the Development fCivilizationn South ndia (dissertation,niversityof Pennsylvania,968).

2 Arthas'astrai.ii, trans.R. P. Kangle, TheKautiliyaArthas'astraBombay,963-65).3 Arrian,ndika8.4For discussion f the date of thispartof theArthas'dstra,eeKangle, II, 74-75, 86-87, I06-15.Pearls re referredo in theBrdhmanas,hough hesource s not mentioned,ndAtharvaVeda iv.Io is

a hymn boutthehealing ropertiesf pearlsandmother-of-pearl.5J.J.L. Duyvendak, hina'sDiscoveryfAfrica(London,949), pp. 9-IO. Theplace heChinesemerchantsametois probablydentifiables Knfici-puram, oubtlesserved ythe asilydefended ortofMahabalipuram.6 AlexanderRea, SouthIndianBuddhistAntiq-uities (Archaeological urveyof India, New Im-perial eries, V, I894), pp. 7-II.7PeriplusMarisErythraei9; Ptolemy, reatise


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EARLY CIVILIZATION IN SOUTH INDIA 605apparently n the deltaof the Vaigai River,was called "the greatest mporium ftrade n India."8ClassicalTamil literature as manyreferenceso pearls n connec-tionwiththePandiyas; hepearl market ortofKorkaiwas at one timetheseatofthePandiyan iceroyalty.9Anothervaluable product hat attracted eryearly traders o the Indo-Ceylonstraitswas conch shells, or the best big-bellied nes are available there.Kautilya,in describing he valuableproducts f the South,mentions he conch shell first nhis list.Heaps of conchshell ends,the refuse f banglecutting,may be seenalongthePandiyanand northern eylon coasts. n theJaffna eninsula they are asso-ciatedwith arly uddhist emains.10The third arly mportantroduct f the far outhwas gems.Many placenamesin Ceylon incorporatehe words ratna or mani, and several Sanskritworksonlapidary ciencemention he island as a sourceof rubies, opaz, sapphires,rystal,and pearls." Referenceso gems occur n the earliestevel of tradition ertainingothe sland, nd in Indian epics and folk tales there s a recurring heme hatgemscome from cross the sea or under the sea. The Arthas'astraefers o gemsfromacrossthesea, and an Asokan edict states hat Tambapanni is markedby MountVaidiryaka.'2 Hsiuan-tsang'sccountof the arrival f theSimhalassays theyweretraders nd settled n Ceylon because they aw that t abounded n gems.'3 t ap-pears that traders omingfromthe northby sea were the earliest gentsof thediffusionf the ndianGreat Tradition n the farsouth, nd that thisprocesswaswell underway before he Mauryanperiod.

A study f theplace names of thedistant outhfirst nown n thenorthdoesnot indicate a gradually ncreasingknowledgeof geography outhwardfromAndhra nd Mysore, utrather hows hat he coasts f the ndo-Ceylon traits ereknownwell in earlyhistoric imes.The Arthaidstramentions hefollowing lacesas sources fpearls: Pandyakavata probably hePandiyanKapatapuram f legenddescribed elow), Tamraparni the TambaraparaniRiver,thoughthe same namealso cameto be appliedtoCeylon),Koti (Dhanuskoti, n theVaigai delta),Ciirni(perhapsMannar in northern eylon), Pasika (probably a port on the Vaigaimouth),Mahendra a prominentmountain nlandfromCape Comorin), nd Kula(an unidentifiedlace in Ceylon)."4 t also mentionsMathura, ourceof thebeston Geography, ii.I.Io-II; I.I3.I; Pliny,NaturalHistory, i.I7.23; Aelian, On the CharacteristicsfAnimals, v.g.8 Pliny vi.I7.23; Aelian xv.8.9Purandnuiru80.I; Nedunalvddai 25. All thereferenceso sources lassified s "Sangam" litera-turehere refer o the editionspublishedby theSaiva SiddhantaWorksPublishing ociety, irunel-veli. On Korkai, ee also the epic Cilappatikdram23.II; 27-127-35.10p. S. Pieris, Nagadipaand Buddhist emainsin Jaffna,"RAS,Ceylon Branch,XXVI (1917),28.11Louis Finot, Les Lapidaires ndiens (Paris,I896), pp. xxxviii, xlv, xlviii, 64, I62.12,Arthasdstra i.ii refersto gems calledpdrasa-mudraka. uch legends s Kalyiina-dhammaataka(trans.E. B. Cowell,The Idtaka, I, 90-9I) mayhavegrownfrom arlygemtradewiththe sland.

Legendsof the earliest tratum f Ceylon raditionseveral imes efer ogems nconnection ithNigakingsand their hronesMahdvamhsa.45, 48, 63,75). On As'oka'sRock EdictXII, see B. C. Law,"HistoricalndGeographical spects ftheAsokanInscriptions,"ournalof IndianHistory, LI, Part2, p. 354.13 SamualBeal (trans.),BuddhistRecords ftheWestern orldLondon,906), II, 39, 24I, 243,246.14Arthasdstrai.ii. The promontoryf Dhanus-koti was notable nough o that the Greeksknew

ofit as a destinationnd as a pointfromwhich omeasure distances Ptolemy i.I3.I; vii.I.96). Itmay be suggested hat Ciurn.ms not a river nKerala as pearlsare not generallyakenthere, utmay be Man.in.. Mannirumeans "muddy iver," twas a pearl market, nd was locatedon the mainshipchannel. asika mayrefer oPasippattinam,n


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606 CLARENCE MALONEYcotton abrics,15hichwasOld Madurai nthe oast, s we shall note below. t isapparenthat ll these lacesonthe ndo-Ceylontraits ereknown arlynthenorthbecauseofsea traffic.nesicritus,neofthepilots f Alexander heGreat,hadheardaboutthe slandof Ceylonwhilehewas in Sindhuabout 25 B.c.16 Megasthenes adheardof thePandiyanpearlfisheriesyabout300 B.C., and Eratosthenesn thethirdcentury .C. referredo Ceylon s beingsouthofCape Comorin.'7Therearecertainimplications hichcannotbe discussedhereto theeffecthattherewas sea tradebetweenwesternndia and thefar outh venbefore hethird nd fourthenturiesB.C.Onesicritus eferredo Ceylonas Taprobane (Tambapanni), thePrakritnamefor tsnorthwesternort. ndeed,all theabovementioned laces,withthepossibleexception f Pasika, are referredo by Prakritnames,whichis suggestive f theearly ulturalmpact fNorth ndiaon the oasts fthe xtremeouth.

Ceylonand the Early Pandiyas.The growthof civilization n the Pandiyanregionof SouthIndia may be viewedas a development arallelwiththatof theearliesthistorical eriod n Ceylon.There was frequent ontactbetween he tworegions.According o the Ceylonchronicles, numberof princeswiththenamePandu cameto the slandfromnorthwesternndia. Panduvasudevawas the first fthese, nd he is said tohave comefrom he sameSihapuraas hismythical redeces-sorVijaya. He came withan entourage. ater Panduvasudeva's ridecame fromthe same place, also with an entourage.Her father s said to have been SakkaPandu. Later,six sonsofthismonarch ollowed heir ister o Ceylon, ach havingan entourage nd each founding n important arlycity n the island. If theseaccountsrecorrect, inor andu dynasties erefoundedn variousparts fCeylon.Panduvasudevahad a son whosegivenname was Abhaya,but when he becameking,he tookthenamePandukabhaya.He had a BrahmantutornamedPandulawho also financed hisprince'sfirst rmy, nd who came froma villagenamedPandulagamaka.18ince there s no reasonto denythehistoricityf the namesofthesemonarchs f thePandu line, t appears redible hat hey uiltup pre-BuddhistAnuradhapura s thechronicles arrate,nd perhaps ther ities lso, n thefourthcentury.C.

There smore han imilarityfnames osuggesthe ommon rigin f thePandi-yasandthis ine of Panduprinces. he firstapital f historical eylon eems ohavebeenTambapanni, heold portotherwise nownas Mantaiin the northwestftheisland,wherethe templeof TirukEtlsvaramow stands.19 he earliest egendarycities f the Pandiyas,ncluding hefirstMadurai,were on the coastof the deltaoftheTambaraparanithesamename as Tambapanni), cross he traitsrom he arlyCeyloncapital.SubsequentlyheCeylonese apitalwas moved nlandtoAnuradha-pura, and the Pa.ndiyas stablished hemselves t Madurai on the bank of theVaigaiRiver, eventymilesnorthward.ince thetwodynasticinesof the amenameold townon Palk Bay, wherepearls have beenavailable n occasion.15Ibid ii. I. i I5-16 Strabo,Geographyv.I.I4-I5.17 Straboxv.I.14; ii.I.4-7. Strabohimself efersto the people around Cape Comorinas Coniaci(xv.I.II).

18 Mahdva,isa, haps.8-Io.19 Ibid. 7.38-42. All the earliestGreek sourcesrefer o the island only as Taprobane,fromthenameof this earlyportand capital. ts associationwiththeVijayamyths incorrect,orwe show be-low thattheSirmhalasame laterthan thePanduprinces.


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EARLY CIVILIZATION IN SOUTH INDIA 607had capitalregions f the samename and since, ccording o Greekand Ceylonesesources, othflourishedn the fourthentury.C., it appearsprobable hat heywereconnectedn origin.

Moreover, newlydiscovered ocument n Ceylon states thatPandukabhaya"conquered he Cola and Pandyakingdoms nd made Tambraparnni he center fan empire."20t is notcertainwhichof thetwo places thisname referso, as bythetime of that monarch, ccording o the chronicles, nuradhapurawas built up.Another ink between he earlyPiandiyasnd Ceylonmonarchs s a tale narratedntheMahdvamiisa nd incorporatednto theVijaya myth, hat thatking rejectedhiswifeof ndigenous riginbecause he was notworthyf his status, nd requestedbrideof thePiandiyan ing. After aying ribute fpearls nd gems,he obtainedPandiyanprincess. he importancef this ale s that tsubstantiatesheexistencefa coastal Madurai as discussedbelow,and moreoveruggests he attituden earlyCeylon nregard othegenealogical laims r relative tatus fthePiandiyan ynasty.

Cultural mpactof Northwesternndia. Both the Pandiyas nd the earlyCeylonmonarchs raced heirdynastic rigins ack to northwesternndia. Thoughmythi-cal genealogies ll over ndia converge n thenamesofepic heroes fthe northwest,in this nstance here s some supportingvidence.The Ceylonchronicles, henread carefully,learly how a western ather han an eastern riginfor theearliest"Aryan"settlers f the island,thoughthiswas laterobfuscated y Buddhistpre-deliction ortheeast. There are an increasing umberof linguistic,rcheological,and literary roofs f this opinion.21ven more nteresting,owever, re thenewsourcesrecently tudied by Dr. S. Paranavitana.These indicate that an actualSimhhalaribefledfromPanjab to Sindhu upon the invasionof Cyrus, nd thatXerxesand Artaxerxesried o expelthemfrom helower ndus but wereunsuc-cessful.Alexanderthe Great,however, ave a daughter o Simhhala, ho fled thelower Indus in the wake of the successors f theGreek invaderand establishedhimself omewhere n thewest coastof India. Simhhala'son,MurundaSiva (prob-ably Mutasiva of the chronicles)foundedthe Simhhalaine of Ceylonand builtontoAnuradhapura.22he Simhhalaynasty,herefore,ouldnot haveflourishednCeylon beforethe earlythirdcentury .C.,23 thoughboth the Pandiyasand thePandus existed s strongmonarchies efore hattime.The onlysourcereferringirectly o the originof the P1andiyanynastys afragmentromMegasthenes, ho was in North ndia about300 B.C. He writes hat

20 S. Paranavitana,NewlyDiscoveredHistoricaldocuments elating o Ceylon, ndia, and South-eastAsia," lecture eprint,ivenat Colombo,Dec.4, I964, p. 9; also, "An Account fAlexander heGreatand GreekCulture n a UniversalHistoryWrittenn theReignof Mahasena," ecture eprint,Oct. 3I, I964. Both these eprints, imeographedby theCeylonDepartmentfArchaeology,ontaina wealthof new data from epigraphical ources,whichwill,when ompletelydited ndassimilated,demandmuchrevisionfthehistoriographyfearlyCeylon.

21 Someof the more mportantata are collectedin H. C. Ray (ed.), History f Ceylon Colombo,I959), Vol. I, Part , 89-III.

22 See Paranavitana's wo lecturereprints. hecredibilityf these ccounts s enhanced y the n-clusion f a wealthof other ata about thehistoryand culture f theGreeks nd their ppearancenIndia.23 NeitherGreeknorNorthndian ources eforeorduring heMauryan eriod efer o the slandbyany name except one derivedfromTambapanni.

Greek nd Tamil sources rom he firstenturyn,however,use names derivedfrom Sirhhala.Theearliest recordeduse of this name is a TamilBrahmi inscriptionf about the secondcenturyB.C. at Tirupparaiikunram,hich refers o I1am(Sihala).


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608 CLARENCE MALONEYHeracles (8iva) gave to his daughterthe southwardportion of India whichextends o the sea, and thathe foundpearlsthere orher as he was roaming bout.He saysPandaia had a force f about 30,000 men,4,ooo cavalry, nd 50Oelephants.He also says that he father f Pandaia,Heracles,was held in specialhonorby theSuirasenas,ne of whose cities s Mathura.24t is doubtful hat thisaccountcouldhave been createdby any genealogicalbias of thePandiyasthemselves,o it mayreasonably e accepted hat n earlyMauryan times n North India itself, t wasbelieved hat hePandiyancityMaturai Madurai) was named afterMathura, hatthePandiyaswere thought o worship iva, that theyruled n the southas far asthe oast, ished orpearls, nd had a fairmilitary orce.One may suspect hat therewas actual movement f people fromthe Panjabto the extreme outh,not simply iffusion f epic and dynastic ames.Mention nthe above sourceof the Suirasenasf Mathura n connection iththe Pandiyas ug-gests hat he attermay be connectedn originwith thePand vas. It also happensthat hiscoincideswith the dynasticmythical raditionsf thePiandiyas.he above-mentioned, ew Ceylonese ourcestatinghow the ancestors f the Siihhalas fledfrom hePanjab toSindhu s a sober ccountnot mbedded n thematrix f BuddhistorHindu mythology.ven from hechronicles ne may extricatehestatementshattheSimhhalasame from ihapura,whichwas inornearLada, andhalted t theportsofBharukaccha nd Supparakaon the way to Ceylon.25 anduvasudeva s said tohave cometo the islandfromSihapura,as did his bride and herbrothers f thePand4uine, sons of Sakka Pai1u.26 Hsuan-tsang oteda Simhhapuran the Indussevenhundred i south fTaksasila.27 he Indianepicsnarrate hewell-knownalesof themovements f thePandavasandmanyrelated eoplesfrom hePanjab areatothe coastsofSindhuand Gujarat.28 he probabilitys enhanced, herefore,hatthePandiyas ndPanduswereconnectedn origin,nd thatbothoriginated ithpeoplewho camebysea fromwesternndia,andultimatelyrom anjab.In earliest istoric imesn both hePandiyan egion nd inpre-Buddhisteylon,forms fthegivacult wereprominent. any ndividualsn Ceylon n thethird ndsecondcenturies.C. had the nameSiva,and somewere calledNandi, according oinscriptionalnd literaryources,29nd ceramic halliand Nandis have beenfoundby theDepartment f Archaeologyn the northern art of the island, generallyassociatedwiththe earliestknownirrigation orks. n thefirst entury.C. Plinywrote f thepeopleofCeylon, hat Hercules s thegod theyworship."30trabo aysthatHeracles' soldierswerethe ancestors f theSibae,whoworeskinsand carriedclubs.3' Diodorus Siculus observes hat Heracleshad the club and the lion skin,and also records ow Alexander heGreatmetthe Siboi on the ndus and howtheircountry ad previously een invadedby Heracles' soldiers,whose descendants heSibi claimedto be.32We have alreadynoted thatMegasthenes aid thatthefatherof the Pandiyaswas Heracles.FromtheseGreeksources,we mayunderstand hat

24 Arrian.25 Dipavatisa9.I-26; Mahdvathsa.5, 46.26 Ibid. 8.6. Many othernames n the earliestCeyloneseiterarynd epigraphicalources, uch asGrilmaneyas,ambojas, nd Yonas,pointback inthe same direction.27Beal, I, 67.28 MBhSabha. 4, 30, 31, 32.

29 Epigraphia eylanica, , Part , 2I9, 236, 237,239, 25I; note lso suchearlynames n thechroni-cles as Mutasiva,Mahasiva,Girikandasiva,ivali,and (king) Siva.30Pliny, i.22.31 Strabo, v.i.8.32 DiodorusSiculus,Bibliotheca istorica, i.39;XVii.94.


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EARLY CIVILIZATION IN SOUTH INDIA 609Hercules was 8iva, and that the8iva traditionsf theearlyPandiyan region ndCeylon may be tracedback to the middle or upper Indus regionof the fourthcentury.C. which agreeswith the postulated riginof thedynasties f those tworegions.The Skanda legends associatedwith Kataragama in Ceylon,and the Kanta-purdnam Skandapurdna) f the Tamils have buried n themmany lementswhichprobably an be tracedback to the same source.The suggestion f some scholarsthat the Skanda legendsgrew frommemory f Alexander he Greatseemsmorecrediblenow,in view of the wealth of detail about that general's nvasionof theIndus region known in Ceylon, according o S. Paranavitana'snewly discoveredinscriptions. reek sources describe wo major portsthat Alexander builton themouths fthe ndus,33 nd we have noted bove that heSithhaladynastypparentlydid not arrive n Ceylon until a generation fter the time of Alexander. TheRajavamsa also states hatformerlyherewas a legendof Alexander n vogue n thePn.diya country.34The temple at Tiruchenduir,n the Pandiyancoast near the Tambaraparanimouth, tandson a spotthathas been sacred since the time of theearliestTamiltraditions.t is a Saivite shrine, nd the themerecurringn its traditionss thatMurukan, he 8aivitehero,protects hePandiyasfrom ncursions rom he sea; thisis recorded ven n Sangamliterature,35nd indeedthis ite s said in legend o havebeen the locationof the "Middle Sangam." In the same way that Tiruchendfirsassociatedwith theearliet andiyas,Tiruketisvaram,widelyknown shrine n thenorthwestoastofCeylon,s at the siteofMantaiorTambapanni, eferredo aboveas associatedwiththeearliest evelofcivilizationn the sland.The other mportantand ancient aivite hrines re also along the coast, uchas Tondesvaram,Munnes'-varam, Nakules'varam nd KinWsvaram. hese are all at ancientport sites, ndKataragama n thesouth, nother aivite hrine,s said in local legend ohavebeenfoundedby immigrants. arttikeya, aruna, ndra, nd Rama were known n pre-BuddhistCeylonas well as amongtheearlyTamils; pre-Buddhist nuradhapuraalreadyhad Brahmans,Jainas,Ajivikas,and other scetics,whose cults apparentlyarrivedn the slandbysea withearly mmigrants.36

Br5hbninscriptionsnd EarlyTamil Merchants. he earliest nscriptionsn theTamil countryre written n a formof Brahmiscriptmuchlike those n Ceylonwhich date from he third to first enturies .C. The date of the earliestCeyloninscriptionss established y theirhistorical ontent, s six of them refer o royalpersonswho can reasonably e assigned to the second half of the thirdcenturyB.C. The namesare thoseof DevanamhpiyacontemporaryfAsoka), his wife,hissistern law,and his brother.37he chronicles lso confirm hatDevanamhpiyaavemanyrock-cut aves to religious rders,38nd in this he no doubt was imitatingAs'oka.A stupa of the BuddhistmissionariesMahinda and Idika has also been

33 Arrian, nabasis fAlexander,i.2o; DoidorusSiculus, vii.Io4.34 S. Paranavitana, An Accountof Alexander..., p. 8.35PatirruppattuIX.-5; Purananuru 5.18-I9;Akandnuiru66.20-2I; Tirumurukdrruppad25.

36 S. Paranavitana, Pre-Buddhist eligiousBe-liefs in Ceylon," IRAS, Ceylon Branch,XXXI(I929), 302-27.37 Epigraphia eylanica, , Part , pp. 2I0, 2I7,2I8, 220, 23I.38 Mahdvathsa I6.I2-I4.


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610 CLARENCE MALONEYdiscovered, hichbears theirnames in an apparently ontemporarynscription.89There are numerous nscriptions ll over the island datable to the second andfirst enturies.C., in a style f Brahmi script n whichthe letterings somewhatlarger han n the hird entury.C. inscriptions.There are about sixty nscriptionsn BrThm1cript n the Tamil area, mostlyshort onative ecords r singlenames on thedrip-ledgesf rock-cutaves.40Whenepigraphicallyomparedwith the earliestCeylon nscriptions,hey an be dated tothethird o first enturies.C. In both regions, spirateswerelost, he ongvowelse and o weremarked, nd some of the letterswerewrittenn unique ways, ll ofwhich lightly ifferentiatedhis script romBrahmi criptsn otherpartsof India.Though from the earliest pigraphical ources therewere adaptations o Tamilphonetics, heTamil Brahmimust have been derivedfrom r related o theearlyCeylonBrahmi cript.

If a map is made plotting he locationof all the ancientTamil inscriptions,twill be observed hat he earliest nes occur n thesouthern amil country,he onlyBrahm1 nscriptions ound north of the Kaveri River being later, perhapscon-temporary ith the Sangam period. The earliestones are found betweenTiru-nelveliand Puduk5ttai,with a cluster round Madurai. The implication s thatTamil literacy iffusedn a south-northirection.If the origin f theform f writing fthese nscriptionss sought,t will not befound in the earliestepigraphical videncefromthe Andhra deltas,the closestregionto thenorthfromwhich the script ould possibly ave been brought ver-land. The Brahmiofthe extreme outh s stylisticallylosest o theearliest arietiesofscriptn westernndia.41What was the agencyby which scriptwas introduced o the extreme outh?This question s pertinent o the issue oftendiscussedregarding arly SoutheastAsia, as to whetherndian civilizationwas transmittedverthe sea primarily yreligious unctionariesr by commercialnterests.he earliest nscriptionsn Cey-lon are contemporary ith the alleged officialdoption of Buddhism. However,thescriptmighthave been introducedven earlier, ince by the third entury.C.it had alreadybeen adapted to the phonetics f Ceylon Prakrit.42t mighthavebeenbrought yBrahmans rAjivikas, aid in the chronicles o haveresidedn pre-BuddhistAnuradhapura. he Tamil Brahmi nscriptionsecord he names of bothBuddhists nd Jainas.It is clearthatmerchants layedan important art in the acculturation f thefarsouth and thattheyhad connections ithwesternndia. Several earlyBrahmiinscriptionsn CeylonmentionKamboja merchants.43siuan-tsangefers o thetrading ctivities f the Sirhhalas, nd says theysettled n the island because it

39S. Paranavitana, Inscriptionsf Rajagala inBatticaloaDistrict,"University f CeylonReview,XX, No. 2 (I962), I59-62.40 Few of the earliest amil BrThminscriptionsare published o date,though omemay be seen nEpigraphy: adrasReports,908, I9I2, I9I5, I9I7,and I9I8. The Departmentf Epigraphy as copiesof others. ome of them roundMadurai re easilyaccessible. ee also Kamil Zvelebil, The BrahmiHybrid Tamil Inscriptions," rchivOrientalni 2(I964), 547-75.

41A. H. Dani, Indian Paleography Oxford,I963), pp. 72-74, 66-68, 2I6-I9, 225. Thisauthor,however,gnores he historicalorrespondencesndworks withpaleographylone, and thereforeisdating of all the Br5hmi cripts f the South istwotothree enturiesoo ate.

42 Epigraphia eylanica, , Part , 227-34.43 C. W. Nichols, Text of theBrahmi nscrip-tions n theRuhunaNationalPark,JRAS,CeylonBranch,New Series, I, Part (I952), I26-40.


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EARLY CIVILIZATION IN SOUTH INDIA 611abounded n gems.44 newlydiscovered ecord, heSuvarnnapura-vamsa,narratesthat he founder f theSimhhalaine was theson of a merchant amedPfirnna, hocame from he ndus to Pundra on the westcoast,45 hich also brings o mind thewell-known uddhist aleof the merchant uirniafSupparakawho had a shippingbusiness. he missionary ahinda"traveled oCeylon n thecompany f merchants,"andwas born n Ujjain soprobably ame from hewest.46On theTamil side,the rock-cut ave at Tirupparafikunramear Maduraiwasdonated by an individual fromCeylon who was a householder, nd thereforeperhaps merchant. he inscription hichmay be seen at AlakarmalainorthofMadurai, the longest arly Tamil inscription, entionsmerchants,mongwhomone dealt n gold and another n copra. The graffitin Brahmiscript n potsherdsexcavated t Arikamedu re in thecommercial ontext f a porttown.47Moreover,the earliestBrahm1 n both the Pandiyancountry nd in Ceylon is mixed withsymbols, hich appear n some cases to have been the trademarks of merchants,butmay also have beena nonphoneticmethod f communication hich graduallybecameobsolescent fter he ntroductionf BrahmTcript.48t is likely, hen, hatmerchantctivity y sea,especiallywith thewest coast of India,providedmuchormost fthe mpetus or he arly tages facculturationf the xtremeouth.The earliestTamil individuals referred o in inscriptionswere engaged incommerce y sea, and these ources re epigraphicallyatableto aboutthesecondcentury.C. In Anuradhapura here s a boulderwiththe nscription,The terraceof the Tamil householders aused to be made by the Tamil Samana (residing)in Ilubarata."49 here is an excavated ock terrace earby, n whichare inscribedthenames of six Tamils, each abovehis section f the terrace. he namesare inPrakrit.Above thehighestpartof the terrace s the name of one Tamil who isdescribeds a ndvika,shipcaptain.Another arlyBrahmi nscriptioneads: "The cave ofthe householder isakha,theTamil merchant." he name of thesameor anotherVisakha is inscribed n aflight f stepsnearby.50nother hip captain f thesecond entury.C. iS mentionedin theMahavamhsa.He was a Tamil horse mporter,ndhissons, ena and Guttaka,overthrewheSimhhalamonarch firatissa ith a great rmy nd ruledAnuradha-pura for twenty-twoears.51 n inscriptionn Kataragamaperhapsrefers o thisSena.52 n thesamecentury,nother amil usurper ftheCeylonthrone ppeared.This was Elara, who, "thoughhe had notput aside falsebeliefs," tillpatronizedBuddhistmonks.Five otherusurperTamil kings n the island who ruled in the

44 Beal, II, 239, 24I, 243, 246.45 Paranavitana, "Newly Discovered . . . ," p. 9.46 Ibid.;Mahavathsa3. I47Most of theseare datableto about the firstcentury:MortimerWheeler, Arikamedu:n Indo-RomanTrading tation n theEast Coast of ndia,"Ancientndia, II (I946), IO9. At leastone, how-

ever, is said to have been recovered rom the"megalithic" tratum:J. M. Casal, Fouilles deVirampatnam-ArikameduParis, I949), AnnexeV, pp. 20, 55.48Some of the symbols n the inscriptiontAlakarmalai re similar o those mixedwith theearliest r5hm writing f Ceylon.See Epigraphia

Zeylanica, , p. i5; V, Part 2, pp. 229-33; H.Parker,AncientCeylon London, 909), pp. 438,447. Similar ymbols re also found n early unch-marked ilver oins of bothregions nd on coppercoinsof theJaffna eninsula, nd may be thetypeof writingcalled Kanneluttu n Cilappatikdram26.I36, I70.49 S. Paranavitana, Tamil Householders'Ter-race,Anuradhapura," RAS, eylonBranch,XXXV

(I940), 54-56.50 Epigraphia eylanica, , Part , 242.51 Mahdvamhsai.I0.52 Ray,p. I46.


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612 CLARENCE MALONEYfirst entury .C. were also not Buddhists.53wo of them had names ending in-mdra, erhaps rom amilmara, common andiyan itle.Fromthese nd similar ources, herefore, e knowthat n thesecondcenturyB.C. in northernCeylon therewere prosperousTamils, some of whom weremerchants,argoshippers,nd horse mporters.ome ofthemhad become iterate,and had adoptedPrakritnames,perhapsunderthe influence f Brahmanism rJainism.omenames n theearliestnscriptionsn thePandiyanregion re also inPrakrit.An inscriptionf thesameperiod t TirupparafikunramearMaduraimentionsan hlakudu1mbikav,Ceylonhouseholder," hoapparentlyonated hecave.54 aterevidence fCeylonese r Buddhists n theTamil regionmaybe seen n thenamesof someof theSangampoets, uch as Maturai lattup-pfitanevanar, lamp5tiyr,and Teratanar. t is clear that thisreciprocal xchange of persons between thePandiyanregionand northern eyloncontributedo the diffusionf literacy,hemajorreligions nd sects, nd other ivilizingnfluencesn both sides of the ndo-Ceylon traits.

EarlyPandiyason the SouthernCoast. Tamil legends of the Three Sangamsstatethatthe firstwocapitalsof thePandiyas were on thesouthern oast.Theselegends re foundonly n medievalworks, nd in highly xaggerated orm,55ndtherefore ave been considered y some scholars s of littlevalue forhistoriog-raphy.However, the formalization f style, ollection, nd preservation f themany worksof the so-called angam literaturendicatetheprobableexistence fat least one suchbody at Madurai, said in thetraditiono have been the locus oftheLast (third)Sangam.When these egendsare viewed in the light of the otherevidencepresentedherein, ne is led to suspect hattheremightbe somesubstance o thetale of theexistence f thefirstwoSangamsand Pandiyan apitals ocatedon thecoast. t issaid that herewas a FirstSangamat Old Madurai, lso calledSouthMadurai,thePandiyancapitalon the southern oastwhichwas destroyedy inundation. heMiddleSangam s said to haveconvened t Kapatapuram, lso inundated. t is alsostated, owever, hat hisSangamwas held at Alaivay, dentifiables modernTiru-chendur,heprominentacredtownon the coastwestoftheTambaraparan.iiiver.The LastSangam ssaid tohaveconvened tUttaraMaturai presentMadurai). Thelegendsgive fabulousdetailsof theSangamshaving asted forthousands f years,each having had scores of poets,commissioned y Pandiyanmonarchs,manyofwhomarenamed.The FirstSangamis said to haveproduced hegrammarAkatti-yam (of Agastya),theMiddle Sangam thegrammarTolkappiyamwhich standsnow as a post-Sangamwork), and the Last Sangam all the rest of the existing"Sangam" iterature.he names n the egend f suchpoets s Agastya,Markandeya,and Valmiki, are obviously nterpolations,hough the names of some of thePandiyanmonarchsndpoetsmayhavebeenpreservedrom hat eriod.The question fthehistoricityfthese woearly andiyan apitals lleged o haveexisted n thecoast s importantn tracing hedevelopmentfcivilizationn thefar

53Mahdva7isa I.I3-34; 33.56-6I.54This inscriptionust southof Maduraican beseen writtenn a rock-cut ave above four leepingplatformspparentlyarvedout forfourmonks.55 raiyanarAkapporul togetherwith "Nakki-rar's" ommentary)Madras,939), pp. 5-7.


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EARLY CIVILIZATION IN SOUTH INDIA 613south.Old Madurai andKapatapuram re not mentionedn Sangam iteraturetself,norhave theybeen identifiedrcheologically.n the questionof inundation, ow-ever,Kalittokai104 states hat when the sea encroached n the Pandiyanking'ssouthern erritory,e in turn ncroached n the ands of the C6las and the Ceras.Though Sangam iteratures datedto thefirst hree enturies.D., thePandiyasmusthave been located n the presentMadurai much earlier, t least by the ast partofthethird entury.C., formostof theearlyBrahmi nscriptionsre clustered roundthat ity. he legends efer o UttaraMaturai Madurai), apparentlyn contrast ithSouthor Old Madurai.The existence fsuch a South Madurai s suggested n a pas-sage in the Mahavamisa n the story f the mythical ncestorVijaya,who took aPandiyanprincess o wife. That king's"messengers ere quicklycome by ship tothecity f southernMadhura" and metthePandu king.56 he adjective southern"distinguishedhatMadurai from heinland cityof the same name which was thePa.ndiyan apital at the time the chronicleswere edited and put in present orm.Another amil medieval ource lso states hat outh Madurai was on the coastandwas inundated y the ocean laden withships.57 outh Madurai was probably t themouth of the TambaraparaniRiver,perhaps near the presentvillage of Korkai.Korkaiwas a port frequently entioned n Sangam literature,nd it was the siteofthePandiyan iceroyaltynd the ource f muchof thewealth f thekingdom e-cause twas thecenter f thepearltrade.An inscriptionragment ow in the villagesuggests hat t might e identifiable ith he egendary outhMadurai.58The city f Kapatapuram, egendaryite of the Middle Sangam, also musthaveexistedbecause it is referred o in severalSanskritworks.59f it was the same asAlaivay,t would be identifiable ithmodern iruchenduir,iteof theSaivite emplereferredo above. t appears, hen, hat hese woearly ities f thePandiyas xistedduring heMauryanperiod, efore hedynastymoved tscapital nlandto Madurai.These cities ould wellhave beendestroyedy floods, s the egends ay,becausetheTambaraparani iverfrequentlyhangests coursen thedelta, ouging newchan-nel becauseofthemonsoon ains n theWesternGhats.There are other eferencesn Tamil literature hichsuggest hatthePandiyankingsofMadurai recognized hat heir arly raditionsamefrom he south.One oftheearliest nown"kings,"Nediy5n, s said in the Purandnfiruo haveperformednumberlessacrificest thePahruliRiver,60 hichflowed ntothe ea somewheren

56 Mahdvathsa .50-58. Also, see Ray, p. 94 ontranslationf the passage.This storys not foundin the Dipava?hsa. hough "Vijaya" can hardly econsidered historical ersonage,heepisodes elat-ing to him demand careful crutiny or the earlyhistory f the region.57Paranicoti univar, iruvilaiyadal urdnam,,Story3.58 The word Maturotayanalluir, eminent ertiletownof Maturai," ppears na fragmentf a medi-eval inscriptionn a reused tone nsidethe door-wayto the eft,n a small emple tanding etweenKorkai and the adjacenthamlet fAkkas'alai. hecontext f the word is land measurements,re-sumably ocal.59Arthas'astrai.II.2 speaks f Pin.dyakavatandand Tamraparinds sources f pearls.MBh,Droia

23, saysthat Krsna overcame he Pan.dyakapitaand slew itsking,and some versions efer o theplacespecificallys Kapatapuram. eeMu. Irakavai-yangar,KapatapuramumadalKolum,"Annals fOrientalResearch, I, Part 2, I937-38. Rdmayanavi.4I, in narratingHanuman's journeyto thesouth, ayshe is instructedocross heKaveri, hengo south nd crosstheTambaraparani,nd wherethatriver enters he sea is thegoldengateof thePan.dyas," nd beyond that is Mahendra Potiyilhill,nearCape Comorin), nd then here s Ceylon.This mention f thePan.diyanapital t themouthoftheTambaraparanimusthavebeen derived roma source lderthan this workas it now stands.60 Purandnuru.8-II; Cilappatikdram,Venirka-tai," I-2. The Pahruli s associatedwiththeCapeComorin egion, nd also withSouthMaduraiac-


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614 CLARENCE MALONEYthesouthern alndiyanoast.Nediy5n s saidin thispassage o havebeenan ancestorof MutukudumiPeruvaluti, imself ne of the earliest andiyankingscontempo-rarywith angam iterature.he sageAgastya s notmentionednSangam iterature,butthe egendswhich elledaround hepersonalityfthatfictitious orthyeemtohavebeenofearlier rigin.61 e is accreditedwith havingwrittenhe grammar ftheFirstSangam, ndwithhaving ntroducedlmost ll aspects f the ndianGreatTradition ntothe Pandiyan ountry,ncluding riesthood,sceticism, rahmanism,astrology,nd to havebroughtmmigrantso theTamil country rom heGujaratside. These talessurely eflecthediffusionfNorth ndian civilization o thefarsouth.62he Agastya egends re geographicallyssociated rimarily iththeCapeComorinregion, speciallyMountMahendra.All thesemedieval egends, oupledwith hemorefirmlyistoricalmaterial rom eylon nd theepigraphical ata,pointto thediffusionfcivilizationnthePandiyan egion romhe oastnorthward.Whywas not the Pand.diyanapitalon thecoastduring he Sangamperiod?Therealreason or he hiftothe nlandMaduraimighthavebeenfear f nvasion romCeylon.Acrossthe straits rom heTambaraparaniwas Tambapanni,the earliestCeylon apital, ut we knowthat heCeylonesemovedtheirheadquartersnlandtoAnuradhapurand built tup wellbefore hetimeofAs'oka.Probably hePandiyasalso moved nland n theearly hird entury .C. We havenotedabove thatbeforeCeylonbecameofficiallyuddhist, ingPandukabhaya nvadedthePandiyasfromTambapan.ni. herewas anothernvasionbysea fromCeylonshortlyfter A.D.63The TiruchenduirempleneartheTambaraparanimouthhas traditionallyrotectedthePandiyasfrom ncursions y sea. The chroniclesf Ceylonmention everal n-stances fTamils having nvadedthe sland n thecenturies receding hetimeofChrist.There is littledoubtthatby shiftingheircapital nland to Madurai thePandiyas nhanced heir ecurity.

The CerasandColas.Within he paceofthis rticlet s notpossible oelaborateon theorigins f thecivilizationsepresentedytheearlydynastiesf theCeras (ofKerala) and C6las (of theKaveriregion). t appears hat n bothregionstwas thecoaststhatwere subjectto the earliest ultural ross-fertilization.Brahmanism,udaism,hristianity,nd Islamwere ll intrusivelements roughtbysuccessiveulturalwaveswhichwashedthe ongverdant oastof Kerala. It is ob-viousthat he Parasurama egends f Kerala incorporatehe oldestmemories f in-trusiveNorth ndian influences,ervingmuchas do theAgastya alesof thePandi-yan region.The Parasurama egendspurport o explainthe spreadof Brahmansalong thecoast, nd are particularlymportantn the whole of the littoral s farnorth s Gujarat.The K&ralltpatti, latemedieval history"f Kerala, states hatBrahmans,ncluding hehighNambuitiri rahmans, rrived y sea to settle here,that heybrought arieties fflora nd fauna n their hips, nd that omeofthemcamefrom harukacchaBroach).64 Brahmans id travel verseasn early ndia,forcording o the legendof theThree Sangams.SeeCilappatikdramI.19-22, and also a legendaboutthe inundationf theregion f thePahruli n M.Rasanayagam,ncient afinaMadras, 926), p. Io.61 Paripddal I.II-I2 refers o an ascetic onPotiyilhill,which aterbecamethe sacred eatofAgastya. ee alsoPurananutru3.7.

62 A summary f thehistoricalmport f someaspects f theAgastya egends s found n K. A.Nilakanta astri, History fSouth ndia (Oxford,I958), pp. 67-75.63 Paranavitana,NewlyDiscovered.... " p. ii.64K. P. PadmanabhaMenon,History fKerala(Cochin, 937), I, 22, 5I; IV, 475 f.


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EARLY CIVILIZATION IN SOUTH INDIA 615at least seventeen f the earliest ave inscriptionsf Ceylonmention hem, s doliterary ccounts f its earliest ettlers.65rahmanswere chaplains f thePandiyas,Ceras, and Simhhalas.hey arementioned n connection ith someof the kingsofthe Ceras eulogized in the Patirruppattu, work of the Sangam period.Theirpresence s confirmedn Greekworks, orPtolemymentions wocoastal ities, xist-ing about thesecond century,alled Bramagara Brahmanagara r Brahmagrha?)and Brakhme,where therewereBrakhmanaiMagoi (Brahmanamakkal,or peo-ple).66 Brahmanswere well entrenchedlong the coast, t seems, ythetimeof San-gamliterature.The Patirruppattus a compilation f tenpoems on ten Cera kings.Everyoneof the kingseulogized n thatwork was renowned ither orhis naval exploits rforhis wealth cquiredby sea trade.All thoseCera kingshad navies, nd some ofthem controlled he whole coast from about Goa down to Cape Comorin,andeven the port fMantai n northerneylon. t was during hisperiodthatRomansor otherYavanas conducted onsiderable radewith Kerala, buying pepperandtextiles nd giving n exchangegold and wine. The Roman trade resulted npractically o permanent ultural mpact, utwas no doubt a factor n thesettle-ment in Kerala of Jews of the diaspora, nd subsequentlyn the appearanceofChristianity.he intrusion f Islam and of the Portuguese n later centurieshighlights he nevitable nvolvementf theKerala coast n navigation atternsnthe ndian Ocean.Several ftheCerakingsoftheSangam periodhad their apital t Tondi,a portin central eralapatronized yMediterraneanrade.Otherportswhichwerecapitalsor other enters f political owerwereVafici,Muciri,Pantar,Kodufikaluir,uttu-nadu, Naravu,theNetravatimouth,Vakai, and Pali.68Civilization n Kerala de-velopedfirstf all along thecoast.The Cola dynastys said tohave descended rom ome ancestorwho harnessedhemonsoonwindsfor ea trade.69 nother ine ofCola (or perhaps allava) monarchswas theTiraiyar,who are also said to have comefrom he sea, in as much as theveryname means peopleof thewaves."Kaincipurammay be as old as theMauryanperiod,70ndwe have noted bovethat t was visited y Chinese raders ho camebyship nthe econd nd first enturies.C., probablyhrough henaturallyortifiedortofMahabalipuram. hough the Calas had a sometime nland capital at Uraiyfir,Kaveripattinams more often eferredo in early iteraturend in the epics.Withits streetsinedwithfinehouses,goods piledhigh waitingfor hipment, ing'scus-toms gents, nd a lighthouse,7'here s no doubtthat hisportgenerated hebetterpartof thewealth f theC6las.Sincetheeastcoastof ndia fromBengaltoCeylon s devoidofany archeologicalevidenceof pre-Mauryanivilization,we may doubtthe existence hereof much

65 C. W. Nichols, "Brahmanas n the EarlySinhaleseKingdom,"Universityf CeylonReview,VIII, No. 4 (1950), 259-6I; Mahavamizsa.44;IO.I02.66Ptolemy vii.i.8, 74.67 Purandnuru 343.I-IO; Akandnfiru49.7-II;Periplus, 4, 56; these sources re also supportedby thedistributionnd datingof Roman coins inKerala.68Patirruppattu 17.4-6; 2I.23; 22.I5; 55.3-6;

67-I-4; 74.6; 76.4-5; 88.4-6; 90.I9-30; patikamsof 2nd and 5thdecads;Kuruntokai28.2; Pura-nanuru 43.I-I0; Akandnfiru 57.I5; I27; I49.7-II, I99.I9-24; Periplus 3, 54, 56; Ptolemy ii.I.7-8; Strabo ii.5.I2; Pliny vi.23.26.69 Purandnfiru6.I-3; 95; Perumpdndrruppadai28-38; Manimekalai5.124-26.70 Hsiian-tsang said there was a stupa there builtby Asokaraja. Beal, II, 228-30.71Pattinppdlai ii6-37; Ptolemy vii.I.I3.


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616 CLARENCE MALONEYlong-distanceea trafficefore he thirdcentury .C. From the time of Buddhistexpansionism, owever, ommunication ickedup along the east coast and cross-culturalfertilization as engendered. he accounts of navigationtherein theCeylonchronicles,heJltakas, nd Tamil literature,estifyo this, s do theappear-ance fromMauryan imes n of port ities n Bengal,Orissa, heAndhradeltas, heKaveri delta and northeast eylon.If itwas thiscoastal radewhich argely timulatedheappearance f theColasand therising tarof their ynasty,heywerenot ong on thereceivingnd onlyofthe diffusion f Indian civilization.The Tamil epics describeCola tradewithCeylon andwith ndonesia,72nd therole ofmedievalColas in the acculturationfSoutheast sia iswell known.In conclusion,t is apparent hatthe basic elements f complex ulture eachedthe Tamil area by sea to begin with, nd thatthis was more of a stimulus o thegrowthof primary ivilization n the regionthan was diffusionverlanddownthepeninsula.The reasons his has notbeen much discussed n existinghistoriesof the south ncludethe factthat this s not apparent s regards hePandiyas nSangam literaturetself, nd thePandiya and Cola capitals had been establishedinland.Furthermore,he literary,pigraphical,nd archeological esources f Cey-lon have not hitherto een thoroughlyearchedfortheirapplicability o SouthIndia. The diffusion f early ndian civilization romBharukaccha, opara, andother arlyports n Gujaratand Sindhu whoseantiquitys authenticatedy litera-tureand archeology,houldbe as muchconsidered n the study f South ndia asof Ceylon and SoutheastAsia. Certainly his Indianizationof so manyregionsperipheralo the ndianOcean ranks s one ofthe mostvigorous endencies f theearly ulture istoryf SouthAsia.

72 Cilappatikdram4.I04-I2; MAanimikalai 5.I24-26.

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The Beginings of Civilisation in South India

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