Velirs

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Velirs were tribal chieftains who ruled in the Tamil country during the early historic period. These chieftains were nominally subordinate to the three main Tamil dynasties of Chola, Chera and Pandya.

Asoka's edicts mentioned the a clan of rulers called Satyaputas along with the three crowned Tamil kings.^[1] The identity of the Satyaputa has not been satisfactorily deciphered so far. The Sanskrit name means 'members of the fraternity of truth'.^[2] The Velirs or chieftains occupied a strata lower than that of the Chera, Chola and Pandya kings and were sometimes subordinate to them.^[3] There are numerous poems in the ancient Sangam literature extolling these chieftains for their charity and truthfulness. Some of the most prominent amongst them were known as the 'seven patrons' (kadaiyezhu vallal). The seven patrons were: Paari, Malayamn Thirumudi Kaari, Ori, Adigaman, Began, Nalli and Ay Kandiran. Neduman Anji, an Adigaman chieftain, based in Tagadur was a contemporary of Auvaiyar. A Tamil and Prakrit epigraph found recently near Tirukkovilur in Tamil Nadu says satiyaputo atiyan netuman anci ceyivitta pali (Monastry built by Satyaputa Athiyan Nduman Anji ) ^[4] The Sangam poem Thagadur yathirai, now lost, was written about Adigaman Neduman Anji and his battle with the Chera king.

In the medieval period, many of these Velirs such as the Sambuvaraya, Malaiyaman, Kadavaraya, and the Kodumbalur chieftains were feudatories of the Chola emperors. When the Chola empire declined they rebelled against the central Chola authority.^[5]

[edit] References

1. ^ Asokas's second rock-edits mention these names - Sastri, K.A. A History of South India pp 77
2. ^ Sastri, K.A. A History of South India pp 77
3. ^ Karikala Chola married a Velir princess – KAN Sastri, The Colas pp 49
4. ^ [1]
5. ^ Sastri, K.A. A History of South India pp 175