User:Nadarhistory
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
PANDIYA KULA KSHATRIYA MARA NADAR COMMUNITY The History of Pandiyan Kingdom starts with early prehistory of India before 12000 to 15000 years ago. The ancient Pandiyan kingdom had soverignity over most of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Southern Karnataka and Srilanka. It is the oldest of all the kingdoms in India, founded by native Dravidians. The Pandiyan kingdom had the fish as emblem and the flag had the same motif on it. The kings were called Meenavan indicating that the kingdom had fishery and perhaps founded by fishermen. However the main ancient Pandian dynasty is from Mara Vamsam. Nadar community who descend from the ancient Pandian kingdom who descend from the Maravamsam hence called Maranadar/Mara Nadalwar.Nadalvar,Nadalvan, Nadar, Nadan,Nadava,Alwar,Maran all are abbreviations and synonyms of the same name. The Kings had the title Maravarman and Maran. Nelveli and Maveli,Seeveli and Chadayan were the titles of the Pandiyan kings. The Maveli Thamburan of Onam could have been a Pandiyan king as there was only Pandiyan king before 3000 yrs at Kerala. The onam festival was celebrated throughout Pandiyan kingdom ie Kerala as well as Tamil nadu in ancient times. The place called Mavelikkara and Thirunelveli, NenMara in Palakkad and Chadayamangalam are named after Pandiyan kings and also indicate Pandiyan Soverignity.
Contents |
[edit] The titles of ancient Pandiyan kingdom.
The lords of Pandiyan kingdom had the titles Mara Nadalwar, Nadar, Alwar, Nadan,Adityan,Rayan etc. The Elite soldiers were Sivanthi (the elite suicidal army who died with the king), Kodimarathar (who defended the flag ) and Karukkupatayathar who defended the king with broad swords. The village head was Gramony. The commoners who were also the soldiers were 'Shanars' (Shantors or Chanars). The iron was called as Chan in ancient tamil. The soldiers who carried the iron swords in a time when the iron was precious were called chanars. Pullukai chanars are another sub group of soldiers who could have been hired sodiers from other communities who carried spears (Pullu). The language of the Pandiyan kingdom had been an archaic form of Tamil which evolved into various modern Dravidian tongues like Tamil,Malayalam,Kannada,Telugu and Tulu. At kerala they talked a form of Manipravalam in the later days. The religion of the Pandians,nadars used to be jainism and Hinduism for almost five thousand years. After the British arrival some embraced Christianity as well. Some like Vallikada Panickers(cochin) (nadars)had been Christians even before five hundred years during the Portuguese period. The occupation of nadars of had been agriculture, including Palmyra tapping and processing, cattle farming, sea going etc. Alcohol, pearls and agricultural products were the major exports. The fisherman community could have played a major role as well.
[edit] Pandiyan kingdom of South Kerala
South kerala was ruled by Pandiyan kings from the Capital Thiruvattuvai (Nelkindai) at the Kottayam/Alappuzha area. The Pandiyan Navy guarded the Kerala harbours including Kurekkeni Kollam, Vizhingnam etc. Greek historian Plini 2000 yrs ago was met by the minister of Pandiyan at Kodungalloor(Trichur) inviting him to Quilon offering cheaper prices for the spices. All the areas south of Trichur was ruled by Pandiya nadalwars. The Ay kings of kerala who were regarded as philanthrophists were vassals as their names end with the name Nadan. Trivandrum was founded by another Pandiyan king Nedumchadaya Pandiyan at 792 AD. Anantha puri was a Jain city earlier.
[edit] Kalappira Invasion
The classical Pandiyan kingdom was destroyed and weakened by the invading Kalappiras who were otherwise called kalappala in the 3rd century a.d. The Kalappira/Kalappalas were from northern Karnataka or central India. The Sangha age and learning came to an abrupt end. The Kalappalars Kings were called Muthariyars and the Aristorcracy and soldiers were called Kalappalars or Kalavars or Kalappirars. The Kalappalars ruled most of the presentday Tamil Nadu and Kerala hence called Mutharaiyar. The Pandiyan kingdom was eclipsed from 300-600 A.D. Some of the warlike ancient tamil communities from Pandiya and Chera kingdom mixed with the Kalappalas and became related communities. The tripartite community thus formed were hostile to ancient Pandiyans. They helped founding the powerful Later chola kingdom around 800 AD which was hostile to the ancient Pandiyans too.
[edit] The Cholas
The Cholas under Sri Udayar Rajaraja Chola ruled not only the whole of south India but Orissa (kalinga)and West Bengal,Sri Lanka and many foreign countries in the east too. The chola kingdom further weakened the Pandiyan kingdom often replacing them with their own. Cholas placed many Chola Pandiyas belonging to their own dynasty to rule Pandiyan kingdom thus creating another Pandiyan dynasty. The ancient Pandian nadars though weakened were pushed towards south at Tenkasi. Till the last of the main Pandiyan dynasty the Pandiyan Kings had the title Maravarman indicating that the kings did have the original blood of the Marans ie Nadars. (The prefix of the Dravidian kings indicate the Kulam -Lineage while the postfix is often a common title). Gradually the Nadar clan was pushed towards the south around the Tenkasippatinam which had been the second Pandiyan Capital since ancient times. The original Pandiyan dynasty of nadars is believed to have lasted till the mid 18th century when they were forced to migrate to Kerala. The family names Maran and Rayan may represent the ancient Pandiyan Lineage.
[edit] Turkish Sulthanate' Naickers'
Muslim invasion by Malikafur,the general of Allaudin Khilji destroyed the Pandiyan kingdom and plundered it in 1311. The Venad King Yadhu Kula Kulasekhara Ravi Varma Deva who perhaps had an understanding with the muslim invaders, captured the southern capital of Pandiyas Tenkasi/kalakkad area and formed the Kalakkad swaroopam. He further assumed the title Maravarman and had a coronation at Kancheepuram as a king with three crowns ( Chera Chola and Pandiya ). However he died without a heir. The ultimate decline of Pandiyas however came after the Vijaya Nagara Nayakars at 1550 who were hostile to the Nadar lords allegedely massacred nadars enmasse. Almost all the Vellai Nadars,the Nadar lords were hanged. Nadar oral tradition says that 500 gallows (hanging trees-Thooku maram) were planted between Thirunelveli and Palayamkottai. The Nadars were forced to live in the high ranges of western ghats in the Kerala side for another 150 yrs. Some went to Karnataka. Some got converted to islam (ie before 400 yrs-1600s). Many Karnatakas muslims still claim to be descendents of nadars and they have the sirname nadar. The Naickers were the worst enemies Nadars ever had. Many tamil warlike communities sided with the Naickers and divided the country among themselves. The Pandiyan kingdom was divided into 72 Palayams which were ruled mostly by Telugu Naickers. The Thuluva people who came with the Naickers from Thulunad became the Lords and Generals. Till the time when the Nayakar rule ended at 1801 the Nadars were forced to abandon their property and holdings. They became outcasts in their own land. They were not even allowed in the temples their Pandiyan ancestors had built. At 1800s Veera Pandiya Kattabommu Naicker, the last Pandiya king who bravely fought the British was defeated and hanged himself the Naicker rule came to an end. When some Nadars approached the British in 1801(Thirunelveli Collector) claiming that all these countries were their own and that they were Kshatriyas belonging to the Pandian dynasty, the British officer ordered them to bring a gold coin issued by their king in the past. They could not bring it. So the petition was dismissed. In the British archives the appearance of Nadars of that time has been mentioned. They had long hair hanging up to the waist spread out. The Dhoti was tucked between their legs. Though landed class among nadars did exist throught ages, most of them were poor. The British came as saviours in a time of oppression by the Telugu Naickers. In the period 1801 to 1850 Nadars got educated,joined the British army, went to work in British plantations. Some Nadars started large plantations in Kerala as early as 1830s much before other communities. Beginning from 1775 many Nadars were converted to Christianity. Still Nadars neigther adopted westernways nor did they mix with any foreign blooded christians. Before 300 BC whole of the kerala area was under the Pandian Kingdom.
Chera Kingdom The Chera Kingdom was founded by the Bana people at about 300 BC , who perhaps came to kerala from Karnataka. Chera means the people who came and joined. The king Cheraman Perumal was otherwise called Bana Perumal. The The formation of chera kingdom at Northern Kerala devided the Pandiyan kingdom in the middle. Thus in the early years of Christ Kerala had three Pandian Principalities.
- Southern Ay Nadu (the present day Travancore )
- Maranadu -area extending from Palaghat to Gudalur and Wayanad including Ezhimalai
- Pulnadu Kasaragod and South Kanara.
The arrival of new warrior casts from the north who were more related to Kurubas, through the konkan coast along with their Sanskrit speaking Brahmin masters in 800 AD, radically transformed Northern kerala the Chera Kingdom. The Thulu Nadu records mention that a tribe called Nayar who followed marmumakkathayam and fiercely protective of Brahmins came from north along the konkan coast,and residing at Thulunadu (South Kanara) before 800 AD. They suddenly disappeared from South Kanara around 800 AD. It is understood that Nayars came to kerala around 800 AD. The names Nair and Kuruppu suggest that they are more related to the Kurubas than ancient Tamils. The ancient Pana and Valluvan tribes were either exterminated or assimilated by the Nair warriors. The Nairs who perhaps married among the indigenous Vellala,Valluvan and yadava tribes. The valluvanadu kings were called Valluva konathiri as well as Vellattiri. The custom of Marumakkathayam a form of matrilineal lineage was brought inside kerala by the Nairs. They joined the second Chera Kingdom around 800 a.d. Gradually the ancient chera kingdom was broken and and shared by local princes. The last Chera King, Ravivarma Kulasekhara of Kodungalloor (Trichur) converted himself to Islam and went for a pilgrimage to Mecca in the 12the century. A muslim Chera Royal dynasty even now survive at Araikal/Kannur. The Chera Kings were replaced by the Namboothiri brahmins around 1400s when they intermarried among the royal families. The Nairs migrated to Venad around 1100-1200s and succeeded in colonising it. The native yadava rulers of koobaka dynasty of Venad (Travancore) were replaced by Chera rulers. Gradually all the traces of Pandiyan ancestory disappeared though some elements and Pandiya Sakhas existed as late as 18th century. Kollam, Pandalam, Mavelikkara had been the Pandian minor capitals. Nairs turned out to be quite antagonistic to Nadars though much less severe degree than the Muslims and Naickers. Some nairs especially Kurups were always friendly with Nadars and sided with them. The Nadar Kalaries and learning persisted in the southern districts Trivandrum, Quilon and Kanyakumari Districts. They talked either Tamil or a dialect of Manipravalam an ancient form of Malayalam. The Nadars/Shanars though they assisted the Venad King Marhtanda Varma in 1725 to regain the throne. Brandan Chanan alias Ananda Padmanabhan Nadar who was a member of the Pagode Kalari/Family that time helped the king in the civil war in which the Ettuveetupillaimar tried to kill Marthanda Varma. Many places are named after Ananthan.
[[Travancore Nadars - Difficult times from 1750 to 1850]] In latter periods(1725-1800) the Nadars were tortured by the Nair/ Vellala combine. Often they were sold as slaves. Many of them got converted to Christianity. Many Nadars like Swampulingam Nadar, Kasi, Duraiappa Nadars became robbers, a kind of country Robinhoods. In a period when only Namboothiri women were allowed to cover the upper part of their body, Nadar women started covering their chest at 1859 leading to fierce protesting by the other communities especially Nairs. This lasted for more than five years. The British never understood Nadars history or their Pandiyan lineage. Leaders like Soundara Pandiyan nadar were actively involved in the establishment of Dravidian movement. Very few of the Nadars still have memory about their Pandiyan past. The people with family names Maran,Rayan,Sivanthi,Pandiyakula etc. perhaps were more related to the Pandiyan dynasty than others. Even now the single majority community at Trivandrum is Nadars. A kannada speaking sub group among Bunts called Nadavas who reside at South Kanara District of Karnataka also regard themselves as descendents of Pandiyan kings including Bootha Pandia and Deva pandiya. Like Nadars of kerala and Tamil Nadu they have titles like maran and rayan. At Karnataka the Pandiyan kingdom existed at the Mangalore and Kasaragod area. They are believed to have intermingled with the Hoysala dynasty of karnataka who were jains like early Pandiyas. The jain community as well as the Bunts of Karnataka could descend from the ancient Pandiyan kingdom. Some Billavas might have acquired Pandiyan blood by marriage as they have the Pandian title Alwar or Alwa. The keralas Ezhavas and Edigas (Ezhiyas) are not directly related to Nadars ethnically and all the apparent similarity could be due to inter-mixing in the recent times. Ezha nadu in ancient Malayalam and Tamil means Srilanka. The Puthalam Nadu described by Ibn Pathutha at the North western Srilanka was a Pandiyan kingdom and could be the place of origin for these communities. The Puthalam kingdom perhaps collapsed around 1350s. The Pandiyan dynasty of Nadars who ruled in Sri Lanka in ancient times were also called Ezhavas and should not be confused with the modern Ezhavas. (But it is possible that they mixed with them). The title Panikkan was given to people who were masters in martial arts by the Pandiyan kings. Like Nadars many Ezhava families have the Panikkan title indicating their link and perhaps the origins from the ancient Pandiyan kingdom. Like Nadars they were also saivites. The Venad and Samuthiris army definitely had their soldiers. The Thiyyas were fierce warriors and their Kalaries are said to resemble closely nadar Kalaries though technically superior than the Southern Kalaries.
In the Modern times the following communities claim to have strong relevance with the ancient Pandiya Nadu.
- Nadars - Tamil and Malayalee Nadars
- Nadavas (Bunts) of Karnataka who claim to be descendents of ancient *Pandiyas
Some Muslims from Karnataka still have Nadar as family name.They claim to have converted before four hundred years
