Saiva Vellalar
Saiva Velaalar (Tamil: சைவ வேளாளர்) is a Tamil community in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. They trace their lineage to the ancient Velir tribe
Saiva Velaalars have the title of Mudaliar and Pillai. In northern part of Tamil Nadu, they are known as Mudaliars(Thondaimandala Mudaliars) where as in southern part of the state, they are known as Saiva Pillais and Saiva Velaala Mudaliars
Velaalars in Sangam literature
In Sangam literature, the chiefs of the vellala tribes were called the Velir. The Velir or the Vellalar tribes are described as a landed gentry who irrigated the wet lands and the Karalar were the landed gentry in the dry lands. Numerous poems in the ancient Sangam literature extol these chieftains' charity and truthfulness. Among the most prominent were those known as the 'seven patrons' (kadaiyezhu vallal); Vel-Pari, Malayaman Thirumudi Kaari, Ori, Adigaman, Began, Nalli and Ay Kandiran.
They had close associations and held high positions of office with the three main Tamil dynasties, Chera, Chola and Pandya. Some of them even had marital relations; Ilamcetcenni, the king known for his fleet of warships, married a Velir princess, and his son Karikala Chola also married a Velir princess from Nangur.
Historical personalities
- Sekkizhar, the author of the Tamil hagiography Periyapuranam or The Great Purana consisting of the life stories of the 63 Tamil Saiva Saints or the Nayanmars
- Thirunavukkarusu Nayanar, also known as Appar, one of the 63 Nayanars, celebrated by Sekkizhar in his epic Periyapuranam hailed from this community.[1][2] He was a contemporary of Tirugnanasambandhar (younger of the two) and lived during 7th century.[3] Sambandhar affectionately referred to him as appa(father). Though born into an orthodox saivite family, Appar initially embraced Jainism and was known as Dharmasena. He would later convert back to Saivism and travel to many places and undergo ordeals to show his devotion to Siva.[4] He would sing one of his hymns in praise of Siva at Vaitheeswaran Koil.[5]
- Kotpuli Nayanar, one of the 63 Nayanars hailed from Nattiyantankuti. He was so attached to Lord Siva that he allotted a heap of paddy in the form of huge hill in each of the Siva temples to feed the Saiva devotees.[6]
- Ambi Aramvalartha Mudaliar was a minister during the reign of Krishnadevaraya (1509-1530 AD).
Modern personalities
Freedom fighters
Social work
Literature
- Makaral Karthikeya Mudaliar: A scholar and poet in the 19th century who hailed from Veyttur, near Maduranthakam. He authored a number of Tamil books, including Veleer varalaatrumanbu, Tamil Solvilakkam, and Mozhi Nool.
Arts and music
- Salem K.Meera is a renowned Karnatic musician in Salem. She is well versed in vocal, veena and keyboard. She is the Joint President of Salem Sangeetha Vidhwath sabha for the past three years. Also she has served as the President of the sabha for six years, secretary for six years, committee member and vice president for 12 years. She is an active and creative participant in the sabha activities. She has been performing in the Salem sabha from 1950 until now (2011).
- KS RaviKumar Famous Cinema Director
- Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan Professor, folk song singer
- Vijayalakshmi, Cine actress
Politics
- C. Muttukumarasami Mudaliyar, Indian politician and hereditary zamindar of Chunampet. Member of the Madras Legislative Council 1904-7
- C. Natesa Mudaliar, Justice party leader
- S. Muthiah Mudaliar, Minister in the Composite Madras Government, 1928-1930 as a member of the Indian Justice Party. He was the author of the Communal Government Order in Madras Presidency in 1928.
- Sir P. T. Rajan (1892–1974): Justice Party politician and Chief Minister of Madras Presidency in 1936
- T. N. Sivagnanam Pillai (1861–1936), Indian politician of the Justice Party. Minister of Development (1923–26)
- Palanivel Rajan (1933–2006): Politician of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Speaker, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, 1996–2001. Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (2006).
- M. Bhaktavatsalam (1897–1987): Indian freedom fighter and leader of the Indian National Congress. Chief Minister of Madras state from 1963 to 1967.
- O. V. Alagesan (1911–1992): Indian politician and leader of the Indian National Congress. Minister of External Affairs in the Union Government and Minister of Railways. He resigned his post after a railway accident at Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu.
- V. R. Nedunchezhiyan (1920–2001): Founding member of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. President of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (1962–1967). Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in 1969 and 1987. He was Education Minister in the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Government and Finance Minister in the AIADMK Government during the M. G. Ramachandran period and the J. Jayalalithaa period. He held portfolios as Minister for more than 25 years in the State of Tamil Nadu.
- Professor K Anbazhagan: General Secretary, DMK Party. He was Minister for Health, Minister for Education, and is currently Finance Minister. He has served for more than 25 years as Minister in the Government of Tamil Nadu.
- P. Shanmugam: Former Chief Minister of Pondicherry
- Jayanthi Natarajan - M.P. and congress politician, granddaughter of M. Bhaktavatsalam. She was Minister of Aviation and Parliamentary Affairs, Government of India.
Spiritual
Notes
- ^ Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar as an indologist: a symposium:..born into an orthodox saiva vellala family..
- ^ Tantric cult of South India
- ^ Insights into Hinduism
- ^ A history of Indian literature, 500-1399: from courtly to the popular, page 33
- ^ The embodiment of bhakti, page 49:..The Lord at Pullirukkuvelur has the form of lightning; he is one in the heavens, two in the blustering wind, three in the flames of the red fire, four in the flowing water, five in the earth, a refuge that does not diminish..
- ^ Journal of Tamil Studies By International Institute of Tamil Studies, International Institute of Tamil Studies
- ^ A primer of Tamil literature By M. S. Purnalingam Pillai
- ^ Ancient Jaffna: being a research into the history of Jaffna from very early times to the Portug[u]ese period, C. Rasanayagam
- ^ A History of Culture By T. K. Venkataraman, University of Madras
References
- The Cōḷas By Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri
- The origin of Saivism and its history in the Tamil land By K. R. Subramanian, K. R. Subramanian (M.A.)
- Early Chola temples: Parantaka I to Rajaraja I, A.D. 907-985 By S. R. Balasubrahmanyam
- South Indian inscriptions, Volume 13 By Eugen Hultzsch, India. Archaeological Survey, India. Dept. of Archaeology
- Journal of Tamil studies, Issues 29-30 By International Association of Tamil Research, International Institute of Tamil Studies
- Enamul Haque, Gouriswar Bhattacharya, Kalhār (white water-lily): studies in art, iconography, architecture, and archaeology of India and Bangladesh
- Hemakuta: Recent Researches in Archaeology and Museology : Shri C.T.M. Kotraiah Felicitation Volume, A. V. Narasimha Murthy, ISBN 8186050663, 9788186050668
- Rājarājeśvaram, the pinnacle of Chola art By Balasubrahmanyam Venkataraman
- Indian archaeological heritage: Shri K.V. Soundara Rajan festschrift, Volume 1 By K. V. Soundara Rajan, Chedarambattu Margabandhu
- The economic history of India, Volume 1 By Abdul Qadir Husaini
- Pivot politics: changing cultural identities in early state formation processes By M. van Bakel, Renée Hagesteijn, Piet van de Velde
- Ancient India: collected essays on the literary and political history of Southern India By Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar
- Temples of Kr̥ṣṇa in South India: history, art, and traditions in Tamilnāḍu By T. Padmaja
- An agrarian history of South Asia, Part 4, Volume 4 By David E. Ludden
- The Four Hundred Songs of War and Wisdom: An Anthology of Poems from Classical Tamil, the Purananuru Translations from the Asian classics By George L. Hart, Hank Heifetz
- A Topographical List of Inscriptions in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala States: Thanjavur District By T.V Mahalingam
- Journal of Indian history, Volume 19, University of Allahabad. Department of Modern Indian History, University of Kerala. Dept. of History, University of Kerala, University of Travancore, Dept. of Modern Indian History, 1941
- History of Tamil language and literature: beginning to 1000 A. D. By Es Vaiyāpurip Piḷḷai
- Śaṅgam polity:the administration and social life of the Śaṅgam Tamils By N. Subrahmanian
- The History and Culture of the Indian People: The classical age By Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, Achut Dattatrya Pusalker, A. K. Majumdar, Dilip Kumar Ghose, Vishvanath Govind Dighe, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
- Early Chōl̤a art:origin and emergence of style By Rama Sivaram
- The Śrīkara Bhāshya: Introduction By Śrīpati, Śrīpatipaṇḍita, Conjeeveram Hayavadana Rao
- Madras District Gazetteers: Pudukkottai By Madras (India : State), B. S. Baliga
- History of the Tamils: from the earliest times to 600 A.D. By P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar
- A primer of Tamil literature By M. S. Purnalingam Pillai
- Tamil literature, Volume 2, Part 1 By Kamil Zvelebil
- Epigraphia Indica, Volume 18, By Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar, Archaeological Survey of India, India. Dept. of Archaeology, India. Archaeological Survey
- South Indian inscriptions, Volume 12, By Eugen Hultzsch, Archaeological Survey of India, India. Dept. of Archaeology
- A topographical list of inscriptions in the Tamil Nadu and Kerala states By T. V. Mahalingam
- Ancient India: collected essays on the literary and political history of Southern India By Sakkottai Krishnaswami Aiyangar
- Sri Varadarajaswami Temple, Kanchi: A Study of Its History, Art and Architecture By K.V. Raman
- The role of feudatories in later Chōḷa history By M. S. Govindasamy
- A survey of the sources for the history of Tamil literature By Muthusamy Govindasamy, Mu Kōvintacāmi
- History of South India By Pran Nath Chopra, T. K. Ravindran, N. Subrahmanian
- Insights into Hinduism By Ramchandra Narayan Dandekar
- Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar as an indologist: a symposium By Sir Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar
- A history of Indian literature, 500-1399: from courtly to the popular By Sisir Kumar Das, Sāhitya Akādemī