Athiyamān

அதிகமான் அதியமான்
Atikamāṉ
Official language Tamil
Family Dynasty Adigaman or Satyaputo-Athiyaman
House Velirs (Satyaputo) - Fraternity of Truth
Capital Tagadur

Atikamāṉ (also known as Adhiyamān, Adigamān or Satyaputra-Atiyān) were a famous royal Tamil dynasty of the royal Velirs. These king-chiefs ruled from their capital Tagadur[1] (Present day Dharmapuri)from at least the 3rd century BCE. The Velir royal house was one of the four kingdoms of Tamilakam, ruling parts of the Kongu Nadu. They were surrounded by the Cheras to the west and the Pandyas and Cholas to the east.

The Atikamāṉs are mentioned in the Puranas as well as in ancient Tamil literature. Their rule of Tamilakam is mentioned in rock inscriptions of the Sangam period such as the Edicts of Asoka in the 3rd century BCE and the Gummireddipura plates with the added title Satyaputra - the "members of the fraternity of truth", synonymous with the Velir clan. A number of inscriptions in Jambai (Tirukkoyilur) add details of their sovereignty in the first century CE. This ruling tribe rose in prominence during the classical period of the history of Tamil Nadu. Their most famous ruler was Athiyamān Nedumān Añci, a powerful king who was one of the Kadai ezhu vallal (7 great patrons) of arts and literature in Tamilakam. His son Elini ruled Kudiramalai of the ancient Jaffna kingdom and Vannimai, a co-ruling contemporary of the famous king Korran. These kings belonged to a prolific Tamil horseman tribe.[2][3]

Kingdom

The Satyaputra Velir-Athiyamān was a small kingdom situated on the eastern valley of Malaya Mountains of the Western Ghats (Anamala, Palani and Nilagiri).

Inscriptions

Asoka mentions the Satyaputras Velir clan in his inscriptions along with the Cholas, Pandyas and the Kerala putras. The Satyaputra Velirs wielded sufficient power in the time of Asoka (3rd century BCE) almost on par with the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas.

“ Ye Ca anta ata Choda, Pandiya, Satiyaputo, Ketalaputo, Tam bapanni, Antiyogo naama, Yonalaja ”
“ Everywhere in the conquered dominions of king Priyadarsin, the beloved of the gods, and the dominions on the borders as those of the Chola, the Pandya, the Satiyaputra, the Cheralaputra, Tamraparni, the Yavana King named Antiyoka and the other neighbouring kings of this Antiyoka... ”

In several excavated Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions of the first century CE found at Jambai, Tirukkoyilur of Viluppuram district, South Arcot in Tamil Nadu mention is made again of the dynasty:[4][5]

Tamil Inscription at Jambai, Tirukovilur, Tamil Nadu
“
Satyaputō Athiyan Nedumān Añji itta Pali[6]
 ”
“
The abode given by Athiyan Nedumān Añji, the Satyaputō[7]
 ”

The inscription mentions the Athiyā Chief Neduman Anci, a heroic historic king celebrated in volumes of the Sangam literature classics Purananuru and Akananuru. This Athiymān king was a descendent of the Velir dynasty mentioned in Asoka's edicts.[8] The inscription records the endowment of a cave-shelter by the chieftain Atiyan Netuman Anci who sports the title Satiyaputo. The inscription gives the name of his clan (Atiyan), of his father (Netuman) and of himself (Anci). This clear statement enables researchers with absolute certainty, to identify a chieftain mentioned in the Tamil Sangam literature with a personage figuring in a Tamil-Brahmi inscription.[9]

The Satyaputra-Athiyamān Velirs wielded sufficient power in the 3rd century BCE to be considered on par with the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas, a power which continued for the next four centuries.

The Gummireddipura plates make mention of the Satyaputra Adigaman dynasty.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Subramanian, T. S. (4 July 2009). "‘Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions are the only record of old Tamil’". Frontline. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Historical heritage of the Tamils, page 256
  3. ↑ Kolappa Pillay Kanakasabhapathi Pillay. (1963). South India and Ceylon. University of Madras. pp. 39
  4. ↑ Asoka and the Tamil Country: The Evidence Of Archaeology - Dr. R. Nagasamy, Tamil Arts Academy
  5. ↑ "South Indian Inscriptions Volume_13 - Cholas Inscriptions @ whatisindia.com". Archaeological Survey of India. Retrieved 2013-07-01.
  6. ↑ Kongu Nadu, a history up to A.D. 1400, page 152
  7. ↑ Saptar̥ṣīśvara temple in the lower Kaveri Delta, page 13
  8. ↑ Dr. R. Nagasamy, Asoka and the Tamil Country: The Evidence Of Archaeology
  9. ↑ I. Mahadevan, RECENT DISCOVERIES OF JAINA CAVE INSCRIPTIONS IN TAMILNADU

References

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