Velir

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Velir
A statue of the Sangam period Velir king
CountryIndia
Current regionSouth India
TitlesSatyaputra
Connected familiesAy
Athiyamān
Irunkōvēl
Ilanji Vel
Malayamān
Nanan
Vēl Pāri
Vel Avi Pekan

The Velir

Yadu dynasty.[10][11][12] Velir may refer to master of land.[13]

Origin

Tholkappiyam, the earliest long work of Tamil literature, eighteen clans of the Velirs came from the city of Tuvarapati under the leadership of the sage Agastya.[6][15][16] The legend goes that all the gods and sages went to the Himalayas to attend the marriage of Siva with Parvati due to which the earth started tilting to one side. Agastya was then requested to proceed south to restore the balance. On his way south, Agastya married Lopamudra and is said to have brought with him sage Jamadagni's son Trnadhumagni or Tholkappiyar, the author of Tamil grammar, and eighteen members of the Vrishni family along with eighteen crore Velir and Aruvalar.[17] It has been suggested by some like Thapar and Champakalakshmi, that the ancestors of the Velir may have been related to the Yadava of Dvaraka and the inhabitants of the post Harappan Chacolithic Black and Red ware sites. According to Thapar, the Yadava may have belonged to a non Indo-Aryan language group.[15] They eventually reached Tamraparni, and as the Velir-Perumakan group, cultivated its ancient society as a political, sociocultural and economic structure in South India and Sri Lanka.[18]

Historian R._Nagaswamy writes that quite a number of these velirs were indigenous and natives of tamil country but some of the velirs seem to have migrated from dvaraka.[19]

The

Ayars and they gained preeminence at an early stage in Tamil history.[22][23][24]

History

The Velir were prominent in the

Hoysalas, and Andhras.[25] In Sangam literature, they are portrayed as independent chieftains who ruled in bordering areas of three major ruling dynasties, had considerable collective power and marriage alliances with Three Crowned Kings.[26] "Karmandala sathakam" a 12th-century work states that the Velirs (The eighteen groups of Vellalars) who ruled Karmandalam (Regions of Southern Karnataka and North Tamil Nadu) were branched-off from:[27]

While most of the rulers are substantiated by epigraphs and literatures, some of their history of ruling some dynasties is not recorded.

Also, some of the medieval dynasties of the western half of the peninsula claim to be descended from

Eyarkon Kalikama Nayanar, he was a Vellalar saint and Commander-in-chief of the Chola army.[33][34] The Ay velir chieftains, who settled down in Ay county (near Kanyakumari), were quite prominent in Tamil Nadu during the sangam age.[35]

The Chalukyas and Kadambas belonging to Manavya gotra as being the descendants of the original ancestress Hariti.[36] The Karmandala Satakam states that the Velirs of karmandalam belong to the same "Manavya" Gotra.[27] The Chalukya kings were called Velpularasar and Velkulattarasar by some communities, that is kings over Vel country (pula means region or country).[37][38] Later day references to them in Choļa inscriptions puts the Chalukyas under the Velir community ruling in Deccan.[31]

Sangam Period
.

The

Venad during the Sangam period. The word Venad is derived from Vel -nadu, that is the country ruled by Vel chieftains.[39] We know of a queen of Vikramaditya Varaguna, an Ay king of 9th century who is referred to as Murugan Chenthi and as Aykula Mahadevi from inscriptions. Her father, an Ay chief called Chathan Murugan is described as a Vennir Vellala that is a Vellala by birth,[40] in the Huzur plates of king Karunandakkan, the predecessor of Vikramaditya Varaguna.[41]

The

Thiruvannamalai, the town that served as their capital in 14th century.[45]

The Irungovel chieftains were related to the

Kaluvul was a velir chieftain of Kamur who fought against the chera supremacy. [49][50] Perum chera irumporai along with fourteen chieftains attacked kamur but perum chera irumporai was impressed with Kaluvuls resistance in battle field and let him rule kamur and accepted friendship from him. [51].Some of the velirs under Kaluvul joined the chera after the defeat. [52]

Sangam literature

The Purananuru, one of the Eight Anthologies of Sangam literature, praises King Irunkōvēl, a 49th generation descendant of the Vēlir clan whose ancestors appeared from the pitcher (தடவு) of a Northern sage (Agastya), and said to have ruled Thuvarai (Dvārakā) with a fort containing tall huge walls made of bronze.[14]

Velir chiefs

Moovar Koil Temple Complex built by Irunkovel chieftain Boothi Vikramakesari

Pudukottai, with their capital in Kodumbalur.[53] Nannan was another Velir chieftain who hailed from Tulu Nadu.[54] Yet another Velir chief was Pekan of the Vel Avi family who ruled over Pothini, the modern Palani near Madurai.[citation needed] Other ancient Velir chiefs of repute include Alumbil Vel, Alandur Vel, Ilanji Vel and Nangur Vel.[55]

See also

References

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  2. ^ Sivaratnam, C. (1964). An Outline of the Cultural History and Principles of Hinduism. Stangard Printers. p. 36. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  3. ^ Chakravarti, A. (1953). Tirukkural (in Lithuanian). Diocesan Press. p. 25.
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  5. ^ Iyer, L.A.K. (1968). Social History of Kerala: The Dravidians. Monographs on man in India. Book Centre Publications. p. 4. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
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