Nearly 90 million people around the world identify as Tamil, a proud and ancient community with a unique language, history, and culture. The Tamil people have given India and the world some of its most iconic revolutionaries and political leaders, industrialists, philosophers, sportspeople, scientists, and mathematicians (including winners of the Nobel Prize), and celebrated writers, poets, dancers, musicians, and actors. The influence of the community on science, culture, religion, philosophy, art, architecture, literature, film, and politics has endured across millennia. While the majority of Tamils live in South India, the diaspora is to be found in countries around the world—especially in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, the UK, and USA, where Tamil traditions thrive and assume new and interesting forms. A people of immense resilience, intellect, and creativity, the Tamils continue to leave an indelible mark on the world.
But who are the Tamils, really? How have they preserved a distinct cultural heritage while evolving across time and geographies? And what is the Tamil ‘gunam’ or identity? How has Tamil culture endured even as it has evolved and mutated over centuries?
In The Tamils, author Nirmala Lakshman draws from a wealth of historical information, original research, and her own keen observations of the community that she is part of to craft a rich and expansive exploration of Tamil history, society, and culture.
Today’s Tamil Nadu largely corresponds to ancient Tamilakam and is bound by the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats and the Bay of Bengal, with tracts of dry red earth, green paddy fields, and pebbled riverbeds in between. This book traces the remarkable journey of the people of this land, starting from the Stone Age (1.7 million years ago) all the way up to the epic Sangam era (300 BCE to 300 CE), whose literature highlights the influential role of dynasties like the Pallavas, Pandyas, Cholas, and Cheras, and the thriving Jain community of that time; it then examines the evolution and spread of Tamil culture through the Bhakti movement, and the arrival of Christianity and Islam. In parallel to the cultural, philosophical, and religious influences that shaped Tamil society, the book examines the medieval and modern political history of the region, and describes the setting up of the sultanates of the south, the rule of the Nayaks, the Vijayanagar dynasty, the Marathas, and the coming of the British. Thereafter, it goes deep into the freedom struggle, and the Non-Brahmin movement before describing the distinctive attributes of the Tamils in the modern era, especially the changes that are taking place in the twenty-first century.
Through incontestable scholarship and lucid analysis, the book delves into the complex intersections of politics, religion, caste, economics, and gender in Tamil society, while also capturing the spirit of Tamil creativity in art, architecture, handicrafts, dance, music, sports, mathematics, IT, and more. It studies the opposites that mark the community—the refinement and heights of Tamil culture, but also the violence stemming from centuries of prejudice. It explores the ways in which Tamil culture continues to evolve—through migration, debate, acculturation, and social upheavals. Accessible and comprehensive, The Tamils is a compelling portrait of one of the world’s oldest continuous cultures—in an ever-globalizing world, it reflects on what it means to be Tamil today.
Nirmala Lakshman has been steeped in Tamil culture by virtue of being Tamil and observing Tamil society through her years in journalism. She is currently Publisher and Chairperson of The Hindu Group of Publications and was earlier Joint Editor of the paper. She founded and edited The Hindu Literary Review, conceptualized and created Young World, India’s only children’s newspaper supplement, and developed several other feature sections of The Hindu. She launched The Hindu’s annual literature festival and continues to curate it. Nirmala has a PhD in postmodern fiction, and has written a book on Chennai, Degree Coffee by the Yard, and edited an anthology of contemporary Indian journalism, Writing a Nation.
The following extract from the book has been taken with permission from the publishers. It is a longread but so well worth reading from beginning to end — much like the book itself. Packed with information but shared in an accessible manner.
Chapter 11
Enterprise and Opulence: Aspects of Pandya Society
Since my eyes rejoiced to see the glory and the great doings of the Pantiya kingdom I stopped here blessing the king.
Shilappadikaram
ALTHOUGH A REMARKABLE WORK OF THE IMAGINATION, THE Shilappadikaram is also valuable for its detailed and accurate descriptions of several aspects of the Madurai of early Pandya times. Prosperity clothed the city, creating a society that was affluent but hierarchical, caste-oriented, militaristic, and yet filled with opportunities. There were streets dedicated to the four castes, as well as a grain merchants’ street, cloth merchants’ street with bales piled high indicating a brisk trade, gold merchants’ street with four kinds of gold, and tall mansions reaching the sky, streets of the rich, streets that had dwellings of courtesans and dancers, a street for musicians, for the makers of wheeled carriages and markets whose air was filled with the scent of spices. The poem’s descriptions give us a glimpse of a layered social order and an economy that relied on a feudal structure of governance with the king as the sovereign lord and head of the social structure.
Other than the Shilappadikaram, texts like Maduraikanchi, another lengthy Sangam work of the third or fourth century ce ascribed to the poet Mankuti Marudan, also describe in detail the activities of the people in the streets, in the dwellings and in the courts. Through this one can glean that in the early Pandya days, a high level of enterprise, opulence, as well as a well-oiled social machinery supported the free functioning of an active commercial society with trade and agriculture as the mainstay. Creative expression was reflected in achievements in music, poetry, the performance arts, temple building, and in other arts that had a distinct Pandya signature. A description of the king’s court in Maduraikanchi reflects the pomp and splendour of the early Pandya court.
In the audience hall rested the handsome Pandya. He wears only a single piece of clean starched cloth on his waist. Over it is clasped a jewelled belt. On his bare arms above the elbow, are armlets of pure gold beautifully wrought. On his broad shoulder, fragrant with sandal paste, is a priceless necklace of brilliant pearls besides a wreath of flowers. Around him stand a group of sturdy warriors, his trusted captain, heroes who have captured many a fortress, or slaughtered fierce elephants in battle, veteran chiefs whose coats of mail have been battered and bruised in many a fight. Actors and minstrels and the lute players display their skill in the presence of the monarch and receive chariots and elephants as presents.
The king had a group of people around him called kulus and ayams, all part of the king’s entourage consisting of priests, physicians, astrologers, ministers, spies, and messengers. There are references to royal perfumers, dressers, heads of the elephant corps, and others. One Puram poem offers cautionary advice to the ruler saying that the effect of moderate taxes to replenish the royal treasury was far better than the ruler inflicting heavy taxation which would render him deeply unpopular.
The nearly 2,000 years of Pandya rule left behind some exceptional systems of administration and social order, details of which emerge largely from stray references in inscriptions and copper plates and, as mentioned above, from literary sources as well. In the Sangam poems which tend to valorize some early Pandya rulers, the anonymous poet of a Puram poem offers advice to the ruler.
Although a monarch’s power may seem to depend on his ferocious battle elephants, fleet of war horses, tall, bannered chariots, and fearless soldiers, it has its real foundation on justice. Therefore, be not partial to thy subjects, nor deal unjustly with strangers. Be valiant as the fierce sun, benevolent as the mild moon and generous as the clouds which shower rain so that there may be no poverty in thy land…therefore give alms freely to those who seek thy charity. Spend thy days joyfully drinking daily of cool and fragrant wine brought by Yavanas in their good ship…
This indicates, again, a society of high sophistication where although the ruler was the most powerful, poets and bards who often served as advisers could offer guidance to the ruler.
The king ruled with the assistance of his ministers and the main minister was called uttaramantri, prime minister. Another minister was known as mahasamantas, particularly in the reign of the king Jatila Parantaka. Matangajadhyaksa was the name of an officer in charge of elephants, and this is referenced in the Madras Museum plates. Other titles included Parantaka Virar and Tirumalai Virar—these were possibly references to those in charge of a cohort of soldiers or regiment. Marangari was the name of an officer who was skilled in battle, a poet and orator and served as a minister as well. ‘The Five Great Assemblies’ of the king included people’s representatives, physicians, priests, ministers, and astrologers. The rulers also frequently recognized the courage and contributions of ordinary soldiers, and they were routinely honoured by the king for their bravery. Many fighters received endowments from the royal treasury in their name as is evident from the inscriptions on copper plates. These early Pandya rulers were generous patrons of the arts and encouraged both Sanskrit and Tamil.
The brisk trade with the West during the early Pandya centuries has been recorded by Greek and Roman writers. This trade was sustained and stable over a long period of time and contributed to the economic prosperity of both regions. Roman coins found in India date as far back as the first few decades of the Common Era from the time of the Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius. From the Malabar coast in the west to the east coast, an abundance of Roman coins have been found belonging to the first and second century ce. Copper coins have also been discovered in Madurai in riverbeds and it has been suggested that a great number of them could have been used for trade among the Romans themselves. Strabo has said that a Pandya king sent an embassy to Rome. Pliny spoke of a ‘King Pandion’ and ‘Madoura’. It is quite conceivable that Roman sailors and merchants spent months in the Pandya region, spending gold and silver while purchasing pearls and trinkets for the ladies of Rome. Madurai and Uraiyur were the chief markets from where pearls were exported, and the fisheries were located at places like Korkai. Pliny even complains in 70 ce that India drained Roman gold to the value of a million pounds ‘giving back her own wares which are sold among us at fully a hundred times their cost’. Black gold, that is pepper, was greatly popular with these western nations and was a major source of revenue to Tamilakam. One of the names for pepper was yavanapriya, that is, beloved by the foreigners. Legend has it that when Rome was attacked by enemies, many of them would demand thousands of pounds of pepper as part of ransom arrangements.
Internal trade flourished in early Pandya times. Maduraikanchi refers to the trade in salt as a big business which was carried out by humble people living in small huts. Maduvellilai was an important salt-producing centre. Ships and carts loaded with salt, tamarind, and dried fish were carried across the region on wooden carts as well as on the backs of donkeys. Rice and cotton cloth were transported and sold to other regions. Streets of towns tended to be called by the names of the trades as mentioned above; for instance, vanikar theru, merchant street, had groceries, clothes, ornaments, and goods of all kinds. Kalamar and ulavar who were cultivators of wet and dry lands also had houses in the towns.
While many of the towns that were described in early literature like Madurai, Karur, and Poompuhar were fortified and prospered from trade including with that of the ancient Roman world, we must bear in mind that outside of these places there were numerous tribal and rural communities who were exposed to attacks from neighbouring rulers and chieftains as well as from marauding vagrant groups, so many of the poor in these towns suffered great hardship. Cattle thievery, crop burning, random killings, and destruction of village dwellings was not uncommon. A curious mix of extreme wealth and dire poverty seems to have been the order of the day during the first few hundred years of Pandya rule.
The kingdom as a whole was divided into the following major divisions— valanadu (fertile region), kurram (collection of villages), and grama (village). Mangalam, kudi, and ur were descriptors affixed to villages or grama. Gifts of land and indeed of whole villages to temples began in the early Pandya period and continued during the Chola period. Although the concept of Brahmadeya, the process or the granting of villages and large tracts of land to Brahmins, was a major feature of the Chola administration, this practice began in the Pandya period. Land not donated as dana or charitable contribution to temples was often given as Brahmadeya by the rulers. Obviously, the existing owners or tillers were either removed as owners or came under the jurisdiction of the new landlords. Rajan Gurukkal points out that earlier historians like Sastri, even when they recognized the possibility of a less than peaceful transfer of land from agriculturists to the new Brahmin landlords, rarely referred to any process of resistance. The new owners, not being agriculturists themselves, had to develop novel relationships with the original cultivators, and this is unlikely to have always been a harmonious exercise. Gurukkal says that the Dalavaipuram copper plates describe an incident of encroachment at Comacikurricchi village where the original Shudra landholders reclaimed a portion of the land that was given as Brahmadeya. This move was spearheaded by the kilavan or the headman of the clan. In this case, according to the inscription, the appropriated portion was renamed Maturataranallur. When there was conflict and resistance, the Brahmins often sought the help of the king to restore the land to them. Such an event where the king used force to quell the resistance has been mentioned in the prasasti (introductory verse) of certain copper plates, praising this as a meritorious act of the king. In time, the general boost that the Brahmins received socially from royal patronage diminished the resistance and gave the Brahmin landholders an inbuilt advantage that served them multigenerationally in the accumulation of wealth and resources. The Cholas further consolidated the Brahmadeya system.
In terms of local governance, administration at the village level appears to have vested in village assemblies. A 1,200-year-old inscription of the Pandya king Maran Sadaiyan Varaguna at Manur village in Tirunelveli district gives details of elections to such assemblies. This king ruled roughly between 767 ce and 815 ce and the inscription is dated to 805 ce. There is a difference of opinion among epigraphists and historians as to whether the inscription details the qualifications needed to become members of the village assembly or if the inscription refers to the constitution of the village court. Be that as it may, this inscription dates back 100 years before the famed Uthiramerur inscription of the Cholas which details in a clear manner the constitution of the village assembly, the village courts, the number of votes that the public is entitled to, and other matters. The Manur inscription of the Pandya king is at the Ambalavana Swamy temple in Manur where elections were held. Manur was established as a brahmadeyam well before the time of this particular Pandya king, underlining the fact that the establishment of the village assembly and local courts probably occurred earlier than the eighth century. The assembly, according to the inscription, was summoned by the beating of a drum, the perungurri sarri, and the makkal sabhai or people’s assembly, gathered at the stated hour to discuss local matters. Attendance and membership were restricted to property holders, small farm cultivators, and learned people. Some people who attended were not given a full vote and only half a vote and a code of conduct was prescribed. Importantly, no royal officers or representatives of the king attended these gatherings. Thiruninravur, another small temple town near Chennai, had a written constitution, and other temples in places like Manimangalam and Pazhaya Seevaram in Chengalpattu district, Dadsamudram near Kanchipuram, Sithamalli and Thalaignayiru near Thanjavur, Jambai in Villupuram district, and Ponnamaravathy near Pudukkottai, all have temple inscriptions that mention local elections and assemblies. Obviously, even from the days of early Pandya rule, participation by local people in these assemblies, even if not entirely democratic in nature, existed across many parts of Tamilakam, which points to the dynamic role of many of these local agencies in the dispensing of justice and in wielding power and authority over local matters. Caste and land ownership also played a role in the composition of these assemblies.
Although some scholars suggest that caste divisions were not rigid in the early mediaeval Pandya period, some caste distinctions especially among the Brahmins, the Vellalas (the non-Brahmin landowners) and those in lower-ranked professions such as fishermen and scavengers did exist. Shepherds and huntsmen called Aiyar and Vedduvar respectively were ranked below the cultivators or Ulavar. The artisans—goldsmiths, carpenters, potters, blacksmiths, and others—were ranked below them. Although there was no slavery per se, the prevalent social order dictated that lower ranked people had to make way for the higher castes when passing in the streets. Several Sangam poems offer a glimpse into the clothing of people. Lower-ranked people did not wear an upper cloth, whereas soldiers, the king’s officers, and nobles wore full dresses. It appears that women barely covered their chests although the wealthy ones covered their upper bodies with multiple ornaments made of gold and precious gems while lower classes of women used cheaper beads, conch shell bracelets, and adorned themselves with flowers.
In terms of social customs, mediaeval literary accounts indicate free interactions between men and women, especially among the vendors and hawkers, village workers, as well as those working in wealthy households. Women of the upper strata tended to be less visible except in the palaces and royal courts, although they were no less open to free dealings with the opposite sex. Stories of illicit love affairs, extramarital relationships, elopements etc., were not uncommon, as we have noted in texts like the Shilappadikaram. Concubinage was socially accepted. Notions like honour and courage were highly regarded, especially among the warrior class, and an exhibition of cowardice was tantamount to death.
We know that the Pandya dynasty lost out first to the Pallavas and then to the Cholas after their first period of strong rule and while they continued to wield power over small areas, they were largely eclipsed by the Chola might that took over the whole of Tamilakam. The Pandyas raised their heads again from the twelfth century onwards with kings like Jatavarman Sundara Pandya who ruled between 1251 ce and 1293 ce. His period was a time of great territorial expansion for the Pandya dynasty. By this time, a great many Arab traders had settled in the Malabar area and many local citizens had converted to Islam.
Marco Polo who came to the Malabar region during the reign of Jatavarman Sundara Pandya or possibly a little later, during the reign of his son Maravarman Kulasekhara Pandya, has provided an account of the Pandya kingdom which gives us several interesting insights.
The province is the finest and noblest in the world. The name of the king ruler is Sundar Bandi Devar. In his kingdom you find very fine and great pearls… You must know that in all this province…there is never a tailor to cut a coat or stitch it, seeing that everybody goes with unstitched pieces of cloth. It is a fact that the king goes as bare as the rest; only around his loins he has a piece of fine cloth, and around his neck he has a necklace entirely of precious stones—rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and the like…
We hear in Marco Polo’s account that a great part of the Pandya kingdom’s wealth is lost in their newfound fascination with horses: ‘Here are no horses bred; and thus, a great part of the wealth of the country is wasted in purchasing horses…indeed this king wants to buy more than 2000 horses every year and so do his four brothers. The reason why they want so many horses every year is that by the end of the year there shall not be one hundred of them remaining, for they all die off.’ Wassaf, the Persian writer and historian (who some historians say never visited the Pandya kingdom), says in his account of the rule of Maravarman Kulasekhara Pandya: ‘They bind the horses for 40 days in a stable with ropes and pegs in order they may get fat; and afterwards without taking measures for training, and without stirrups and other appurtenances of riding, the Pandya soldiers ride upon them like demons.’ Marco Polo also points out that the people are idolaters and worship the ‘ox’ because they find them to be excellent creatures.
Marco Polo describes other facets of Pandya society that he finds fascinating including the fact that many people bathed twice a day and looked down on those who did not do so. He also notes that they smeared their bodies with sesame oil and cleaned their houses with cow dung. He finds that there is great interest in astrology and magic and is amused by the fact that mighty duels can occur if anyone spits on anyone else, leading often to the death of one of the contestants. They are strict at dispensing justice, he says, but lechery is not counted as a sin.
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