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History |
TAMIL HERITAGE...
The Tamils are an ancient people..
Tamil is the oldest of the Dravidian languages. Along with Chinese, Greek, Sanskrit and others, it is one of the world's classical languages. Tamil literature spans 3500 years. This language was the first to develop a distinct prose form of writing among the classical languages of the world. Tamil is the only language among the old languages that have an history of 2000 and more years which is in practical use. With slight variation in scripts and usage, the language still thrives. The literatures written in 200 BC are still learnt and used in their normal speeches. The Tamil Thirukkural is second only to the Bible in number of published translations.
Local usages of Tamil vary. There are differences in its usage not only among countries but even within Tamil Nadu, a region of India where Tamil is the predominantly spoken language.
Tamil is one of the recognized languages for official correspondence in four countries viz, India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. In both Canada and Myanmar, the Tamil speaking population is about one million. There are over 80 million Tamil speakers worldwide.
Tamil is a Dravidian language, like most south Indian languages. Other Dravidian languages include Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Tulu.
"From their earliest origins in Crete, the first Sea People
or Thirai Aavidar (Dravidians) crossed the Mediterranean
Sea, the great Euphrates and Tigris rivers of Mesopotamia,
the Arabian Seas and the Indus Rivers to create the world's
third oldest civilisation of the Dravidian Indus valley
of 3,000 BC. The Tamil Merchant Princes traded with Sumer
and Egypt as verified by their 2,000 famous seals discovered
in the archaeological cites, that continues to the present
day.
It was the Indians (Tamils), in about the 1st century BC,
who discovered and harnessed the trade winds (north east
& south west monsoons), to reach the ports in the Arabian
Gulf and the countries in the Far-East, long before the
Roman sea-captain, Hippalus discovered the secret to sail
to the country of the Indians.
Here again as late as 69 AD, we find affluent ladies in
the Roman empire adorned with pearls fished by the Parava
Tamils of the fishery-coast of Tamil Nadu and Mannar. The
Roman emperor lamented, due to the vanity of the ladies,
the coffers of Rome was running dry as a result of the import
of pearls and diaphanous textiles from South India...
Long before the 'Silk Route' was used, the enterprising
Dravidian merchants were sailing around the Indian coast
and to the Persian Gulf as early as 3500 BC. The Dravidians
of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa had their harbour in the bay
of Cambay and disposed of their merchandise in Mesopotamia."...
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Kappal Oddiya Thamilan
The Overseas Exploits of the Thamils & the Tragedy of
Sri Lanka - G.K.Rajasuriyar
27 March 2002, Australia
Dedicated to all those who love Freedom and Peace
' These things shall be- a loftier race Than e'er the world
has known shall rise, With flame of freedom in their souls,
And light of knowledge in their eyes'. John Addington Symonds
Contents
Foreword - Ranee Eliezer
Christy Rajasuriar's "Kappal Oddiya Thamilan - is timely
for today's children and people in Eelam, for each of us
who have been dispersed and displaced through out the Diaspora,
when the genocide of Tamils worsened after Black July in
1983. - it is timely for the millions who were forced to
leave the Tamil countries since 1830's in search of jobs
as administrators, railway men and plantation labourers
in the mosquito-ridden equatorial jungles infested with
wild animals, wherever the colonial rulers sent them.
History taught in schools was biased, naturally, depending
on who the conquerors were. Tamils have a continuous 10,000
year old history which will require 20 volumes of research
and scholarship. Some of these have been attempted by the
International Tamil Alliance of Research - new data keeps
pouring in the Internet and electronic mail from 58 Chairs
of Tamil Studies throughout the world.
From their earliest origins in Crete, the first Sea People
or Thirai Aavidar (Dravidians) crossed the Mediterranean
Sea, the great Eupharates and Tigris rivers of Mesopotamia,
the Arabian Seas and the Indus Rivers to create the world's
third oldest civilisation of the Dravidian Indus valley
of 3,000 BC. The Tamil Merchant Princes traded with Sumer
and Egypt as verified by their 2,000 famous seals discovered
in the archaeological cites, that continues to the present
day.
Christy highlights the first Eastern Colonial empire of
Tamil Pandyas, Cheras, Cholas and Pallavas. The first sailors
to cross the unknown perilous Indian ocean in 300 BC and
controlled the shipping lanes of the mighty Indian ocean.
Their role in the Indianization of South East Asia till
1500 AD is well documented by western scholars like George
Coedes, Sir Ananda Cumarasamy and Chinese Buddhist pilgrims
like Fah -Hian. By the 10th century AD the Imperial Cholas
were well established in the 14 Ports of Sumatra, Malaya,
Java, Celebes, Bali, the rest of the East Indies, Philippines,
Indo-China right up to Southern China. Their excellent harbours,
customs and port facilities make fascinating reading in
the Silappadiharam 'The Epic of the Lay of the Anklets'.
The Chola Empire lost out with the arrival of the Portuguese
with their gun-ships and cannons.
Christy follows up the decline of the Chola Empire by the
500 years of colonisation by the Portuguese, Dutch and British
in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). His emphasis on the Portuguese era
in the 15th century is illuminating. The Portuguese were
the first and greatest sailors from the West, in search
for the gold and spices of India, they also took their missionary
zeal of Roman Catholicism to save the "paganism"
of the indigenous inhabitants, wherever they sailed. Some
of their sadism rivalled that of the Spanish Inquisition.
However, their strong faith of a loving, forgiving, personal
God, has remained a bulwark among their converts.
Sailors and fishermen, their wives and children are the
most fearless around the globe. I would like to pay a special
tribute to our Tamil Roman Catholic wives and mothers in
Ceylon who have stood up to any injustices by the Establishment.
One memorable event was outside the Jaffna Kachcheri (Government
Offices) in 1961. There was a weeklong silent vigil (Satyagraha)
against an arrogant Sinhalese Army of Occupation sent by
the Prime Minister Srimavo Bandaranayake. The young, restless
and impulsive among the Tamil victimised began needling
the gun-toting soldiers. A senseless blood-shed was averted
by 20 white-clad Roman Catholic mothers, quietly going in
front, kneeling and saying their rosaries. This inspired
the rest of the terrified assembly to sing their hymns,
lyrics and bajanais, to calm down the seething tempers.
The courage of those white-clad mothers will live in my
memory as long as I live.
The heroines of the Mothers' Front who had the temerity
to stand up to the repressive IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping
Forces) were mostly the Roman Catholic mums who lashed out
at the fearsome IPKF commandos about some of their unspeakable
crimes against defenceless, unarmed civilians. A few of
the Indian hierarchy have remarked that they feared these
mothers more than they did the Guerilla Freedom Fighters!
In the first half of this book, Christy confirms the many
reliable sources of the Tamil population living for millenniums.
Some Karava Tamils on the West coast of the Island through
religious and political expediencies now try to pass off
as Araya Singhalese and Kshatriyas (Warrior cast) from the
North Western State of Rajastan, in India. Sinhalese majority
Governments have deliberately changed those once Tamil areas
into Singhalese Provinces. Christy's research indicates
that the Land Titles of these Provinces are in the Tamil
language.
The second half, deals with the "Tragedy of Sri Lanka".
It is the usual story of intruders and invaders throughout
history who use repressive regimes to stay in power with
programs of genocide. Pretending to be Democratic; they
perpetuate autocratic, dictatorial and repressive feudalism.
The Capitalistic West had aided these corrupt regimes with
profiteering arms deals. A 15% commission on each deal is
the norm that the Presidents to the peons and the Security
Forces share in the trillions of dollars. It is this very
lot, trying to sabotage the current peace process. Who need
peace, when it is more profitable to be at war?
We need to up-date our nautical skills and expertise and
firmly believe in our motto 'Thirai Kadal Odiyum Thiraiviam
Thedu' in the new Eelam being born. The rest of us in the
Diaspora have had to cross many Seas and Oceans for survival.
The Tamil Psyche will cross and re-cross these very waters
but this time over head by the faster air-ships in our efforts
to help in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the
Mother land. We need,too, the support of an enlightened
South who have suffered under self-serving leaders.
Thank you, Christy for your tribute to the 'Kappal Oddiya
Thamilan'.
Ranee Eliezer
Preface
Since publishing 'The History of the Tamils & the Sinhalese
of Sri Lanka' in 1998, I decided to write the history of
the overseas trade exploits undertaken by early Tamils which
earned them the epithet, 'Kappal Oddiya Thamilan'-the Tamils
who sailed ships. With this in view, I collated data to
include the tragedy of the foreign connections with special
reference to the Kingdom of Jaffna.
In the present work is enshrined records of the commercial
exploits of the Tamils, which was captured by the Tamil
poetess Avaiyar who wrote in the 1st century 'Thirai Kadal
Odiyum Theraiviam Therdu'- ride the rough seas in quest
of treasure. Historians agree that there would not have
been a Greater India, if not for the enterprising spirit
of the Tamils.
The greed of the conquerors of India, specially Sri Lanka
and elsewhere in the East and the tragic impact that had
encompassed these countries have been documented in the
archives and libraries in Rome, Lisbon Goa, Hague, Colombo
etc. Material has been taken from relevant publications
and recorded herein with special reference to the tragedy
which overcame the kingdoms of Jaffna , Kotte and Kandy.
A short reflection on the present conflict is also discussed
with reference to the part played by the Maha Sangha to
escalate the ethnic conflict.
I am grateful to Dr.Rajagopal Rajaratnam and S.Ganashemoorthy
for presenting recent works of Fr.V.Pemiola S.J., of The
History of the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka during the Portuguese,
Dutch and British periods.(1505 to 1855 AD). These publications
contain translations of original official documents from
the Archives and Libraries of Rome, Lisbon, Hague, Goa and
Colombo, pertaining not only to the Catholic Church but
also historical material hitherto unavailable.
My thanks are due to Mrs. Ranee Eliezer for the foreword
and for her valuable suggestions, to Dr.Thedore Brito Babapulle
for editing the script , to Stanley N. Rajasooriyar for
supplying me with books from various libraries, to Scan
Brito-Babapulle for obtaining a picture of the temple of
Angkor-Vat of Cambodia and to many others who helped me
in this project .
Lastly, my thanks are due to Ms.Shereen Reginald for processing
the material and to my wife Celine, for her support and
encouragement without which ' Kappal OOdiya Thamilan', could
not have sailed.
G.K.Rajasuriar
Chapter 1 - The Tamils and their Trade Exploits
Far from the distant past, long before the sea-route was
discovered by the western mariner, the carriage of goods
for trade between East and West was by long hazardous desert
and mountain routes which is popularly referred to as the
'Silk Route'.
The Silk Route - First Century
AD |
This overland journey entailed confrontation with roaming
bandits who were adept in the art of ambushing the passage
of caravans specially through Central Asia. Although there
was an element of risk the caravans moved freight with armed
escorts. As a result of this, the cost of merchandise began
to rise no sooner it reached it's destination.
Long before the 'Silk Route' was used, the enterprising
Dravidian merchants were sailing around the Indian coast
and to the Persian Gulf as early as 3500 BC. The Dravidians
of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa had their harbour in the bay
of Cambay and disposed of their merchandise in Mesopotamia.
The merchandise in turn was carried in caravans overland
to the port of Tyre and thence to Egypt. After the conquest
of Egypt by Alexander the Great, the port of Alexandria
became the entrepot of the ancient western world. It was
in the Gulf of Aden that the Egyptian, Greek, Arab, Indian
etc., met to exchange their merchandise.
According to Srinivasa Iyengar he states that,
' Indian teak was found in the ruins of Ur (Mugheir), which
was the capital of Sumeria in 4000 BC and the SINDHU or
muslin is mentioned in an ancient Babylonian list of clothing.
The occurrence of ' s' in the word proves that this muslin
did not go to Mesopotamia via Persia, for then 's' would
have become 'h' in Persian months, as the name of this country,
derived from the name of the river Sind, became Hind. I
therefore conclude that muslin went direct by sea from the
Tamil coast to the Persian coast and the Babylonian word
Sindhu for muslin is not derived the river (as supposed
so), but from the old Dravidian word, SINDI, which is still
found in Tulu and Canares, and means a piece of cloth' and
is represented by the Tamil word SINDU, a flag'. (ZHT,pp
39 & 39).
There is some evidence that the trade of south India extended
to Egypt in the 3rd millennium BC. W.H. Schoff says, thousands
of years before the emergence of the Greeks from savagery
Egypt and the nations of Ancient India came into being,
and a commercial system was developed for the interchange
of products within those limits, having its centre of exchange
near the head of the Persian Gulf. The people of that region,
the various Arab tribes and more specially those ancestors
of the Phoenicians, the mysterious Red Men, were active
carriers or intermediaries.
The growth of civilisation in India created an active merchant
marine, trading to the Euphrates and Africa, and eastwards
we know not wither. The Arab merchants, apparently tolerated
the presence of Indian traders in Africa but reserved for
themselves the commerce within the Red Sea, that lucrative
commerce which supplied precious stones and spices and incense
to the ever increasing service of the gods of Egypt. This
was their prerogative, jealously guarded, and upon this
they lived and prospered accordingly to the prosperity of
the Pharaohs. The muslins and spices of India they fetched
themselves or received from Indian traders in their ports
on either side of the gulf of Aden, carrying them in turn
over the highlands to the upper Nile, or through the Red
Sea and across the desert to Tebus or Memphis'. (Periplus,
p 3, ZHT,pp 39 & 39).
Hebrew Scriptures of the Jews have it that during the reign
of King Solomon (970-930 BC), he sent ships which returned
after three years bringing in ' gold from Ophir and from
there they brought great cargoes of almugwood and precious
stones. The king used the algumwood to make supports for
the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to
make harps and lyres for the musicians:( 1 King ch.10,11-12-ZNIV).
Algumwood is identified with sandalwood which is a native
tree of south India and the duration of three years of the
return of king Solomon's ships points to distant lands,
perhaps, on the west coast of south India of present Crananore
(Musiri).
The precious stones would have been of Indian and Ceylon
origin. It is also stated Queen of Sheba presented to King
Solomon, 120 talents of gold large quantities of spices
and precious stones'.(ZNIV-2 chronicles ch:9 verse 9). The
kingdom of Somalia of Queen of Sheba, is identified with
the mercantile kingdom that flourished in southwest Arabia
during 900-450 BC. It profited from the sea trade of India
and east Africa by transporting luxury commodities north
to Damascus and Gaza on caravan routes through the Arabian
desert' (see notes ZNIV, p485).
The Roman Emperor Nero ruled from Rome between 54-29AD.
During the latter part of his reign Paul the apostle was
taken prisoner during his fourth missionary journey. Long
before he was put to death in Rome, St. Paul wrote the 1st
epistle to Timothy. In this epistle he exhorts the church
in charge of Timothy saying; they also want women to dress
modestly, with decency and propriety not with braided hair
or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds
appropriate for women who profess to worship God' (ZNIV-1
Timothy ch;2 verse 9). Here again as late as 69 AD, we find
affluent ladies in the Roman empire adorned with pearls
fished by the Parava Tamils of the fishery-coast of Tamil
Nadu and Mannar. The Roman emperor lamented, due to the
vanity of the ladies, the coffers of Rome was running dry
as a result of the import of pearls and diaphanous textiles
from south India.(ZHT).
It was the Indians (Tamils), in about the 1st century BC,
who discovered and harnessed the trade winds (north east
& south west monsoons), to reach the ports in the Arabian
Gulf and the countries in the Far-East, long before the
Roman sea-captain, Hippalus discovered the secret to sail
to the country of the Indians. This secret was revealed
to the Arabs in due course. This they kept it a secret,
until the Roman mariner learnt of the sea-route to the East..
The Periplus mentions three sea ports from which Kolandia
were accustomed to set sail for Chryse. They were the ports
of Kaveripatinam, Pondichery and Markanum. The Jatakas also
mentions three ports in the west coast of India. They were
Broach, Sopra and Cranganore (Musiri) and Tamluk in connection
with voyages to Suvamabhumi. (ZHS,p 20). The Kolandia was
a sea going vessel of the Tamils with two masts and capable
of carrying large numbers of men and cargo. According to
Hall, it is stated that, The Karo-Bataks of Sumatra have
such names as Cholas, Pandya, Pallava, and Malayala, all
of which come from Dravidian India. The dynastic tradition
of the kings of Funan (Cambodiya), hark back to that of
the Pallavas and Cholas of south India, when they ascribe
their origins to the marriage of the legendary Brahman Kaundinya
with the naga princess'. (ZHS,p 20).
From ancient times, we learn that the fortunes of South
East Asia have been greatly influenced by two of the most
populated countries of the world, India and China. From
ancient times, these two countries living at two extremities
vied to obtain the monopoly in the supply of the trade in
spices, sometimes with clever exchange of embassies and
most of the time with gun-boat diplomacy. The stake of India
in the spice cauldron of the Far East, was more of trade
and adventure than spreading of religion or culture.
Perhaps, they went hand in hand in spreading their popular
religious persuasion of Buddhism to Tibet and eventually
to China. Hence we see that during the last few centuries
before Christ, India and China had a common religion and
this led to cultural and trade links in the era of the Silk
Route' and more so during the discovery of the sea routes.
Along with the Buddhist faith the Indians carried their
art and culture to the lands of Malaya, Burma, Thailand,
Sumatra, Java, Bali, Timor, Borneo, Cambodia etc.
The Great Vaishnavite temple of Angkor-Wat
built by Suryavarman in 12 century Cambodia |
The epics of India of the Ramayana and Mahabharata compiled
in Sanskrit, went hand in hand in the propagation of Buddhism
and its tenets were recorded in Sanskrit, although the said
epics were a legend of Hindu India. According to Hall who
states, 'But notwithstanding the importance of Buddhism,
as demonstrated by the prevalence of its art, it is an inescapable
fact that most of the Indianized states speedily adopted
the Saivite conception of royalty, with Brahmans as masters
of ceremonies presiding over the cult of the royal linga;
Siva, says Coedes, 'became the guardian of the state and
a Brahman the royal chaplain' (ZHS, p19). This was without
doubt the first stage of Indianization.
It consisted of individual or corporate enterprises, peaceful
in nature, without a preconceived plan, rather than massive
immigration which would have resulted in greater modification
of the physical type of the Austro-Asiatic and Indonesian
peoples than has occurred'. In the wake of the merchants
' came the cultivated elements, belonging to the first two
castes.
We must assign a large role to these elements, without
which we could not understand the birth of the civilisations
of Father India, so profoundly impregnated with Indian religion
and Sanskrit literature'. (ZIS, p 23). As in India, the
Brahman successfully infiltrated into palaces of kings and
rulers with their powers of magic. The impact of these powers
on the rulers resulted in the Brahman being 'summoned by
the native chiefs to augment their power and prestige'.(ZIS
p 23). This has been referred to as an 'hypothesis' by Codes.(ZIS
p 23). This hypothesis has no basis in view of the fact,
It will be seen that Buddhism works mentioned above were
all texts on ritual and magic'. (ZCC p 71). This endeared
the Brahman to the rulers of South East Asia to an extent
that Indianization had begun aiding the much needed impetus
in trade. There is a saying in Tamil, `Thirai Kadal Odiyum
Thiraviam Thedu'- ride the mighty sea in quest of treasure.
The Tamil spirit of that age and captured in verse compiled
by Avaiyar reflected the Tamil spirit of adventure that
brought glory to King and country. The huge vessels of the
Pallava Kings of Southern India struck East-Wards on the
monsoon and by 100 BC, Indians met Chinese in the Straits
of Malacca. The Tamils plotted the course to the Straits
of Malacca never to be forgotten. They found it easy thereafter
to bead towards the rising sun from Kanchipuram in a direct
course to the Straits of Malacca. Their return journey with
the change of the monsoon they sailed with the setting sun
on the Bay of Bengal. It is stated by historians, that 'the
Bay of Bengal was a playground of the Tamil sailors'.
a) King Solomon's Mines
The Malay peninsula, referred to as the ' Golden Khersonese'
by Hall, was a prime target for the enterprising Tamil adventurer
specially for its abundant gold from Mt. Ophir thirty miles
from Malacca. Was this then the same 'Ophir' which is recorded
in ancient Biblical Scriptures and which supplied gold to
King Solomon of Israel?( 2 Chronicles,chp:8 verse 17). It
is stated that the two of the most important Indianised
states of Malaya were Langkasuka on the east coast, and
Kedah on the west coast. `Langkasuka is a kingdom whose
memory has been kept green in Malayan folklore as a kind
of fairy country or Never, Never Land, and a traditions
long associated with Kedah'.(HM).
The Sinhalese chronicle Mahavamsa has it that during the
reign of Duttugamani (101-70 BC), about a shipment of silver
which was sent to Malaya from Ceylon. The silver was discovered
by a merchant north-east of Kurunegala where the present
Ridivihare (silver monastery) is located. (MV,p 188). The
Mahavamsa reads as follows: In a southerly direction from
the city, at a distance of eight yojanas, silver appeared
in the Ambatthakola-cave. A merchant from the city, taking
many waggons with him, in order to bring ginger and so forth
from Malaya, he set out to Malaya'.(MV p 188). This attests
to the fact that trade with Malaya was in vogue in the first
century before Christ. Obviously the silver would have been
on its first leg of the voyage to the port on the river
Kaveri in the Coromandel coast, perhaps Puhar, before being
transhipped on boats of the Tamils to Malaya.
During the 3rd century AD Kedah of Malaysia was the most
important port of call of Tamil sailors who soon had a colony
to protect their trade interests, for the collection of
merchandise, storage and export to Tamil country. The find
of Hindu and Buddhist shrines and artefacts prove their
settlements, even long after they have been vandalised by
the Malayans who were converts to Islam. That this was a
great port of call for the Tamils in the 3rd and 4th centuries
is also mentioned in Tamil poem Pattinappalai of the Sangam
Age. That this port was in constant trade with Kaverippumpattinam
of the great Chola Kings cannot be disputed.
Duarte_Barbosa Duarte Barbosa, a Portuguese traveller of
the early 16th century states of Malacca thus, 'Many Moorish
merchants reside in it, and also Gentiles particularly Chetis,
who are natives of Cholmendal (Coromandel) and they are
very rich and have many large ships, which they call jungos'.
He states that merchants from different countries meet at
Malacca with their goods for trade. He refers to the ships
of other countries specially of China, but do not refer
to them as 'large ships' of the Tamils. The Tamils navigated
their ships to the numerous islands which are scattered
around and to Timor for the white sandal and they carry
for them, iron, hatchets, knives, swords, cloth of Palacate
and Cambay, copper, quicksilver, vermilion, tin and lead,
little beads from Cambay of all sorts'.
The foot-prints of the Tamils in far-flung countries of
the East, has been documented by the countries where they
have left indelible marks in the sky-line, of imposing Hindu
and Buddhist temples, culture, religion and in certain places
contributed in the development of their language, from ancient
times. Dr.Hultzch, has published of a Tamil inscription
which was found on a rock at TAKOPA WAT NAMUANG, in the
Malayan peninsula, of present Malaysia at Manigavamam (old
place name), which speaks of a temple of Vishnu built by
the Tamils on the west coast.
This inscription also refers to the presence of a colony
of men and Hindu colonists along with bow-men, apparently
soldiers placed there for the protection of their trade
with Malaysia, (JRAS 1931 p.337;1914 p 397).This was discovered
by Jameslow, a civil officer of Province Wellesley in the
state of Kedah in 1827 AD. This period has been identified
as the 8th century AD and may refer to the present Penang
in Malaysia. An inscription in a temple near Tanjore of
Tamil Nadu records a gift made to a temple in Malacca by
the Queen of the Pallava Nirpalinga confirming that Tanjore
was under the influence of the Pallavas in 855 AD. 'It is
stated that Kamaejra and Sopatama on the Coromandel coast
was important, so is Puhar, the port of the Chola Kings
who during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD controlled the carrying
trade between the Malaya Peninsula and India:
This inscription found at Takuapa close to a Vishnuite
temple and written in Tamil stating that an artificial lake
named Avaninaranam was constructed by Nangur -Udaiyan an
individual who possessed a fief at Nangur, a village in
Tanjore. The inscription is dated 1088 AD when Tanjore was
the capital of Raja Raja the Cholan. The other inscription
found during the same period was at Laby Tuwa in Sumatra.
These two inscriptions alluding to the commercial activities
of guilds known in Southern India provide an interesting
indication of the nature and geographic origin of the relations
between India and Southeast Asia '.(Z1S, p 107).
b) The Sangam Age
The overseas trade which was in vogue in the 6th century
BC and spilling into the Sangam Age of the Cholas, has been
clearly outlined from a few lines of the Pattinappalai of
the city of Puhar where a large colony of foreign merchants
were present from different parts of the world:-
Like the large crowd gathered in a city of ancient renown
on a festival day when people from many different places
betake -themselves to it with their relatives; persons from
many good countries speaking different tongues, had left
their homes and come to reside (in Puhar) on terms of mutual
friendship'.
From the same source we gather the articles of foreign
trade in the following description:-
Under the guardianship of the gods of enduring glory, horses
of noble gait had come by the sea; bags full of blackpepper
had been brought in carts; gems and gold born of the northern
mountains the pearl of the southern sea, the coral of the
western sea; the products of the Ganges valley; the yield
of the Kaveri, food-stuffs from Ceylon and goods from Kalagam
(Malaysia). All these materials, precious and bulky alike,
were heaped together in the broad streets overflowing with
their riches'.
This was the scene in other ports of the Tamil country
of Sera and Pandya, where guards of 'Yavanas'(Roman and
Greek foreigners) stand guard in the Kings palaces. The
Perumbabarruppadai, a poem of the Sangam Age, has it that
there were tall lighthouses on the coast summoning ships
to their harbours for the night.
The early stages of the Christian era and the Sangam Age
seem so close to each other in time and age in history.
The author of the Periplus says that Roman merchants procured
every year beautiful maidens for the harems of Indian Kings.
The presence of large quantities of Roman coins found in
Tamil lands in Tamil Nadu and in places in Kantherodai and
Mantota of Mannar of Sri Lanka proves the presence of these
Roman merchants and settlers in Tamil country.
As for India a new and possibly dangerous sea power had
arisen in the South, viz., the Cholas who by the middle
of the 9th century had defeated the PaIlavas and made themselves
the masters of Southern India. Friendly relations were established
with this power also, as is proved by the establishment
by a Sri Vijayan King of a Buddhist temple in Nagapatnam,
for the support of which the Chola King granted the revenues
of an entire village'. (HM,p.81).It is stated that the pilot
vessel of the Chola fleet was named `KADEL PURAR', which
spearheaded their exploits into the countries of the near
and far east.
c) The Imperial Cholas
During the reign of Rajaraja the Great, the Chola King
waged war in 1001 AD against Ceylon (Sri Lanka), ruled by
Mahinda V and conquered the island and renamed it, ' Mummadi-Chola-Mandalam'.(HI.p,57).
By this conquest Rajaraja was able to grant Sinhalese villages
to light oil lamps and the upkeep of his temple named Rajarajeswari'
in his capital Tanjore .(TS).
Raja Rajweswari' temple, Tanjore built by Raja Raja
Cholan - 10th Century AD |
It was after this conquest that specially from the Chola
country more Tamils swamped the island of Ceylon. (Sri Lanka).
In the year 1005 AD, the large Leyden grant mentions that
in 21st year of Rajaraja's reign he permitted the Lord of
Kedah in Malaya Peninsula and Palembang, a village near
Nagapatnam for the support of the Buddhist temple at that
place, which had been constructed by former Lord of Kedah,
Srimava Vijayottunga. (VR.ii Tanjore 890-A; I.A. xxii.45,vii.224;
T& S.I.p 204; see HI).
In 1007 AD Rajaraja in an inscription in south Mysore,
mentions his victory over 1200 ancient islands (Maldive
Islands). It was during his reign that trade in the East
intensified in countries in the Bay of Bengal, Sumatra.
Malaya etc. The expansion of the trade in the East was carried
out by his son Rajendra 1,who had taken many ancient islands.
These lands taken over had colonies of Tamil soldiers stationed
for protection of their trade. An important source of pepper
was the ' pepper island' (Pulau Lada ),of Langkawi where
the Cholas capitalised in the trade of spices.
Langkawi (Pulau Lada) Pepper Island - Malaysia,
presently a Tourist Resort |
Most Malay states had a growing Tamil population many of
whom were Tamil Moslem traders from the Coromandel coast..
As recorded in the Misa Melayu, the Tamil trader had one
wife in India and one in Perak. It is stated that in several
states, specially Kedah, the wealthy Indian community formed
a powerful faction whose interests were not always in accord
with those of the ruled.
In the year 1024 AD, Rajendra Chola 1, sent an overseas
expedition to Malaya to strengthen the military occupation
in the garrisons built for the protection of their trade;
. 'In the Leyden grant of Rajaraja Chola 1, speaks that
a village was granted for the support of the Buddhist temple
of Nagapatnam on the east coast of Tanjore district.The
donor owner presumably by purchase, was the 'Lord of Kataha'
also called 'Lord of Sri Vishaya country' Srimara Vijayottunga,
son of Chudamani of the Sailendra family. Sri Vishaya was
the kingdom of Palembang .A inscription of AD 775 found
at Vien-sa in the south bay of Bandon confirms that the
King belonged to the Saliendra family. In Chinese annals
of Song, Palembang is called 'San-to-tsi'. In 1003 and 1008
AD two embassies sent by Chulamani Sri Mara VI (Jayattounga)
to China.(HI).
This shows that the reason Rajendra 1, about 1024 AD-1025
AD, quarreled with the ruler of Kedah and sent an expedition
which defeated Samgrama - Vijayattounga's successor and
perhaps son of Srimara Vijajattounga.He was captured and
his city seized; his treasure the (Vidyadhara) `taranam'
at the Gate of his city and two other doors with jewels
were carried off'. This Chola King extended his trade protectorates
to 'Madamalingam (said to be Jaya in the Malaya Peninsula),
Mappapalam `defended by the water'. Talai-Takkolam on the
isthmus of Kra, Panna watered by the river on the east coast
of Sumatra, Mayirvdingam by the sea a state dependent on
Palembang,llangasokam (Langasuka) a Malaya state tributary
of Kedah. Ilamurideram (Lamuri) called by Marco Polo 'Lambri'
in the far north of Sumatra where there are many places
whose names begin with 'Lam, eg., Lam Djamoe, Lam Baroe
etc., and Mariekkaysurtm the Nicobar Islands and one or
two other places:(4Lp 66 ). The dispute Rajendra Chola 1,
had with the ruler of Kedah, was due to the dispute Of the
carriage of goods by sea through the Malacca straits.
The Maharajah Samgrarna Vijayattounga who styled himself
King of the Ocean Lands, was short circuited by the Tamil
kings expedition where he was captured and lost his kingdom
of Sri Vijaya.(Z/S, pp 142 & 143).George Coedes, akKles
to the raid by Rajentha Chola thus, Perhaps this raid has
(left some traces in the memory of tha Malays of the penkisula,
for their annals tell how the king Raja Chaim (Suran) destroyed
Ganganagara on the Dinding river, as well as a fort on the
Lengiu, a tributary of the Johora River, and finally occupied
Turnasik, the site of the future Singapore'. (ZIS, p 143).
The place Kadaram or Kidram or kt another for Lalagam,
alt refers to the same place and it has been suWeeted by
scholars that it is identified with Keever Mersa In the
east coast of Sumatra not far from the powerful kingdom
of Sri Vijaya at Pakernbang. The Chinese knew of it at that
time by two. names San-fo-Tsi, equivalent of Sri Bhoja and
Santu -Sai, the equivalent of Sri Vijaya. Hence the kingdom
of Palembang has been known by two names viz., Sri Mu* or
Sri Vljayain 1033 A0 Rajendra 1,sent an embassy to China
which is noted in the Chinese tumais where his name is referred
as Lo-ch-into4o.chu4o. By this mission trade ties with the
Chinese were on a firm footing. This mission would have
entailed a convoy of shams carrying Tamil officials and
presents to the Emperor of China in ships with two masts
flying the Twit emblem of the Cholas at it's masthead.
During the reign of Chola King Kullottunga 1, an inscription
belonging to the year 1010 AD in Tamil characters was found
at Loboe Toewa, Baros, in the island of Sumatra. It records
a gift to a temple in that country by a body of persons
who are referred to as `Fifteen-hundred', perhaps a military
garrison of Chola Tamils stationed for protection of trade
interests.)JRAS.1931 April).(ZHS, p55 & TC, pp 318,319).
The Chola King Virarajendra sent an expedition to Kadaram
(Sri Vijaya) in 1068 AD and conquered the country on behalf
of one of its rulers. Having come to the throne he sought
Chola protection. The King of Sri Vijaya sent an embassy
to Kulottunga 1, 1090 AD and requested him to issue a copper-plate
grant containing the names of the villagers granted by the
Chola King as 'pallic-candarn to two vihares built by the
king of Kadaram at SolaKulavalli-pattinam, evidently another
name for Nagapatnam.ln the Smaller Leyden Grant, for it
is by this name that Kulottunga's grant made on this occasion
is generally known, the two vihares are called Rajendra-sola-perumballi
and Rajarajap-perum-balli, Me latter having also Me alternative
of Sri Sailendra-Cudamanivaram-Vihara' (Cholas). The parasasti
of Kulottunga's inscriptions mentions the fact that 'at
the gate of his palace stood rows of elephants showering
jewels sent as tribute from the island kingdom of the wide
ocean'.(TC, p 318).
In the travels of Far-hian and Sung-Yun, Buddhist pilgrims
from China to India in the years 400 AD and 518 AD had this
to say of the country of Java, in this country heretics
and Brahamans flourish, but the law of the Buddha is not
much known'.(TFH). The earliest of the all lndianised settlements
in Java was the kingdom of TARUMA in the west, a place well
situated for the control of the Sunda straits and within
easy reach of the lndianised states of southern Sumatra.
Its ruler was a Brahamanist King Puranvarman of whom little
is known apart from the fact that he built the two canals
named after two Indian rivers, seven miles long in 21 days'.(HM).
This attests to the fact that the said ruler was a Hindu
and a Tamil and had settled in an strategic position on
the shores of TAIRUMA to control the Sunda straits. It is
obvious he built the two canals 7 miles long to anchor all
his merchant vessels as the northern tip of Sunda is affected
by both the North -West and South-West monsoons. The first
kingdom of Java was ruled by a Hindu-Indonesian court, which
was the kingdom of Matram under King Sahjaya in 732 AD.
The Hindu religion adopted by the court was `Sivaistic'.
Hindu temples were built in the central town and commercial
state like Sri Vijaya evolved due to the power wielded by
the Hindu court over the Javanese farmers. From the 7th
century AD, Sri Vijaya developed into the greatest maritime
empire in South East Asia, straddling the cross-roads of
sea traffic between Middle East, the Indian sub-continent
and China. It exerted firm maritime control over the straits
of Malacca and south China sea, the whole western part of
Indonesia, the greater part of Malay Peninsula and West
Java and put claims on Sri Lanka.
Chola Empire at the height of its Power circa 1050
AD |
This maritime power started to wane. King Chandrabhanu
decided to resolve the claims of Sri Vijaya on the island
of Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan chronicle Mahavamsa (MV:83.38
Geiger), states that in 1251 AD the Javanese army under
him landed on the island of Sri Lanka during the reign of
Parakramabahu II, and occupied and plundered the island.
He was however repulsed. A few years later King Chandrabahnu
returned this time with South Indian allies. He established
his headquarters on the Subha and demanded the relics of
the Buddha as well as recognition of his authority. After
a battle he was defeated and had to flee leaving behind
his harem and riches. Records from South India reveal that
the King of Sri Vijaya was killed by one of his own allies,
King Jatavarman Sundara Pandya from South India.(Pandya
- Tamil).After the defeat in Sri Lanka, Sri Vijaya disappeared
from the pages of history in 1273 AD under King Sukhodaya
of Java.
About 1025 AD the Hindu Chola Dynasty of Southern India
took over most of Java. This was the period of the reign
of Rajendra Chola-1012 to 1044 AD. In South Indian inscriptions
by Robert Sewell, Jatavana Sundra Pandya in 1256 AD conquered
Sri Lanka with the aid of Chandrabahnu. It is possible that
he was killed by Sundra Pandya after the conquest.
Hindu India affected the people of Java in various ways.
Brahmanism and Buddhism, the greatest two religions of the
world nurtured in India flourished side by side in Java
due to religious tolerance. Although there are many Hindu
temples especially at Parambanam which were considered to
be the greatest Hindu monuments of Java, the famous monument
is the Buddhist stupa of Borobudur. 'We talk of Sanchi as
one of the most finished architectural achievements of Buddhist
India, but in fact the Sanchi stupas are to be considered
primitive in comparison with the shrine of Borobudur.
The Borobudur is purely a Hindu Buddhist enterprise. It
is amazing to find that away from their native land our
ancestors could give such fine expression to their fancy
and aesthetic culture. This beautiful and huge edifice stands
today as a mark of the highest level of architectural perfection,
reached by Hindu Buddhist genius'. (AC). It is said that
to comprehend Indian art in India alone is half the a story.
To comprehend it fully one must follow in the wake of Buddhism
to Central Asia, China and Japan. It blooms like a lotus
as it spread over Tibet, Burma, Thailand and watch with
awe its creations in Cambodia and Java. As a scholar put
it, 'the Indians started with mountains, but finished off
like jewellers'.
The island of Bali in the far-flung archipelago of the
present country of Indonesia, still carries the indelible
hallmark of Hindu culture to a great extent even to this
day. It is claimed that there are about 2,000 temples on
an island only 87 by 56 miles.
Hindu temple of Bali, Indonesia 'Pura Besakih' of
Mt. Agung |
Bali had become, by fact the most sought out destination
for tourists today. In the conducted tours of the Balinese,
tourists are shown Hindu temples, the drama of the legends
of Rama and Sita and of the epic Mahabaratha war. Although
Indonesia proper came under the sway of Islam, it failed
to take root in the island of Bali.
The writer was surprised to witness the drama of the legends
of the Hindus, dramatised in this small island far away
from the land of its birth. Even the names of the hotels
bear the names of Rama and Sita-legendary names of Hindu
India.
Epic of the Ramayana staged in Bali - Indonesia |
The people are proud of their Hindu connection and worship
in the many Hindu temples in the island, which were built
by the Tamils between 4th and 9th century AD. The caste
system, which is inextricably interwoven into the Hindu
religion, is most profound in the island, where Brahmins
are held in high esteem as next to the gods they worship.
Although Saivaism held sway in Java, its decline came with
the dominance of the Buddhist Sailendras over central Java.
This change caused Saivaism to seek refuge in the eastern
parts of the island with its centre in Malang and which
subsequently formed the kingdom of Singosari. The monuments
erected were dedicated to the cult of Agastya, the sage
who Hinduized South India from about the 4th - 1st century
BC.
A Sanskrit inscription dated 760 AD records the foundation
at Dinaya as a sanctuary of Agastya by a king named Gajayana.
The decline of the Satiendra power over central Java has
been relegated to the return of Saivism. During the rule
of Rajendra the Cholan of South India who crippled the power
of Sri Vijaya and its threat to the East Java kingdom. Siva
temples were built in Matram with its galleries of reliefs
illustrating the stories of the Ramayana of Hindu India.
(ZHS,pp 58,59 &60).During this period the ports in the
bay of Surabaya came into prominence with merchants of the
East and also the resort of merchants from the West-Tamils,
Sinhalese, Malabar, Chams, Mons, Khmers and Achinese.
The Indianisation of Cambodia commenced at the beginning
of the Christian era and the Sangam Age. Elements of Indian
(Tamil) culture was interwoven with Cambodian culture that
lasted for over a 1000 years. Brahamanical Hinduism found
its way into the palace, courts and into the lives of ordinary
people. This resulted in Cambodia to be a Tamil-seeming
country. 'In the 19th century, for example Cambodian peasants
still wore recognisable Indian costumes and in many ways
behaved like Indians than they did like their closest neighbours
the Vietnamese. Cambodians ate with spoons and fingers for-example,
and carried goods on their heads; they wore turbans rather
than straw hats, and skirts rather than trousers. Musical
instruments, jewellery and manuscripts were also Indian
style.
It is possible also that cattle-raising in Cambodia had
been introduced by Indians at a relatively early date. It
is unknown to a great extent in the rest of the mainland
of South East Asia. During the first five hundred years
of the Christian era, India provided Cambodia with a counting
system, a pantheon, meters for poetry, a language (Sanskrit)
to write'.(HC). According to Cambodian inscriptions of the
9th century, there is a smattering of TAMIL words among
the Sanskrit script. In Angkor Wat, there is a 12th century
temple dedicated to Vishnu and said to be the largest religious
building in the world. In the photograph on page 51 of Chandler's
book, hitherto mentioned earlier, are seen a few PALMYRA
trees adjoining the temple, obviously planted by Tamils
for their sustenance.
Trade between prehistoric India and Cambodia probably began
long before India itself was sanskritized. In fact as Paul
Mns has suggested, Cambodia and Southern India, as well
as what is now Bengal, probably shared the culture of 'Moon
Asia', which emphasised the role played by ancestral, tutelary
deities in the agricultural cycle. These were often located
for ritual purposes in stones that naturally resembled phalluses
or carved to look like them. Sacrifice to the stones, it
was thought ensured the fertility of the soil'(HC).
The myth of FUNAN, was found recorded in the first few
centuries of the pre-Sangam Age, which is supplemented by
archaeological findings of an ancient trading city near
the modem Vietnamese village of Oc-Eo in the Mekong delta,
which was excavated in the 20th century by Louis Mallevet.
There were also found Roman coins of the 3rd century, Indian
artifacts, including seals and jewellery. It is said that
this was used by pilgrims and traders travelling between
India and China in the 1st century AD. Hence Oc-Eo may have
been the main gateway through which Indian influence extended
into the heart of Cambodia. The people of Oc-Eo, were essentially
a rice growing nation, who worshipped Siva. According to
Chinese myth, Oc-Eo was governed by a Brahman called Kaundinya,
who was crowned King, who changed all the rules according
to the customs of India. He showed them the way to improve
cultivation by building reservoirs and by sinking wells.
In the chronicles of the Mahavamsa of the Sinhalese in Sri
Lanka, it was the Brahmins too who were responsible in the
irrigation works of the country.
George Coedes says , 'According to a Cambodiyan dynastic
legend preserved in an inscription of the 10th century (Inscription
of Baksei Chamkrong), the origins of the kings of Cambodia
go back to the union of the hermit Kambu Svayambhura, eponymic
ancestor of the Kambujas, with the celestial nymph Mera,
who was given to him by Siva. Her name was perhaps invented
to explain that of the Khmers.
This legend, entirely different from that of the Nagi,
shows a certain kinship with a genealogical myth of the
Pallavas of Kanchi. (ZIS,p 66). According to ancient Tamil
literature the 'Pallavas were originally connected with
Ceylon. A critical study of the Tamil poems, Manimekalai
and Silappathikaram reveals that the destruction of the
Chola capital, Phuar or Kaveipumpattinam by sea must have
occurred before the close of the third quarter of the second
century AD, and Killi Valavan or Nedumkilli the Chola king,
then moved his capital to Uraiyur. According to Mudaliyar
C.Rasanayagam, this Chola king had married a. Naga Princess
daughter of Valaivanam, the Naga king of Manipallavan. Out
of this union a son was born known as Tondaiman Ilantirayan.His
father Killi Valavan, the king of Thondaimandalam had his
capital at Kanchi. The new dynasty founded by him took its
title from the second half of the word Manipallavan, the
home of his Naga mother.
Thus the Pallavas who were a dynasty rather than a tribe
or clan, were descended on one side of the Chola family
and on the other from the Naga rulers of what is now Jaffna
peninsular in Ceylon'.(AC, pp 704 & 705). A later Pallava
Prince married the Naga Princess of Kantharodai of the Jaffna
Peninsular in North Ceylon.There are other theories of the
Telugu origins of the Pallavas. The Mahavamsa has it that
many monks from Pallava Bogga attended the consecration
of king Duttugamani of Ceylon.( MV, p 194). The Pallavas
came into ascendence about the 4th century AD with Kanchi
as their capital and their dominion extended from the river
Krishna to the South Penner.(river).They were master builders
and sculptors of their age and their imprint and influence
still lingers in the countries of the East. The Mahayana
Buddhism they propagated in the East percolated into the
very fabric of the culture and the indigenous religious
beliefs of kings and commoner alike.
During the reign of Bhavarman 1 , in the year 598 AD, he
commanded the erection of a linga of Phnom Bantray Neang
in Borth. He was responsible for a short Sanskrit inscription
engraved telling the erection of other lingams along the
Mekong river. His successor Mahendravarman speaks of erection
of ' lingas of the "mountain" Siva (Girisa), and
erection of the images of the bull Nandin'.(ZIS,pp 67,68,69).
According to Coedes the major Hindu sects co-existed together
in Cambodia as in India. The cult of Siva, especially in
the form of a linga, which enjoyed royal favour and almost
elevated to the position of a state religion.(ZIS,p 73).
By this time Buddhism took a back seat in the 5th and 6th
century. The structure of the social fabric was matriarchal
a system widespread in and around Indonesia. In Cambodia
it may have imported from India where it is apparent in
the Sera kingdom among the Nayars and the Nambutiri Brahamans.
Inscriptions in Cambodia speak eloquently of the irrigated
rice fields in the Mekong delta adjacent to Hindu temples.
Funan's culture however came specially from the Tamil country
of South India. This was formed in the 1st century AD by
Mon-Khmer peoples. OcEo in the gulf of Thailand, was a major
trade link between China and India. In the reign of Jayavarman
ii ( this shows even the kings of Cambodia took on Tamil
names), 802 to 850 AD in Angkor, he rejected Javanese suzerainty
and instituted the cult of god-king. 'He and his successors,
Rudravarman, Bharavarman, lsanavarman, came under the influence
of Tamil Kings of South India. During this period they built
temples known as 'great temples of Angkor era', to house
their royal lingam and phallic emblems of the Hindu god
Shiva. King Suryavarman II was a worshipper of Vishnu. He
built the great Vaisunavite temple of ANGKOR WAT in the
12th century. This temple is the most beautiful of all Khmer
monuments with it's magnificent architecture.
From the 8th to the 12th century there was a surplus wealth
as a result of the bumper harvest in agricultural produce,
This was possible due to the expertise of the Tamils who
were adept in the art of irrigation and building of reservoirs
to supply water to the fields. This was so even in Sri Lanka
where the Tamils built the ' Giant's tank' for irrigation
in the Mannar district. 'However, in the 12th century, due
to the neglect of the irrigation systems, plague, malaria
and internal rebellion and the introduction of Theravada
Buddhism which preached that one could hope for spiritual
development through meditation, made the people to loose
their drive and thereby weakened the Angkor empire'. In
any event, the cultural heritage of the Khmer dynasties
remain intact in contemporary Cambodia. Many buildings like
the royal palace in Phnom Penh, are decorated in the Khmer
architectural style and used motifs as the garuda, a mythical
bird in the Hindu religion. Their classical drama betrays
vestiges of Indian traditional style and reflects the legendary
times of ancient deities of Hinduism.
'There is a popular legend in Cambodia, even to this day,
of Pereak Ko, Preak Kaev', which was first published by
a Frenchman in 1860 AD and a seven volume version in verse
was published in Phnom Penh in 1952 AD. The legend has it
that the town Lovek was so large that no horse could gallop
round it. Inside the town were two statues Preahko' (sacred
cow), and 'Preah Kaev' (sacred precious stones), and inside
the bellies of these statues were sacred texts, in gold,
where one could learn the secrets of knowledge of anything
in the world. It is stated that the King of Siam wanted
the statues. Hence he raised an army and advanced to fight
the Cambodian King. According to legend, the Thai soldiers
fired cannons charged with silver coins into the bamboo
hedges grown as fortifications. Thereafter, the Thai army
retreated and the Cambodians had to cut down the bamboo
hedges to collect the silver coins. The Thai King returned
one year later and as there were no bamboo fortifications
they were able to carry away the statues to Siam. The legend
concluded in attributing superior knowledge of the Thais
after having access to the contents of the books of knowledge
found in the statues. Apart from the legend, the basic fact
lingers that Indian heritage of the 'sacred -cow' and 'precious-stone
lingam', had a lasting impression in the lives and culture
of the Cambodian people'. (MP).
Tamil Sangam literature mentions the names of the earliest
Chola (Cola) Kings. Scholars are now agreed that this literature
belongs to the first centuries of the Christian era. The
Sangam literature reveals the names of Kings, princes and
the poets who extolled them. We also learn about the life
and works of the people. Some of the Kings mentioned were
men of distinction and acquired fame and the poets of that
age were able to capture the truth in the manner of their
expression in poetry. Two names of the Chola Kings stand
out prominently from among them and their memories cherished
in song and legend by posterity, with much reverence. The
names of KARIKALAN and KOCCENGANAN, have been written into
ancient history by the Tamils as the earliest known Kings
who carved out a kingdom for the Cholas in Southern India.
It was during the period of the Sangam Age that rituals
of Brahmanism had percolated into Hindu religion in this
early period and consequent to this intrusion the Chloa
Kings practised costly sacrifices. The daily rituals of
the Brahmans in mentioned in the epic Manimekalai and a
song by Avur Mual-kilar in the 'Purananuru', which eulogises
the Brahman Vinnandayan of Kaundinya-gottra' who lived in
Punjarrur in the Chola country, and gave an idea of the
high position held in society by the prominent Srotriya
families. Puram 166:
' Oh Scion of the celebrated race of wise men who laid
low the strength of those that opposed Siva's ancient lore,
who saw through the sophistry of the false doctrines, and
performing the truth and shunning error, completed the twenty-one
ways of Vedic sacrifices! Worn by you on the occasion of
the sacrifice, the skin of the grass-eating stag of the
forest shines over the sacred cord on your shoulder. Your
wives, suited to the station, gentle and of rare virtue,
wearing the net-like garment laid down in the Sastra, (for
such occasions) sparing of speech, with small foreheads,
large hips, abundant tresses, are carrying out the duties
set for them. From the forest and from the town, having
seven pasus in their proper places, supplying ghee more
freely than water, making offerings which numbers cannot
reckon and spreading your fame to make the whole world jealous,
at the rare culmination of the sacrifice, your exalted station
gains a new splendour. May we ever witness it so. 1, for
my part, shall go, eat, drink, ride and enjoy myself in
my village by the cool Kaveri, which gets it's flowery freshnes
when the thunder clouds roar on the golden peaks of the
western mountains: may you, for your part, stand thus, stable
without change, like the Himalaya which towers above the
clouds and whose sides are covered with bamboo'.
This ode shows the dominance of Vedic ritualism and alludes
to disputes with other religions like Buddhism and Jainism.
It was this Brahamanical Hinduism which was carried with
the Tamils wherever they sailed in quest for treasure, to
enrich king and country. This infusion of Hinduism was complemented
by the stories of the Ramayana, Mahabharata and legendary
episodes to the people of Burma, Thailand Sumatara, Malaysia,
Cambodia and specially to the island of Bali.So much so
these countries even in the 21st century betray vestiges
of Tamil Hindu culture in their drama, names, habits and
the temples built to their Hindu gods.
During the reign of Augustus, the Roman Empire was trading
partners with India in luxury goods.
'The growth of trade, though confined to land routs expanded
to maritime trade of Egypt with Arabia. The Arabian connection
in trade with India, soon led to trade with the Egyptians,
which expanded in process of time to the Far-East. The discovery
of the monsoons by Hipparachus of Alexandria led to the
direct sea routes to India ousting the Arabs in their monopoly.
The trade with India gradually developed into a barter of
different goods between Egypt, Arabia and India. The most
important commodity being cotton, (Periplus -p.59), and
other silk.
It is stated that cotton was first introduced to the then
known world by the Indians, which found its way to the distant
Americas in the West and to the countries of Oceania. Ptolemy's
account shows that the Roman trade reached beyond India
to Indo- China and Sumatra, and that the trade with India
and China was highly developed. It was the Tamil sailors
who taught the Romans the sea route to the East. Southern
India obviously acted intermediary in the trade between
China and the West. The carrying trade between the Malay
peninsula and Sumatra in the East and the Malabar coast
in the West was largely in the hands of the Tamils'. (Warmington
pp,128 to 131).
Carrying of freight in the Indian ocean and the Arabian
sea was carried in sea going vessels of the Cholas and they
held an important share in the movement of goods. They controlled
'the largest and most extensive Indian shipping of the Coromandel
coast. In the harbours of the Chola country, says the author
of the Periplus, are ships of several kinds which could
carry goods to countries beyond the seas. It is stated that
the Chola ship called 'Colandia' of the 1st century was
a two masted ship which was used for the carriage of goods
to distant lands'.
The poet Rudrangannanar described the ships moored in the
harbour of Puhar (Pattinappalai 11.29-34), and larger ships
which carried flags at their mast-heads which compares to
big elephants. Navigation in the high seas and the dangers
attendant on its foul weather are picturesquely described
in the Manimekalai in a forcible simile in which the mad
progress of Udayahumara in search Manimekalai is compared
to that of a ship caught in a storm on the high seas:
'The captain trembling, the tall mast in the centre broken
at its base, the strong knots unloosed and the rope cut
asunder by the wind, the hull damaged and the sails are
noisy, like the ship caught in a great storm and dashed
about in all directions by the surging of the waves of the
ocean'. (TC). 'This coincidence of testimony drawn from
the early literature of the Tamil country and the Periplus
on the conditions of maritime trade in the Indian seas in
the early centuries of the Christian era is indeed very
remarkable in itself. When one considers this in the light
of other evidence from Indo-China and the islands of the
archipelago on the permeation of Indian influence in those
lands from very early times, one can hardly fail to be struck
by the correctness of the conclusions reached'. (Periplus.p.261).
'The numerous migration from India into Indo-China, both
before and after the Christian era, gave ample ground for
the belief that ports of South India and Ceylon were in
truth as the Periplus states, the centre of an active trade
with the Far-East, employing large ships and in great numbers,
than those coming from Egypt'. The Cholas sea-faring instinct's
echoed down the corridors of time from beyond the 1st century
where they attempted voyages more daring in and around the
9th to the 12th century AD. It is stated that, there would
not have been a greater India, if not for the enterprising
spirit of the sailors of the Tamil country of Southern India.
Chapter 2 - The Tragedy of
Sri Lanka
There are historical records gathering dust in the archives
of many countries, where evidence of cruelty, treachery,
torture, rape and slaughter had been perpetrated on a people
and much blood shed on the soil of such a small island which
is known as the 'Island-Paradise' and the 'Pearl of the
Indian Ocean', specially with the advent of the Europeans
to Ceylon.
They came from distant lands from the West in sail boats
by the hundreds, in quest of that elusive commodity called
spices - of pepper and cinnamon - and the lure of pearls,
gold and the gems of Ceylon. They called it adventure, but
the abject greed that overtook their good intentions made
them commit the most heinous crimes against the people they
came in contact with, all in the name of the wealth of the
East and attended with such barbarity contrary to Christian
teachings they set sail to propagate.
`Santiago Gate' of Malacca built by the Portugese
in the 16th century |
Before the 15th century, the supply of these hard-to-get
goods was the absolute monopoly of the Moors and the Tamils,
who dished out gruesome stories of the hazards in obtaining
the goods. The Moors of the Middle-East, as middle-men,
were fabulously wealthy from the trade in the east, as they
were aware of the sea-routes to the very source and supply
of the merchandise, This, they kept a secret.
Parangi Piracy
Vascoda Gama, the Portuguese adventurer, with three sailing
vessels, rounded the Cape in the year 1497 AD and discovered
the open sea-route from Europe to India, Ceylon and subsequently
to the Far-East.
Replica of a Portugese vessel of the 16th century |
On August 26th 1498, he sailed into the port of Calicut
on the West coast of India. This successful intrusion into
the maritime domain of the Tamils and the Moors, triggered
of bloodcurdling battles on the high seas and on land between
the Arabs, Tamils and the Portuguese. The atrocities committed
by the Portuguese were well documented in the 'Tohofut-ul-mujahideen'
written by Sheik Zeen-ud-deen, which gives an account of
the war with the Portuguese from 1498 to 1583 AD. The Portuguese
too had their fair share where hundreds of their countrymen
were slaughtered by the Sinhalese and Tamils, some thrown
to be trampled by elephants, some beheaded, others impaled,
and yet others drowned or tortured to death. Philip Baladaeus,
a Dutch Missionary, records an incident where King Vimaladhrama
I, meted out punishment as follows:
' The Sinhalese having got notice of their flight pursued
them so closely, that many of them fell into their hands,
specially of those detachments sent to Goa,and Halalwia,
for provisions, fifty whereof they sent back with their
ears, noses and privy parts cut-off in revenge for the ravishments
committed upon their wives and daughters'.
Accordingly Faria Y Souza states: 'We had not grown odious
to the Cingelas (Sinhalese) had we not proved them by our
infamous proceedings. Not only the poor soldiers went out
to rob, by those Portuguese, who were Lords of villages,
added rape and adulteries which obliged the people to seek
the company of beasts in the mountains, better than be subject
to the more beastly villainies of men'. And then again the
atrocities of Sri Vickrama Rajasinghe, the last King of
Kandy 'A thrill of horror has been imparted to all who have
read the story of the atrocities perpetrated on the wife
of Ehelapola the minister of the King of Kandy, who, on
the occasion of her husband's revolt in 1814 AD, compelled
her to kill her own children by pounding them in a rice-mortar.
But it ought to be known that this inhuman practice was
taught to the Kandyans by the Portuguese'.
According to. Robert Knox : 'When he got any victory over
the Cingalese, he did exercise great cruelty. He would make
the women beat their own children in mortars wherein they
used to beat their corn'. The Portuguese in times of siege
having drunk wine would partake of the salted-human remains
of their own soldiers, due to the scarcity of food in their
fortresses. Knox further adds: 'His cruelty appear both
in tortures and the painful deaths he inflicts, and in the
extent of his punishments, viz., upon whole families for
the miscarriage of one of them.
And this is done by cutting and pulling away the flesh
by pincers, burning them with hot irons, sometimes he commands
them hang their own hands abut their necks, and to make
them eat their own flesh, and mothers to eat their own children;
and so lead them through the city in public view to terrify
all, to the place of execution, the dogs following to eat
them. For the dogs are so accustomed to it, that they, seeing
a prisoner led away, follow after'. When Don Juan seized
the throne of Kandy, he ascended the throne under the title
of Wimaladharma Suriya I .
To secure the support of the Buddhist priests he abjured
Christianity and produced a tooth-relic alleged to be the
original tooth-relic, and gained the support of the people.
The Portuguese took measures to depose him and sent one
Jerome Azavada who was famous for his cruelty. It is recorded
that: 'He beheaded mothers, after forcing them to cast their
babes betwixt mill-stones punning on the name of the tribe
of Gallas or Chalias, and it's resemblance to the Portuguese
word for cocks, gallos, he caused his soldiers to take up
children on the point of their spears, and bade them hark
how the young cocks crow! He caused many men to be cast
off the bridge at Malwane for the troops to see the crocodiles
devour them, and these creatures grew so used to the food,
that at a whistle they would lift their heads above the
water'.
Whenever the Moors sailed, the Portuguese followed their
course and accidentally put into the port of Galle in 1505,
when Lorenzo de Almeyda was pursuing the vessels of the
Moors off the coast of the islands of the Maldives. The
Moors, to shake off such hot pursuits used alternate sea
routes via the Maldive Islands to Malacca and Sumatra. Twelve
years later, Lopo Soarez Albergario appeared in person before
Colombo in the year 1527 with a convoy of seventeen vessels.
Their entry into the East changed the atmosphere of maritime
commerce and plunged the history of the countries they set
foot with slaughter, torture and misery which the East had
never seen the likes of it before. The instructions from
Lisbon was, `to begin by preaching, but, that failing, to
proceed to the decision of the sword. When the Portuguese
set foot on the island of Ceylon and saw the spices of pepper
and cinnamon, pearls and beautiful gems of all colours,
they were astonished at the magnitude of their discovery
that they soon forgot the crucifix they were Carrying and
used the sword to fill their pockets.
As D.G.Hall Professor Emeritus of the History of South-EastAsia,
University of London had this to say, '...and as the ideas
of commerce and colonisation gained ground, so the medieval
crusading ideal weakened', then again,' Happily it was possible
to serve God and Mammon at the same time, for by striking
at Arab trade in the Indian ocean Portugal aimed a blow
at the Ottoman empire, which drew the major part of its
revenues from the spice monopoly'.( ZHS, p 197).
They filled their pockets, but that was not so easy as
they had to contend with the ruling Kings and the people.
When subtle diplomacy failed, they took to the sword and
the musket as they were determined to exploit the natural
wealth of the island, first for the betterment of themselves
and for their country. History has recorded the fact that
it was the greed of the Portuguese soldiers who siphoned
off much of the wealth into their pockets, so much so, the
finances of Lisbon were ruined and hence they lost the monopoly
of the wealth of the East. It is said,
'Astonished at the magnitude of their enterprise, and the
glory of their discoveries and conquests in India, the rapidity
and success of which secured for Portugal an unprecedented
renown, we are ill-prepared to hear of the rapacity, bigotry
and cruelty which characterised every stage of their progress
in the East'.
The second wave of misfortune to visit the island came
in the year 1602 AD, with the coming of the first Dutch
ship' La Brebis', commanded by Admiral Spillberg who put
into the port of Batticaloa. This intrusion by another European
power led to a triangular battle with the Portuguese on
the one hand and with King Wimaladhrama Suriya I , alias
Kunappo Bandara, alias Don Juan Dharmapala, King of Kandy.
The first casualty was an officer of Spillberg, Sibalt
de Weert, over the release of goods seized from the Portuguese
at Galle and the insult against the Empress Dona Catherina.
The King having resented at this wanted the officer arrested,
but the attendant of the King clove the head of the officer
and massacred the crew of the boat on the beach. The King
proceeded to Kandy and anticipating a breach with the Dutch
sent a message to the ships of de Weert:, ' He who drinks
wine, comes to mischief. God is just. If you seek peace,
let it be peace, if war, war be it'.
Chapter 3 - The Kingdom
of Jaffna
The island of Sri Lanka (Ceylon), was infested with the
influx of foreigners, and the Indian Ocean made a happy
hunting ground to marauding merchants of fortune, missionaries,
swashbuckling pirates and free lance adventurers. These
were the dark clouds hanging over the island in the 16th
century.
Although Ceylon was plunged into protracted wars with the
Tamils of the Cholas, Chera and Pandya dynasties before
the 16th century, the political position of Ceylon at the
time of the first European visitation by the Portuguese
in 1517 AD, was clearly marked and documented by the Portuguese
as recorded by Sir James Emerson Tennent in his book, Ceylon
an account of the island Physical & Topographical- Longmans
& Robertson-1859 AD. Referring to the political condition
of Ceylon he states: 'Seaports on all parts of the country
were virtually in the hands of the Moors.
I. The North was in possession of the Malabars (Tamils),
whose seat of government was at Jaffna-patanam.
II And the great regions (since known as the Vanni), and
Neurerakalawa were formed into petty fiefs, each governed
by a Vanniya, calling himself a vassal but virtually uncontrolled
by any paramount authority.
III In the South, the nominal sovereign, Dharma Parakrama
Bahu IX had his capital at Cotte, near Colombo whilst minor
Kings held mimic courts at Badulla, Gampola, Peradeniya,
Kandy and Mahagama and caused repeated commotions by their
intrigues and insurrections'.
Hence the position Of Ceylon politically when the Portuguese
conquered the island in 1517 AD were as follows:
1. The North, Jaffna-pattanam ruled by King Sangili alias
Segarajasegeram from 1478 to 1519 AD.
2. Kotte ruled by Dharma Parakramabahu IX from 1506 to 1528
AD.
3. Kandian kingdom ruled by King Jayavira from 1511 to 1552
AD.
The Portuguese Captain Joao Riberio came to Ceylon as a
soldier and remained in the island till 1658 AD. In that
year the last of the possessions of Ceylon were surrendered
to the Dutch. Captain Joao Riberio wrote in his book, 'The
Historic Tragedy of the island of CEILAO' and translated
by P E. Pieris thus :
'In his will Don Joao Paria Pandar, he declared that he
had no son to succeed him in his kingdoms, and therefore
he appointed the King of Portugal his universal heir to
