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On the original inhabitants of Bharatava
3 1924 024 065 470
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ON THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OP BHAHATAYARSA OR INDIA
ON
THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS
OP
BHARATAVARSA OR INDIA
BY
GUSTAV OPPERT PhD
Professor of Sanskrit and Comparative Philology Presidency College Madras Telugu Translator to Government Curator Government Oriental Manuscripts Library Src 8fc ^c
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PREFACE.
Thk main object of this work is to prove from existing sources, so far as they are available to me, that the original inhabitants of India, with the exception of a small minority of foreign immigrants, belong all to one and the same race, branches of which are spread over the continents of Asia and Europe, and which is also known as Finnish- Ugrian or Turanian. The branch which is domiciled in India should, according to my opinion, be called Bharalan, because the Bharatas were in olden times its most numerous and most honoured representatives, after whom the country received its name Bharatavarsa or Bharatavarsa.
The favoured spots in which, in primeval periods, men pre- ferred to select their dwellings, were the highlands, hills, and mountains ; for these regions afforded gi'eater protection not only against the attacks of men and of wild beasts, but also against the fury of the unfettered elements, especially against the ravages of sudden and disastrous inundations. Though the plains were not altogether uninhabited, still the bulk of the population preferred, where obtainable, the higher and more secure places. I believe that the Bharatas were essentially a race of mountaineers, and that their name is intimately connected with the G-auda-Dravidian root paru , parai, mountain, a circumstance to which I draw atten- tion. '
See pages 13, 32, 83.
VI PEEPACB.
The Bharatas divided at an early date into two great sec- tions, whicli were known in antiquity, as Kuru-Pancalas and Kauravas and Paijdavas, and afterwards as Gaudians and Dravidians, and as Kuruvas or Kurumbas and Mallas or Malayas, etc. All these names, too, are derived from words which denote mountains. However nearly related these tribes were to each other, they never lived together in close friendship, and although they were not always per- haps at open war, yet feelings of distrust and aversion seem always to have prevailed.
Though positive evidence in favour of mj^ assertions was very difficult to obtain, still, it was incumbent on me to verify my statements by the best means available. In order to do so, I had to betake myself to the fields of language and religion, which in matters of this kind are the most reliable and precious sources of information. For language and religion manifest in a peculiar manner the mental condition of men, and thouoii both differ in their aim and result, yet the mind which directs and animates both is the same, so that though they work in different grooves, the process of thinking is in both identical. Besides the mental character, we must not neglect the physical complement which is supplied by ethnology, and in this case the physical evidence of ethnology supports thoroughly the conclusions at which I had arrived from consulting the language and religion of the inhabitants of India.
In the first two parts I have treated separately of the two bi'anohes of the Bharatas, relying mainly on the linguistic and historical material at my disposal concerning the ethnological position of the Dravidians and Gaudians. The principal Gauda-Dravidian tribes who live scattered over the length and breadth of the vast Indian con- tinent are, in order to establish their mutual kinship, separately introduced into this discussion. This method
PBEIACE. Vn
may create in tlie minds of some readers an impression that the several topics are somewhat disconnected, but this arrangement was necessitated by the peculiarity of the sub- ject of my inquiry.
In pursuing the ramifications of the Bharatan, or Gauda- Dravidian, population throughout the peninsula, I hope I have been able to point out the connexion existing between several tribes, apparently widely different from each other. I have tried thus to identify the so-called Pariahs of Southern India with the old Dravidian moun- taineers and to establish their relationship to the Bhars, Brahuis, Mhars, Mahars, Paharias, Paravari, Paradas and other tribes; all these tribes forming, as it were, the first layer of the ancient Dravidian deposit. In a similar manner I have identified the Candalas with the fii*st section of thp G-audian race which was reduced to abject slavery by the Aryan invaders, and shown their connexion with the ancient Kandalas and the present Gonds. In addition to this, I trust I have proved that such apparently diiJerent tribes as the Mallas, Pallas, Pallavas, Ballas, Bhillas and others are one and all oiishoots of the Dravidian branch, and that the Kolis, Kois, Khonds, Kodagas, Koravas, Kurumbas and others belong to the Gaudian division, both branches forming in reality only portions of one a,nd the same people, whom I prefer to call, as I have said, Bharatas.
Where there is so much room for conjecture, it is easy enough, of course, to fall into error, and I shall be prepared to be told that many of my conclusions are erroneous and the hypotheses on which they are built fanciful. But though much of what I have written may be shown to be untenable, I shall yet be satisfied if, in the main, I establish my contention, and I shall deem myself amply repaid for my labor if I succeed in restoring the Gaudian and Dravidian to those rights and honors of which they have so long been deprive d
PEHFACE.
In the third part which treats on Indian Theogony I have endeavoured to give a short sketch of some of the most prominent features of the Aryan and non-Aryan beliefs. After noticing briefly the reverence which the Yedic hymns display towards the Forces of Nature, which develops gradu- ally into the acceptance of a Supreme Being {Brahmayi), I go on to show how the idea of an impersonal God, a per- ception too high and abstract to be grasped by the masses of the population, gradually gave place to the recognition of a personal Creator, with whom were associated eventually the two figure-heads of Preservation and Destruction, all these three together forming the Trimurti as represented by Brahman, Visi;iu and Siva.
About the time that the ancient Vedie views began to undergo a change, and the idea of the existem^e of a Supreme .Spirit impressi.'d itself on the minds of the thoughtful, tlie non-Aryan Pi-inciple of the Female Energy was introduced into the Arvan system. This dogma which originated with the Turanian races of Asia, and was thus also acknowledged in ancient Babylonia, soon exercised a powerful influence, and pervaded the whole religion of the Aryans in India. Its symbol was in India the Salagrama-stone, which Visnu afterwards appropriated as his emblem.
I have further tried to show how the contact with the non- Aryan population aifected the belief of the Aryans and modified some of the features of their deities. Brahman was thus, by assimilating himself with the non- Aryan chief- god and demon-king Aiyauar, transformed into a Brahma- bhuta, while the very same Aiyanar was changed into Siva in his position as demon-king or Bhutanatlia, and Visnu became e;radually identified by a great section of the Brahmanic community with the Female Principle'and taken for Uma.
The religions opinions of the original inhabitants were
PEEPACE. IX
on the other hand not left unchanged as the result of their intercourse with the Aryans, and many ideas and many of the deities of the invader were received into their religion. The prominent features of this religion lay in the adoration of the Principle of the Female Energy, or Sakti, as repre- sented by the chief local goddess or Grramadevata, in the acknowledgment of a Supreme God revered under such names as Aiyanar (Sasta), and in the worship of Demons.
I trust now that the racial unity of the great majority of the Indian population has been established by this research based mainly on linguistic and theological evi- dence, as it has also been proved independently by ethno- logical enquiries.
In order to perpetuate by an outward sign the racial union of the overwhelming majority of the population of India, I venture to suggest that the inhabitants of this country would do well, if they were to assume the ancient, honorable and national name of Bharatas, remembering that India has become famous as Bharatavarsa, the land of the Bharatas.
In such a multitude of subjects, it was only possible for me to formulate my ideas in a somewhat imperfect manner, without being able to treat separately every particular subject as thoroughly and completely as it deserved, and as I had wished to treat it. 1 make this observation to show that I am fully cognizant of the incompleteness of this enquiry, but, I trust, I have at least succeeded in making clear its purport and significance. If time and circum- stances had permitted, I should have added some chapters on some essential topics, and enlarged the scope of others, but my impending departure from India has compelled me to be brief. If this book should be deemed worthy of another edition, I hope to be able to remedy these defects. It is here perhaps not out of place to mention, that the first portions of this book appeared some years ago, the
PREFACE.
first Part being priDted as early as 1888j and it is possible that the publication of this work in fragments has been attended with some disadvantages.
I am thus well aware of the many defects in a publica- tion like thisj but I trust that even my errors may not be without use, if, like stranded vessels, they serve to direct the explorer, warning him away from the shoals and rocks that beset the enquirer in his seai'ch after truth.
GUSTAV OPPERT. Madras, 14/A. February, 1893.
CONTENTS.
PART I.
INTRODUCTION.
CHAPTER I.
General Remarks
Philological Remarks ...
Historical Remarks
Division between Gaudians and Dravidians
CHAPTER III.
On the Mallas
Explanation of the terms Dravida, Tamil and A ravam
CHAPTER IV.
On the Pariah (Parata, PahSria), Brahui, Bar (Bhar), M;
(Mhar), &c
Derivation of the word Pariah
On the Brahuis ...
On the Bars or Bhars ...
On the Mars, Mhars, Mahars, Mhairs or Mers
On the Maravar -•
Religious and Social privileges enjoyed by Pariahs
Wrong Derivation of the terms Holeya and Pulaya
Caste distinctions among Pariahs ; Right and Left Hand Castes
On the Vallnvar .,
PAGE.
1-3
3-8
8-13
13
THE DRA VIDIANS. CHAPTER II.
The names of ancient kings and Asuras indicate the names of
the people over whom they ruled ... ... ... ... 14,15
Beginning of peaceful Intercourse and Inter-marriage between
Aryans and Dravidians ... ... ... ... ... 16,17
18-25 25-30
30-70 31-33 34-37 37-47 47-49 49,50 50-56 56,57 57-66 66-70
Xll CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
On the Pallar, Pallavas, Pulayar, Ballas (Bhallas) Bhils, Pulindae,
On the name of the Pallas and Pallavas
On the Pajlar
On the Pulayar ...
On the Ballaa
On the Bhils
On the Pnlindas . . .
On Pulaha, Pnlastya, Puloman, &c.
PAOB.
70-89 70-73 73-75 75-77 78-82 79-85 85-87 87-89
CHAPTER VI.
On the Pallis, Agnikulas, Paiidyas, Vellalar, &c. ... .. ... 89-108
On the Agnikulae ... 89-94
On the Pallis ... 94-100
Different meanings of the word Palli ... ... ... ... 100,101
Explanation of the words Pandya, Vellala, Ballala, Bhillala ... 101-108
PART II.
THE GAUDIANS.
CHAPTER VII.
Philological Remarks ...
Application of the term Gaudian
Explanation of the use of Gaiula as a tribal name
On the name Kolarian
109-112 112-114
114r-121
121-133
CHAPTER VIII.
On the Kolis (Kulis), Kolas ...
On the Gaulis ...
On the Kulindas, Kuliitas, &o.
CHAPTER IX.
On the Kois, Konds, Kands, Gouds
On the Oaadalas
On the names Khandobii, Khandesh, Gondaja, &c.
On Gondophares
133-141
141, 142
142, 143
143-155 155, 156
156-159 160, 161
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X
On the Kocjagas
On the Koragas
On Hubasika and Huviska
On the Todas ...
On the Kotas
CHAPTER XI
On the Kuravas (Kuruvas, Kurumas), Koracaru. On the Kurus (Yerakulas) and Kaurs On the Kunnuvaa and Kunavarie
XUl
Page. 162-167 168-180 171-178 180-193
193-196
%
197-201 201-210 210-215
CHAPTER XII.
On the Kurubas or Kurumbas
Remarks about the name Kurumba ...
On the sub-divisions among the Kurumbas
On their religion, manners and customs ...
On our historical knowledge about the Kurumbas
On Adonda Cola
On Toudamandalam
On the Kallas under the Tondaman of Pudukota ..
On the Kurmis, Kumbis or Kunbis ...
On the origin of the term Kadamba
PART III.
INDIAN THEOGONY.
215-260 215-220 220-234 235-242 242-260 246-253 253-257 257-260 261-264 264-270
^
/^
CHAPTER XTII.
Introductory Remarks . . On Vedio Deities On Vedio Creation On the Trimurti
271-274 274-279 279-283 283-284
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XIV.
BiTihmfi 11 .
fieneral Eemarke
On the present Worship of Brahman
On the Brahmabhilta ...
CHAPTER XV
Visnu.
General Remarks
On the "Deluge ...
On the Yugas ...
On the Salagrama-stone
On the modification of the worship of Visnu
On Visiiu's wives
CHAPTER XVI.
§iva.
General Remarks On the Linga
CHAPTER XVII,
ParamatTYian. On Paramatman, the Supreme Spirit
CHAPTER XVIII.
Introductory Remarks
On Uma, Amma, Amba
On Drvi (Durga), etc.
On Sakti'a participation at the creation
On the origin of the worship of the various Saktis
On the VidySdevis, llatrs and Gramadevata.?
CHAPTER XIX.
Qrnmadevataa, Aiyannr <ind BhUtas.
General Remarks On GrSmadevatas
Page. 284-288 288-296 296-306
306-311 311-32S 328-337 337-359 359-362 362-364
364-371 371-33G
386-397
397-418 418-J22 422-439 440-444 445-447 447-450
450-457 457-464
CONTENTS. XV
On Ellamma ... 464-471
On Mariyamma ... ... ... ... ... ,,. ... 471-485
On Angaramma (Aiigalamma, etc.) ... ... ... ... 485-491
On Piclari 491-495
On Bhadrakali, Civmuncjii, Durga ... .. ... . . . 495-499
On other Gramaclevatas ... ... ... ... ... ... 499-504
On Aiyanar (Ayyappa or Sasta) .. ... ... ... ... 504-513
On Bhatas 513-516
About Fiends (Asuraa, Danavas, Daityas) ... ... ... ... 516-526
About Ghosts (Transmigration) ... ... ... ... ... 526-550
On Devils 550-574
PART IV-
THE BHABATAS.
CHAPTER XX.
Introductory Remarks ... ... ... 575-581
On Vasistha 581-585
On Visvamitra . . , ... ... ... .. ... ... ... 585-595
On the Bharatas 596-623
Index 624-711
SYSTEM OP TRANSLITERATION.
k, kh, g, gh, i, h, h, a, a. c, oh, i, jh, n, s, y, i, i, e', e, ai. t, th, d, dh, M, s., 1', r, f. t, th, d, dh, n, s, 1, ], 1 p, ph, b, bh, m, li v, " n, o', o, au. Anusvara iri ; r, !, 1, are peculiar to the Dravidian languages.
'Used in the Dravidian languages.
On the Original Inhabitants of Bharatavarsa or India.
INTRODUCTION.
CHAPTER I.
General Bemaeks. No one who undertakes to study the ancient history of India can fail to be impressed by the scantiness of the material at his disposal. In fact such an undertaking would soon appear to be futile, were he to depend solely on Indian accounts and records. Fortunately, however, we possess some writings of foreigners who visited India ; and their reports of what they actually saw during their stay in this country, and of what they were able to gather from trustworthy sources, furnish us with materials of a sufficiently reliable character. If we except Kashmir and Ceylon, regarding the latter as belonging to India, no part of India possesses anything like a continuous historical record. The prepond- erance of caste and the social prejudices it creates are disabili- ties such as no Hindu who wishes to relate the history of his country can entirely overcome. The natives of India have, as a rule, little sympathy with people outside their own class, and when it is believed that persons belonging to the highest caste can by their piety ensure final beatitude, if they simply remember and revere the memory of their three immediate predecessors — father, grandfather, and great grandfather — we need not wonder at the apathy displayed towards history by them and by others who are beneath them in the social scale.
2 ON THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS
Yet, if the study of Indian history has up to now not proved interesting to the Hindus themselves— and there exist many good reasons why this has been and is still the case— this fact need not discourage foreigners, who are interested in this subject, from pursuing it.
It is true no doubt that the results which have been obtained from decipherings and archaeological researches in India, must appear insignificant wlien compared with what has been achieved elsewhere in the same fields. StiLl, there is no need to despair of final success, for our knowledge and material are daily increasing, though Indian history at present, becomes interesting only when it throws light on the communal, legal and social conditions of the people, or on their intercourse and relation with foreigners.
Owing to the meagreness and often to the untrustworthi- ness of the historical material, an Indian historian must be continually on the look-out for new tracks in which to pursue his researches. The task of a scientific historian is difficult in itself, but it is made still more so, if a scholar is anxious to make original researches and strike out for himself a new path in Indian history, as, in addition to other qualifications, he must be a linguist possessing some knowledge of the language of the people into whose past he is inquiring.
The limited number of Indian historical records, including architectural, palseographical, numismatic and similar anti- quities, compels a student of Indian history to draw within his range subjects other than those usually regarded as strictly historical, e.g., the names of nations and individuals, of countries and tovms, of mountains and rivers, and such other topics, in which he believes that historical relics lie concealed.
I have selected as the subject of this inquiry the people to whom I assign in default of a better name that of Gauda- Dravidian, who by the extensive area they occupied, and over
OF BHAEATAVARSA OR INDIA. 3
which their descendants are still scattered, are well worthy of a careful research being made into their past history.
Philological Eemaeks.
Before entering upon the historical part of this inquiry, a few general philological remarks will not be out of place. Every one who is even slightly acquainted with the laws which govern the interchange of letters, knows that the labial nasal m is often permuted into the other labials as p, h, or » and vice versa. Mumba is thus changed to Bombay, and MaUava into Ballava ; ManilMCcha is identical with Bharu- kaccha ; Sanskrit pramdna is altered to Kanarese pavanu or havanu, measure ; mattai, stem, in Tamil resembles pattai, bark ; madandai in Tamil, woman, corresponds to padati in Telugu, and Mallar to Pallar, &c. On the other hand, Bhavdni becomes Bhamani ; Vdnam, heaven, is changed in Tamil to Mdiiam; Palavaneri to Palamaneri; Pallava to Vallama (Yelama) andVallamba; pallddu, goat, in Tamil, to velladu ; Vadavan to Vadaman ; the words Oiruvan and Ciruman, youth, both occur ; piranku, to shine, in Tamil corresponds to the Telugu merungu, &c.
The above-mentioned rule is general and applies to other languages as well, for in Greek, onima, e.g., becomes op>2m ; meta, peda ; membras, bembras ; palkiii, ballein, and patein, batein, &c. ; but nowhere else does there exist such a variety and difference of pronunciation as in the vernacular languages of India. Their system of writing is a proof of this fact. Tamil has, e.g., only one sign for the four sounds 1 belonging to each of the five classes ; in fact 20 different sounds are expressed by five letters, and even where, as in Telugu, these 20 sounds are provided with 20
1 s for k, kh, g, gh ; i^ for c, ch,,j, jh ; L fort, tt, d, ih ; /S for t, th, d dh ; and u for p, ph, b, bh. In their transliteration accordingly are only used k, c, I, t and p, which indicate the letter, but not the sound.
4 ON THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS
distinct characters, tlie pronunciation still remains so unoer- tain, that in his Telugu Dictionary the late Mr. 0. P. Brown arranged these four letters respectively under one head. The cause of this striking peculiarity and these continual per- mutations is to be found partly no doubt in indefinite pro- nunciation and dialectical divergencies, but mainly in the strict enforcement of the over-stringent and artificial rules of Sandhi or Euphony, which affect alike vowels and con- sonants, and which do not, e.g., permit a word in the middle of a sentence to begin with a vowel. Local differences in pronunciation exist in India as well as in other countries. Amongst these the interchanges between tcnues and iiiccliae are most common ; we find them in Wales and in German Saxony, where the tenues j), t, and A- are to this day con- founded with the mediae b, d, and g, or vice versa.
The three Dravidian I'a (lev, Im- and I te) however differ- ently they may be pronounced, are only varieties of the same sound and are therefore interchangeable, thus, ?.(/., the Sanskrit phidaiii becomes in Tamil jjff/«m ueuii, or palaiii ulpld, while viu/him LDeusuih becomes maUam LDeir&rLh, relldlan Qsneiren-rrsmisr is also spelt veUalan Qsj sir err rrifissr, and a village or town is called pnlli udjsS [valli auajsS), palli uotj-ctA, or pdli urrifi. The harsher sound is generally used by the lower classes, and where these pronounce an eb I ot err J, a high caste-man will lisp a, jfi I, which letter is probably a modern innovation prevailing specially in Malayalam and Tamil.
As the different /'s interchange between each other, so do the two Dravidian r and r ; ^ a hard double pp rr is pro- nounced in Tamil somewhat like a double //,' which ciroum-
^ Tamil it and p, Tolugu S and es Kanarese d and fee, Malayalam o and o,
^ Tho Tamil pp in represented occaaionally in Telugu \\y ks e.g., the Tamil l-\p^, pnrru, corresponds to the Telugu B&4.-' piitja.
OF BHARATAVAR8A OE INDIA. 5
stance is a proof of the relationship between the r and t sounds. After this statement the permutation between the lingual d and the r and I sounds will not create any surprise. Some of these changes are pretty common elsewhere ; they occur in the Aryan as well as in the Dravidian languages.
A further peculiarity of the Dravidian languages, and especially of Tamil, is their dislike to beginning words with compound letters : Brahma becomes Piramam, i3irLDih ; pra- handha, pirapantam, lSituje^lo ■ graniha, kirantam, Qit^^ld. In consequence of indistinct pronunciation and the desire for abbreviation, initial and medial consonants are often dropped at the beginning or in the middle of words, while on the other hand in opposition to this tendency a half -consonant is prefixed to an initial vowel, in order to prevent a word from beginning with a vowel. We thus occasionally meet words whose initial consonants are dropped and replaced by half- consonants, e.g., vella, white, in Telugu becomes ella and yelki, vesa, haste, esa and yesa, the name of the Billavar of Travan- core becomes Ilavar and Yilavar ; Velur becomes Elur and Teltir. This practice of prefixing a half-consonant before an initial vowel is generally enforced in the middle of a sentence, — a y is thus placed before an a, e, i, and ai and a v before 0, u, and au. The half-consonant is used to avoid an hiatus and this explains why the University- degrees M.A. and B.A. are pronounced by many Natives Yam Ya and Be Ya. Metathesis is likewise of not unfrequent occurrence in the Dravidian languages. It is even found in words of common occurrence, in kurudai, e.g., for hidii-ai, horse ; in Marudai for the town Madura ; in Verul for Elora (Velur or Ballora); in Vaikdiam {emw^irffLc) and Vaikaii [(saensirffl) for Vai&SMmn and Vaiidkhi ; in the Telugu agapa and abaka, ladle, &o.
Another peculiarity is to drop one of two consonants in a syllable and to lengthen the vowel if it happens to be short, or to double a consonant and to shorten the vowel,
6 ON THE ORIGINAI- INHABITANTS
if it happens to be long; e.g., ^csfcgto ceyyutaiov ^cxSo^^ cei/uta, Velldlan for Veldlan, Palla for Pdla, &c.
It will be readily perceived that this laxity of pronun- ciation affords a wide field for philological conjectures, and that, if we choose as an example the representative name of the Mdlla or Palla tribe, a variety of forms for Mara and Malla, or Para and Palla, which actually occur, can be re- traced to the common source, and thus be shown to have a sound basis. The task which a philologist has to perform is a serious one and ought to make him cautious. Considerable and unexpected difficulties also arise from the great simi- larity of many Sanskrit and Dravidian words with Mara, Malla and their derivatives.* The explanations of names of persons, tribes, places, &c., so readily tendered by the Natives
' A fe'W of such, eimilar words are in Sanskrit : para, other, ^ato, m., straw, n., flesh, pala, m., barn, pallava, m., u., sprout, palvala, m., pond, psM, m., guard, ^«te great, ^/iaZa, n. , fruit, ^M?a, m., n., ploughshare, ^AwKa, open, bala, n., power, bali, m., oblation, bala, young, bhala, u.., forehead, mara, killing, mala, n., dirt, malli, f., jasmine, mdra, killing, mala, n., field, mala, f., garland, valla, covering, vallabha, m., lover, ■valli (j), f., creeper, &c.; in Tamil: alam, plough, alii, lily, alliyam, village of herdsmen, alai, cave, dlatn., water, palar (palldr), many persons, palam, strength, fruit, flesh, pali, sacrifice, pal, tooth, pallam, bear, arrow, palli, lizard, palam, old, palam, fruit, pali, ■ blame, palai, hole, pallam, lowness, paUayam (pallait/am) , ofiering to demons, pallaicci, dwarfish woman, pal, milk, palam, bridge, palar, herdsmen, palai, a,Tid, pali, cave, village, pdlayam (pdlaiyam) country, camp, pali, encampment, palai, palmtree, pilli, demon, pulam, ricefield, puldl, flesh, pulai, flesh, pul, meanness, piillii, grass, pullam, ignorant, pulli, lizard, malam, excretion, malar, flower, maJai, hill, mal, boxing, mallam, strength, malli, jasmine, r/iallu, wrcstUng, malai, rain, mallam, strength, mal, greatness, mullai, jasmine, mid, miillu, thorn, mel, above, valam, rightside, valam, power, vali, strength, t>ff/», strong, «'«/«(', net, rallar, strong persons, ■yaKajipan, beloved, vallavan, shep- herd, valli, woman, village, valliyam, vUlage of shepherds, valuli, poetical epithet of the Pandya kings, valappam, valamai, valam, valan, strength, ' valavan, epithet of Cola, vallam, com measure, valliyam, pipe, pepper, vdlai, plantain, ral, sword, vil, bow, villi, Manmatha, vel, white, vellam, inundation, velli, silver, vel, lance, veli, village, veljim, sugarcane -reed, &c.; in Teluyu: ala, wave, ala [alia), then, alii, water, lily, alle, bowstring, c^«, young, ella, all, limit, white {vella), palla (pulla), red, reddish, pdlemii, camp, pallemu, saucer, pala, name of a tree, white, jay, pdlu, share, milk, pilla, child, pilli, cat, puli {pulla), sour, puli, tiger, pulu fptillu), grass, piilla, piece, balla, bench, bhdli, affection, mala, mountain, malumii, dirt, main, again, malla
or BHARATAVARSA OR INDIA. 7
of India and seemingly supported by some legendary and historical evidence, must be viewed with extreme caution and distrust. It is not an uncommon occurrence to make a statement of "this kind, and afterwards to invent cor- roborative evidence. This is often not done with any desire to mislead, but rather because it affords a fair display for speculative ingenuity. If, e.g., a rich man of a high caste acquires a Paraiceri, he will alter its name so as to hide the low origin of his property and to impart to it a sacred appearance. Near Madras is situated the well-known hill called St. Thomas' Mount. Its name in Tamil is Parahgi Malai or Mountain of the Franks or Europeans, from the original European or rather Portuguese settlement. Some years ago a Brahman settlement was established there and the name of Parangi Malai was no longer deemed respect- able. Thenceforth it was changed to Bhrngi Malai, the mountain of the sacred Bhrngi, and eventually in support of this appellation legendary evidence was not slow in forthcoming.*
again, malle {ynallelu), jaemine, mala {male, mdlilca), garland, mdli, gardener, male, house, mula {mullu) , thorn, mule, corner, mella, hall, melamu, fun, melu, good, upper, maila, unclean, vala, right, net, valla, stratagem, valle, noose, vdli, custom, valu, long, sword, vilu [villu), how, vllu, expedient, vela, price, vella, white, rellui-a, flood, vela, limit, vela, time, vein 1000, toe, &c.
Considering the changes the letters undergo in Dravidian words, when pallddu, goat, is also written veUddu and pala, flesh, hecomes ptilai and Valluru is also written Vdluru, Velluru, Telluru, &c., similar alterations need not create any great surprise, especially if it is admitted that small orthographical changes assist their heing the more easily distinguished. As an illustration how the names of the Mallas and Pallas appear in local appellations I only add as an example a, few such names as Mallapur, Pallapur, Ballapur, VaUapur, YaUapur, Allapur, EUapur, Vellapur, Yellapur, Illapur, ViUapur, Volluru, TJUapur, Vullapur, Mftlavur, Palavur, Balapur, Vfilapur, Yalapetta, Elapur, Elavur, Velapur, Yelagiri, &c., &c.
5 An example of the spurious character of similar writings is exhibited hy the Sthalapurana that contains the origin of the Gunmjbag-weavers, which, though of recent origin, is hy some incorporated in the Brahmanda Purana.
A curious instance of the alteration of a name is supplied hy the Barber's bridge near St. Thom^ in Madras. It was originally named Mamilton's
8 ON THE ORIGIXAL INPIABITAXTS
It might appear that when so many changes are possible, no reliance can be placed on such evidence, but these permu- tations do not all take place at the same time, indeed dialecti- cal pronunciation selects some letters in preference to others. The northern Hindu pronounces, a B, where the southern prefers a F, and both letters occur only in border districts ; thus no B is found in the names of such places situated in the Ohingleput, South- Arcot, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, Madura., Tinnevelly, and Malabar districts, while in South-Kanara, Ganjam and Mysore a Fis seldom used.
These few preliminary philological remarks are absolutely necessary to facilitate the understanding of the subsequent discussion. The important position which language occupies in such a research as the present was well pointed out more than forty years ago, by the Pioneer of North-Indian Ethno- logy, the learned B. H. Hodgson, when he wrote in the preface to his first Essay : " And the more I see of these primitive races the stronger becomes my conviction that there is no medium of investigation yielding such copious and accurate data as their languages."
Historical Eemaeks.
Turning from these linguistic to historical topics, we know as a fact that when tracing the records of any nation or country as far back as possible, we arrive at a period when all authentic or provable accounts cease. We have then reached the prehistoric stage. What occurred during that epoch can never be verified. When the mist of historic darkness disappears from the plains and mountains of a country, the existing inhabitants and their dwellings become
bridge after a gentleman of that name. The word Samilton, being difficult to pronounce in Tamil, was changed into amattan (common form for ampat- tan) which means in Tamil a Imrbcr, whence by retrauslation into English the bridge was called Barber's bridge.
OF BHAKATAYARSA OR INDIA. H
visible, but whether these are in reality the first settlers and their abodes the first erected, is another question which does not properly belong to the domain of history, so long as we are unable to assert its relevancy or to find an answer to it. Whether the people of whom we first hear in a country are really its aborigines may be doubtful ; but so long as no earlier inhabitants can be discovered, they must be regarded as such. So far as historical traces can be found in the laby- rinth of Indian antiquity, it was the Gauda-Dra vidians who lived and tilled the soil and worked the mines in India.
This discussion does not concern the so-called Kolarian tribes, whose connection with the ancient history of India is so very obscure, that we possess hardly any historical accounts about them.
However considerable and apparently irreconcilable may appear the differences exhibited by the various Gauda-Dra- vidian tribes in their physical structure and colour, in their language, religion, and art, all these differences can be satis- factorily accounted for by the physical peculiarities of the localities they inhabited, by the various occupations they followed, and by the political status which regulated their domestic and social habits. For every one must be aware of the fact that change of abode and change in position have worked, and are working, the most marvellous alterations in the physical and mental constitution of individuals and nations. Language, especially the spirit which pervades it^ is the most enduring witness of the connection which exists between nations, and with its help we can often trace the continuity of descent from the same stock in tribes seemingly widely different.
From the north-west across to the north-east, and from both corners to the furthest south, the presence of the Gauda- Dravidian race in India can be proved at a very early period. On the arrival of the Aryans on the north-western fron- tier, the Gauda-Dravidians are already found in flourishing
10 ON THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS
communities. But successive waves of the Aryan invasion, swelled in their course by the accession of former opponents who had despaired of successful resistance, must soon have flooded over the Gauda-Dravidian settlements. Some by their prowess were able to maintain their ground against the invaders, while others, defeated, left their abodes and emigrated towards the South. Yet even the North, subject though it became in time to the Aryan or rather Brahmanical sway, can never be said to have been totally conquered by force of arms. Still less was this the case with the South, where the Brahmanical influence always assumed a more civic and priestly character ; influence, which though of another kind, can hardly be deemed less powerful, since it is more lasting and more thorough. Even the Aryanised languages of North-India — however they may prove the mental superi- ority of the invaders who were able to force on their defeated foes their peculiar mode of thinking — manifest their origin in their vocabularies and show the inability of the victors to press on the vanquished their own language. The languages of both, victors and vanquished, amalgamated and formed new dialects, and the diflerence which exists between the abstract synthetic Sanskrit and the concrete agglutinated Dra vidian is clearly expressed. This difference is easily observable when we compare on the one hand the construction of Sanskrit with that of such Aryanised languages, as Ben- gali and Marathi, which possess a considerable substratum of a non-Aryan element, and on the other hand the con- struction of Latin with that of the Neo- latin languages French and Spanish, which may be considered as entirely Aryan. I have alluded to this fact in my " Classification of Languages." Hindustani is a fair specimen of such a miscegenation of languages.
The earliest mention of a Gauda-Dravidian word is to be found in the Bible. In the first book of Kings, x. 22 we read as follows : For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish
OF BHARATAVARBA OR INDIA, 11
ivith the navy of Hiram ; once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks.'" « The expression for peacocks is tukkiyyim, a word derired from the Gauda-Dravidian toka {tokai or togai), which originally signifies the tail of a peacock and eventually a peacock itself. It exists in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kanarese, Gondi and elsewhere. The identification of tukki (tUki) with tokai is very old indeed, and is already quoted as well known in the early editions of the Hebrew dictionary of Wilhelm Gesenius.' The mere fact that the sailors of Solomon and Hiram designated a special Indian article by a Gauda-Dravidian word, renders it j)robable that the inhabi- tants with whom they traded were Gauda-Dravidians and that Gauda-Dravidian was the language of the country. The Aryan influence could at that time hardly have been strong enough to supplant the current vernacular, or to force upon it a Prakritised Aryan term. Moreover^ the peacock is a well-known bird, common all over India, and it is highly improbable that the Gauda-Dravidians should have waited for the arrival of the Aryans to name it, or should have dropped their own term in order to adopt in its stead an Aryan one. The vocal resemblance between the Hebrew hopk and the Sanskrit kapi is most likely accidental. The ancient Egyptians, who kept monkeys in their temples, called a monkey kdf. Besides it cannot at all be assumed that the sailors of the fleet of Tharshish did not know monkeys. May not koph, kdf, kapi, &c., after all be an OnomatopoiStikon ? Another word which proves the connection of the Gauda-Dravidians with foreign nations is supplied by
« The Hetrew worda in 1 Kings, x. 22, are : Oni Tharsts noseth sdMb vakeseph senhahbim veqopMm vethukkiyylm. 2 Clironioles, ix. 21, has a long u and reads vethUkkiyyl'm. The derivation of senhaHim is still doubtful.
' See also my lecture On the Ancient Commerce of India, p. 25. The derivation of Abmiggim or Algummim from valgu as the sandalwood is called in different places, 1 Kings, x. 11, 12, and 2 Chronicles, ii. 7 ; ix. 10, 11, is very doubtful, and I hesitate to derive it from Sanskrit.
12 ON THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS
the Greek word oryza for rice, which corresponds to the Q-auda-Dravidian arUi, and not to the Sanskrit vrlhi.^
The Aryan invaders showed little sympathy with the inhabitants they found on the confines and in the interior of India. The outward appearance of the Dasas or Dasyus — these were the names with which the new-comers honoured their opponents — was not such as to create a favourable impression, and thoy were in consequence taunted with their black colour and flat noses, which latter made their faces appear as if they had no noses. Indra is invoked to reduce into the darkness of subjection the colour of the Dasas and to protect the colour of his worshippers, for the latter were not always successful in the combats, and the Dasas at times turned the tables on their foes by becoming victorious aggressors.
So far as civilisation is concerned, a great difference could hardly have existed between the two races when they first met. However rude may have been the bulk of the indigenous population, a considerable portion of it must have already attained a certain degree of cultivation. It was no doubt the wealth which they had acquired that stimulated the invaders to pursue their conquests, even when a brave
* See my lecture On the Ancient Commerce of India, p. 37 - " Of grains Eice formed an important commodity. The cultivation of rice extended in ancient times only as far west as to Bactria, Susiana, and the Euphrates valley. The Greeks most likely obtained their rice from India, as this country alone produced it in sufSoient quantity to he ahle to export it. Moreover the Grecian name for rice oryza, for which there exists no Aryan or Sanskrit root, has heen previously identified by scholars with the TamU word arisi, which denotes rice deprived of the husk. This was exactly the state in which rice was exported. The Greeks besides connected rice gene- rally with India. AthenaBos quotes oryza hepJithe, cooked rice, as the food of the Indians, and Aelianus mentions a wine made of rice as an Indian beverage. If now the Greek received their rice from India, and the name they called this grain by is a Dravidian word, we obtain an addi- tional proof of the non- Aryan element represented in the Indian trade."
Aral, rice, occurs also in Keikadi, and nriselti, ricecakes, in Telugu.
OF BHARATAVARfciA OR INDIA. 13
and stubborn resistance warned the Aryans not to drive to despair the various chieftains who had retreated to their mountain strongholds. The bravery of the Dasas excited the admiration of their opponents. Indra himself occasion- ally protects the Dasas, the Aryan priest deigns to accept his offering, and the divine