Paravars and Pandya kings of ancient Tamizhakam explained !!!

Paravars and Pandya kings of ancient Tamizhakam explained !!!

        In the history of tamizhs, there are many confusions between Paravar people and the early Pandya kings of ancient tamizhakam stating that Pandya kings were hailed from Paravars. 

No !! This is not true.....

 This post will clear the misunderstood association between Paravars and the Pandya kings and their the link between Sindh people in ancient Mohenjo-daro. Before going to Paravars, let us see about the history of Pandya kings.

     Early Pandya Kings were the first one to rule the ancient tamizhakam and Kumari kandam. They were the first strong kings, much knowledged, ruled vast landmass, excelled in seafaring, had wealthy ports, palaces, temples, precious metals, stones and were significantly rich. 

The country of Pandya kings were also called as 'Land of Lord Shiva' and that is why it is mentioned in Sivapuranam, while praising about Lord Siva that,

"Thillaiyul koothane, THEN PANDI NATANEA !!"

தில்லையுள் கூத்தனே! தென் பாண்டி நாட்டானே!

In tamizh, Then - means south, Pandi - means Pandya, Natanea - means King. Together, it means, the one who rules the southern pandyan king.

What is the meaning of Pandya ?

        In Tamizh, Pandaya (meaning ancient) word is -> transformed to Pandiya / Pandya. Pandyas (Pandayars - meaning ancient people)

    The early Pandyas were from solar race (Surya Vamsam). How did they belong to solar race ??

        The early Pandya king Satyavrata / Shraddhadeva manu from Kumari kandam was the son of Vivasvana (Sun / Surya), who saved the mankind from the great deluge with the help of Lord Vishnu's Matsya Avatar.  Pandya king Shraddhadeva is the current manu and the progenitor of humanity. Thus, as the son of Vivasvana / Surya, the early Pandyas were belonged to Solar race. 

        Pandyas were the first seafarers and explorers in the World, who established the first civilization in Kumari Kandam. Paandi is also a type of ferocious bull, which represents bravery, strength and masculinity. It was also a symbol of Pandya kings...

How did Pandya kings excelled in seafaring ?

    The inhabitants of Neytal region (sea shore areas) were known as parathavar, nulaiyar and umanar whose occupations included fishing, coastal trade, pearl diving and salt manufacturing.

• Parathavars  - were sailors and fishermen.

Parathavar (Bharathar) is an olden community in tamizhakam, who were ancient times coastal inhabitants, seafarers, maritime traders, who as well were known as ferocious soldiers. 

Paravar - meaning dwellers on sea coast

   Once upon a time , Paravars were very powerful people and they had much of their ascendancy over the other tribes due to their knowledge and their expertise in navigation. They also had a succession of kings among them, distinguished by the title of Adiyarasen, some of them resided at the city 'Uthira Kosamangai',  where a famous temple of Lord Shiva was built by early Pandya kings. Uthira kosamangai is an important place that connects Pandya kings and early Indus valley people. For more details about the link between Pandya's Uthira kosamangai and Indus valley civilisation, reach out to

https://divinediyaas.blogspot.com/2021/03/early-pandya-kings-of-indus-valley-civilization-uthirakosamangai.html

        These paravars were experts in seafaring and helped Pandya kings to explore the seas and expanded their kingdom across Asia and Australia. So pandyas had made them as chieftains of the coastal regions and they were called as Paratha Pandiyar (பரத பாண்டியர்).

        Paravar were also mentioned in Sangam literatures and in many other tamizh literatures. In the later period of time, a group of paravars served as vassals for Pandya and Chola kings. The cave engravings of  300 BCE, was found in 2003, reinforce this view that the Paravars were the chieftains (Velirs) of the coastal region during this period and ruled as subordinates of the Pandyas. 

        The Pandyan emperors allowed the Paravars to manage and operate the pearl fisheries in tamizhakam as they were expert in it and also it's their ancestry skill. Pearl fishery is not an easy job, it needs one to have command in seamanship, one should understand the locations under sea and the knowledge to tend the oyster beds.

Thus Paravars were considered as minor chieftians by Pandya kings and Pandya kings did not hail from the Paravar caste !!!

Early Pandya kings had trusted paravars very much and had given them the major trading ports to rule. Paravars were also served as frontline warriors in seas while expanding Pandya's territory....

 The term paravar will come across in many of my future posts and that's why I have penned down this post separately...

Pandyas of Tamizhakam were also called as 'Thiraimel', in tamizh. 

Thirai - meaning sea 

Meel  - meaning returned. 

    Together, it means "the ones who were successfully returned to home land from the sea".  Pandyas were brilliant in seafaring and used sea turtles to find routes in seas, tamizh people were the first one to explore the sea successfully and they had spread their civilization across Asia till Australia. No wonder that ancient India was named after them as Bharathavars (Bharatham) or Bharath. When exploring across the world, their names were transformed such as Pandya, Pandion, Bharathavar, Pondi, Ponti etc...

    Early Pandya Kings were also called as 'Bha(pa)rathavar'. As there is only one 'pa' letter in tamizh, pronunciation of which will differ according to the words used such as 'pa', 'ba', 'bha'. (Parathavar, Barathar, Bharathavar). This is how the name Bharatham was coined due to the rule of Pandya kings in the Akand Bharat which extended up-to Greece in the West and Australia in the East. 

        

            As Lord Vishnu (as Matsya Avatar) had warned Pandya king of major tsunami and helped them to migrate during the submergence of Kumari kandam, Pandyas had changed their emblem to 'twin fishes' to show their gratitude towards Lord Vishnu. Though, Bull and Fish symbols were used interchangeably in their seals, coins, emblems, flags etc..

Not able to believe that Bharathavars as Pandyas ??

Here you go for the reference from tamil works...

1. From Purananooru

திண் திமில் பரதர் - (Thin Thimil Bharathar) 

Meaning: The Person(Bharathar) who sails strong boats

2. From Silapathikaram,

பெருங்கடல் பரதவர் - Perunkadal Parathavar / Bharathavar

Meaning: One who sails high in sea

Thus Pandya kings were called as 'Bharathar', as they sail high on seas, experts in navigation, successfully returned to their homeland and had spread across this continent.  

        Hence, one should not get confused between Bharathavar and Paravars.. Pandya kings were called as Bharathavars who belongs to Solar race and Paravars were vassals or minor kings under Pandya Kings....

        Korkai, the famous harbour town of Pandya kingdom was widely populated by paravars. In olden days paravars were engaged in trading with Greece, Rome, Egypt, China, Java, Burma and Ceylon. Korkai pearl was the most famous item exported from Tamizhakam.

        In the later period of time, there are few paravars who descended from the clan of Pandya kings and called themselves as 'Chandra kula Pandyas' / Moon race Pandyas.... 

        lanji Vel is one among the ancient velirs of the Yadu Kingdom. He ruled a territory called Ilanji, near Courtallam. He belongs to the clan of ancient Pandyas. In 2003, a cave engraving has been found revealing the facts about Ilanji Vel and his ancestry. From the inscription it says illanji king was son of great paravan.

Paravars were believers of Shaivisim (those who worship Lord Shiva). There were many knowledged paravar people, who were spiritually boosted as Shaivites. 

During the rule of Portuguese around 1530's, 20000 paravars were converted to Roman Catholicism by the saint Francis Xavier. Mass conversion of hindu people into Christianity happened during this time, those who opposed were suppressed and persecuted... 

    Throughout the Portuguese rule in India, many hindu priests were executed, temples and god idols were demolished.... But, this information are neither available in the Indian history books nor praises the glory of ancient Indian kings. We only know about the glory of Britishers and Mughals !!!

Link between Paravars and Indus valley people

        In my previous posts, I have mentioned that Indus valley and Pre Indus valley civilisation was ruled by Pandya kings. I have also given many references for the same, this post will also add more strength to the same point...

Mohenjo Daro - means 'Mound of Mohan people', a group of fishing folks on the bank of Indus river. These fishing folks are none other than paravars of tamizhakam (check below section for more details).

        Scholars are saying that Sindhu people hold their annual festival exactly right opposite to the site of Mohenjo daro and the locals might have started calling the site as ‘Mound of the Mohan People’. They have also stated that these people might have been the descendants of the Sailors of the Indus Valley Civilization.

How can it be said that Sailors of Indus valley were Paravars of tamizhakam?

The ancient tamizh work Tolkappiyam divides the people of Tamizhakam into 5 Sangam landscape divisions: 

1. Kurinji (the hilly region)
2. Mullai (the forest land)
3. Paalai (desert region)
4. Marutham (the cultivable land)
5. Neithal (the sea-shore)

Each landscape are designated with different gods.

Neithal is described as a seashore landscape occupied by fishermen and sea traders, with the god of sea and rain, Varunan or Kadalon in tamil.

 "Varuna" means water which denotes the ocean in the Tamil language.
Paravars worshipped God Varunan. Similarly, the Sindh people in Indus valley region also worshiped God Varuna. Still, they worship god varuna in the form of Jhulelal. Jhulelal is considered as incarnation of Varuna, who saved the Sindh people from the persecution of Muslim rulers....

Jhulelal - Incarnation of Varuna in Sindh region

Why Sindh people and Paravar had worshiped the same God Varuna ?

        Not only the people in Sindh, the people in coastal areas or near sea shore worshiped God Varuna, as they all followed the principles of tamil sangam literature. Thus, it is proving that the fishermen who lived in the Indus region, who were also called as people of Mohan (Mohenjo-daro) were descendants of PARAVARS from ancient tamizhakam.....

Also, people in Sindh region and Tamizh people celebrate their new year on the same day. For more information about the link between Tamizh people and Indus valley civilization, reach out to,

https://divinediyaas.blogspot.com/2020/12/kumari-kandam-part-5-pre-indus-valley.html

        From the Paravars also arose a race of ancient Indian sailors who later carried Indian goods in boats to Africa and Arabia in the west and to Malaysia and China in the east. Most of the Paravars engaged themselves in pearl fishing and in collecting conch shells.

Why did the paravars go to Indus Valley ?

Paravars reached Indus valley region and started their living over there because of early Pandya kings. Early Pandya kings had expanded their territory and reached Sindh river through Arabian sea. As Paravars were the frontline warriors of Pandyas in seas, they had also reached Sindh river. Pandya kings had ruled the Sindh region for thousands of years and a group of paravars were also settled along with them as they served as minor kings for Pandyas in the coastal regions of Sindh. 

        So, the early people of Sindh spoke tamizh language. The Brahui language spoke by Brahui people in Pakistan is a ancient dravidian language, which is similar to tamil...

What is the meaning of the place Karachi in Pakistan ??? 

        The root word 'Karai' is derived from tamil. In tamil, Karai means - sea shore. There are many places in tamil nadu, which is named with the word 'Karai'. Examples: Neelan Karai, Keela Karai, Kodiya Karai etc... Tamizh civilization and culture existed in the western side till Greece. I have published several posts with many references regarding the same, tamil civilization in Iran Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and in Turkey Part 1 , Turkey part 2.....

        All these evidences and interpretation makes clearer that the Paravars were the chiefs of the coastal region and they ruled their areas as subordinates of the Pandyas of the Sangam age. Also, Pandyas kings were not hailed from paravars. Early Pandya kings belongs to Solar race of Akand Bharat, THE TERM BHARATH WAS COINED AFTER PANDYA KINGS and they had also ruled Sindh region with paravars as minor chieftains during Indus valley civilization....

- Aarthi Thiyagarajan