into the south the, worship of the herdsman-god Kṛishṇa. The overlords of the Tamil-agam were the descendants of the proto-Drayidian, invaders, the Tamils in the strict sense of the term. They with the races subject to them formed the three kingdoms of thg Pāṇḍyas, Cholas, and Cheras, where the ruling element was the; land-tilling class or Veḷḷālar, at the head of whom were the kings. The Pāṇḍya king claimed descent from a tribe styled Mārar, which however had for many years another important representative in the princes bearing the title Palaiyan Māran, 'the Ancient Māran,' whose capital was Mogūr, near the Podiya Hill, not far 'from Comorin. The Choḷa kings were alleged to belong to the tribe of Tiraiyar or 'Men of the Sea'; another Tiraiyan dynasty was reigning at Conjeeveram in the time of Karikāl Choḷa. The Chera kings in their turn, were said to be of the Vānavar tribe. Lastly we may mention a tribe called Kocar, who may possibly belong to the Tamil race. From the references of the poets to them it would seem that they once made an unsuccessful attack on Mogūr, and found allies in the Vamba-Moriyar or 'Bastard Mauryas' (possibly a branch of the Konkani Mauryas). At one time-possibly in the first century A.D.- they seem to have wielded, considerable authority in the Pāṇḍyan regions and Kongu-deca, and to have given some trouble to the Choḷas. Even in the first century of the Christian era the south seems to have felt little influence from the Aryan culture of northern India, Some Brāhman colonies had made their way into the south, and in a few cases Brāhmans had gained there a certain position in literature and religion; but on the whole they counted for little in the life of the people, especially as their teachings were counter - balanced by the influence of the powerful Buddhist and Jain churches, and Dravidian society was still free from the yoke of the Brāhmari caste-system.2 Next to the arivar or sages, the highest plage among the Tamils was held by the land-owning class, after whom ranked iherdsmen, hunters, artisans, soldiers and at the bottom of the social scale fishers and scavengers. Government was under the supreme control of the kings; but they were considerably influenced by the 'Five Great Assemblies,' bodies, representative of five classes of society3 Probably there, was also some organisation of the pro- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2 The tradition that the Brāhman sage Agastya led the first Aryan colony to the Podiya Hill and created Tamil literature probably arose in a later age, after Brāhman influences had gained the ascendant in the south, on the basis of the legends in the Sanskrit epics. 3 The actual constitution of these Aim-benm-gulu is rather uncertain. They are said to have been composed of ministers, chaplains, generals, commissioners, |