CHRISTIAN RELIGION IN INDJA. ^S 



MAS Indopleustes, about the middle of the sixth 

 century, on the Pepper or Malabar Coast. There 

 were, says he, five sea-ports famous for trade, Parti, 

 Mangarouth, Saloii-patna^ Nalo-pataiut, and Poudu-pd- 

 tana ; and all these names aie truly Indian. There 

 are several places in the Peninsula, called Parti-guddy, 

 or fort of Parti. Mangarouth seems to be Manga- 

 lore^ and Nalo-patana, Nali-suram ; Saloii-patana is 

 called Sooloo-patonoxo by the people of Ceylon, and 

 had Kings of its own of the Pcishe^cdr ^-Brahmen 

 tribe, or Christians. 



'Salo-patan, otherwise 'Sdlo-buram, and 'Sdlo-pur, is 

 the same with Hdla-bor where St. Thomas landed, 

 and its present name is Cranganore. There he con- 

 verted 'Sajana son of the King of that country. 



We read in the history of the Christians of St. 

 Thomas, that they had Christian Kings of therown; 

 the first of whom, was called Bali arte', from the 

 Sanscrit Bali-arhat. After several successions, one 

 of these Christian Kings dying without male issue, 

 adopted the King of Diamper for his son, according 

 to the custom of the country, though he was a hea-r 

 then, and appointed him his successor. 



That a society of Peishe-cdras, weavers, and handir-. 

 craftmen, however numerous, should have Kings of 

 their own, is inadmissible; unless they were upon 

 such a footing, as the Christians were foimerly in the 

 Peninsula. St. Thomas converted the son of the 

 King of some country on the coast of Malabar ; and 

 the Purdn'as declare, that there v/as a dynasty of 

 ^Aryya Kings. 



The name of Avdryya is not totally unknown in 



G3 



