JOURNAL 



OF THE 



ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, 

 CEYLON BRANCH. 



— — — •$* — 



THE ORIGIN OF THE TAMIL VELALAS. 1 



Translated by V. J. Tambipillai. 



[Note by the Translator. —This essay was composed in Tamil 

 by the learned sub-editor of " Shen-Tamil" (the organ of the 

 Tamil Sangam at Madura), Mr. M. Raghava Iyengar, and read 

 by him on May 25, 1906, on the occasion of the great Annual 

 Meeting of the Pundits of the Madura Tamil Sangam, the late 

 lamented Mr. V. Kanakasabhai Pillai, B.A., B.L., of the Postal 

 Department, Madras, being in the chair. 



Every effort has been made to adhere strictly to the style 

 and even the idiom of the original, except where a free render- 

 ing appeared to be necessary in order to bring out the exact 

 meaning. I have added also, here and there, a few explanatory 

 notes, which will, perhaps, be of some use and interest to the 

 reader in following the arguments of the learned author. — V. J. 

 Tambipillai.] 



It may sound strange, indeed, to the ears of some that 

 whatever share of the glory of fostering Shen-Tamil 2 may 

 have belonged to the Cheras, 3 the Pandiyas, and the Cholas, 



1 [The Editing Secretary is in no way responsible for the acceptance 

 of this Paper.] 



2 Pure, unmixed Tamil.— V. J. T. 



3 The Cheras, the Cholas, and the Pandiyas were the three most 

 powerful of ancient Tamil kings. Their houses are supposed to have 

 become extinct many centuries ago. — V. J. T. 



B 20-08 



