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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XII. 



Kurus — the contest between whom forms the central story 

 of the Mahdbhdrata ; upon the authority of which we also 

 have the invasion of the Deccan by the Pandiyans. 



Madura is clearly named after the sacred city of "the lunar 

 race," Mathura on the Jumna, the birthplace of their hero- 

 god, Krishna. According to the Sthala Purdna, a Madura 

 work of great authenticity, the city was founded by Kula- 

 sekara, who has been clearly identified with Sinhabahu, the 

 grandfather of Buddha. Working upon purely Dra vidian 

 sources, Mr. R. Sewell traces the pedigree of Yijaya's Pandi- 

 yan queen, who is thereby seen to have been the daughter of 

 Amitodana, the uncle of Buddha and the sister of the Sakya 

 Pandu, whose daughter Bhaddakacchana was married to 

 Vijaya's nephew and successor Panduvasadeva. 



Mr. Nell says that to suppose the Pandiyans to have been 

 non-Dravidian, "we shall have to sweep away all the 

 traditions, inscriptions, and chronicles of the Tamil race." 

 It is unfortunate that he has not mentioned even one of these 

 traditions, &c, which would so strongly corroborate his 

 theory of the Dravidian origin of the Pandavas. 



Hitherto it had been supposed that ali the traditions and 

 historical records of Southern India insisted that the great 

 dynasties of the Deccan (the Madura, Chola, Kerala, &c.) were 

 sprung from the " solar " and " lunar " races, which were the 

 distinguishing denominations of the two great Aryan 

 families of Delhi and Ayodya (Oude), respectively. 



The only fact which at first appears to militate against 

 our contention is that the Pandiyans of Madura country are a 

 Tamil-speaking race. Mr. Nell himself supplies us with the 

 answer to this, when he mentions that the Brahmans (by 

 whom he means Aryans) did not conquer South India as 

 they did Northern India, but came in peaceably. In the 

 north, the Aryans, whose invincible powers were then yet 

 unknown, met with a stubborn resistance from the abori- 

 gines, and this necessitated their adopting a policy of 

 extermination. The natives were either decimated in,battle, 

 or driven out, and in the north the occupation of the Aryans 

 became wholesale. A perfect Aryan kingdom with an 

 Aryan people was established, and therefore there the Aryan 

 language prevailed. But in the south the necessity to entirely 

 supplant thp people did not arise. The awful reputation 

 which the Aryans had gained in the north caused the gates 

 of the southern cities to be opened at the first summons, 

 and the Aryan leaders did not think it necessary to resort 

 to the expensive policy of extermination which they had 

 been obliged to adopt in the north, but were merely content 

 with securing with the highest estates of society, and the 

 people were allowed to serve them as plebeian subjects without 



