126 
ON THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS 
ative among tlie Brahmans. It is also remarkable that 
Brahmans have nothing to do with these temples. 
Some of the most celebrated remains in India are those 
found at the Seven Pagodas near Madras. Famous among 
these rock temples and rock sculptures of MdmaUapiiram or 
MMallipuram are the Eathas or monolithic temples of the 
five Pandavas and of their wife Draupadl. Mamallapuram 
or Msrvallipuram stands, I believe, for Mahamallapuram or 
Mahapallipuram, that is, the town of the great Mallas or Pallis, 
both designations being almost identical. And even if 
MahdvalUpuram is to be regarded as connected with the name 
of the great king Bali, he himself, as I have previously 
endeavoured to show on pp. 42 and 43, should be looked 
upon as the representative of the Mallas or Pallas, Pallis 
and Pallavas. If we now associate the cult of the Pan- 
davas with these relics at Mamallapuram and consider that 
the inhabitants of this town, the Mallas, worshipped those 
heroes as do their descendants even to-day, and that the 
Pallis are the ptijdns of these deified persons at this moment, 
I believe that a relation has been sufiiciently established 
between the Pandavas and the original inhabitants of this 
country,^' 
" See in the Indian Antiquanj, vol. II, pp. 190 and 191, the article r 
" Walking through Fire," by Mr. H. J. Stokes, M.C.S. " The situation -was 
on an extensive open plain before the village deity Dra upatl Amman''. i temple. 
The pit lay east and west ; the image of the goddess was placed at the west 
end, and it was towards it that the worshipper walked along the length of 
the pit from east to west." Vlrappa Vandj-an states : — "I was one of the 
' ' eight persons who carried the goddess Draupati Amman to the place where 
"the fire-treading took place. The fire-pit was a trench about two poles 
" long by two strides broad. Six babul trees were cut into faggots and 
"kindled. Those who trod on the fu-e were Nachchu, Pnjari of Periyan- 
" gudi, Chidambaram ; Pttjari of Angalamman temple at Achchutaman- 
" galam ; Bamasami Pillei, Stanika of Draupati Amman of Periyangudi ; 
" Saminada Padcyftchi of the same place, his brother Subriya ; Subba- 
" naj-akkan of Valkei. . ." Nag"appa Malavarayan states : — " I live in the next 
" street to the temple of Draupati." . . Nachchu Padej-achi states : — " I .am 
" Pujftri of this temple of Draupati." The practice of fire-treading is 
" connected in some places with a legend of Draupadi . . ., the wife of the 
