Agni (Vanniya) Kula Khatriyas

Pallis or Palliwar or Pallavan or vanniyars or Nayakar

Pallava Dynasty

The Pallis (Pullies or Vanniar) of the south are

descendants of the fire races (Agnikulas) of the

Kshatriyas, and that the Andhara Pullis or Palliwar were at one time the shepherd kings of Egypt." At

the time of the census, 1871, a petition was

submitted to Government by representatives of the

caste, praying that they might be classified as

Kshatriyas, and twenty years later, in connection

with the census, 1891, a book entitled ' Vannikula Vilakkam : a treatise on the Vanniya caste, ' was

compiled by Mr. T. Aiyakannu Nayakar, in support

of the caste claim to be returned as Kshatriyas, for

details concerning which claim I must refer the

reader to the book itself. In 1907, a book entitled

Varuna Darpanam (Mirror of Castes) was published, in which an attempt is made to connect the caste

with the Pallavas.(Pallava Dynasty)

The terms Vanni and Vanniyan are used in Telugu

poems to denote king. Thus, in the classical Telugu

poem Kalladam, which has been attributed to the

time of Tiruvalluvar, the author of the sacred Kural, Vanni is used in the sense of king. Kamban, the

author of the Tamil Ramayana, uses it in a similar

sense. In an inscription dated 1189 A.D., published

by Dr. E. Hultzsch,* Vanniya Nayan appears among

the titles of the local chief of Tiruchchuram, who

made a grant of land to the Vishnu temple at Manimangalam. Tiruchchuram is identical with

Tiruvidaichuram about four miles south-east of

Chingleput, where there is a ruined =fort, and also a

Siva temple celebrated in the hymns of Tirugnana

Sambandhar, the great Saiva saint who lived in the

9th century. Kulasekhara Alwar

Kulasekhara, one of the early Travancore kings, and

one of the most renowned Alwars reverenced by

the Sri Vaishnava community in Southern India, is

claimed by the Pallis or Palliwar as a king of their

caste. Even now, at the Parthasarathi temple in Triplicane (in the city of Madras), which according

to inscriptions is a Pallava temple, Pallis or Palliwar

celebrate his anniversary with great eclat. The Pallis

or Palliwar of Komalesvaranpettah in the city of

Madras have a Kulasekhara Perumal Sabha, which

manages the celebration of the anniversary. The temple has recently been converted at considerable

cost into a temple for the great Alwar.

A similar celebration is held at the Chintadripettah

Adikesava Perumal temple in Madras. The Pallis or

Palliwar have the right to present the most

important camphor offering of the Mylapore Siva temple. They allege that the temple was originally

theirs, but by degrees they lost their hold over it

until this bare right was left to them. Some years

ago, there was a dispute concerning the exercise of

this right, and the case came before the High Court

of Madras, which decided the point at issue in favour of the Pallis or Palliwars. One of the principal

gopuras (pyramidal towers) of the Ekamranatha

temple at Big Conjeeveram, the ancient capital of

the Pallavas or Pallis or Palliwar, is known as

Palligopuram. The Pallis or Palliwar of that town

claim it as their own, and repair it from time to time.

Cholas In like manner, they claim that the founder

of the Chidambaram temple, by name Sweta

Varman, subse- quently known as Hiranya Varman

(sixth century A.D.) was a Pallava king. At

Pichavaram, four miles east of Chidambaram, lives a Pallis or Palliwar family, which claims to be

descended from Hiranya Varman. A curious

ceremony is even now celebrated at the

Chidambaram temple, on the steps leading to the

central sanctuary. As soon as the eldest son of this

family is married, he and his wife,accompanied by a local Vellala, repair to the sacred shrine, and

there, amidst crowds of their castemen and others,

a homam (sacrificial fire) is raised, and offerings

are made to it. The couples are then anointed with

nine different kinds of holy water, and the Vellala

places the temple crown on their heads. The Vellala who officiates at this ceremony, assisted by the

temple priests, is said to belong to the family of a

former minister of a descendant of Hiranya Varman.

It is said that, No other communities have the

Rights for undergoing this ceremony and the

vellalas (Thillai Moovairathar) wont crowned other than Cholas in The Chidambaram Temple.

Story of Veera Vanniya Maharaja

In the olden times, two giants named Vatapi and

Mahi, worshipped Brahma with such

devotion that they obtained from him immunity

from death from every cause save fire, which element they had carelessly omitted to include in

their enumeration. Protected thus, they harried the

country, and Vatapi went the length of swallowing

Vayu, the god of the winds, while Mahi devoured

the sun. The earth was therefore enveloped in

perpetual darkness and stillness,a condition of affairs which struck terror into the minds of the

devatas, and led them to appeal to Brahma. He,

recollecting the omission made by the giants,

directed his suppliants to desire the rishi Jambava

Mahamuni to perform a yagam, or sacrifice by fire.

The order having been obeyed, armed horse men sprung from the flames, who undertook twelve

expeditions against Vatapi and Mahi, whom they

first destroyed, and afterwards released Vayu and

the sun from their bodies. Their leader then

assumed the government of the country under the

name Rudra Vanniya Maharaja, who had five sons, the ancestors of the Vanniya caste. These facts are

said to be recorded in the Vaidiswara temple in the

Tanjore district."

The Vaidiswara temple here referred to is the

Vaidiswara kovil near Shiyali. Mr. Stuart adds that "

this tradition alludes to the destruction of the city of Vapi by Narasimha Varma, king of the Pallis or

Pallavas or Palliwar." Vapi, or Va-api, was the

ancient name of Vatapi or Badami in the Bombay

Presidency. It was the capital of the Chalukyas,

who, during the seventh century, were at feud with

the Pallavas of the south. "The son of Mahendra Varman I," writes Rai Bahadur V. Venkayya, "was

Narasimha Varman I, who retrieved the fortunes of

the family by repeatedly defeating the Cholas

(CHOLA DYNASTY), Keralas, Kalabhras, and Pandyas

(PANDYA DYNASTY). He also claims to have written

the word victory as on a plate on Pulikesin's * back, which was caused to be visible (i.e., which was

turned in flight after defeat) at several battles.

Narasimha Varman carried the war into Chalukyan

territory(CHALUKYA DYNASTY), and actually captured

Vatapi their capital.

This claim of his is established by an inscription found at Badami, from which it appears that

Narasimha Varman bore the title Mahamalla. In

later times, too, this Pallava king was known as

Vatapi Konda Narasingapottaraiyan. Dr. Fleet

assigns the capture of the Chalukya capital to about

A.D. 642. The war of Narasimha Varman with Pulikesin is mentioned in the Sinhalese chronicle

Mahavamsa. It is also hinted at in the Tamil Periya-

puranam. The well-known saint Siruttonda, who

had his only son cut up and cooked in order to

satisfy the appetite of the god Siva disguised as a

devotee, is said to have reduced to dust the city of Vatapi for his royal master, who could be no other

than the Pallava king Narasimha Varman."

I gather, from a note by Mr. F. R. Hemingway, that

the Pallis or Palliwar " tell a long story of how they

are descendants of one Vira Vanniyan, who was

created by a sage named Sambuha when he was destroying the two demons named Vatapi and

Enatapi. This Vlra Vanniyan married a daughter of

the god Indra, and had five sons, named Rudra,

Brahma, Krishna, Sambuha, and Kai, whose

descendants now live respectively in the country

north of the Palar in the Cauvery delta, between the Palar and Pennar. They have written a Puranam and

a drama bearing on this tale. They declare that they

are superior to Brahmans, since, while the latter

must be invested with the sacred thread after birth,

they bring their sacred thread with them at birth

itself." "The Vanniyans," Mr. Nelson states,* "are at the

present time a small and obscure agricultural caste,

but there is reason to believe that they are

descendants of ancestors who, in former times,

held a good position of South India. A manuscript,

abstracted at page 90 of the Catalogue raisonn^ (Mackenzie Manuscripts), states that the Vanniyans

belong to the Agnikula, and are descended from

the Muni Sambhu ; and that they gained victories

by means of their skill in archery. And another

manuscript, abstracted at page 427, shows that

two of their chiefs enjoyed considerable power, and refused to pay the customary tribute to the

Rayar, who was for a long time unable to reduce

them to submission. Armies of Vanniyans are often

mentioned in Ceylon annals. And a Hindu History of

Ceylon, translated in the Royal As. Soc. Journal, Vol.

XXIV, states that, in the year 3300 of the Kali Yuga, a Pandya princess (PANDYA DYNASTY) went over to

Ceylon, and married its king, and was accompanied

by sixty bands of Vanniyans."

The terms Vanni and Vanniyan are used in Tamil

poems to denote king. Thus, in the classical Tamil

poem Kalladam, which has been attributed to the time of Tiruvalluvar, the author of the sacred Kural,

Vanni is used in the sense of king. Kamban, the

author of the Tamil Ramayana, uses it in a similar

sense. In an inscription dated 1189 A.D., published

by Dr. E. Hultzsch,* Vanniya Nayan appears among

the titles of the local chief of Tiruchchuram, who made a grant of land to the Vishnu temple at

Manimangalam. Tiruch- churam is identical with

Tiruvidaichuram about four miles south-east of

Chingleput, where there is a ruined fort, and also a

Siva temple celebrated in the hymns of Tirugnana

Sambandhar, the great Saiva saint who lived in the 9th century.

Tiruvidaichuram Local tradition, confirmed by one

of the Mackenzie manuscripts,! says that this place

was, during the time of the Vijayanagar King

Krishna Raya(i509 30 A. D.)(VIJAYANAGAR DYNASTY-

SANGHAM, SALUVA,TULUVA,ARAVITI VANSHIS’S), ruled over by two feudal chiefs of the Vanniya or

Pallis or Palliwar caste named Kandava rayan and

Sendava rayan. They, it is said, neglected to pay

tribute to their sovereign lord, who sent an army to

exact it. The brothers proved invincible, but one of

their dancing-girls was guilty of treachery. Acting under instructions, she poisoned Kandava rayan.

His brother Senda varayan caught hold of her and

her children, and drowned them in the local tank.

The tank and the hillock close by still go by the

name of Kuppichi kulam and Kuppichi kunru, after

Kuppi the dancing-girl. An inscription of the Vijayanagar king Deva Raya II (1419 44 A.D.-

VIJAYANAGAR DYNASTY) gives him the title of the

lord who took the heads of the eighteen Vanniyars

or Pallis, This inscription records a grant by one

Muttayya Nayakan, son of Mukka Nayakan of

Vanniraya or Palliraya gotram. Another inscription, dated 1456 A.D., states that, when one Raja

Vallabha ruled at Conjeeveram, a general, named

Vanniya Chinna Pillai, obtained a piece of land at

Sattankad near Madras. Reference is made by Orme* to the assistance

which the Vaniah of Sevagherry gave Muhammad

Yusuf in his reduction of Tinnevelly in 1757. The

Vaniah or Palli here referred to is the Zamindar of

Sivagiri in the Tinnevelly district, a Vanniya by caste.

Vanniyas are mentioned in Ceylon archives. Wanni is the name of a district in Ceylon. It is, Mr. W.

Hamilton writes,t "situated towards Trincomalee in

the north-east quarter. At different periods its

Wannies or princes, taking advantage of the wars

between the Candian sovereigns and their

European enemies, endeavoured to establish an authority independent of both, but they finally,

after their country had been much desolated by all

parties, submitted to the Dutch." Further, Sir J. E.

Tennent writes, J that " in modern times, the

Wanny was governed by native princes styled

Wannyahs, and occasionally by females with the title of Wunniches."

The terms Sambhu and Sambhava Rayan are

connected with the Pallis. The story goes that Agni

was the original ancestor of all kings. His son was

Sambhu, whose descendants called themselves

Sambhukula, or those of the Sambhu family. Some inscriptions of the time of the Chola kings

Kulottunga III and Raja Raja III record Sambukula

Perumal Sambuvarayan and Alagiya Pallavan Edirili

Sola Sambuvarayan as titles of local chiefs. A well-

known verse of Irattayar in praise of Conjeeveram

Ekamranathaswami refers to the Pallava king (PALLAVA DYNASTY) as being of the Sambu race.

The later descendants of the Pallavas apparently

took Sambuvarayar and its allied forms as their

titles, as the Pallis or Palliwar in Tanjore and South

Arcot still do. At Conjeeveram there lives the family

of the Mahanattar of the Vanniyans, which calls itself “of the family of Vira Sambu."

"The name Vanniyan," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,*

seems to have been introduced by the Brahmans,

possibly to gratify the desire of the Pallis or Palliwar

for genealogical distinction. Padaiyachi Pallis or

Palliwar or Nayakar or Varma means a soldier, and is also of late origin. That the Pallis or Palliwar were

once an influential and independent community

may be admitted, and in their present desire to be

classed as Kshatriyas they are merely giving

expression to this belief, but, unless an entirely

new meaning is to be given to the term Kshatriya, their claim must be dismissed as absurd. After the

fall of the Pallava dynasty, the Pallis became

agricultural servants under the Vellalas, and it is

only since the advent of British rule that they have

begun to assert their claims to a higher position."

Further, Mr. W. Francis writes that " this caste has been referred to as being one of those which are

claiming for them- selves a position higher than

that which Hindu society is inclined to accord them.

Their ancestors were socially superior to

themselves, but they do not content them- selves

with stating this, but in places are taking to wearing the sacred thread of the twice-born, and

claim to be Kshatriyas.

Some Pallis, Poligars or Palliwars have very high-

sounding names, such as Agni Kudirai, Eriya Rai

Ravutha Minda Nainar, i.e., Nainar who conquered

Raya Ravutha and mounted a fire horse. This name is said to commemorate a contest between a Palli

or Palliwar and a Ravutha, at which the former sat

on a red-hot metal horse. Further names are

Samidurai Surappa Sozhaganar and Anjada Singam

or Sinha(fearless lion). Some Pallis or Palliwar have

adopted Gupta as a title. A few Palli or Palliwar families now maintain a

temple of their own, dedicated to Srinivasa, at the

village of Kumalam in the South Arcot district, live

round the temple, and are largely dependent on it

for their livelihood. Most of them dress exactly like

the temple Battars, and a stranger would certainly take them for Battar Brahmans. Some of them are

well versed in the temple ritual, and their youths

are being taught the Sandyavandhana (morning

prayer) and Vedas by a Brahman priest. Ordinary

Palli or Palliwar girls are taken by them in marriage,

but their own girls are not allowed to marry ordinary Pallis or Palliwar; and, as a result of this

practice of hypergamy, the Kumalam men

sometimes have to take to themselves more than

one wife, in order that their young women may be

provided with husbands. These Kumalam Pallis or

Palliwar are regarded as priests of the Pallis or Palliwar, and style themselves Kovilar, or temple

people. But, by other castes, they are nicknamed

Kumalam Brahmans. They claim to be Kshatriyas,

and have adopted the title Rayar Rayan Roy or Rai

Cheras Kula Sekhara Alwar is a Tamil Villavar Chera

King Alwar /Kshatriya. By the end of the first millennium the Tamil Ezhimalai king of

Northernmost Kerala, was replaced by a

Banapperumal who initiated Matriarchy according

to Keralolpathi. The Banapperumal or Vanikula

Kshatriya of Karnataka,(according to Keralolpathi)mi

ght be a Vaduga, Northern Naga invader who might have founded the Kolathiri kingdom of

Kolathunadu. The Banapperumal or Vanipperumal

as Keralolpathi addresses him could be relatives of

Vannia Kula Kshatriya(Vanniyar)Agnivanshi of Tamil

Nadu,Kerala,Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Vannia

Kula Kshatriya descended from Fire Homam conducted by Shri Jambhuva Maharishi to protect

the Earth from Vatapi and Mahi who were

garrisoning the Earth (Archeological evidence

inscribed on the walls of Sri Vaitheeswaran tample

-Vannia Purana -story of Vanniyars or Pallis or

Nayakars) Refer to the tradition of honoring this Kula Sekhara Alwar by Vanniyars/Vanniya Kula

Kshatriya community even today at the Shri

Parthasarthy Temple- a famous Vaishanava temple

in Chennai/Madras. Titles Other titles, " indicating authority, bravery,

and superiority," Nayakar, Varma,Padaiyachi (head

of an army), Kandar Dynasty, Chera Dynasty, Chola

Dynasty,Pandya Dynasty, Nayanar or Pallis(Founded

saiva Community), Udaiyar Zamindar, Thondaiman ,

Kaduvettiyar , (Samburayar, Kadavarayar, Kachirayar,Kalingarayar Mazhavarayar-founded

Vijayanagar Dynasty Pallavarayar or Pallirayar(Pall

ava Dynasty), Chalukyas (Chalukya Dynasty)

Mazhavrayar,Karikala Cholaganar, Anjatha Singam

or Sinha (Fear less lion), Villavar, Pillai, Reddiar,

Goundan, and Kavandan, Kndiya Devar, Nattar,Rowthaminda Ninar, Villyenthiya Vijayanar,

Vaandiyar, Kidaramkathar,Samatiyars,Kombadiyar,

Vanniya Kula Muthriyar, Nilangarayar ,

Padaiyandar ,Pinadayar , Jaya pulliyar , Vanavarayar ,

ThenavaRayar, Marungaburiyar , Naragiya Devar,

Kandiya Devar, Nathamann , Durai , Vanjirayar , Pandarathar, Rajaliyar, Vallai , Devar , Mudaliyar or

Muthanmiyar ,Kadanthaiyar, Kalatkal Thola Udayar ,

Karpudaiyar , Zamindar , Chettiyar , Vaduga nathar ,

Pulli kuthiyar , Gowda-Kshatriyas. Tigalas in

Karnatakka.Palli or Palliwar Palli Reddy, Vanni

Reddy, in Andhra pradesh . Some say that they belong to the Chola Dynasty race, and that, as such,

they should be called Chembians , Cholakanar

(descendant of Chola kings), Karikala Cholakanar.of

Vanniya or Agnikula kshatriya .

Vannia or Agnikula kshatriya is the only Tamil and

Andhara community with an exclusive puranam on their own. The puranam was written in classical

Tamil and has now been translated into modern

day Tamil and Andhara.

Ref: Vanniyar Puranam inscriptions at Sri

Vaitheeswaran temple,Tamil Nadu Tamil Samudaya

Varalaru- Chozhar Kaalam Thoguthi 4-World Tamil Institute-Chennai.(History of Tamil Society-Chola

Period Part 4-World Tamil Institute,Madras,Chennai)

A.R.No 137 of 1900 and A.R.232 of 1916-

Archeology Reports Ariyalur varalaaru-Anrum Inrum

-By Pulavar Kumaraswamy(History of Ariyalur-Yester

day and Today by Poet Kumaraswamy) Sambuvarayar Varalaru -by Mr.Ko. Thangavelu &

Mr.L.Thygarajan (History of Sambuvarayars) those

who lived in the territory of Melakadambur Parrur

Vilandai Kachirayar Varalrum Kalvettum-by

Prof.L.Thyagarajan (History and Stone inscriptions

of Kachirayas of Parur Vilandai-Tamil Nadu)