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Tag: Nairs

  • Nagas Present Throughout India Dravida Desa Kunti Nairs Descendants

    The History of Nagas, now classified as A Tribe in India, mostly settled in the North Eastern part of India is a fascinating one.

    The conception that they were a sort of Aborigines of India  and are /were not advanced in culture is incorrect.

    Lord Vishnu as a Naga.imge.png
    The deity “Ooragan” in Kancheepuram. Lord Vishnu

    I have noticed  that while checking the History of India one has to have an open mind without prejudices foisted on us on the origin and characteristics of the people of India who remain distributed over a vast area.

    There were/are distinct cultural practices and they vary/ed from the others.Yet the undercurrent and the unifying factor is Sanatana Dharma.

    Contrary to what is believed Nagas are were a group concentrated in the North eastern parts of India,.

    They were spread through out India.

    There were three distinct group of Nagas based on the regions they lived in.

    There were Nagas in Mathura,

    ,’Kunti was the biological daughter of the Shurasena, a Yadava chief. Her birth name was Pritha. Kunti was the sister of Vasudeva, the father of Krishna and shared close relationship with Krishna. Her father gave Kunti to his childless cousin Kuntibhoja.

    Nagawanshi Aryaka (sansk. आर्यक) was mentioned to be a member of Naga king Vasuki’s palace. He was described as related to Pandava Bhima. He was the grandfather of the father of Kunti, the mother of Bhima. He recognized Bhima as his kinsmen when the Nagas rescued Bhima, a boy then, and brought him to the palace of Vasuki. Bhima was food-poisoned, tied up and thrown into river Ganges at a place called Pramanakoti, by Duryodhana (1,128).’

     

    ‘

    Takshaka’s Race  :- Puchchandaka, Mandalaka, Pindasektri, Ravenaka; Uchochikha, Carava, Bhangas, Vilwatejas, Virohana; Sili, Salakara, Muka, Sukumara, Pravepana, Mudgara, Sisuroman, Suroman and Mahahanu. (Takshaka’s son Aswasena is mentioned as belonging to the Airavata’s race at (8,90). This could mean that Takshaka’s race, was a branch of Airavata’s race.)

    Kauravya’s Race  :- Aryaka, Kundala Veni, Veniskandha, Kumarka, Vahuka, Sringavera, Dhurtaka, Pratara and Astaka. (Kauravya’s race is mentioned as a branch of Airavata’s race at (1,216).

    Dhritarashtra’s Race :- Sankukarna, Pitharaka, Kuthara, Sukhana, and Shechaka; Purnangada, Purnamukha, Prahasa, Shakuni, Dari, Amahatha, Kumathaka, Sushena, Vyaya, Bhairava, Mundavedanga, Pisanga, Udraparaka, Rishabha, Vegavat, Pindaraka; Raktanga, Sarvasaranga, Samriddha, Patha and Vasaka; Varahaka, Viranaka, Suchitra, Chitravegika, Parasara, Tarunaka, Maniskandha and Aruni. (Dhritarashtra was Airavata’s younger brother (1,3).)

    Naga worship in Lanka.
    Cobra symbolism in a Sri Lankan Hindu statue of Nainativu Nagapooshani Ambigai.

    Nagas, Pannagas and Uragas

    Nagas were mentioned as born of Surasa and Pannagas another Naga race, was mentioned as born of Kadru at (1,66). Pannagas and Nagas were mentioned as separate but related Naga races at (3,85). Pannagas were mentioned to denote Nagas at (3-172,180,289) (7-142) (9,45) (12,47) (13,98) Nagas destroyed by Arjuna at Khadavaprstha is described as Pannagas (5,124). Pannagas and Uragas were mentioned as separate but related races at (6,65). Uragas were mentioned to denote Nagas at (1-1,172) (3-167,179,187,223) (many other references) Uragas and Nagas were mentioned as separate but related Naga races at (3,158) -in Yaksha territory; also at (7-160,198) At (1,172) is mentioned that Uragas along with Yakshas, Rakshasas, Gandharvas, Pisachas and Danavas as aware of the history of Arya kings..

    .’Now coming to the names associated with Naga, Uraga also means snake. This word sounds like a Tamil word. ஊர்வதால் ஊரகன். It has become உரகன். The snake crawls silently and as such one who moves silently as a crawling snake can to be called as Uraga. They must also be underground cave dwellers or just cave dwellers sharing their surroundings with Nagas.

    Uraga (pronounced as ‘Ooragan’) is the name of God when appeared in the form of Adisesha, the chief of snakes. There is a temple for Narayana as “Uragan” or “Ooragatthan” in Kancheepuram. The name ooragan signifying the snake (as it crawls) in Tamil must have become Uraga (उरग)….

    .

    The presence of a Divya Desa temple in the name “Ooragan” the snake shows that the original etymology of the word Uraga was in Tamil. This testifies the origin of Uragas from south.
    Pannaga is also the name of certain Naga people. According to Puaranas, Nagas were those born to Surasa and Pannagas were born to Kadru. Both Naga and Pannaga mean snake. By this meaning and by the Puranic story of Surasa and Kadru as among 13 wives of Kashyapa, people tend to dismiss these names as figments of imagination. Kashyapa is the progenitor name of mankind. Even now if someone says that one doesn’t know the gotra in which one is born, one can take up Kashyapa gotra. This shows that Kashyapa is the ancient and common ancestor or progenitor of human race signifying the male component (Y chromosome). The 13 wives of Kashyapa indicate the 13 different types of mtDNA of different progenitor female components. If we think in these lines we can understand that Surasa and Kadru are some names of ancient lines of population. It is like Daityas and Danavas coming in the lines of Diti and Danu.

    Both Naga and Pannaga must have had their early genesis somewhere in the south and south east Asia in the tunnels of the now submerged mountain ranges. Both sound Tamil and have a presence in Sangam literature. There is mention of Naga flower and Punnaga (not Pannaga) flower in the Sangam text of Kurinji Pattu (verse 91). Both these flowers smell good,..

    Of these Naga is said to be a kind of ஞாழல் tree type that generally grows in coastal regions. Punnaaga was derived from the word “Punnai tree” Its flower gives a fine smell. (Naga living near the Punnai tree is Punnaga)…

     

    It is from the word Punnaga, the raga called Punnaga varali got its name. This raga is supposed to attract snakes!

    In some way the name had changed – from Pannaga to Punnaga or Punnaga to Pannaga. But both refer to snake. The derivation coming from Tamil word Punnai, makes it a word of Tamil origin and the people to be from southern seas who spoke proto Tamil. Punnaga tree is native of South and South East Asian countries. The genesis of Pannaga people must be somewhere here.

    Uragan also is a Tamil-derivative related to crawling or moving silently.

    Naga, Pannaga and Uraga appear together in the Puranas and Mahabharata. This shows that they had shared some kinship among themselves and moved together. The snake identity is only due to certain characteristics they exhibited like snakes. They were not snakes themselves. Nor they were mythological creatures.

    This kind of identifying oneself with something in nature that is well known or well recognised by people had given rise to names like Kinnaras (bird) and Garuda (eagle) to those people who exhibit bird like swiftness or voice (in the case of Kinnaras) and good eye sight like Garuda.( http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.in/2016/01/naga-uraga-and-pannaga-of-puranas-who.html )

    Nagas seem to have spread throughout India and they intermarried with the other groups in India.

    Naga married other groups.

    • Naga Nahusha is also mentioned as a king in the Lunar Dynasty of Arya Kings (3,178).
    • A king named Riksha in the race of Puru (a branch of Lunar Dynasti is mentioned as marrying the daughter of a Naga in the race of Takshaka (1,95).
    • Naga Aryaka is described as the grandfather of Kunti’s father. Kunti is the mother of Pandavas. (1,128).
    • Iravat was mentioned as the son of Arjuna and a Naga woman named Uloopi, born in the race of Airavata (6,91).
    • Sage Somasrava, the priest of Janamejaya was the son of a Brahmin named Srutasrava and a Naga woman. (1,3).
    • Sage Astika was the son of a sage in the race of Yayavara Brahmins (1,13) and a Naga woman (sister of Vasuki) (1-14,15,48). Though but a boy, he had great gravity and intelligence. And he was reared with great care in the palace of the Nagas (1,48). He prevented the massacre of the Naga race by Janamejaya (1-15,56).
    • Naga women alias Nakar women of Kerala married Namboodiris of the Aryan race resulting in one of the sub-caste of Nair clan of Kerala.;’

    More interesting is the fact that the Chera Kings of Tamil Nadu seem to have had links with the Nagas.

    And reference to Nagas is found in Cholas history and Manimekalai, one of the Five Epics of Tamil deals extensively about Nagas, so also Cilappadikaram, another Tamil Epic.

    The Thondaman/Pallava Dynasty is recorded to have been through a Nagar Princess.

    Remember it was a Chera King Udiyan Cheralaathan fed both Pandava and Kaurava army!

    Tamil Nagas.

    ‘The word Naga may have different origins. The word naga or nag means mountain in Sanskrit, although the term Nāga also means cobrain Sanskrit. The Nagas have also been known as “Cheras”, which is a Dravidian term for hill or mountain. They were probably called “Cheras” since they may have been a hill tribe. Sri Lanka has also been known as Cerentivu, meaning “island of Cheras’

    The Yakshas and the Nagas are depicted in the Pali epic Mahavamsa as the early inhabitants of Lanka when Vijaya arrived in the island in 500 B.C.According to Manogaran, some scholars also “have postulated that the Yakshas and Nagas […] are the aboriginal tribes of Sri Lanka”. Holt concludes that they were not Tamils, but a distinct group. The practice of dravidian customs such as snake-worshipping, have the Nagas been considered by some scholars to have been Dravidians. Snake-worship is still practiced among Sri Lankan Tamils and the Nair community of Kerala.

    Ancient Naga tribes

    The Oliyar, Parathavar, Maravar and Eyinar who are widespread across South India and North-East Sri Lanka are all Naga tribes.

    Early Tamil literary works such as Kaliththokai mention that many Naga tribes such as Maravar, Eyinar, Oliar, Oviar, Aruvalur and Parathavar migrated to the Pandyan dynastyand started living there in the Third Sangam period 2000 years ago.

    Ramayana

    The Nagas lived among the Yakkha, Raksha and Deva in Lanka according to the Manimekhalai, Mahavamsa and Ramayana. Meghanatha, the son of Ravana, was married to Sulochana, a Naga princess in Lanka. The allied Nagas fought on the side of the Meghanatha and were defeated by Garuda.

    Naga territory

    There is a reference to the town Naga Nakar in Tamil Brahmi inscriptions belonging to 200 BCE, which is believed to be denoting Kudiramalai.

    An early copper coin discovered at Uduththurai port carries the name Naga bumi in Tamil, referring to the Naga Dynasty of the North.

    The Mahavamsa and the Manimekalai mentions a dispute between two Naga kings on Nainativu in northern Sri Lanka’

    Considering the fact that,

    Vaivaswatha Manu, ancestor of Rama migrated from the Dravida desa(south of Vindhyas)

    His Daughter was the founder (along with Budha) of Lunar Dynasty in the South,

    Nagas now live mostly in north east of India,
    Nagas, the ancient people of India

    Manu meditated near Madagascar,

    Cheras   are,

     

    The word Chera probably derived from Cheral, meaning “declivity of a mountain” in ancient Tamil. The Cheras are referred as Kedalaputho (“Kerala Putra”) in the Ashoka’s edicts (3rd century BCE). The Graeco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraeirefers the Cheras as Celobotra.

    The term Ceralamdivu or Ceran tivu and its cognates, meaning the “island of the Ceran kings”, is a Classical Tamil name of Sri Lanka that takes root from the term Chera, from which the dynasty name is derived.

    And this definition of Chera agrees with the definition of Naga.

    Lord Rama considered his ancestors as Lemurians.

    Krishna and Arjuna married Pandyan Princesses.

    According to the Epic Mahabharatha the legendary Malayadwaja Pandya, who sided with the Pandavas and took part in the Kurukshetra War of the Mahabharata, is described as follows in Karna Parva (verse 20.25):‘

    “Although knowing that the shafts (arrows) of the high souled son of Drona employed in shooting were really inexhaustible, yet Pandya, that bull among men, cut them all into pieces”.

    Malayadwaja Pandya and his queen Kanchanamala had one daughter Thataathagai alias Meenakshi who succeeded her father and reigned the kingdom successfully. The Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple was built after her. The city of Madurai was built around this temple. It is also notable that the etymology of the name Meenakshi came from two Sanskrit words Meenu(Fish) and Akshi(Eye ) which collectively means ‘One who has the eyes of a fish as like Kaamakshi (kaama+ akshi – one who has lustful eyes), Vishalakshi (Vishala+akshi – one who has broad eyes).’

    And Malayathwaja belonged to Lunar Dynasty.

    Naga Practices spread throughout the world from the Dravida Desa and North east of India  I postulate that Nagas were present throughout India  and were also a part of Dravida Culture.

    The land they lived in, along with Tamils could have been Lemuria/Kumarikandam or Mu’

    References and citations.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chera_dynasty

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naga_people_(Lanka)

    https://ramanisblog.in/2014/12/26/first-chola-king-from-kasyapa-gotra-manu-dynasty/

    http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.in/2016/01/naga-uraga-and-pannaga-of-puranas-who.html  (portions of quotes and Ooragan Image0

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandyan_dynasty#Mythology

    Nagabhushani Ambigai Image credit.

    By Kanags – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8874380

  • Kerala Nairs 18000 Years Old Nairs Gotra

     A reader wanted me t know the Gotra details of the Nairs of Kerala.

    This is a complex issue.

    Nairs , Kerala
    Warriors of Kerala

    If one removes the Goggles of regionalism and linguistic chauvinism, one can understand Indian history in its splendor.

    Though the people of Kerala formed a part of Tamil kingdom Chera, the Nairs of Kerala had a social system of their own.

    Nair comes from the word Nayaka meaning chieftain or a leader.

    They were the leaders of a group of army of the Cheras.

    ‘The Nambudiri Brahmins were at the top of the ritual caste hierarchy and in that system outranked even the kings. They regarded all Nairs as shudra. Below the Nambudiris came the Tamil Brahmins and other later immigrants of the Brahmin varna. Beyond this, the precise ranking is subject to some difference in opinion. Kodoth has placed the Samantan caste below the Kshatriya rank but above the Nairs, but Gough considers that the Pushpagans and Chakyars, both of which were the highest ranked in the group of temple servants known as Ambalavasis, were ranked between the Brahmins and the Nairs, as were several other members of the Ambalavasi group. She also believes that some Nairs adopted the title of Samantan in order to emphasise their superiority over others in their caste. The unwillingness of the higher varnas to engage in what they considered to be the polluting activities of industrial and commercial activity has been cited as a reason for the region’s relatively limited economic development’

    ‘A theory has been proposed for the origins of the caste system in the Kerala region based on the actions of the Aryan Jains introducing such distinctions prior to the 8th-century AD. This argues that the Jains needed protection when they arrived in the area and recruited sympathetic local people to provide it. These people were then distinguished from others in the local population by their occupation as protectors, with the others all being classed as out-caste. The cross-disciplinary historian Cyriac Pullapilly describes that this meant they “… were given kshatriya functions, but only shudra status. Thus originated the Nair

    Taking into consideration the caste  system of Sanatana Dharma was practiced by The Tamils , Cheras were Tamils,there was no discrimination in the Tamil land on the basis of caste , the views by western authors seem to be based on the Myth of Aryan dDravidian Theory which is now proved to be false and is a piece of disinformation to divide the people of India.

    The fact that the Group who are currently called as Nairs were entrusted with Military duties , they were Kshatriyas.

    The Nairs, Chera Period.

    Some people think the name itself is derived from nayaka, an honorific meaning “leader of the people”, while others believe it stems from the community’s association with the Naga cult of serpent worship. Christopher Fuller, an anthropologist, has said that it is likely that the first reference to the Nair community was made by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, dating from 77 AD. That work describes what is probably the Malabar coast area wherein could be found the “Nareae, who are shut in by the Capitalis range, the highest of all the mountains in India”. Fuller believes it probable that the Nareae referred to the Nairs and the Capitalis range is the Western Ghats.’

    Matrilineal Society.

    Nairs operated a matrilineal (marumakkathayam) joint family structure called tharavad, whereby descendant families of one common ancestress lived under a single roof. Tharavads consisting of 50 to 80 members were not uncommon and some with membership as high as 200 have been reported. Only the women lived in the main house; men lived in separate rooms[clarification needed] and, on some occasions, lived in a separate house nearby. The families split on instances when they became unwieldy and during crisis among its members. When it split, the family property was separated along the female lines. The karnavan, the oldest male member in the tharavad, had the decision-making authority including the power to manage common property. Panikkar, a well-known writer from the Nair community, wrote in 1918 that,

    Authority in the family is wielded by the eldest member, who is called karnavan. He has full control of the common property, and manages the income very much as he pleases. He arranges marriages (sambandhams) for the boys as well as the girls of the family. He had till lately full power (at least in practice) of alienating anything that belonged to them. His will was undisputed law. This is, perhaps, what is intended to be conveyed by the term Matri-potestas in communities of female descent. But it should be remembered that among the Nayars the autocrat of the family is not the mother, but the mother’s brother.

    The husband visited the tharavad at night and left the following morning and he had no legal obligation to his children which lay entirely with the karnavan. In Nair families, young men and women about the same age were not allowed to talk to each other, unless the young man’s sister was considerably older than him. The wife of karnavan had an unusual relationship in his tharavad as she belonged to a different one and her interests lay there. Panikkar wrote that Karnavan loved his sister’s son more than his own and he believes it was due mainly to the instability of Nair marriages. Divorce rate was very high as both man and woman had equal right to terminate the marriage. Enangar was another family with which a tharavad remained closely related; a few such related families formed a social group whose members participated in all social activities. Nakane wrote in 1956 that tharavads as a functional unit had ceased to exist and large buildings that had once hosted large tharavads were occupied by just a few of its remnants.’

    Being  a matrilinear society, the Gotra system must have been following the Mother’s Gotra.

    Information is not available.

    People may contribute with authenric source

    The Nairs of Kerala and Bunts of Karnataka claim descent from the naga Śeṣa; these regions include the Nagavanshi clans who migrated from North India associated with the events referred to as the Sarpasatram. The Nairs were organized into various martial clans like Nambiar, Kiryathil Nair, Illathu Nair and Swaroopathil Nairs. The Illathu, Swaroopathil and Kiryathil Nairs have been classified as Kshatriyas of the Nagavanshi lineage Also claims as Nagavamsam in North costal region of Andhra pradesh state, where central government referred them under serial number 81 in NCBC (National Commission for Backward classed)

    http://www.ncbc.nic.in/User_Panel/GazetteResolution.aspx?Value=mPICjsL1aLvYBtdZSrP4uO%2bploAhiJHMitEMCkgxxsH%2f7oa9L5Zf2o2HH3BmrgcE

    However, Nairs believe them selves to Belong to Kasyapa Gotra.

    ‘Vansh/Dynasty : Nagavanshi
    Gotra : Kashyapa
    Caste : Kshatriya

    The Nair Clans of Kerala and Bunts of tulu nadu are the indigenous descendants of Anantha also these regions include the Nagavanshi clans who migrated from North India associated with the events as Sarpasatram. The Nairs were organized into various martial clans like Nambiar and Kiryathil Nair. Currently, warrior Sections of the Nair (Malayala Kshatriya) caste and Bunts of Tulu nadu claim descent from the Nagvanshi dynasty. The Nagavanshi are the known as the Serpent Dynasty.

    Nāgas originated from Kashyapa, father of Surya from whom clan of Suryawanshi kshatriyas evolved. The Nether World known as Pathala was the inhabitation of Nagas and Anantha as the Emperor of Naga, Sarpa, Uraga, and Pannaga. The Vedas do not mention Kshatriyas of either Suryavanshi, Chandravanshi, Nagavanshi, Agnivanshi or any such lineage. The Puranas constructed such genealogies. The Nāgvanshis acquired the status of Devas due to their excellent qualities, behavior and actions. Purānas mention Nāgas along with devas. Purānas mention of many Nāga Kingdoms. In ancient times Nāgas were the rulers of entire India. Mathura, Padmavati and Kantipur were capitals of Naga dynasty.

    The worshipers of Nāga were supposedly known as Nāgā or Nāgil. Nair, Bunt and some Rajput and Jat clans claim to be of Nagvanshi origin.’

    There are some interesting issues here.

    1.People of north East India and some portions of central India belong to Nagavanshi.Now we find them in the deep south.

    2.In ancient India, the landmass was different and the sea route from the North east of India to south of India was much shorter.

    There are references that Ravana visited his In Laws place in central India frequently, his wife Mandodari was from India through this short route from Lanka.

    So it needs some more research on this issue as to how the  migration took place, whether the Nagavanshis, who were also credited with having been the people of Patala Loka,deep south moved to North during the Great flood, when Vaivaswatha Manu, ancestor of Rama moved to Ayodhya.

    3.The issue of the location of the Chera Capital Vanchi.

    Considering this and the fact that Lemuria was the location of the early Tamil Kingdoms, I feel that the present theory that Karur was the Capital of Chera needs a look into.My stand is that it might have been located some where down in the Indian Ocean.

    3.The present date assigned to Nairs and Kerala needs revision.

    Chera King Udiyan Cheralatha,n particpated in the Mahabharata war.

    Poompuhar,Tamil Nadu which speaks of Chera Kingdom, the author of Cilapadikaram was the king’s brother, and Poompuhar is dated 20,000 years ago it is safe to postulate that the Nairs of Kerala, who were in the army of the Cheras date back to some 18000 years ago

    Shall dig more and write.

    References and citations.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nair#Social_and_political_organisation

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chera_dynasty#Archaeological_sources

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagavanshi

    http://rajeshkvp.blogspot.in/2010/12/nair-gotra-lineage.html

    Image credit.

    http://historicalleys.blogspot.in/2009/08/on-origin-of-nairs.html