Who are

Vellalas?
Dr.Kanam Sankara Pillai
KVMS Hospital
Ponkunnam,Kerala
drkanam@gmail.com
 Farmer Caste
• The Vellalas are the great farmer
caste of Tamil country and they are
strongly represented in every Tamil
district
Reference:
1.H.A.Stuart- Madras Census Report
1891
2.Manual of the North Arcot District
 Origin of the word Vellalan
“The word Vellalan is derived from Vellanmai
vellam = water,
anami = management
Meaning cultivation, tillage”
Ref:
Dr.Opper, Madras Journal of Literature and Science
p 188-788
Etymology of the name vellala is fully
discussed in p134
 Story of origin of Vellalas
• There came a severe draught when the entire
world was ignorant of agriculture.
• People prayed to Bhudevi.
• Bhudevi produced from her body a man carrying
a plough ,who showed them how to till the soil
and support themselves.
• His offspring are the Vellalas.
• They include
Go vaisyas (Gopalakar,sheperds) ,
Bhu vaisyas (Bhupalakar,cultivators) and
Dhana vaisyas (merchants)
Ref: E.Thurston & K.Rengachary-Castes & Tribes of S.India Vol VII
1993 p361-380
 The Myth
• Visvakarma the architect of the
Devatas oneday intrued the privacy
of Lord Parama Siva and Parvathy.
• Parvathy cursed him that an enemy
of his to be born in Bhuloka to
punnish him.
• Visvakarma said if he knews enemy’s
birthplace,he would annihilate him
with a single blow.
• Parvathy said that the man would spring
from banks of Ganges.
• Viswakarma waited in Ganges banks.
• Oneday he noticed that a kiritam(crown) is
coming out of the soil.
• Visvakarma made a cut with his sword,
which struck only the kiritam.
• The man came out with a golden
ploughshare.
• Visvakaram laid hold on the man.
• There appeared the Trinity,
Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesvara and said
Visvakarma that he vowed , he
would annihilate the enemy with a
single blow, which has not
performed ,he is not allowed a
second chance.
• Visvakarma quitted. Peace was
concluded :
• The five castes, silversmiths,
carpenters, blacksmiths, stone
cutters and braziers who are his sons
will be subservient to the earth born
person, the Bhumipalaka or
Gangavamsa or Murdaka
Palaka(protector of plough)
• Because Bhumipalaka lost his kiritam at
the time of birth, he will not be eligible for
sovereignity.
• So it is said that Vellalas could not become
rulers, but they can crown the King.
• But in Venadu(Vel+Nadu) all the rulers
were Idayars(Govaisyas). To become
Kshethriyas before crowning they had to
under go “Hiranyagarbha”. As a result
they were called “Ponnuthampuran”
• Lord Siva gave him a white bullock
• Yamadharma gave him a white
buffalo
• Thus they got the phrase “Vellal
Warus” =those who plough with
white bullocks
• Gods Indra and Kubera gave their
daughters.
• Mudrapalak a had 54 sons by
daughter of God Kubera,whom he
married to 106 daughters of
Nalakubera, son of Kubera.
• 35 of them were called Bhumi
palakas(Tillers)
• 35 Vellala Chetti(Merchants)
• 35 Gopalakars(Sheperds)
Bhumikanya Seetha
• The remaining could join any order.
• They got the surname ”Agamudi”
(alien)
 Madras Census 1971
• Muncipal Commissioner classed
Vellalas as Sudras
• Vellalas protested pointing out that
• According to Manu
“ to keep herds of cattle, to betow
largesses,to sacrifice, to read the
scriptore,to carry on trade,to len
dinterest an dto cultivate land are
prescribed or permitted to Vaisyas”
 They continued….
“ It is impossible to imagine that the
Vellalas, a race of Agriculturists and
Traders, should have had to render menial
service to three higher classes, for the
very idea of service is, as it needs must
be, revolting to the Vellala,whose
profession teaches him perfect
independence an ddependence.Hence
Vellala cannot be Sudras”
 Mercantile
• Thulabharams by Kings were
performed by Vellalas
• King of Tanjore was weighed by
Vellalas.
• This shows that Vellalas are
respected as mercantile men in
charge of weights and measures
(Manu 30 chap 9)
 Kamba Ramayanam
(1000 yrs old)
• Priest Vasista handed the Crown to a
Vellala,who placed it upon great
Rama’s head
“The Tamils 1800 hundred years ago”
V.Kankasabhai Pillai
• The farmers occupied the
highest position, They
formed the nobility or the
landed aristocracy of the
country.
• They were called Vellalar
”lords of floods” or
Karalar ”lords of clouds”.
• Chera, Chola and Pandyan
Kings and most of the
petty chiefs of Tamilakam
belonged to the tribe of
Vellalas.
Vol VII
 Velamas,
Bellal Gangakula, Gangavamsa,Gangavadi
• Vellalas who conqured Vadukam(Telugu)
were called Velamas.
• In Canarese Vellalas founded Bellal
Dynasty.
• Vellals were also called Gangkula or
Gangavamsa(originated from Gangavalley)
• The area in Mysore inhabited by Vellalas
was named Gangavadi(11& 12th Centuries
AD)
 Orissa 11 Century AD
• Gangavamsa Dynasty
 Tholkappium 1st Century BC

Vellalas have no other calling than

the cultivation
• Madras Census Report 1871
Vellalas are peace loving ,frugal and
industrious people and in the
cultivation of rice, betel, tobacco etc
have perhaps no equals in the world
but some are employed as clerks,
merchants and shopkeepers
 Tanore Manual
• Vellals are found in Govt services as
karnams or village accountants. As
accountants they are unsurpassed.
They use dto write on cudjan or
palmyra leaves with iron styles.
• In religious observances they are
more strict than Brahmins
 Coimbatore Manual
• Vellalas are truly the backbone of the
District.
Vellalalar’s goad is
the Rulers sceptre.
 The Salem Manual
• Frugal and saving
to the extreme.

• Census Report
1871
• A Vellala had
passed the M.A.
degree exam of
Madras University
 “M.A.”Sundaram Pillai,
(M.A)
• Manonmaneeyam Sundaram Pillai”
• MS University Thirunelveli
• National song of Tamil nadu
• Founder Archiology Dept
• Founder Harvey Bungalow
(Harveypuram Colony, Peroorkada)
 Sur-names
1.Thondamandalam(Pallava country)
Mudali
Reddi
Nainar
2.Soliya (Soszhia,Chola)
Tanjor&Trichy
Pillai
 Sur-names(Contd)
3.Pandya (Madurai &Tirunelveli)
Pillai
4 Konga(Coimbatore & Salem)
Kavandans (Goundars)
 Divisions
• Tondamandalam - Tulavas from Tulu country
• Poonamlly- from Poonamlly nrar Madras
• Kondaikatties-(kutama)
• Soszhiya-Chetties,(merchants)
• Kodikal-betel cultivators
• Kanakkili nattar-from Kanakkili
Padya Vellalas
• Karkattas-Karaikadu
• Arumburs-
• Agamudiyas-
• Etc etc
 Kumbhakona Vellalas
• In TanjoreDistrict
• Migrated to Travancore
Vellalas Thenkasi
• In Tirunelveli District,migrated to
Travancore
 Proverbs
• Agriculture is no agriculture unless it
is performed by Vellalas
 ? Jains
• Madras Census Report 1981 states
that Vellalas are a caste of Jains.
• Mr. Hemingway says that the Nainars
and karaikattans of Udayarpalayam
taluk are descendents of Jains
(Thurston & Rengachari 1993
Vol VII page 389)
 Origin of Pillai
• Inborn surname for Vellalas
• Kids of Lord Siva like “Pillayar”
• Used 5000 years ago in Harappan
seals
• Not a title given by Rulers for
revenue
• In all states of India, SriLanka,
Singapore, Figi, Africa etc
“Pillay” in Indus Script
Ref:Iravatham Mahadevan www.harappa.org
 Pillai
• Surname of Vellalas who lived along
riverbeds of Tanjore,Thirunelveli and
yazhppanam(SriLanka).They did
kanakku duty in the days of
yore.They are equated with Kayastas
of North like
• Srivastava & Khatri
 Chettiyar
• Karaikudi or Nattukottai Chettiyars
intermarried Thirunelveli Saiva Vellalars
and remained vegetarians. Due to the
destruction of Chettiyar lands around
Kaveripoompattanam due to floods they
lost most of the ladies and children.After
marriage with Thunelveli Vellalas they
followed their vattara
vazhakku(dialect).Even now they call
grandma as :”Aachi”
 Dravidians
• Vellalas are Dravidians
• Dravidian culture existed in Harappa &
Mohanjodaro(BC 2500-3000)
• Kali 3101 AD 1
• “Limuria”- Madagaskar to Malasia
connected Africa & Astralia to S.India
The plough ”nanchil” was invented by Nanchilnattil
Vellalas
Dravidians from Mosopotamia migrate dto S.India
around BC 800
 Chronology
300 BC-300 AD- Sangha Period
(Chilappathikaram, Manimeghala,Akananooru, Purananoou)
Oldest temple in Kanyakumari
(Travelogue of Periplus in AD 62) by Saivas
400-800AD Brahmins arrives
800-1200 Chera rule
10th century-Marthanda Varmma
1200 – Keralam
1300 Malayalam evolves(Ramacharitham)
1600 -1700 Keralolppathi is written
 Dravidians-Dramilans
• The Dravidians were engaged in settled agriculture in wet and dry lands
and used domesticated animals and birds (ox, cow, sheep, pig, donkey,
dog, cat, chicken) and metal implements (plough, pick-axe, crowbar).
They grew and ate grains (rice, millet), lentils (red gram, black gram,
green gram), greens, fruits (banana, mango, wood apple), root and other
vegetables (onion, ginger, yam, radish, brinjal), and other foods and
spices (sugarcane, mushroom, sesame, black pepper, cardamom, areca
nut). Some of these must have grown wild and gathered for food, as there
were wild animals (elephant, tiger, cheetah, bear, wolf, jackal, porcupine,
buffalo, deer, hare, baboon, monkey, mongoose and iguana) and birds
(peacock, pigeon, parrot, crane, crow, sparrow, owl, eagle and vulture) in
the jungles. There were reptiles (snakes, cobra, scorpion, chameleon,
lizard) and insects (mosquito) on the ground, and amphibian and aquatic
species (frog, crab, tortoise, crocodile, shark, prawn and fishes) in water
the people frequented for hunting and fishing. There was trade, and
commodities were transported by head load and shoulder slings. The
wheeled cart was used in transport as well as in battle. People knew
navigation and used boats and floats. The metals iron, copper, silver and
gold were used for building implements and making ornaments.
 From Africa
• Given the widely held theory of human
origin in Africa and human migration
70,000 years ago from there to Europe
and Asia in stages, both Dravidians and
Aryans came from outside India. We shall
perhaps know whether they came by the
same route or different routes from Africa
when the ongoing research on correlation
between specific gene spread and
language spread advances.
 Lemuria
• Lemuria is the name of a hypothetical "lost land" variously
located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The concept's
19th century origins lie in attempts to account for
discontinuities in biogeography. The concept of Lemuria has
been rendered obsolete by modern understanding of
plate tectonics. Although sunken continents do exist — see
Zealandia in the Pacific and the Kerguelen Plateau in the
Indian Ocean — there is no known geological formation
under the Indian or Pacific Oceans that corresponds to the
hypothetical Lemuria.
• Though Lemuria has passed out of the realm of
conventional science, it has been adopted by writers
involved in the occult, as well as some Tamil writers of
India. Accounts of Lemuria differ, but all share a common
belief that a continent existed in ancient times and sank
beneath the ocean as a result of a geological, often
cataclysmic, change.
Indus Seal
 Lord Siva
Kasi Visevsaran by Tamil chetties
When they were driven to south by
Aryan invasion they built
Rameswaram temple for
Ramanathan(Prananathan)
kanakkappillamar
Vellalalanum Vellatum
Viraminda Nayanar
Well known Pillays
Samadhi Centenary year
2009