Vellalar: Difference between revisions

Vellalar
Vellalar
Religions	Hinduism, Jainism, Christianity
Languages	Tamil
Subdivisions	Mudaliar ‡ — Thondai Nadu; Gounder ‡ — Kongu Nadu; Pillai ‡ — Chola Nadu, Pandya Nadu; Sri Lankan Vellalar ‡ — Yazhpana Kudanaadu, Vanni Nadu;
Related groups	Tamil people

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Vellalar is a group of castes in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka.^[a]^[b]^[c] The Vellalar are members of several endogamous^[d]^[e] castes such as the numerically strong Arunattu Vellalar, Chozhia Vellalar, Karkarthar Vellalar, Kongu Vellalar, Thuluva Vellalar and Sri Lankan Vellalar.^[9]^[10]

Etymology

The earliest occurrence of the term Velaalar (வேளாளர்) in Sangam literature is in Paripadal where it is used in the sense of a landowner.^[11] The term Velaalar (வேளாளர்) can be derived from the word Vel (வேள்), Vel being a title that was borne by the Velir chieftains of Sangam age among other things.^[12]

The word Vellalar (வெள்ளாளர் ) may come from the root Vellam for flood, which gave rise to various rights of land; and it is because of the acquisition of land rights that the Vellalar got their name.^[13]

History

The Vellalars have a long cultural history that goes back to over two millennia in southern India,^[14] where once they were the ruling and land-owning community.^[15]^[16] Though the Vellalar have generally been associated with the landed gentry and agriculture, they are not a homogenous group and various people from diverse backgrounds have identified themselves as a Vellalar in the course of history.^[6]

In Sangam literature

The Vellalar are spoken of as a group of people right from the Sangam period and are mentioned in many of the classical works of Sangam literature. The Tolkappiyam does not contain the term Vellalar but refers to a group of people called Velaan Maanthar who apart from practising agriculture had the right to carry weapons and wear garlands when they were involved in affairs of the state.^[17] The term Vellalar itself occurs in the sense of a landowner in Paripadal.^[11] The poem Pattinappaalai lists the six virtues of Vellalar as abstention from killing, abstention from stealing, propagation of religion, hospitality, justice and honesty.^[18]

Post-Sangam period

In the years that immediately followed the Sangam age (from third to sixth century CE), the Tamil lands were ruled by a dynasty called Kalabhras.^[19] Historians believe that the Kalabhras belonged to the Vellalar community of warriors who were possibly once the feudatories of the Cholas and the Pallavas.^[20] Scholar and historian M. Raghava Iyengar identifies the Kalabhras with the Kalappalar section of the Vellalar and equates king Achyuta Vikranta with Achyuta Kalappala the father of Meykandar.^[21] Buddhadatta, the Pali writer who stayed in the Chola kingdom and authored Buddhist manuals refers (in the Nigamanagātha of Vinayavinicchaya, verse 3179) to his patron Achyuta Vikranta who was then (fifth century CE) ruling the Chola kingdom as Kalamba-kula nandane meaning the favourite of the Kalamba family.^[22] In Pali language as in Tamil, the word Kalamba or Kalambam (in Tamil) means the Kadamba tree, the sacred totemic symbol that is associated with Tamil god Murugan.^[23]^[24]

The Velir

The Velir were an ancient group of Tamil chieftains who claimed Yadava (Yadu) descent.^[25] The Ay Vels were one such Velir group that ruled the territory in and around Venad during the Sangam period. The word Venad is derived from Vel -nadu, that is the country ruled by Vel chieftains.^[26] We know of a queen of Vikramaditya Varaguna, an Ay king of 9th century who is referred to as Murugan Chenthi and as Aykula Mahadevi from inscriptions. Her father, an Ay chief called Chathan Murugan is described as a Vennir Vellala that is a Vellala by birth,^[27] in the Huzur plates of king Karunandakkan, the predecessor of Vikramaditya Varaguna.^[28]

The Irunkovel or Irukkuvel chieftains were another ancient Velir clan who ruled from their capital Kodumbalur (near Pudukottai district). They were related to the Cholas by marriage.^[29] In an inscription of Rajadhiraja Chola an Irukkuvel feudatory who was a high-ranking military officer (Dandanayaka) of the king is described as a Velala.^[f]

The Irungovels are considered to be of the same stock as the Hoysalas as in one of the Sangam poems, the ancestor of the Irungovel chieftain is said to have ruled the fortified city of Tuvarai. This city is identified with the Hoysala capital Dwarasamudra by some historians.^[31] Also, the legend of the chief killing a tiger (Pulikadimal) has a striking resemblance to the origin legend of the Hoysalas where ‘'sala'’ kills the tiger to save a sage.^[32] As per historian Arokiaswami, the Hoysala title ‘'Ballala'’ is only a variant of the Tamil word ‘'Vellala'’.^[33] The Hoysala king Veera Ballala III is even now locally known as the ‘'Vellala Maharaja'’ in Thiruvannamalai, the town that served as their capital in 14th century.^[34]

The Chola period

According to the anthropologist Kathleen Gough, "the Vellalars were the dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola kings, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the kingdom's bureaucracy, and the upper layer of the peasantry".^[16]

Two identical Tamil inscriptions from Avani and Uttanur in Mulbagal Taluk dated in the 3rd year of Kulottunga I (about 1072-1073 CE) describe how the great army of the right hand class (perumpadai valangai mahasenai) having arrived with great weapons of war from the 78-nadus of Chola-mandalam and the 48000-bhumi of Jayangonda-cholamandalam (the northern districts of Tamil Nadu that is Tondaimandalam) conquered and colonized southern Karnataka (Kolar district) by the grace of Rajendrachola (Kulottunga I).^[35]

Historian Burton Stein who has done a detailed analysis of this inscription equates the Valangai military forces and the Velaikkara troops of the Cholas with the Vellalas and notes that the contents of the above inscription confirm this identification.^[36] The Velaikkara troops were special units of armed forces drawn from the right-hand castes that were close to the king. The units were generally named after the king like Rajaraja-terinda-valangai-velaikkarar, that is the known (terinda) forces of king Rajaraja Chola I.^[37] The Chola inscriptions state that the Velaikkara forces pledged under oath to commit suicide in case they failed to defend their king or in the event of his death.^[38] The Chalukya kings were also known by the title Velpularasar, that is kings of Vel country (pulam means region or country in Tamil) and as Velkulattarasar, that is kings of the Vel clan (kulam), in epigraphs and in the old Tamil lexicon Divakaram.^[39]^[40]

The Vellalar also contributed to the Bhakti movement in south India from the seventh century CE onwards and helped revive Hinduism. Many of the Nayanmars, the Shaiva saints, were Vellalar.^[41]^[42] In the 12th century CE, saint Sekkilan Mahadevadigal Ramadeva sang the glories of these Nayanmars in his magnum opus, the Periyapuranam.^[43] Sekkizhar was born in a Vellala family in Kundrathur in Thondaimandalam and had the title Uttama Chola Pallavaraiyan.^[44]^[45]^[46] Sekkilan Mahadevadigal Ramadeva was an elder contemporary of Kulothunga Chola II, the king who is said to have persecuted the Brahmin philosopher Ramanuja for his Vaishnavite preachings by forcing him to sign a document stating Shiva is the greatest god.^[47]^[48]

Sri Lanka

The Vellalars of Sri Lanka have been chronicled in the Yalpana Vaipava Malai and other historical texts of the Jaffna kingdom. They form half of the Sri Lankan Tamil population and are the major husbandmen, involved in tillage and cattle cultivation.^[49]^[9] Local Sri Lankan literature, such as the Kailiyai Malai, an account on Kalinga Magha, narrates the migration of Vellala Nattar chiefs from the Coromandel Coast to Sri Lanka.^[50]

Their dominance rose under Dutch rule and they formed one of the colonial political elites of the island.^[51]^[52]

In Jainism

At present, most of the Tamil Jains are from the Vellalar social group.^[1] Also, the Saiva Velaalar sect are originally believed to have been Jainas before they embraced Hinduism.^[g] The Tamil Jains refer to the Saiva Velaalar as nīr-pūci-nayinārs or nīr-pūci-vellalars meaning the vellalars who left Jainism by smearing the sacred ash or (tiru)-nīru.^[h] While some of the Jains assign this conversion to the period of the Bhakti movement in Tamil nadu others link it to a conflict with a ruler of the Vijayanagar empire in the 15th century.^[54] The villages and areas settled by the Saiva Velaalar even now have a small number of Jaina families and inscriptional evidence indicate that these were earlier Jaina settlements as is evident by the existence of old Jaina temples.^[55]

Current usage

Even though at present, the term "Vellalar" is uncertain, a number of non-cultivating landholding castes like Kaarukaatha Velaalar and the Kondaikatti Velaalar who served ruling dynasties in various capacities also identify themselves as Vellalar.^[i] Likewise, the Kottai Pillaimar who were traditionally land-holders and lived inside forts, neither lease land for agriculture nor do they till their own fields. They also do not supervise cultivation directly due to the stigma attached to farming and manual labor.^[57] Similarly, the Vellala Chettis, a branch of the Chozhia Vellalars were traders and merchants.^[58] The Adi-saiva vellalar sect is a strictly vegetarian Saivite group that traditionally served as priests.^[59]

Social status

The Vellalar were considered to be of high status and enjoyed a high rank during the Chola period. They helped promote and stabilize Shaivism during the Chola era and many of the cult's leaders were drawn from the ranks of the Vellalar. They were a prosperous community of farmers and landowners who had provided economic support to Shiva temples in the Tamil country. In the Tamil region, Vellalar like Mudaliyar and Pillai along with certain other non-brahmin groups enjoyed a status equal to that of the Brahmins. The Vellalar also had more authority, power and status than the Brahmins in some social and ritual contexts.^[60] They were more orthodox than the Brahmins in their religious practices.^[61]^[62] The Vellalar nobles had marriage alliances with Chola royal families.^[63]

The Smarta Brahmins have always competed with the Tamil Shaivites for religious influence in the temples in the Kaveri delta region. The Smarta adopted the worship of Hindu deities and combined their Sanskritic background with Tamil Saiva and Vaishnava devotionalism and eventually identified themselves as Shaivites and started worshipping in Shiva temples.^[64]

From the Sangam period to the Chola period of Indian history (A.d. 600 to 1200), state-level political authority was in the hands of relatively low, Vellalar chieftains, who endowed local and nonlocal Brahmins with land and honors, and were in turn legitimized by them.^[65]

Notes

^ According to Susan Bayly, even in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, "Vellalar affiliation was as vague and uncertain as that of most other south Indian castes"; Vellalar identity was a source of prestige and "There were any number of groups sought to claim Vellalar status for themselves"^[4]
^ The term "Vellalar" is a generic term for a group of high ranking Non-brahmin castes in TamilNadu^[5]
^ Coming to the Vellalas, Andre Beteille, an authority on caste in South India writes: The term 'Vellala' is rather confusing because of its comprehensive use. Even the Vellalas proper, those who are of Vellala origin-are not a homogeneous unit but are subdivided into small sections. These sub-groups are always segmented and are endogamous.^[6]
^ Without going into detail, it must suffice to say that in Sripuram the Vellalas proper are segmented into three endogamous units: Chozhia Vellala, Karaikathu Vellala, and Kodikkal Vellala.^[7]
^ The Kongu Vellalar is an engogamous group. They use 'gounder' as a title and hence they are also known as Kongu Vellala Gounders.^[8]
^ Records in his third year gift of 90 sheep for a lamp by Velala Madurantakam alias Tandanayakan Rajadhiraja Ilangovelan of Nadar, a village in Tiraimur-nadu which was a sub-division of Uyyakondan-valanadu in Solamandalam.^[30]
^ It is also widely believed that the Saiva Vellalas of Madras State who are stricter vegetarians than even Tamil Brahmins, were Jainas.^[53]
^ All of those who feared for their lives converted to Saivism (and not any other religious sect) adorning the sacred ash, 'throwing away their sacred threads', they assumed the identity of Saiva (nir-puci) vellalars or nir-puci-nayinars (the Jainas who smeared sacred ash).^[54]
^ Among the Tamil castes, both Karkattar Vellalas (Arunachalam, 1975) and Kondaikatti Vellalas (Barnett, 1970) have much the same profile as the KP (Kottai Pillaimar): both are non-cultivating land-holders, with a history of service to ruling dynasties.^[56]

References

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 }}
-'''Vellalar''' is a generic [[Tamil language|Tamil]] term used primarily to refer to various [[Caste system in India|castes]] who traditionally pursued agriculture as a profession in the [[India]]n states of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Kerala]] and northeastern parts of [[Sri Lanka]].{{Efn|1=The term(Vellalar) extends beyond notions of caste and seems rather to be a generic term for farming groups dispersed over space.<ref>{{cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils|author=Vijaya Ramaswamy|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2017|page=303}}</ref>}} The Vellalar are members of several endogamous{{Efn|1=Coming to the Vellalas, Andre Beteille, an authority on caste in South India writes: The term 'Vellala' is rather confusing because of its comprehensive use. Even the Vellalas proper, those who are of Vellala origin-are not a homogeneous unit but are subdivided into small sections. These sub-groups are always segmented and are endogamous.<ref name="mathur"/>}}{{Efn|1=Without going into detail, it must suffice to say that in Sripuram the Vellalas proper are segmented into three endogamous units: Chozhia Vellala, Karaikathu Vellala, and Kodikkal Vellala.<ref>{{cite book|title=Caste, Class and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore Village|author=André Béteille|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2012|page=86}}</ref>}}{{Efn|1=The Kongu Vellalar is an engogamous group. They use 'gounder' as a title and hence they are also known as Kongu Vellala Gounders.<ref>{{cite book|title=Nutritional Status of Indian Population: Southern region |editor=D. Tyagi |editor2=K. K. Bhattacharya |editor3=S. S. Datta Chaudhuri |editor4=D. Xaviour|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India|year=2012|page=243}}</ref>}} castes such as the numerically strong [[Arunattu Vellalar]], [[Chozhia Vellalar]], [[Karkarthar|Karkarthar Vellalar]], [[Kongu Vellalar]], [[Thuluva Vellalar]] and [[Sri Lankan Vellalar]].<ref name="derges">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aMWGiJLptNoC|title=Ritual and Recovery in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka|last=Derges|first=Jane|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-1136214882|page=77|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALUvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils|last=Ramaswamy|first=Vijaya|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-53810-686-0|page=390}}</ref>
+'''Vellalar''' is a group of [[Caste system in India|castes]] in the [[India]]n states of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Kerala]] and northeastern parts of [[Sri Lanka]].{{Efn|1=According to [[Susan Bayly]], even in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, "Vellalar affiliation was as vague and uncertain as that of most other south Indian castes"; Vellalar identity was a source of prestige and "There were any number of groups sought to claim Vellalar status for themselves"<ref name="Orr 2000 p. 209">{{cite book | last=Orr | first=L.C. | title=Donors, Devotees, and Daughters of God: Temple Women in Medieval Tamilnadu | publisher=Oxford University Press | series=South Asia Research | year=2000 | isbn=978-0-19-535672-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F___xKcP8lMC&pg=PA209 | access-date=2023-03-29 | page=209}}</ref>}}{{Efn|1=The term "Vellalar" is a generic term for a group of high ranking Non-brahmin castes in TamilNadu<ref name="Peterson 2014 p. 355">{{cite book | last=Peterson | first=I.V. | title=Poems to Siva: The Hymns of the Tamil Saints | publisher=Princeton University Press | series=Princeton Library of Asian Translations | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-4008-6006-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQwABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA355 | access-date=2023-03-29 | page=355}}</ref>}}{{Efn|1=Coming to the Vellalas, Andre Beteille, an authority on caste in South India writes: The term 'Vellala' is rather confusing because of its comprehensive use. Even the Vellalas proper, those who are of Vellala origin-are not a homogeneous unit but are subdivided into small sections. These sub-groups are always segmented and are endogamous.<ref name="mathur"/>}} The Vellalar are members of several endogamous{{Efn|1=Without going into detail, it must suffice to say that in Sripuram the Vellalas proper are segmented into three endogamous units: Chozhia Vellala, Karaikathu Vellala, and Kodikkal Vellala.<ref>{{cite book|title=Caste, Class and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore Village|author=André Béteille|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2012|page=86}}</ref>}}{{Efn|1=The Kongu Vellalar is an engogamous group. They use 'gounder' as a title and hence they are also known as Kongu Vellala Gounders.<ref>{{cite book|title=Nutritional Status of Indian Population: Southern region |editor=D. Tyagi |editor2=K. K. Bhattacharya |editor3=S. S. Datta Chaudhuri |editor4=D. Xaviour|publisher=Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India|year=2012|page=243}}</ref>}} castes such as the numerically strong [[Arunattu Vellalar]], [[Chozhia Vellalar]], [[Karkarthar|Karkarthar Vellalar]], [[Kongu Vellalar]], [[Thuluva Vellalar]] and [[Sri Lankan Vellalar]].<ref name="derges">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aMWGiJLptNoC|title=Ritual and Recovery in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka|last=Derges|first=Jane|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-1136214882|page=77|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ALUvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268|title=Historical Dictionary of the Tamils|last=Ramaswamy|first=Vijaya|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-53810-686-0|page=390}}</ref>
 ==Etymology==
@@ Line 27: / Line 28: @@
 ==History==
 [[File:Vellālas worshipping lingam, snake-stones and Ganēsa..jpg|thumb|Vellālars worshipping lingam, snake-stones and Ganēsa from ''[[Castes and Tribes of Southern India]]'' (1909).]]
 The Vellalars have a long cultural history that goes back to over two millennia in southern India,<ref name="Meluhha and Agastya : Alpha and Omega of the Indus Script By Iravatham Mahadevan">{{cite web |url=http://www.harappa.com/arrow/meluhha_and_agastya_2009.pdf |title=Meluhha and Agastya: Alpha and Omega of the Indus Script |author=Iravatham Mahadevan |page=16 |quote=The Ventar-Velir-Velalar groups constituted the ruling and land-owning classes in the Tamil country since the beginning of recorded history |access-date=2011-06-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607212814/http://www.harappa.com/arrow/meluhha_and_agastya_2009.pdf |archive-date=7 June 2011 }}</ref> where once they were the ruling and land-owning community.<ref name="Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th-11th centuries By André Wink">{{cite book |title=Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th-11th centuries |author=André Wink |year=2002 |page=321 |quote=Not only were the Vellalas the landowning communities of South India,... |publisher=[[Brill Academic Publishers]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&pg=PA321 |isbn=9004092498}}</ref><ref name="gough"/> Though the Vellalar have generally been associated with the landed gentry and agriculture, they are not a homogenous group and various people from diverse backgrounds have identified themselves as a Vellalar in the course of history.<ref name=mathur>{{cite book|title=Applied Anthropology and Challenges of Development in India|author=P. R. G. Mathur|publisher=Punthi-Pustak|year=1994|page=152}}</ref>
 ===In Sangam literature===
@@ Line 35: / Line 36: @@
 ===Post-Sangam period===
-In the years that immediately followed the Sangam age (from third to sixth century CE), the Tamil lands were ruled by a dynasty called [[Kalabhra]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=Madurai Through the Ages From the Earliest Times to 1801 A.D.|author=D. Devakunjari|year=1979|publisher=Publisher: Society for Archaeological, Historical, and Epigraphical Research|page=72}}</ref> Scholar and historian [[M. Raghava Iyengar]] identifies the Kalabhras with the Kalappalar section of the Vellalar and equates king Achyuta Vikranta with Achyuta Kalappala the father of [[Meykandar]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Social and Cultural History of Tamilnad: To A.D. 1336|author=N. Subrahmanian|publisher=Ennes|year=1993|page=67}}</ref> [[Buddhadatta]], the Pali writer who stayed in the [[Chola]] kingdom and authored Buddhist manuals refers (in the ''Nigamanagātha'' of ''Vinayavinicchaya'', verse 3179) to his patron Achyuta Vikranta who was then (fifth century CE) ruling the Chola kingdom as ''Kalamba-kula nandane'' meaning ''the favourite of the Kalamba family''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Colas, Second Edition|author=K. A. NILAKANTA SASTRI, M.A., Emeritus Professor of Indian History and Archaeology, University of Madras. Professor of Indology. University of Mysore.|publisher=G. S. Press, Madras|year=1955|page=108}}</ref> In [[Pali]] language as in [[Tamil language|Tamil]], the word Kalamba or Kalambam (in Tamil) means the [[Kadamba tree]], the sacred [[totem|totemic]] symbol that is associated with Tamil god [[Murugan]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Pāli, A Grammar of the Language of the Theravāda Tipiṭaka|author=Thomas Oberlies, Richard Pischel|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|year=2001|page=88}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Temples of South India|author=K. R. Srinivasan|publisher=National Book Trust|year=1979|page=8}}</ref>
+In the years that immediately followed the Sangam age (from third to sixth century CE), the Tamil lands were ruled by a dynasty called [[Kalabhra]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=Madurai Through the Ages From the Earliest Times to 1801 A.D.|author=D. Devakunjari|year=1979|publisher=Publisher: Society for Archaeological, Historical, and Epigraphical Research|page=72}}</ref> Historians believe that the Kalabhras belonged to the Vellalar community of warriors who were possibly once the feudatories of the [[Chola dynasty|Cholas]] and the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallavas]].<ref name="Chakrabarty 2010 p. 84">{{cite book |last=Chakrabarty |first=D.K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EIAyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT84 |title=The Geopolitical Orbits of Ancient India: The Geographical Frames of the Ancient Indian Dynasties |publisher=OUP India |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-908832-4 |page=84 |access-date=2023-01-16}}</ref> Scholar and historian [[M. Raghava Iyengar]] identifies the Kalabhras with the Kalappalar section of the Vellalar and equates king Achyuta Vikranta with Achyuta Kalappala the father of [[Meykandar]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Social and Cultural History of Tamilnad: To A.D. 1336|author=N. Subrahmanian|publisher=Ennes|year=1993|page=67}}</ref> [[Buddhadatta]], the Pali writer who stayed in the [[Chola]] kingdom and authored Buddhist manuals refers (in the ''Nigamanagātha'' of ''Vinayavinicchaya'', verse 3179) to his patron Achyuta Vikranta who was then (fifth century CE) ruling the Chola kingdom as ''Kalamba-kula nandane'' meaning ''the favourite of the Kalamba family''.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Colas, Second Edition|author=K. A. NILAKANTA SASTRI, M.A., Emeritus Professor of Indian History and Archaeology, University of Madras. Professor of Indology. University of Mysore.|publisher=G. S. Press, Madras|year=1955|page=108}}</ref> In [[Pali]] language as in [[Tamil language|Tamil]], the word Kalamba or Kalambam (in Tamil) means the [[Kadamba tree]], the sacred [[totem]]ic symbol that is associated with Tamil god [[Murugan]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Pāli, A Grammar of the Language of the Theravāda Tipiṭaka|author=Thomas Oberlies, Richard Pischel|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|year=2001|page=88}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Temples of South India|author=K. R. Srinivasan|publisher=National Book Trust|year=1979|page=8}}</ref>
 ===The Velir===
@@ Line 47: / Line 48: @@
 According to the anthropologist [[Kathleen Gough]], "the Vellalars were the dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola kings, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the kingdom's bureaucracy, and the upper layer of the peasantry".<ref name="gough">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GZwD7EqLcAUC|title=Rural Society in Southeast India|last=Gough|first=Kathleen|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2008|isbn=9780521040198|page=29|language=en}}</ref>
-Two identical [[Tamil language|Tamil]] inscriptions from Avani and Uttanur in [[Mulbagal]] Taluk dated in the 3rd year of [[Kulottunga I]] (about 1072-1073 CE) describe how the great army of the right hand class (''perumpadai valangai mahasenai'') having arrived with great weapons of war from the 78-nadus of Chola-mandalam and the 48000-bhumi of Jayangonda-cholamandalam (the northern districts of Tamil Nadu that is [[Tondaimandalam]]) conquered and colonized southern Karnataka ([[Kolar]] district) by the grace of Rajendrachola (Kulottunga I).<ref>{{cite book|title=Essays on Indian History and Culture. Felicitation Volume in Honour of Professor B. Sheik Ali|author=B. Sheikh Ali|editor=H. V. Sreenivasa Murthy|publisher=Mittal Publications|pages=105–107|year=1990}}</ref>
+Two identical [[Tamil language|Tamil]] inscriptions from Avani and Uttanur in [[Mulbagal]] Taluk dated in the 3rd year of [[Kulottunga I]] (about 1072-1073 CE) describe how the great army of the right hand class (''perumpadai valangai mahasenai'') having arrived with great weapons of war from the 78-nadus of Chola-mandalam and the 48000-bhumi of Jayangonda-cholamandalam (the northern districts of Tamil Nadu that is [[Tondaimandalam]]) conquered and colonized southern Karnataka ([[Kolar district]]) by the grace of Rajendrachola (Kulottunga I).<ref>{{cite book|title=Essays on Indian History and Culture. Felicitation Volume in Honour of Professor B. Sheik Ali|author=[[B. Sheikh Ali]]|editor=H. V. Sreenivasa Murthy|publisher=Mittal Publications|pages=105–107|year=1990}}</ref>
 Historian [[Burton Stein]] who has done a detailed analysis of this inscription equates the ''Valangai'' military forces and the ''Velaikkara'' troops of the Cholas with the Vellalas and notes that the contents of the above inscription confirm this identification.<ref>{{cite book|title=Peasant State and Society in Medieval South India|author=Burton Stein|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1994|pages=190–191}}</ref> The ''Velaikkara'' troops were special units of armed forces drawn from the right-hand castes that were close to the king. The units were generally named after the king like ''Rajaraja-terinda-valangai-velaikkarar'', that is ''the known (terinda) forces of king [[Rajaraja Chola I]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Military History of Medieval India|author=Gurcharn Singh Sandhu|publisher=Vision Books|year=2003|page=208}}</ref> The Chola inscriptions state that the Velaikkara forces pledged under oath to commit suicide in case they failed to defend their king or in the event of his death.<ref>{{cite book|title=Contributions to Indian Sociology Volumes 29-30 of Contributions to Indian Sociology: Occasional Studies|author=École pratique des hautes études (France). Section des sciences économiques et sociales, University of Oxford. Institute of Social Anthropology, Research Centre on Social and Economic Development in Asia|publisher=Mouton|year=1995|page=265}}</ref> The Chalukya kings were also known by the title ''Velpularasar'', that is kings of ''Vel'' country (''pulam'' means region or country in [[Tamil language|Tamil]]) and as ''Velkulattarasar'', that is kings of the ''Vel'' clan (''kulam''), in epigraphs and in the old Tamil lexicon Divakaram.<ref>{{cite book|title=Encyclopaedia of Untouchables Ancient, Medieval and Modern|author=Raj Kumar|publisher=Gyan Publishing House|year=2008|page=179}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Colas|author=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri, M.A., Professor of Indian History and Archaeology University of Madras|publisher=Thompson & Co., Ltd., Printers, Madras|year=1937|page=11}}</ref>
 The Vellalar also contributed to the [[Bhakti movement]] in south India from the seventh century CE onwards and helped revive Hinduism. Many of the [[Nayanmar]]s, the [[Shaiva]] saints, were Vellalar.<ref>{{cite book|title=Religion and Public Culture: Encounters and Identities in Modern South India|author=Keith E. Yandell Keith E. Yandell, John J. Paul|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|page=249}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=A History of India|author=Professor of Asian History Hermann Kulke, Dietmar Rothermund|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2004|page=143}}</ref> In the 12th century CE, saint [[Sekkizhar|Sekkilan Mahadevadigal Ramadeva]] sang the glories of these Nayanmars in his magnum opus, the [[Periyapuranam]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A Survey of the Sources for the History of Tamil Literature|author=Muthusamy Govindasamy|publisher=Annamalai University|year=1977|page=135}}</ref> Sekkizhar was born in a Vellala family in [[Kundrathur]] in [[Thondaimandalam]] and had the title Uttama Chola Pallavaraiyan.<ref>{{cite book|title=Temples of Tamilnadu Kancheepuram District, Volume 1|author=C. Chandramouli|publisher=Controller of Publications|year=2003|page=54}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Tillai and Nataraja|author=Balasubrahmanyam Venkataraman|publisher=Mudgala Trust|year=1994|page=65}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The City of the Cosmic Dance: Chidambaram|author=B. Natarajan|publisher=Orient Longman|year=1974|page=32}}</ref> Sekkilan Mahadevadigal Ramadeva was an elder contemporary of [[Kulothunga Chola II]], the king who is said to have persecuted the [[Brahmin]] philosopher [[Ramanuja]] for his [[Vaishnavite]] preachings by forcing him to sign a document stating [[Shiva]] is the greatest god.<ref>{{cite book|title=Chidambaram Golden Temple|author=Caṇmukam Meyyappan̲|publisher=Manivasagar Pathippagam|year=1992|page=13}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Sri Ramanuja. Makers of Indian literature.|author=Madabhushini Narasimhacharya|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|year=2004|page=25}}</ref>
@@ Line 63: / Line 64: @@
 ==Current usage==
-Even though at present, the term Vellalar has come to mean a farmer or agricultural people, a number of non-cultivating landholding castes like [[Karkarthar|Kaarukaatha Velaalar]] and the [[Kondaikatti Vellalar|Kondaikatti Velaalar]] who served ruling dynasties in various capacities also identify themselves as Vellalar.{{Efn|1=Among the Tamil castes, both Karkattar Vellalas (Arunachalam, 1975) and Kondaikatti Vellalas (Barnett, 1970) have much the same profile as the KP (Kottai Pillaimar): both are non-cultivating land-holders, with a history of service to ruling dynasties.<ref>{{cite book|title=Gender and the Household Domain. Social and Cultural Dimensions|editor= Karuna Chanana, Maithreyi Krishna Raj|publisher=Sage Publications|year=1989|page=92}}</ref>}} Likewise, the [[Nankudi Vellalar|Kottai Pillaimar]] who were traditionally land-holders and lived inside forts, neither lease land for agriculture nor do they till their own fields. They also do not supervise cultivation directly due to the stigma attached to farming and manual labor.<ref>{{cite book|title=Boundary Walls. Caste and Women in a Tamil Community|author=Kamala Ganesh|publisher=Hindustan Publishing Corporation|year=1993|page=27}}</ref> Similarly, the Vellala Chettis, a branch of the Chozhia Vellalars were traders and merchants.<ref>{{cite book|title=Caste and Race in India|author=Govind Sadashiv Ghurye|publisher=Popular Prakashan|page=209|year=1969}}</ref> The Adi-saiva vellalar sect is a strictly vegetarian [[Saivite]] group that traditionally served as priests.<ref>{{cite book|title=Population and Social Change in an Indian Village. Quarter Century of Development in Managadu [i.e. Mangadu] Village, Tamil Nadu|author=A. Aiyappan, K. Mahadevan|publisher=Mittal Publications|year=1988|page=42}}</ref>
+Even though at present, the term "Vellalar" is uncertain, a number of non-cultivating landholding castes like [[Karkarthar|Kaarukaatha Velaalar]] and the [[Kondaikatti Vellalar|Kondaikatti Velaalar]] who served ruling dynasties in various capacities also identify themselves as Vellalar.{{Efn|1=Among the Tamil castes, both Karkattar Vellalas (Arunachalam, 1975) and Kondaikatti Vellalas (Barnett, 1970) have much the same profile as the KP (Kottai Pillaimar): both are non-cultivating land-holders, with a history of service to ruling dynasties.<ref>{{cite book|title=Gender and the Household Domain. Social and Cultural Dimensions|editor= Karuna Chanana, Maithreyi Krishna Raj|publisher=Sage Publications|year=1989|page=92}}</ref>}} Likewise, the [[Nankudi Vellalar|Kottai Pillaimar]] who were traditionally land-holders and lived inside forts, neither lease land for agriculture nor do they till their own fields. They also do not supervise cultivation directly due to the stigma attached to farming and manual labor.<ref>{{cite book|title=Boundary Walls. Caste and Women in a Tamil Community|author=Kamala Ganesh|publisher=Hindustan Publishing Corporation|year=1993|page=27}}</ref> Similarly, the Vellala Chettis, a branch of the Chozhia Vellalars were traders and merchants.<ref>{{cite book|title=Caste and Race in India|author=Govind Sadashiv Ghurye|publisher=Popular Prakashan|page=209|year=1969}}</ref> The Adi-saiva vellalar sect is a strictly vegetarian [[Saivite]] group that traditionally served as priests.<ref>{{cite book|title=Population and Social Change in an Indian Village. Quarter Century of Development in Managadu [i.e. Mangadu] Village, Tamil Nadu|author=A. Aiyappan, K. Mahadevan|publisher=Mittal Publications|year=1988|page=42}}</ref>
 ==Social status==
-The Vellalar were considered to be of high status and enjoyed a high rank during the Chola period. They helped promote and stabilize [[Shaivism]] during the Chola era and many of the cult's leaders were drawn from the ranks of the Vellalar. They were a prosperous community of farmers and landowners who had provided economic support to Shiva temples in the Tamil country. In the Tamil region, Vellalar like Mudaliyar and Pillai along with certain other non-brahmin groups enjoyed a status equal to that of the Brahmins. The Vellalar also had more authority, power and status than the Brahmins in some social and ritual contexts.<ref>{{cite book|title=Poems to Siva The Hymns of the Tamil Saints|author=Indira Viswanathan Peterson|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=45,54|year=2014}}</ref>
+The Vellalar were considered to be of high status and enjoyed a high rank during the Chola period. They helped promote and stabilize [[Shaivism]] during the Chola era and many of the cult's leaders were drawn from the ranks of the Vellalar. They were a prosperous community of farmers and landowners who had provided economic support to Shiva temples in the Tamil country. In the Tamil region, Vellalar like Mudaliyar and Pillai along with certain other non-brahmin groups enjoyed a status equal to that of the Brahmins. The Vellalar also had more authority, power and status than the Brahmins in some social and ritual contexts.<ref>{{cite book|title=Poems to Siva The Hymns of the Tamil Saints|author=Indira Viswanathan Peterson|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=45,54|year=2014}}</ref> They were more orthodox than the Brahmins in their religious practices.<ref name="Madras (India : State). Record Office 1957 p.128 ">{{citation | author=Madras (India : State). Record Office | title=Tanjore District Handbook | publisher=Superintendent Government Press | year=1957 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wNsBAAAAMAAJ&q=vellala+orthodox | language=sl | access-date=2023-01-04 | page=128}}</ref><ref name="Rajaraman 1988 p. ">{{citation | last=Rajaraman | first=P. | title=The Justice Party: A Historical Perspective, 1916-37 | publisher=Poompozhil Publishers | year=1988 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GGMmAAAAMAAJ&q=vellalar%20orthodox | access-date=2023-01-04 | page=17}}</ref> The Vellalar nobles had marriage alliances with Chola royal families.<ref name="Gough 1978 p.10 ">{{citation | last=Gough | first=K. | title=Dravidian Kinship and Modes of Production | publisher=Indian Council of Social Science Research | series=Publication (Indian Council of Social Science Research) | year=1978 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qnYsAAAAMAAJ&q=chola+married+vellala+nobility | access-date=2023-01-04 | page=10}}</ref>
-The [[Iyer|Smarta Brahmins]] have always competed with the Tamil [[Shaivite]]s for religious influence in the temples in the [[Kaveri|Kaveri delta]] region. The Smarta adopted the worship of Hindu deities and combined their Sanskritic background with Tamil Saiva and Vaishnava devotionalism and eventually identified themselves as [[Shaivite]]s and started worshipping in [[Shiva]] temples.<ref>{{cite book|title=Poems to Siva The Hymns of the Tamil Saints|author=Indira Viswanathan Peterson|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=54-55|year=2014}}</ref>
+The [[Iyer|Smarta Brahmins]] have always competed with the Tamil [[Shaivite]]s for religious influence in the temples in the [[Kaveri|Kaveri delta]] region. The Smarta adopted the worship of Hindu deities and combined their Sanskritic background with Tamil Saiva and Vaishnava devotionalism and eventually identified themselves as [[Shaivite]]s and started worshipping in [[Shiva]] temples.<ref>{{cite book|title=Poems to Siva The Hymns of the Tamil Saints|author=Indira Viswanathan Peterson|publisher=Princeton University Press|pages=54–55|year=2014}}</ref>
 {{POV section|date=August 2022}}
-Despite being a relatively lowly group, they were dominant communities in Tamil agrarian societies for 600 years until the decline of the [[Chola empire]] in the 13th century, with their chieftains able to practise state-level political authority after winning the support and legitimisation of [[Brahmin]]s and other higher-ranked communities with grants of land and honours.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4t9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37|title=An Untouchable Community in South India: Structure and Consensus|last=Moffatt|first=Michael|publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-40087-036-3 |page=37}}</ref>
+From the Sangam period to the Chola period of Indian history (A.d. 600 to 1200), state-level political authority was in the hands of relatively low, Vellalar chieftains, who endowed local and nonlocal Brahmins with land and honors, and were in turn legitimized by them.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4t9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA37|title=An Untouchable Community in South India: Structure and Consensus|last=Moffatt|first=Michael|publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-40087-036-3 |page=37}}</ref>
-===Varna Classification===
-Historically, the Aryan varna system didn't exist in the Dravidian region. The Government of Madras recognized fairly early that the fourfold divison (4 varnas) did not describe south Indian society adequately.<ref>{{cite book |title=Kingship and political practice in colonial India |author=Pamela G. Price |page=61 |quote=the government of madras recognized fairly early that the fourfold division didn't describe south indian society adequately. |date=3 December 2007 |isbn=9780521052290 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Kingship_and_Political_Practice_in_Colon/k4JzPwAACAAJ?hl=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=9 October 2009|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/tamils-were-never-aryanised/article59887296.ece|title= Tamils were never aryanised|language=ta|access-date=9 October 2009|work=The hindu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=3 March 2017|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/dravidian-identitynow-a-losing-game/articleshow/57436788.cms|title= Dravidian identity, now a losing game|language=ta|access-date=3 March 2017|work=Times of India}}</ref>
-During the British era, The Varna status of the Vellalars were a contested and complex topic as the Vellalars are traditionally classified under the [[Vaishya]]<ref name="karve19">{{cite book|last=Karve|first=Irawati|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bxiAAAAAMAAJ&q=%22There+is+a+tradition+among+the+Vellalans+that+there+were+3+divisions+of+the+Vaisyas+:+(+1+)+Bhuvaisyas+or+farmers+,+(+2+)+Govaisyas+or+husbandmen+and+(+3+)+Dhanavaisyas+or+merchants+.+The+last+division+is+claimed+to+have+given+rise+to+the+Chettis+who+originally+belonged+to+the+Vellala+tribe.%22|title=Biology of the People of Tamil Nadu|publisher=Indian Society of Human Genetics|year=1981|page=19}}:"There is a tradition among the Vellalans that there were 3 divisions of the Vaisyas : ( 1 ) Bhuvaisyas or farmers , ( 2 ) Govaisyas or husbandmen and ( 3 ) Dhanavaisyas or merchants . The last division is claimed to have given rise to the Chettis who originally belonged to the Vellala tribe."</ref><ref name="vijailakshmi432">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/karmandala-satakam/page/432/|title=KARMANDALA SATAKAM: POLITICO-SOCIO-CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF MEDIEVAL TAMIL LITERATURE ON THE VELLALA COMMUNITY OF SOUTH KARNATAKA|publisher=Indian History Congress|year=2010|last=Vijailakshmi|first=Usha R.|page=432}}:"Verse 34: Gangeya Murthaka pala was born to Lord Shiva and he had two wives; the first wife had 54 sons & the second wife had 52 sons. Out of these Bhupalar, (one who practiced Agriculture) gave birth to 35 Vellala leaders, Dhanapalar, who was into trade, gave birth to 35 Vellala leaders Gopalar, (one who herded cattle) and one Agamurthi gave birth to 1 Vellala leader"</ref><ref name="nambiar1961">{{Cite book|last=Nambiar|first=P.K.|url=http://lsi.gov.in:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/6558/1/49378_1961_KAD.pdf|title=Village Survey Monographs, 13 Kadukkara, Part VI, Vol-IX, Census Year 1961|publisher= Office of the Registrar General|year=1961|location=India|pages=7-8|quote=“These people are considered as high caste Hindus and Mr. Thurston classifies them as a sub-sect of Vaisyas. According to Mr. Thurston these people belong to the sub-sect known as Buvaisyas as distinguished from Thanavaisyas. The former are cultivators by tradition and the latter are traders by profession. The word Vellala is believed to be derived from the word Velanmai meaning cultivation and thereby indicating their traditional occupation.”}}</ref><ref name="census7">{{Cite book|last=Census Division|first= India|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=C2qaAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22considered+as+high+caste+Hindus+and+Mr.+Thurston+classifies+them+as+a+sub-sect+of+Vaisyas.%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%E2%80%9Cconsidered+as+high+caste+Hindus+and+Mr+.+Thurston+classifies+them+as+a+sub+-+sect+of+Vaisyas+.+According+to+Mr+.+Thurston+these+people+belong+to+the+sub+-+sect+known+as+Buvaisyas+as+distinguished+from+Thanavaisyas+.+The+former+are+cultivators+by+tradition+and+the+latter+are+traders+by+profession+.+The+word+Vellala+is+believed+to+be%E2%80%9D|title= Madras: Volume 9, Part 6, Issue 13 of Census of India 1961, India Census Division |publisher= Office of the Registrar General|year=1965|location=India|pages=7-8|quote=considered as high caste Hindus and Mr . Thurston classifies them as a sub - sect of Vaisyas . According to Mr . Thurston these people belong to the sub - sect known as Buvaisyas as distinguished from Thanavaisyas . The former are cultivators by tradition and the latter are traders by profession . The word Vellala is believed to be}}</ref><ref name="thurston1">{{Cite book|last=Thurston|first=Edgar|url=https://en.wikisource.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Castes_and_Tribes_of_Southern_India/Vell%C4%81la&oldid=9228934|title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India}}:
-"The traditional story of the origin of the Vellālas is given as follows in the Baramahal Records.*"
-"Murdaka Pālakulu had fifty-four sons by the daughter of the god Indra, and fifty-two by the daughter of the god Kubēra, whom he married to the one hundred and six daughters of Nala Kubarudu, the son of Kubēra, and his sons-in-law made the following agreement with him, viz., that thirty-five of them should be called Bhūmi Pālakulu, and should till the ground; thirty-five of them named Vellal Shetti, and their occupation be traffic; and thirty-five of them named Gōvu Shetlu, and their employment breeding and feeding of cattle."
-</ref><ref name="chitty230">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/the-ceylon-gazetteer-containing-an-accurate-account-of-the-districts-provinces-c/page/230/mode/2up|title=The Ceylon Gazetteer: Containing an Accurate Account of the Districts, Provinces, Cities, Towns ... &c. of the Island of Ceylon|publisher=Palala Press|year=2016|isbn=978-1358116018|last=Chitty|first=Simon Casie|page=230}}</ref><ref name="brito98">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/jaffna-yalpanavaiyaka-maalai-ocred/page/n97/mode/1up?q=%22same+as+Vasiya%22|title=Yalpana Vaipava Malai or The History of the Kingdom of Jaffna, Translated from Tamil with an Appendix and a Glossary|publisher=Asian Educational Services, New Delhi|year=1999|isbn=81-206-1362-7|last=Brito|first=C.|page=98}}:"Velalar... Vellalar...Cultivator caste, i. e., same as Vaisya, p. lxxxiii."</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Aiyangar|first=M. Srinivasa|url=https://archive.org/details/tamil-studies-or-essays-on-the-history-of-the-tamil-people-language-religion-and-literature/page/63/mode/2up?q=%22Bhu+vaisyas%22|title=Tamil Studies, or Essays on the History of the Tamil People, Language, Religion and Literature|publisher=Franklin Classics Trade Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0-35301-211-0|location=India|page=63}}"(1) tilling, (2i cow-breeding, (3) trade, (4) studying the Vedas, (5) worship of sacrificial' fire, and (G) giving aims. Here the Vellalas are spoken of as Bhu-Vaisyas."
-"trade in grains was formerly followed by a class of Vellalas called Kula-Vanikar or Vellan- Chettis"</ref><ref name="google514"/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ez9uAAAAMAAJ&q=Buvaisya|title=Salem Cyclopedia: A Cultural and Historical Dictionary of Salem District, Tamil Nadu|publisher=Institute of Kongu Studies (Salem, India)|year=1992|isbn=978-8-19002-880-6|last=Rajannan|first=Busnagi|page=340}}:"VELLALAR , Kongu . They are variously referred to as Bupaalan , Buvaisya, Dhevar, Gangavamsam, Rayar and most commonly vivasayee and kudiyaanavar."</ref><ref name="nambiar7">{{Cite book|last=Nambiar|first=P.K.|url=http://lsi.gov.in/library/handle/123456789/6558|title=Village Survey Monographs, 13 Kadukkara, Part VI, Vol-IX, Census Year 1961|publisher=Office of the Registrar General|year=1961|location=India|pages=7-8|quote=“These people are considered as high caste Hindus and Mr. Thurston classifies them as a sub-sect of Vaisyas. According to Mr. Thurston these people belong to the sub-sect known as Buvaisyas as distinguished from Thanavaisyas. The former are cultivators by tradition and the latter are traders by profession. The word Vellala is believed to be derived from the word Velanmai meaning cultivation and thereby indicating their traditional occupation.”}}</ref><ref name="nambiar1961"/><ref name="thurston125">{{cite book|last=Thurston|first=Edgar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jz4ODgAAQBAJ&q=%22Bhu+vaisya+%28earth+Vaisya%29.%E2%80%94A+name+returned+by+some+Nattukottai+Chettis+and+Vellalas.%22&pg=PA125|title=CASTES AND TRIBES OF SOUTHERN INDIA VOL 1: With commentary by VED from VICTORIA INSTITUTIONS|publisher=VICTORIA INSTITUTIONS, Aaradhana, Deverkovil 673508 India|year=2018|isbn=978-1-98077-710-6|page=125}}:"Bhu vaisya (earth Vaisya).—A name returned by some Nattukottai Chettis and Vellalas."</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Aiyangar|first=M. Srinivasa|url=https://archive.org/details/tamil-studies-or-essays-on-the-history-of-the-tamil-people-language-religion-and-literature/page/63/mode/2up?q=%22Bhu+vaisyas%22|title=Tamil Studies, or Essays on the History of the Tamil People, Language, Religion and Literature|publisher=Franklin Classics Trade Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0-35301-211-0|location=India|page=63}}"(1) tilling, (2i cow-breeding, (3) trade, (4) studying the Vedas, (5) worship of sacrificial' fire, and (G) giving aims. Here the Vellalas are spoken of as Bhu-Vaisyas."
-"trade in grains was formerly followed by a class of Vellalas called Kula-Vanikar or Vellan- Chettis"</ref>
-[[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]], and the Vellalars who were tillers of the soil and held offices pertaining to land, were ranked as Sat-[[Shudra|Sudra]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Price |first=Pamela G.|date=1996|title=Kingship and Political Practice in Colonial India |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aqKSTs4ajsAC&q=vellalar+sudra&pg=PA61|location= |publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=61|isbn=978-0-52155-247-9}}:”Dominant castes like the land - controlling Vellalar , whose practices were compatible with Brahminic ideas of purity , were ranked high - ranking Sudras in the government system”</ref> in the 1901 census; with the Government of Madras recognising that the 4-fold division (four varnas) did not describe the South Indian, or Dravidian, society adequately. But the vellalar caste men petitioned against their classification of the madras government. In Travancore's presidency, they're classified as [[vaishya]]. <ref>{{cite book|last=Rao|first=C. Hayavadana Rao|url=https://archive.org/details/the-vellalas-of-nanjanad-travancore-state-india_202104/page/513/mode/2up?q=Bhoo+Vysias|title=The Vellalas of Nanjanad, Travancore State, India|publisher=Anthropos, University of California|year=2014|page=514}}:"Of the three subdivisions among Vysias, the Vellalas belong to one that is known as Bhoo-Vysias."</ref>
-According to some Tamil brahmin historians, the velir or vellalar tribes are [[Kshatriya]] through [[Yaduvanshi dynasty]] in the aryan varna system. <ref>{{cite book |last=Aiyengar |first=M Ragav|date=1913|title=Velir varalaru (வேளிர் வரலாறு) |url= https://ta.wikisource.org/wiki/%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D:%E0%AE%B5%E0%AF%87%E0%AE%B3%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%B5%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%B2%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%B1%E0%AF%81.djvu/37|location= |publisher=Public domain|page=37|isbn=9781136384134}}:” இங்ஙனம், நாடுகளிற் றங்கியவர் பதிக்குரியோர் ' என்னும் பொருள்கொண்ட கிழார் எனவும், தம்
-முயற்சித்திறந்தோன்ற மருதநில மக்கள் எனவும், தம் ஆதிகாட்டி னடியாக வேளிர்(velir), வேளாளர்(vellalar) எனவும் பெயர் பெற்றனர். ஆந்திர நாட்டாரும் இன்னோரை (வேண்மார் என்பதன் திரிபாக) வேலமா என்பர். ஆரியவகுப்பினருள் க்ஷத்ரிய(kshatriya) ஜாதியைச் சேர்ந்த இவர்கள், தம் நாடு செழித்தல்கருதி வணங்கிவந்த தெய்வம், ஆரியமக்கள் வணங்கிவந்த தெய்வங்களுள் இந்திரனாவன்.”</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Iyer |first=S.V vishwanathan|date=2013|title=Racial Synthesis in Hindu Culture |url= https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Racial_Synthesis_in_Hindu_Culture/rfWAAAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=velir+vellalar&pg=PA156&printsec=frontcover|location= |publisher=Taylor and Francis|page=156|isbn=9781136384134}}:” The Tamil kings were elevated to the rank of kshatriyas in spite of their connexions with the ancient Velir or Vellala tribes.”</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Mathurā.The Settlement Pattern and Cultural Profile of an Early Historical City|author=Vijaya Laxmi Singh|publisher=Sundeep Prakashan|year=2005|page=121}}</ref>
-==== Historical Vellalar personalities documented as Vaishyas ====
-[[Appar]], a [[Saiva]] Vellala saint who lived during the 6th-7th Century CE, was a [[Vaishya]] by birth<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=9YzXAAAAMAAJ&dq=Appar+vaisya&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22Appar+was+a+vaisya%22|title=Developments in Indian Religion|publisher=Canadian Scholars' Press|year=2002|last=Smith|first=Ronald Morton|page=33}}:"Appar was a vaisya"</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/proceedings-volume-3/page/300/mode/2up?q=%22Vellala+or+Vaisya%22|title=Actes Du Sixième Congrès International Des Orientalistes|publisher=Wentworth Press|year=2018|last=Leiden|first=International Congress of Orientalists|page=300|isbn=978-0-27090-885-5}}:"He was a Vellala or Vaisya by birth ."</ref>. The [[Saiva]] saint from 8th century CE, [[Eyarkon Kalikkama Nayanar|Eyarkon Kalikamar]], 29th among the 63 [[Saiva]] [[Nayanmars]] mentioned in [[Sekkizhar|Sekkizhar's]] [[Periya Puranam]], dated 12th century CE, is described as a Vellala of the [[Vaishya]] [[caste]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=RYjXAAAAMAAJ&dq=Vellala+sacred+thread&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22EYARKON+KALIKAMAR+Caste+%3A+vaishya+%28+vellala+%29%22|title=Slaves of the Lord: The Path of the Tamil Saints|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|year=1988|last=Dehejia|first=Vidya|page=178|isbn=978-8-12150-044-9}}:"EYARKON KALIKAMAR Caste : vaishya ( vellala )"</ref>.
-The [[Vaishnavite]] Vellala Saint [[Nammazhwar]], who lived ca. 798 CE, was classified as [[Vaishya|Vysya]], among the Four great [[Vaishya|Vysya]] saints of [[Hinduism]], by the All India Vaishya Samaj in 1988.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=JvO1AAAAIAAJ&q=Nammalvar+Vysya&dq=Nammalvar+Vysya&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKzb3n_8TwAhXegP0HHULQBjIQ6AEwAHoECAMQAg|title=Vaishyas in India, Volume 1|publisher=All India Vaishya Samaj|year=1988|last=Gupta|first=Ke.Si.|page=38}}:"VYSYA. SAINTS. NAMMALVAR. According to tradition Nammalvar is the first amongst Alvars of Ramanuja Visista Advaita Siddhantha and he was is known traditionally one who born in a Vysya family ."</ref> This is corroborated by [[Panchapakesa Jayaraman|Dr.Panchapakesa Jayaraman]], Vedic priest & scholar, ex-director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, in his book "A Brief History of Vaishnava Saint Poets: The Alwars" where he mentions that Nammalwar, a [[Vellalar|Vellala,]] belongs to the [[Vaishya]] [[caste]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=P.|first=Jayaraman|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=UpmeDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA60&dq=%22Nammalwar+belonging+to+the+Vellala,+Vaishya+community%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj1gJ-I-cfwAhWOsaQKHXWJDBMQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg#v=onepage&q=%22Nammalwar%20belonging%20to%20the%20Vellala%2C%20Vaishya%20community%22&f=false|title=A Brief History of Vaishnava Saint Poets : The Alwars|publisher=Vani Prakashan|year=2019|isbn=978-9-38901-269-9|location=India|page=60|quote="Nammalwar belonging to the Vellala, Vaishya community"}}</ref> [[Nammazhwar|Nammazhwar's]] grandfather, Tiruvazhmarban Pillai, also a Vellala, is mentioned as a [[Vaishya|Vysya]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=64_XAAAAMAAJ&q=%22A+vysya+by+name+Tiruvazhmarba+was+married+to+lady+by+name+Brindha+.+They+had+no+children+.%22&dq=%22A+vysya+by+name+Tiruvazhmarba+was+married+to+lady+by+name+Brindha+.+They+had+no+children+.%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiE587sgsXwAhUmhf0HHWzUAmoQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg|title=108 Vaishnavite Divya Desams: Divya desams in Malai Nadu and Vada Nadu|publisher=T.T. Devasthanams|year=2000|last=Ramesh|first=M.S.|page=95}}:"A vysya by name Tiruvazhmarba was married to lady by name Brindha . They had no children . They prayed to the Lord of Tirupatisaram and were blessed with a daughter named ******* Udaya nangai ."</ref>
-Rangappa Thiruvengadam Pillai, who recorded a Diary of events in the Tamil region from 1761-1768, belonged to the Vaishya caste.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stephen|first=S. Jeyaseela|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=YixuAAAAMAAJ&dq=Pillai+Vaishya&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22Rangappa+Thiruvengadam+Pillai+was+a+vaishya+%22|title=The Diary of Rangappa Thiruvengadam Pillai: 1761-1768|date=2001|publisher=IIES|location=India|page=xix}}:"Rangappa Thiruvengadam Pillai was a vaishya "</ref>
-==== Upanayana ceremonies ====
-The Karmandala Satakam by Ãrai Kiḻãr, dated 1292-1342 C.E, during the reign of [[Hoysala]] King [[Veera Ballala III]], states in verse 52:[[File:A Chettiar Vellālar or Vellān Chetty with sacred thread, Madras, 1837.jpg|thumb|A Chettiar Vellālar or Vellān Chetty wearing the sacred thread, Madras, 1837]]
-"The Vellalas of Karmandalam belonged to the Mānava Gotra & practiced the rite of [[upanayana]] or wearing the sacred thread."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/karmandala-satakam/page/432/|title=KARMANDALA SATAKAM: POLITICO-SOCIO-CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF MEDIEVAL TAMIL LITERATURE ON THE VELLALA COMMUNITY OF SOUTH KARNATAKA|publisher=Indian History Congress|year=2010|last=Vijailakshmi|first=Usha R.|page=432}}</ref>
-As per the Apastambha Shrauta Sutra, The Mānava [[Gotra]] is a Rājarși-derived [[Dvija]] [[Gotra]] used by the 3-upper [[castes]].<ref name="scharfe115">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tlbxHiSGczYC&q=%22%C4%80%C5%9B%C5%9BS+I+1%2C3%2C5f+.+prescribes+gotra+-+s+derived+from+r%C4%81jar%C8%99i+-+s+%28+such+as+M%C4%81nava+%2C+Aila+%2C+Paur%C5%ABrava+%29+for+kings+%2C+or+M%C4%81nava+for+all+the+three+upper+castes+if+the+exact+gotra+is+unknown+%3B+vaisya+-+s+sometimes+used+Bh%C4%81landana+%2C+V%C4%81tsapra+or+M%C4%81rkhila%22&pg=PA115|title=Handbuch der Orientalistik: Indien, Part 2|publisher=BRILL|year=1973|last=Scharfe|first=Hartmut|page=115|isbn=978-9-00409-060-6}}"ĀśśS I 1,3,5f . prescribes gotra - s derived from rājarși - s ( such as Mānava , Aila , Paurūrava ) for kings , or Mānava for all the three upper castes if the exact gotra is unknown ; vaisya - s sometimes used Bhālandana , Vātsapra or Mārkhila"</ref>[[File:An elderly Chettiar Vellālar wearing the sacred thread in Sunnambukulam, Tamil Nadu. Photographed during the Census of India, 1961.png|thumb|An elderly Chettiar Vellālar wearing the sacred thread in Sunnambukulam, Tamil Nadu. Photographed during the Census of India, 1961.]]
-The [[Vedic|Vaidika]] [[Upanayana]] ceremony performed by the Vellalas, for wearing the Yajñopavita or the sacred thread, traditionally done for the 3 upper castes, namely [[Brahmin]], [[Kshatriya]] and [[Vaishya]] respectively,<ref name="kentish437">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=LPPWAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Our+people+are+Vellalas%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22Yaj%C3%B1opavita+is+the+sacred+thread+which+all+the+%27+twice+born+%27+%2C+ie+%2C+the+three+uppercastes+%2C+among+the+Hindus+begin+wearing+when+they+come+of+age+.+The+rite+that+confers+this+is+called+upanayana+.%22|title=Selected Letters of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts|year=1988|last=Kentish Coomaraswamy|first=Ananda|page=437|isbn=978-0-90562-306-1}}:"Yajñopavita is the sacred thread which all the ' twice born ' , ie , the three uppercastes , among the Hindus begin wearing when they come of age . The rite that confers this is called upanayana ."</ref> is also well documented in the [[British Raj|British era]] and modern records.<ref name="google134">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=c0DmAAAAMAAJ&q=%22a+few+of+the+Vellalas+constantly+wear+the+sacred+thread%22&dq=%22a+few+of+the+Vellalas+constantly+wear+the+sacred+thread%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjvw9Xg67PwAhVCsKQKHen6DgUQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg|title=Journal of Kerala Studies, Volume 32|publisher=University of Kerala|year=2005|page=134}}:"a few of the Vellalas constantly wear the sacred thread"</ref><ref name="raghavan129">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&redir_esc=y&id=Fb4LAAAAIAAJ&dq=Vellala+sacred+thread&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22A+few+therefore+constantly+wear+the+sacred+thread%22|title=Tamil Culture in Ceylon: A General Introduction|publisher=Kalai Nilayam|year=1971|last=Raghavan|first=M.D|page=129}}:"A few therefore constantly wear the sacred thread"</ref><ref name="record156">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=wNsBAAAAMAAJ&dq=Vellala+sacred+thread&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22They+generally+style+themselves+as+Chettiars+or+Mudaliars+and+engage+themselves+partly+in+trade+and+partly+in+agriculture+.+The+men+%2C+except+that+they+wear+the+sacred+thread+and+paint+on+their+foreheads+a+sect+-+mark+which+is+like+the+ordinary+Vaishnava+mark%22|title=Tanjore District Handbook|publisher=Superintendent Government Press|last=Record Office|first=Madras (India : State)|year=1957|page=156}}:"They generally style themselves as Chettiars or Mudaliars and engage themselves partly in trade and partly in agriculture . The men , except that they wear the sacred thread and paint on their foreheads a sect - mark which is like the ordinary Vaishnava mark"</ref><ref name="google156">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=zVm1AAAAIAAJ&dq=They+generally+style+themselves+as+Chettiars+or+Mudaliars+and+engage+themselves+partly+in+trade+and+partly+in+agriculture+.+The+men+%2C+except+that+they+wear+the+sacred+thread+and+paint+on+their+foreheads+a+sect+-+mark+which+is+like+the+ordinary+Vaishnava+mark&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22They+generally+style+themselves+as+Chettiars+or+Mudaliars+and+engage+themselves+partly+in+trade+and+partly+in+agriculture+.+The+men+%2C+except+that+they+wear+the+sacred+thread+and+paint+on+their+foreheads+a+sect+-+mark+which+is+like+the+ordinary+Vaishnava+mark%22|title=Madras District Gazetteers, Volume 1|publisher=Superintendent, Government Press|last=B. S. Baliga (Rao Bahadur.)|first=Madras (India : State)|year=1957|page=156}}:"They generally style themselves as Chettiars or Mudaliars and engage themselves partly in trade and partly in agriculture . The men , except that they wear the sacred thread and paint on their foreheads a sect - mark which is like the ordinary Vaishnava mark"</ref><ref name="venkataramaiah424">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=2pAMAQAAMAAJ&q=%22others+being+Sara+!+!+%C4%B1+,+Kaikkutti+and+Coliya+(+c%C3%B5liya+)+.+They+do+not+intermarry+.+They+are+vegetarians+and+wear+the+sacred+thread+.+They+have+the+title+Pillai%22&dq=%22others+being+Sara+!+!+%C4%B1+,+Kaikkutti+and+Coliya+(+c%C3%B5liya+)+.+They+do+not+intermarry+.+They+are+vegetarians+and+wear+the+sacred+thread+.+They+have+the+title+Pillai%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjEr_KMp8TwAhVAg_0HHRgCBDUQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg|title=A Handbook of Tamil Nadu|publisher=International School of Dravidian Linguistics|year=1996|last=Venkataramaiah|first=K. M.|page=424}}:"others being Sara ! ! ı , Kaikkutti and Coliya ( cõliya ) . They do not intermarry . They are vegetarians and wear the sacred thread . They have the title Pillai"</ref> In his letters from 1947, [[Ananda Coomaraswamy|Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy]], a [[Sri Lankan Vellalar]], records his Vellala ancestry from [[Thanjavur]], and states that the Vellalars are traditionally given the [[Vedic|Vaidika]] [[Upanayana]] ceremony and wear the sacred thread or Yajñopavita.<ref name="kentish1988">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=LPPWAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Our+people+are+Vellalas%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22Our+people+are+Vellalas+%2C+originally+from+Tanjore+%2C+but+long+settled+in+N+.+Ceylon+%28+Jaffna+%29+and+then+also+in+Colombo+.+They+are+Saivas+%2C+they+are+given+upanayana+and+wear+the+thread+.%22|title=Selected Letters of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts|year=1988|last=Kentish Coomaraswamy|first=Ananda|page=437|isbn=978-0-90562-306-1}}:"Our people are Vellalas , originally from Tanjore , but long settled in N . Ceylon ( Jaffna ) and then also in Colombo . They are Saivas , they are given upanayana and wear the thread ."</ref> He also mentions his [[Upanayana]] ceremony conducted by a Brahmin from Punjab and his son Rama's [[Upanayana]] ceremony in Bengal.<ref name="kentish436">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=LPPWAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Our+people+are+Vellalas%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22We+do+wear+the+yaj%C3%B1opavita+%3B+I+have+received+upanayana+from+a+Brahman+in+the+Punjab+%2C+and+shall+resume+wearing+the+thread+when+we+come+to+India+.+I+suggested+that+you+should+accept+the+offer+to+give+you+upanayana+in+Bengal%22|title=Selected Letters of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts|year=1988|last=Kentish Coomaraswamy|first=Ananda|page=436|isbn=978-0-90562-306-1}}:"We do wear the yajñopavita ; I have received upanayana from a Brahman in the Punjab , and shall resume wearing the thread when we come to India . I suggested that you should accept the offer to give you upanayana in Bengal"</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.file-pdf.it/2016/11/02/a-k-coomaraswmay-selectedlettersofanandak-coomaraswamy/a-k-coomaraswmay-selectedlettersofanandak-coomaraswamy.pdf|title=Selected Letters of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts|year=1988|last=Kentish Coomaraswamy|first=Ananda|page=436|isbn=978-0-90562-306-1}}:"We do wear the yajñopavita ; I have received upanayana from a Brahman in the Punjab , and shall resume wearing the thread when we come to India . I suggested that you should accept the offer to give you upanayana in Bengal"</ref> Edgar Thurston quotes H.A Stuart's commentary on the Vellalas, where he mentions the Vaishya subdivisions of the Vellalas as shepherds, cultivators and merchants and a few who therefore constantly wear the sacred thread, with most putting it on only during marriages or funerals as a mark of the sacred nature of the ceremony."<ref name="thurstonvi">{{Cite book|last=Thurston|first=Edgar|url=https://en.wikisource.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Castes_and_Tribes_of_Southern_India/Vell%C4%81la&oldid=9228934|title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India}}:
-"a severe drought fell upon the land, and the people prayed to Bhūdēvi, the goddess of the earth, for aid. She pitied them, and produced from her body a man carrying a plough, who showed them how to till the soil and support themselves. His offsprings are the Vellālas, who aspire to belong to the Vaisya caste, since that includes Gōvaisyas, Bhūvaisyas, and Dhanavaisyas (shepherds, cultivators and merchants). A few, therefore, constantly wear the sacred thread, but most put it on only during marriages or funerals as a mark of the sacred nature of the ceremony."</ref>
-==== Traditional records ====
-The various Puranas mentioning the Vaishya status accorded to the Vellalars during the reign of the Chola emperors, is elaborated in the Abhidana Chintamani.<ref>{{cite book|last=Iravīntiran̲|first=Na|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=42TXAAAAMAAJ&dq=%E0%AE%B5%E0%AF%86%E0%AE%B3%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%B3%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%B3%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D+%E0%AE%B5%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%9A%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22%E0%AE%B5%E0%AF%86%E0%AE%B3%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%B3%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%B3%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D+%E0%AE%B5%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%9A%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B3%E0%AF%8D%22|title=இந்துத்துவம், இந்து சமயம், சமூக மாற்றங்கள்|publisher=கவுட் விஷன்|year=2003|page=112}}:"வெள்ளாளர் வைசியர்கள்"</ref>
-According to Anthropologist [[Irawati Karve]], there is a tradition among the Vellalans that there were 3 divisions of the [[Vaishyas]] : (1) Bhu-[[Vaishyas]] or farmers ,(2) Go-[[Vaishyas]] or husbandmen & (3) Dhana-[[Vaishyas]] or merchants, with the last division giving rise to the [[Chetties|Chettis]] who originally belonged to the Vellala tribe.<ref name="karve19" />
-Historian Usha R. Vijailakshmi observes that Verse 34 of the Karmandala Satakam, composed ca.1292 CE, connects the origin of the Gangas to the origin of the [[Karkarthar|Karakatha]] Vellalas of Southern Karnataka, as follows: "Gangeya Murthaka pala was born to Lord Shiva and he had two wives; the first wife had 54 sons & the second wife had 52 sons. Out of these Bhupalar, (one who practiced Agriculture) gave birth to 35 Vellala leaders, Dhanapalar, who was into trade, gave birth to 35 Vellala leaders Gopalar, (one who herded cattle) and one Agamurthi gave birth to 1 Vellala leader".<ref name="auto3" />
-The terms Bhupālar, Dhanapālar, & Gopālar refer to the 3 subdivisions of [[Vaishyas]]: Bhu-[[vaishya]], Dhana-[[vaishya]] & Go-[[vaishya]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Rajannan|first=Busnagi|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=Ez9uAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Vellalar%2C+Kongu.%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Bupaalan%2C+Buvaisya|title=Salem Cyclopedia: A Cultural and Historical Dictionary of Salem District, Tamil Nadu|publisher=Institute of Kongu Studies (Salem, India)|year=1992|isbn=978-8-19002-880-6|page=340}}:"VELLALAR , Kongu . They are variously referred to as Bupaalan , Buvaisya, Dhevar, Gangavamsam, Rayar and most commonly vivasayee and kudiyaanavar.”</ref><ref name="chitty230" /><ref name="karve19" /> respectively. Their professions correspond to the duties laid out for [[Vaishyas]] in the [[Manusmriti]], which states, "trade, animal husbandry, and agriculture has been prescribed as the livelihood for the [[Vaishya]]. Their Law, however, is giving gifts, studying the Vedas, and offering sacrifices."<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/manus-code-of-law-a-critical-edition-and-translation-of-the-manava-dharmasastra-/page/211/mode/2up?q=vaisya|title=Manus Code Of Law: A Critical Edition And Translation Of The Mānava Dharmaśāstra|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-19517-146-4|last=Olivelle|first=Patrick|page=212}}</ref>. This is corroborated by Muttusvami Srinivasa Iyengar, who classifies the Vellalas as [[Vaishyas]] with Bhu-[[Vaishya]] and Kula Vanikar or Vellan [[Chetti]] sub-divisions, and cites the duties of the Bhu-Vaishya sect of Vellalars as mentioned in a verse of the 9th century CE text, the Purapporul Venba Maalai:
-"
-(1) tilling,
-(2) cow-breeding,
-(3) trade,
-(4) studying the Vedas,
-(5) worship of sacrificial' fire, and
-(6) giving aims.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Aiyangar|first=M. Srinivasa|url=https://archive.org/details/tamil-studies-or-essays-on-the-history-of-the-tamil-people-language-religion-and-literature/page/63/mode/2up?q=%22Bhu+vaisyas%22|title=Tamil Studies, or Essays on the History of the Tamil People, Language, Religion and Literature|publisher=Franklin Classics Trade Press|year=2018|isbn=978-0-35301-211-0|location=India|page=63}}"(1) tilling, (2i cow-breeding, (3) trade, (4) studying the Vedas, (5) worship of sacrificial' fire, and (G) giving aims. Here the Vellalas are spoken of as Bhu-Vaisyas."
-"trade in grains was formerly followed by a class of Vellalas called Kula-Vanikar or Vellan- Chettis"</ref>
-Usha R. Vijailakshmi notes that the same legend from the Karmandala Satakam<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/karmandala-satakam/page/432/|title=KARMANDALA SATAKAM: POLITICO-SOCIO-CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF MEDIEVAL TAMIL LITERATURE ON THE VELLALA COMMUNITY OF SOUTH KARNATAKA|publisher=Indian History Congress|year=2010|last=Vijailakshmi|first=Usha R.|page=432}}:"Verse 34: Gangeya Murthaka pala was born to Lord Shiva and he had two wives; the first wife had 54 sons & the second wife had 52 sons. Out of these Bhupalar, (one who practiced Agriculture) gave birth to 35 Vellala leaders, Dhanapalar, who was into trade, gave birth to 35 Vellala leaders Gopalar, (one who herded cattle)"</ref> is dealt with in certain detail by [[Edgar Thurston]] in his seminal work - Castes and Tribes of Southern India, in which he discusses the Vellala community of Tamil Nadu.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/karmandala-satakam/page/432/|title=KARMANDALA SATAKAM: POLITICO-SOCIO-CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF MEDIEVAL TAMIL LITERATURE ON THE VELLALA COMMUNITY OF SOUTH KARNATAKA|publisher=Indian History Congress|year=2010|last=Vijailakshmi|first=Usha R.|page=432}}:"Interestingly, this legend is dealt with in certain detail by Edgar Thurston in his
-seminal work —- Castes and Tribes of Southern India, in which he discusses about Vellala community of Tamilnadu."</ref> The 1961 Census quotes [[Edgar Thurston]] who classifies the Vellalas as [[Vaisyas]],<ref name="nambiar7" /><ref name="nambiar1961" /><ref name="census7" /> and mentions their traditional subdivision into Bhūmi Pālakulu or [[Bhūmi|Bhu]]-[[Vaishyas]], Vellal Shetti or Dhana-[[Vaishyas]], and Govu-Shetlu or [[Cow|Go]]-[[Vaishyas]] as mentioned in the Baramahal records<ref name="thurston1" /><ref name="thurston125" /> which state that in Murdaka Palakulu, the son of [[Bhūmi|Bhumi]] Devi born on the banks of the [[Ganges]], after winning a battle with [[Vishwakarma]], attained the titles
-) Bhūmi Pālakudu or saviour of the earth,
-) Ganga kulam or descendant of the river Ganga, and
-)Murdaka Pālakudu or protector of the plough, alluding to his being born with a ploughshare in his hand,
-and it was ordained that a person of the caste should put the crown on the king's head at the coronation. They next invested him with the [[Upanayana|yegnōpavitam]] or string, and, in order that he might propagate his caste, they gave him in marriage the daughters of the gods Indra and Kubēra.
-<ref>{{Cite book|last=Thurston|first=Edgar|url=https://en.wikisource.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Castes_and_Tribes_of_Southern_India/Vell%C4%81la&oldid=9228934|title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India}}:
-"First Bhūmi Pālakudu or saviour of the earth, because he was produced by her. Second, Ganga kulam or descendant of the river Ganga, by reason of having been brought forth on her banks. Third, Murdaka Pālakudu or protector of the plough, alluding to his being born with a ploughshare in his hand, and they likewise ordained that, as he had lost his diadem, he should not be eligible to sovereignty, but that he and his descendants should till the ground with this privilege. that a person of the caste should put the crown on the king's head at the coronation. They next invested him with the yegnōpavitam or string, and, in order that he might propagate his caste, they gave him in marriage the daughters of the gods Indra and Kubēra."</ref> Murdaka Pālakulu had fifty-four sons by the daughter of the god Indra, and fifty-two by the daughter of the god Kubēra, whom he married to the one hundred and six daughters of Nala Kubarudu, the son of Kubēra, and it was ordained that;
-* thirty-five of them should be called Bhūmi Pālakulu, and should till the ground;
-* thirty-five of them named Vellal Shetti, and their occupation be traffic; and
-* thirty-five of them named Gōvu Shetlu, and their employment breeding and feeding of cattle.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Thurston|first=Edgar|url=https://en.wikisource.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Castes_and_Tribes_of_Southern_India/Vell%C4%81la&oldid=9228934|title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India}}:
-"Murdaka Pālakulu had fifty-four sons by the daughter of the god Indra, and fifty-two by the daughter of the god Kubēra, whom he married to the one hundred and six daughters of Nala Kubarudu, the son of Kubēra, and his sons-in-law made the following agreement with him, viz., that thirty-five of them should be called Bhūmi Pālakulu, and should till the ground; thirty-five of them named Vellal Shetti, and their occupation be traffic; and thirty-five of them named Gōvu Shetlu, and their employment breeding and feeding of cattle."</ref>
-Edgar Thurston also cites H.A. Stuart's commentary which corroborates the Baramahal records, where he mentions the Vellalas sub-divisions of Vaishyas as [[Bhūmi|Bhu]]-[[Vaishyas]], [[Cow|Go]]-[[Vaishyas]] and [[Wealth|Dhana]]-[[Vaishyas]] or shepherds, cultivators and merchants.<ref name="thurstonvi"/>
-Busnagi Rajannan states that the [[Kongu Vellalars]] are also referred to as Bhu-[[Vaishyas]], Bhu-Pālan or Gangavamsam.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ez9uAAAAMAAJ&q=Buvaisya|title=Salem Cyclopedia: A Cultural and Historical Dictionary of Salem District, Tamil Nadu|publisher=Institute of Kongu Studies (Salem, India)|year=1992|isbn=978-8-19002-880-6|last=Rajannan|first=Busnagi|page=340}}:"VELLALAR , Kongu . A major caste of farmers in the district . They are variously referred to as Bupaalan , Buvaisya , Dhevar , Gangavamsam , Rayar , and most commonly as Kudiyaanavar and Vivasaayi ."</ref> The "Yalpana Vaipava Malai" or "The History of the Kingdom of [[Jaffna]]", composed by Mayil Vakanan in 1739, states that the Vellalars are synonymous with [[Vaishyas]].<ref name="brito98"/>
-==== Government records (1834-1981) ====
-[[Simon Casie Chitty]] notes in the [[British Raj|British Government]] Ceylon District Gazetteer of 1834 that the [[Sri Lankan Vellalar]]s also follow this 3 fold classification of Vaishyas; The [[Chettiar|Chettiar Vellalar]] are Dhana-[[Vaishyas]], the [[Karkathar|Karkathar Vellalar]], [[Tuluva Vellalar]] and [[Chozhia Vellalar]] are Bhu-[[Vaishyas]], and the Idayers are Go-[[Vaishyas]].<ref name="chitty230" /> Alongside classifying the Vellalas as [[Vaishyas]], [[Simon Casie Chitty|Chetty]] also documents that the [[Sri Lankan Vellalar|Jaffna Vellalas]] belong to the Bhu-Vaishya [[caste]] caste,<ref>{{cite book|last=Tambiah|first=Henry Wijayakone|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?redir_esc=y&id=_PSbAAAAMAAJ&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22he+classifies+the+Vellalas+under+the+Vaisya+caste+and+even+goes+to+the+extent+of+calling+the+Vellalas+the+%22Poo+Vasi+Ya%22%22|title=The Laws and Customs of the Tamils of Jaffna|publisher=Women's Education & Research Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka.|year=2001|isbn=978-9-55926-116-2|page=57}}:"he classifies the Vellalas under the Vaisya caste and even goes to the extent of calling the Vellalas the "Poo Vasi Ya""</ref> and the [[Colombo]] [[Chetties]] belong to the Dhana-[[Vaishya]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Tambiah|first=Henry Wijayakone|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_PSbAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Colombo+Chetties+belong+to+the+Tana+Vasiya+Caste%22|title=The Laws and Customs of the Tamils of Jaffna|publisher=Women's Education & Research Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka.|year=2001|isbn=978-9-55926-116-2|page=57}}:"Simon Casie Chetty seems to think that the Colombo Chetties belong to the Tana Vasiya Caste”</ref> [[caste]].<ref name="chitty230" />
-The 1871<ref name="auto2">{{Cite book|last=Beteille|first=Andre|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Caste_Class_and_Power/OIAyDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=vellalas+vaishya&pg=PT113&printsec=frontcover|title=Caste, Class and Power: Changing Patterns of Stratification in a Tanjore Village|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-19-908872-0}}</ref> and 1901  [[British Raj|British Government]] Censuses which put the Vellalas in the Sudra category was met with protests by the Vellala community<ref>Kingship and political practice in colonial India, by Pamela G. Price, p.61: "...when government census officers placed Vellalar in the Sat-Sudra or Good Sudra category in its 1901 census, Vellalar castemen petitioned this designation, protesting this designation.</ref><ref name="price1996" /> who petitioned against the move by citing the [[Manusmriti]], as they are traditionally classified as Vaishyas<ref>{{Cite book|last= Karve|first= Irawati|title=Biology of the People of Tamil Nadu|url= https://books.google.co.in/books?id=bxiAAAAAMAAJ&q=%22There+is+a+tradition+among+the+Vellalans+that+there+were+3+divisions+of+the+Vaisyas+:+(+1+)+Bhuvaisyas+or+farmers+,+(+2+)+Govaisyas+or+husbandmen+and+(+3+)+Dhanavaisyas+or+merchants+.+The+last+division+is+claimed+to+have+given+rise+to+the+Chettis+who+originally+belonged+to+the+Vellala+tribe.%22&redir_esc=y|publisher= Indian Society of Human Genetics|year=1981|location=India|pages=19|quote="There is a tradition among the Vellalans that there were 3 divisions of the Vaisyas : ( 1 ) Bhuvaisyas or farmers , ( 2 ) Govaisyas or husbandmen and ( 3 ) Dhanavaisyas or merchants . The last division is claimed to have given rise to the Chettis who originally belonged to the Vellala tribe."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Chitty|first=Simon Casie|title= The Ceylon Gazetteer: Containing an Accurate Account of the Districts, Provinces, Cities, Towns ... &c. of the Island of Ceylon|url= https://archive.org/details/the-ceylon-gazetteer-containing-an-accurate-account-of-the-districts-provinces-c/page/230/mode/2up|publisher=Palala Press|year=2016|location=India|pages=230|isbn=978-1-35811-601-8}} </ref><ref name="brito98">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/jaffna-yalpanavaiyaka-maalai-ocred/page/n97/mode/1up?q=%22same+as+Vasiya%22|title=Yalpana Vaipava Malai or The History of the Kingdom of Jaffna, Translated from Tamil with an Appendix and a Glossary|publisher=Asian Educational Services, New Delhi|year=1999|isbn=81-206-1362-7|last=Brito|first=C.|page=98}}:"Velalar... Vellalar...Cultivator caste, i. e., same as Vaisya, p. lxxxiii."</ref>, with the traditional records dating as far back as 1292<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vijailakshmi|first=Usha R.|url=https://archive.org/details/karmandala-satakam/page/430/mode/2up|title=KARMANDALA SATAKAM: POLITICO-SOCIO-CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF MEDIEVAL TAMIL LITERATURE ON THE VELLALA COMMUNITY OF SOUTH KARNATAKA|publisher=Indian History Congress|year=2010|location=India|pages=430|quote="The work connects the origin of the Gangas to the origin of the Karkatha Vellalas of Karnataka. Gangeya Murthaka pala was born to Lord Shiva and he had two wives; the first wife had 54 sons & the second wife had 52 sons. Out of these Bhupalar, (one who practiced Agriculture) gave birth to 35 Vellala leaders, Dhanapalar, who was into trade, gave birth to 35 Vellala leaders Gopalar, (one who herded cattle) and one Agamurthi gave birth to 1 Vellala leader."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Vijailakshmi|first=Usha R.|url=https://archive.org/details/karmandala-satakam/page/430/mode/2up|title=KARMANDALA SATAKAM: POLITICO-SOCIO-CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF MEDIEVAL TAMIL LITERATURE ON THE VELLALA COMMUNITY OF SOUTH KARNATAKA|publisher=Indian History Congress|year=2010|location=India|pages=430|quote="Verse 52: The Vellalas of Karmandalam belonged to the Mānava Gotra & practiced the rite of upanayana or wearing the sacred thread."}}</ref>. The evidences of the Dvija Gotras being held by the Vellalas<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vijailakshmi|first=Usha R.|url=https://archive.org/details/karmandala-satakam/page/430/mode/2up|title=KARMANDALA SATAKAM: POLITICO-SOCIO-CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF MEDIEVAL TAMIL LITERATURE ON THE VELLALA COMMUNITY OF SOUTH KARNATAKA|publisher=Indian History Congress|year=2010|location=India|pages=430|quote="Verse 52: The Vellalas of Karmandalam belonged to the Mānava Gotra & practiced the rite of upanayana or wearing the sacred thread."}}</ref><ref name="scharfe115">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tlbxHiSGczYC&q=%22%C4%80%C5%9B%C5%9BS+I+1%2C3%2C5f+.+prescribes+gotra+-+s+derived+from+r%C4%81jar%C8%99i+-+s+%28+such+as+M%C4%81nava+%2C+Aila+%2C+Paur%C5%ABrava+%29+for+kings+%2C+or+M%C4%81nava+for+all+the+three+upper+castes+if+the+exact+gotra+is+unknown+%3B+vaisya+-+s+sometimes+used+Bh%C4%81landana+%2C+V%C4%81tsapra+or+M%C4%81rkhila%22&pg=PA115|title=Handbuch der Orientalistik: Indien, Part 2|publisher=BRILL|year=1973|last=Scharfe|first=Hartmut|page=115|isbn=978-9-00409-060-6}}"ĀśśS I 1,3,5f . prescribes gotra - s derived from rājarși - s ( such as Mānava , Aila , Paurūrava ) for kings , or Mānava for all the three upper castes if the exact gotra is unknown ; vaisya - s sometimes used Bhālandana , Vātsapra or Mārkhila"</ref>, along with the long documented tradition of them wearing the sacred thread<ref name="google134">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=c0DmAAAAMAAJ&q=%22a+few+of+the+Vellalas+constantly+wear+the+sacred+thread%22&dq=%22a+few+of+the+Vellalas+constantly+wear+the+sacred+thread%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjvw9Xg67PwAhVCsKQKHen6DgUQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg|title=Journal of Kerala Studies, Volume 32|publisher=University of Kerala|year=2005|page=134}}:"a few of the Vellalas constantly wear the sacred thread"</ref><ref name="raghavan129">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&redir_esc=y&id=Fb4LAAAAIAAJ&dq=Vellala+sacred+thread&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22A+few+therefore+constantly+wear+the+sacred+thread%22|title=Tamil Culture in Ceylon: A General Introduction|publisher=Kalai Nilayam|year=1971|last=Raghavan|first=M.D|page=129}}:"A few therefore constantly wear the sacred thread"</ref><ref name="record156">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=wNsBAAAAMAAJ&dq=Vellala+sacred+thread&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22They+generally+style+themselves+as+Chettiars+or+Mudaliars+and+engage+themselves+partly+in+trade+and+partly+in+agriculture+.+The+men+%2C+except+that+they+wear+the+sacred+thread+and+paint+on+their+foreheads+a+sect+-+mark+which+is+like+the+ordinary+Vaishnava+mark%22|title=Tanjore District Handbook|publisher=Superintendent Government Press|last=Record Office|first=Madras (India : State)|year=1957|page=156}}:"They generally style themselves as Chettiars or Mudaliars and engage themselves partly in trade and partly in agriculture . The men , except that they wear the sacred thread and paint on their foreheads a sect - mark which is like the ordinary Vaishnava mark"</ref><ref name="google156">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=zVm1AAAAIAAJ&dq=They+generally+style+themselves+as+Chettiars+or+Mudaliars+and+engage+themselves+partly+in+trade+and+partly+in+agriculture+.+The+men+%2C+except+that+they+wear+the+sacred+thread+and+paint+on+their+foreheads+a+sect+-+mark+which+is+like+the+ordinary+Vaishnava+mark&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22They+generally+style+themselves+as+Chettiars+or+Mudaliars+and+engage+themselves+partly+in+trade+and+partly+in+agriculture+.+The+men+%2C+except+that+they+wear+the+sacred+thread+and+paint+on+their+foreheads+a+sect+-+mark+which+is+like+the+ordinary+Vaishnava+mark%22|title=Madras District Gazetteers, Volume 1|publisher=Superintendent, Government Press|last=B. S. Baliga (Rao Bahadur.)|first=Madras (India : State)|year=1957|page=156}}:"They generally style themselves as Chettiars or Mudaliars and engage themselves partly in trade and partly in agriculture . The men , except that they wear the sacred thread and paint on their foreheads a sect - mark which is like the ordinary Vaishnava mark"</ref><ref name="venkataramaiah424">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=2pAMAQAAMAAJ&q=%22others+being+Sara+!+!+%C4%B1+,+Kaikkutti+and+Coliya+(+c%C3%B5liya+)+.+They+do+not+intermarry+.+They+are+vegetarians+and+wear+the+sacred+thread+.+They+have+the+title+Pillai%22&dq=%22others+being+Sara+!+!+%C4%B1+,+Kaikkutti+and+Coliya+(+c%C3%B5liya+)+.+They+do+not+intermarry+.+They+are+vegetarians+and+wear+the+sacred+thread+.+They+have+the+title+Pillai%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjEr_KMp8TwAhVAg_0HHRgCBDUQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg|title=A Handbook of Tamil Nadu|publisher=International School of Dravidian Linguistics|year=1996|last=Venkataramaiah|first=K. M.|page=424}}:"others being Sara ! ! ı , Kaikkutti and Coliya ( cõliya ) . They do not intermarry . They are vegetarians and wear the sacred thread . They have the title Pillai"</ref> or Yajñopavita & the Vaidika Upanayana ceremonies having been performed by the Vellalar community<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vijailakshmi|first=Usha R.|url=https://archive.org/details/karmandala-satakam/page/430/mode/2up|title=KARMANDALA SATAKAM: POLITICO-SOCIO-CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF MEDIEVAL TAMIL LITERATURE ON THE VELLALA COMMUNITY OF SOUTH KARNATAKA|publisher=Indian History Congress|year=2010|location=India|pages=430|quote="Verse 52: The Vellalas of Karmandalam belonged to the Mānava Gotra & practiced the rite of upanayana or wearing the sacred thread."}}</ref><ref name="kentish1988">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=LPPWAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Our+people+are+Vellalas%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22Our+people+are+Vellalas+%2C+originally+from+Tanjore+%2C+but+long+settled+in+N+.+Ceylon+%28+Jaffna+%29+and+then+also+in+Colombo+.+They+are+Saivas+%2C+they+are+given+upanayana+and+wear+the+thread+.%22|title=Selected Letters of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts|year=1988|last=Kentish Coomaraswamy|first=Ananda|page=437|isbn=978-0-90562-306-1}}:"Our people are Vellalas , originally from Tanjore , but long settled in N . Ceylon ( Jaffna ) and then also in Colombo . They are Saivas , they are given upanayana and wear the thread ."</ref><ref name="kentish436">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=LPPWAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Our+people+are+Vellalas%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22We+do+wear+the+yaj%C3%B1opavita+%3B+I+have+received+upanayana+from+a+Brahman+in+the+Punjab+%2C+and+shall+resume+wearing+the+thread+when+we+come+to+India+.+I+suggested+that+you+should+accept+the+offer+to+give+you+upanayana+in+Bengal%22|title=Selected Letters of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts|year=1988|last=Kentish Coomaraswamy|first=Ananda|page=436|isbn=978-0-90562-306-1}}:"We do wear the yajñopavita ; I have received upanayana from a Brahman in the Punjab , and shall resume wearing the thread when we come to India . I suggested that you should accept the offer to give you upanayana in Bengal"</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.file-pdf.it/2016/11/02/a-k-coomaraswmay-selectedlettersofanandak-coomaraswamy/a-k-coomaraswmay-selectedlettersofanandak-coomaraswamy.pdf|title=Selected Letters of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts|year=1988|last=Kentish Coomaraswamy|first=Ananda|page=436|isbn=978-0-90562-306-1}}:"We do wear the yajñopavita ; I have received upanayana from a Brahman in the Punjab , and shall resume wearing the thread when we come to India . I suggested that you should accept the offer to give you upanayana in Bengal"</ref>, which are traditionally restricted to the 3 upper varnas, namely Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaishya respectively<ref name="kentish437">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=LPPWAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22Our+people+are+Vellalas%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22Yaj%C3%B1opavita+is+the+sacred+thread+which+all+the+%27+twice+born+%27+%2C+ie+%2C+the+three+uppercastes+%2C+among+the+Hindus+begin+wearing+when+they+come+of+age+.+The+rite+that+confers+this+is+called+upanayana+.%22|title=Selected Letters of Ananda K. Coomaraswamy|publisher=Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts|year=1988|last=Kentish Coomaraswamy|first=Ananda|page=437|isbn=978-0-90562-306-1}}:"Yajñopavita is the sacred thread which all the ' twice born ' , ie , the three uppercastes , among the Hindus begin wearing when they come of age . The rite that confers this is called upanayana ."</ref>, reaffirms their traditional Dvija Vaishya status<ref name="karve19">{{cite book|last=Karve|first=Irawati|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bxiAAAAAMAAJ&q=%22There+is+a+tradition+among+the+Vellalans+that+there+were+3+divisions+of+the+Vaisyas+:+(+1+)+Bhuvaisyas+or+farmers+,+(+2+)+Govaisyas+or+husbandmen+and+(+3+)+Dhanavaisyas+or+merchants+.+The+last+division+is+claimed+to+have+given+rise+to+the+Chettis+who+originally+belonged+to+the+Vellala+tribe.%22|title=Biology of the People of Tamil Nadu|publisher=Indian Society of Human Genetics|year=1981|page=19}}:"There is a tradition among the Vellalans that there were 3 divisions of the Vaisyas : ( 1 ) Bhuvaisyas or farmers , ( 2 ) Govaisyas or husbandmen and ( 3 ) Dhanavaisyas or merchants . The last division is claimed to have given rise to the Chettis who originally belonged to the Vellala tribe."</ref><ref name="vijailakshmi432">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/karmandala-satakam/page/432/|title=KARMANDALA SATAKAM: POLITICO-SOCIO-CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF MEDIEVAL TAMIL LITERATURE ON THE VELLALA COMMUNITY OF SOUTH KARNATAKA|publisher=Indian History Congress|year=2010|last=Vijailakshmi|first=Usha R.|page=432}}:"Verse 34: Gangeya Murthaka pala was born to Lord Shiva and he had two wives; the first wife had 54 sons & the second wife had 52 sons. Out of these Bhupalar, (one who practiced Agriculture) gave birth to 35 Vellala leaders, Dhanapalar, who was into trade, gave birth to 35 Vellala leaders Gopalar, (one who herded cattle) and one Agamurthi gave birth to 1 Vellala leader"</ref><ref name="nambiar1961">{{Cite book|last=Nambiar|first=P.K.|url=http://lsi.gov.in:8081/jspui/bitstream/123456789/6558/1/49378_1961_KAD.pdf|title=Village Survey Monographs, 13 Kadukkara, Part VI, Vol-IX, Census Year 1961|publisher= Office of the Registrar General|year=1961|location=India|pages=7-8|quote=“These people are considered as high caste Hindus and Mr. Thurston classifies them as a sub-sect of Vaisyas. According to Mr. Thurston these people belong to the sub-sect known as Buvaisyas as distinguished from Thanavaisyas. The former are cultivators by tradition and the latter are traders by profession. The word Vellala is believed to be derived from the word Velanmai meaning cultivation and thereby indicating their traditional occupation.”}}</ref><ref name="census7">{{Cite book|last=Census Division|first= India|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=C2qaAAAAIAAJ&dq=%22considered+as+high+caste+Hindus+and+Mr.+Thurston+classifies+them+as+a+sub-sect+of+Vaisyas.%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%E2%80%9Cconsidered+as+high+caste+Hindus+and+Mr+.+Thurston+classifies+them+as+a+sub+-+sect+of+Vaisyas+.+According+to+Mr+.+Thurston+these+people+belong+to+the+sub+-+sect+known+as+Buvaisyas+as+distinguished+from+Thanavaisyas+.+The+former+are+cultivators+by+tradition+and+the+latter+are+traders+by+profession+.+The+word+Vellala+is+believed+to+be%E2%80%9D|title= Madras: Volume 9, Part 6, Issue 13 of Census of India 1961, India Census Division |publisher= Office of the Registrar General|year=1965|location=India|pages=7-8|quote=considered as high caste Hindus and Mr . Thurston classifies them as a sub - sect of Vaisyas . According to Mr . Thurston these people belong to the sub - sect known as Buvaisyas as distinguished from Thanavaisyas . The former are cultivators by tradition and the latter are traders by profession . The word Vellala is believed to be}}</ref><ref name="thurston1">{{Cite book|last=Thurston|first=Edgar|url=https://en.wikisource.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Castes_and_Tribes_of_Southern_India/Vell%C4%81la&oldid=9228934|title=Castes and Tribes of Southern India}}:
-"The traditional story of the origin of the Vellālas is given as follows in the Baramahal Records.*"
-"Murdaka Pālakulu had fifty-four sons by the daughter of the god Indra, and fifty-two by the daughter of the god Kubēra, whom he married to the one hundred and six daughters of Nala Kubarudu, the son of Kubēra, and his sons-in-law made the following agreement with him, viz., that thirty-five of them should be called Bhūmi Pālakulu, and should till the ground; thirty-five of them named Vellal Shetti, and their occupation be traffic; and thirty-five of them named Gōvu Shetlu, and their employment breeding and feeding of cattle."
-</ref><ref name="chitty230">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/the-ceylon-gazetteer-containing-an-accurate-account-of-the-districts-provinces-c/page/230/mode/2up|title=The Ceylon Gazetteer: Containing an Accurate Account of the Districts, Provinces, Cities, Towns ... &c. of the Island of Ceylon|publisher=Palala Press|year=2016|isbn=978-1358116018|last=Chitty|first=Simon Casie|page=230}}</ref><ref name="brito98">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/jaffna-yalpanavaiyaka-maalai-ocred/page/n97/mode/1up?q=%22same+as+Vasiya%22|title=Yalpana Vaipava Malai or The History of the Kingdom of Jaffna, Translated from Tamil with an Appendix and a Glossary|publisher=Asian Educational Services, New Delhi|year=1999|isbn=81-206-1362-7|last=Brito|first=C.|page=98}}:"Velalar... Vellalar...Cultivator caste, i. e., same as Vaisya, p. lxxxiii."</ref> & contradicts these additional Shudra classifications of the Vellalars from the colonial period onwards<ref name="price61">{{cite book |last=Price |first=Pamela G.|date=1996|title=Kingship and Political Practice in Colonial India |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aqKSTs4ajsAC&q=vellalar+sudra&pg=PA61|location= |publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=61|isbn=978-0-52155-247-9}}:”Dominant castes like the land - controlling Vellalar , whose practices were compatible with Brahminic ideas of purity , were considered high - ranking Sudras in the government system”</ref>, as Shudras do not have Dvija Gotras & are not given the Vaidika upanayana ceremonies.
-Post the 1871 and 1901 Census, The Travancore Government Gazette of 1911 documents the [[Nanjinad]] Vellalas as Bhu-[[Vaishyas]].<ref name="google514" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Rao|first=C. Hayavadana Rao|url=https://archive.org/details/the-vellalas-of-nanjanad-travancore-state-india_202104/page/513/mode/2up?q=Bhoo+Vysias|title=The Vellalas of Nanjanad, Travancore State, India|publisher=Anthropos, University of California|year=2014|page=514}}:"Of the three subdivisions among Vysias, the Vellalas belong to one that is known as Bhoo-Vysias."</ref> The 1961 Census of India, quoting Edgar Thurson, classifies the Vellalas as [[Vaishyas]].<ref name="nambiar1961" /><ref name="census7" /> The 1981 Census of India mentions the [[Chetti|Chettiar Vellalar]], Mudaliar, & [[Kongu Vellalars]] or Gounders alongside the other [[Vaishya|Vysya]] communities of Karnataka for their involvement in substantial businesses.<ref>{{cite book|last=B. K. Das, India.|first=Director of Census Operations, Karnataka|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=WLYSfFosXCoC&dq=%22Other+locals+belonging+to+Chettiar%2C%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22Other+locals+belonging+to+Chettiar+%2C+Goundar+%2C+Mudaliar+and+Vysya+communities+are+also+doing+a+substantial+business+.%22|title=Census of India, 1981: Karnataka, Volume 10, Part 2|date=1983|publisher=Controller of Publications, Government of India|location=Karnataka, India|page=163}}:"Other locals belonging to Chettiar , Goundar , Mudaliar and Vysya communities are also doing a substantial business ."</ref>
-Modern historians like K.A.Nilakanta Sastri, R.S.Sharma and S.Thiruvenkatachari have stated that the Vellalars cannot be equated with Shudras.<ref>{{cite book |author1=R.S.Sharma|author2=K.M.Shrimali|date=2008|title=A Comprehensive History of India: pt.2|page=226|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=AVIzAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22The+vell%C4%81lars+cannot+be+equated+with+the+shudras+of+the+north%22&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22The+vell%C4%81lars+cannot+be+equated+with+the+shudras+of+the+north+since+some+of+them+had+the+right+of+marriage+with+members+of+the+royal+families+and+a+section+of+them+known+as+ve%C4%BCirs+were+local+rulers+and+feudatories%22|publisher=People's Publishing House|isbn=978-8-17304-561-5|location=India}}:"The vellālars cannot be equated with the shudras of the north since some of them had the right of marriage with members of the royal families and a section of them known as veļirs were local rulers and feudatories"</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Kallidaikurichi Aiyah Nilakanta Sastri|title=A Comprehensive History of India, Volume 4, Part 2|page=226|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=UEwwAQAAIAAJ&q=%22The+vellalars+cannot+be+equated+with+the+shudras%22&dq=%22The+vellalars+cannot+be+equated+with+the+shudras%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4l57FxIDwAhXul4sKHc5AATUQ6AEwAHoECAAQAg|publisher=Indian History Congress|isbn=978-8-17304-561-5|location=India}}:"The vellālars cannot be equated with the shudras of the north since some of them had the right of marriage with members of the royal families and a section of them known as veļirs were local rulers and feudatories"</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=S. Thiruvenkatachari|date=1978|title=Studies in Arts and Sciences|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=Mv5P55Jwf00C&dq=The+fourth+division+was+not+the+Sudra%2C+but+the+peasant+or+the+Vellala&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22The+fourth+division+was+not+the+Sudra%2C+but+the+peasant+or+the+Vellala%22|pages=330|publisher=Ram Bros : available from SISSWP Society|location=India}}:"The fourth division was not the Sudra, but the peasant or the Vellala - who was not the low menial that he was in the north-Indian caste system. The Vellala was as much respected as the Brahmin or Kshatriya."</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Indira Gandhi|author2=Indira Gandhi Abhinandan Samiti|date=1975|title=The Spirit of India: volumes presented to Shrimati Indira Gandhi by the Indira Gandhi Abhinandan Samiti|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=WmkMAQAAMAAJ&dq=The+fourth+division+was+not+the+Sudra%2C+but+the+peasant+or+the+Vellala&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=%22The+fourth+division+was+not+the+Sudra%2C+but+the+peasant+or+the+Vellala+-+who+was+not+the+low+menial+that+he+was+in+the+north-Indian+caste+system.+The+Vellala+was+as+much+respected+as+the+Brahmin+or+Kshatriya.%22|publisher=Asia Pub. House|location=India}}:"The fourth division was not the Sudra, but the peasant or the Vellala - who was not the low menial that he was in the north-Indian caste system. The Vellala was as much respected as the Brahmin or Kshatriya."</ref>  A.R. Desai notes in that the Vellalas follow a more ritualistic , " Sanskritic ” style of life and proclaim themselves as Vaishyas.<ref>{{cite book|last=Desai|first=A.R.|url=https://books.google.co.in/books?id=0yqV1Ux0oGIC&pg=PA458&lpg=PA458&dq=%22proclaim+themselves+as+Vaishyas%22&source=bl&ots=VC2Pm7Thuh&sig=ACfU3U2HP7wVKNvr6NCxrsUHjplCJ8lkWg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi1n5b-kcTwAhVb_7sIHQTGA_UQ6AEwAHoECAIQAw#v=snippet&q=%22Vellalas%20follow%20a%20more%20ritualistic%20%2C%20%22%20Sanskritic%20%E2%80%9D%20style%20of%20life%20and%20proclaim%20themselves%20as%20Vaishyas%20.%22&f=false|title=State and Society in India|publisher=Popular Prakashan|year=1975|isbn=978-8-17154-013-6|page=458}}:"Vellalas follow a more ritualistic , " Sanskritic ” style of life and proclaim themselves as Vaishyas ."</ref>
 ==See also==