The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c31.s3.4

v1.c31.s3.4

The overlords of the Tamil-agam were the descendants of the proto-Dravidian invaders, the Tamils in the strict sense of the term. They with the races subject to them formed the three kingdoms of the Pāṇḍyas, Chōḷas, and Chēras, where the ruling element was the land-tilling class or Veḷḷālar, at the head of whom were the kings. The Pāṇḍya king claimed descent from a tribe styled Mār͟ar, which however had for many years another important representative in the princes bearing the title Palaiyan Mār͟an, ‘the Ancient Mār͟an,’ whose capital was Mōgūr, near the Pōdiya Hill, not far from Comorin. The Chōḷa kings were alleged to belong to the tribe of Tiraiyar or ‘Men of the Sea’; another Tiraiyan dynasty was reigning at Conjeeveram in the time of Karikāl Chōḷa. The Chēra kings in their turn were said to be of the Vānavar tribe. Lastly we may mention a tribe called Kōçar, who may possibly belong to the Tamil race. From the references of the poets to them it would seem that they once made an unsuccessful attack on Mōgūr, and found allies in the Vamba-Mōriyar or ‘Bastard Mauryas’ (possibly a branch of the Konkani Mauryas). At one time—possibly in the first century a.d.—they seem to have wielded considerable authority in the Pāṇḍyan regions and Koṅgu-dēça, and to have given some trouble to the Chōḷas.