A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c9.4

c9.4

HISTORY begins in the South of India as in the North with the advent of the Aryans. The progress of the aryanization of the South is reflected in literature and legend. Until about 600 B.C., works composed in the North exhibit little knowledge of India south of the Vindhyas, but acquaintance increased with the progress of the centuries. Legends centering round the name of Agastya found in the epics and the Purāṇas appear in their own quaint way to preserve the memory of this vast and important cultural movement. Another clearly later cycle of legends has Paraśurāma for hero and seeks particularly to account for the peculiarities of the Kerala country and its institutions.