The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c28.18

c28.18

However little credit we may be disposed to give to the story about the conversion of the king of Ceylon, or to the identification of that king with Gothakābhaya of the *Mahāvaṁśa*, I see no reason for hesitating to believe the Indian tradition that Māṇikka Vāśagar visited Malabar and reconverted two families of Christians to Hinduism. The descendants of those families, who are still known as Manigrāmakars, are not admitted to full privileges as caste Hindus. Some traditions place the reconversion as having occurred about A.D. 270. If that date be at all nearly correct, the Malabar Church must be considerably older. So far as I can appreciate the value of the arguments from the history of Tamil literature, there seems to be good independent reason for believing that Māṇikka Vāśagar may have lived in the third century. Some authors even place him about the beginning of the second century.² If he really lived so early, his relation with the Church in Malabar would confirm the belief in its apostolic origin.