History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c35.s1.19

v3.c35.s1.19

The Tamil country or South India is a distinct part of the Indian continent, in climate, soil, products, population and language. It is called Dravida in ancient Sanskrit literature, Dramila being another form often used in inscriptions. The people are Dravidian par excellence by race as the people of the Panjab are Aryans by race par excellence. Yet Tamil civilization was high in most ancient times and the Aryan immigrants being few were converted into Dravadians by language and even by race. The three kingly families Chola, Pāndya and Kerala are noted even in the Mahābhārata and the Harivamśa and are said to be descended from Turvasu son of Yayāti. The country is fertile but hot, plain in the east and mountainous in the west and produced even then certain articles which were its own viz. pearls, pepper and beryl prized in the western world which brought Roman gold to the land in abündance ( Smith ). We may add a fourth article viz. cotton and the Tamil country produced fine cotton cloth even in the days of the Mahābhārata; for Chola and Pāndya kings are said therein to have brought presents of extremely fine cotton cloth to Yudhishthira at the time of his Rājasūya or Imperial coronation. The Tamil country was thus prosperous and known from of old and Aryan, Buddhist and Jain religions strove for mastery here and the same intensity of religious animosity prevailed in this sub-period ( as we shall show in our chapter on religious survey ) as prevailed in ancient time and as even continues to this day.