Tribes in Ancient India c38.33

c38.33

The literary tradition of Ceylon does not clearly indicate who these Damiḷa invaders were. But, as we have seen above, the general Āriyakkavattī, for example, came from the Paṇḍu kingdom, i.e. the land of the Pāṇḍyas in the southernmost part of India; and we may perhaps conclude from this that the Damiḷas who made predatory excursions into the island of Ceylon from time to time were natives of Pāṇḍya. We cannot tell, however, whether those Damiḷas who invaded Ceylon in early times were sent on their expeditions by the king of Paṇḍu, or whether they were a race of marauders who undertook those expeditions on their own initiative. The Commentaries of Buddhaghosa distinguish the Damiḷas from the Yavanas and Kirātas on the one hand, and from the Andhras on the other.