139-518: Vellalar is a group of castes in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu , Kerala and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka . The Vellalar are members of several endogamous castes such as the numerically strong Arunattu Vellalar , Chozhia Vellalar , Karkarthar Vellalar , Kongu Vellalar , Thuluva Vellalar and Sri Lankan Vellalar . The earliest occurrence of the term Velaalar (வேளாளர்) in Sangam literature
278-434: A 1000 years earlier. In an early Upanishad, Shudra is referred to as Pūşan or nourisher, suggesting that Shudras were the tillers of the soil. But soon afterwards, Shudras are not counted among the tax-payers and they are said to be given away along with the land when it is gifted. The majority of the artisans were also reduced to the position of Shudras, but there is no contempt indicated for their work. The Brahmins and
417-525: A Vaishnava temple with an image of Ramanuja exists in the Vitthalapura area of Vijayanagara. Scholars in the later Kingdom of Mysore wrote Vaishnavite works upholding the teachings of Ramanuja. King Vishnuvardhana built many temples after his conversion from Jainism to Vaishnavism. The later saints of Madhvacharya's order, Jayatirtha , Vyasatirtha , Sripadaraja , Vadiraja Tirtha and devotees ( dasa ) such as Vijaya Dasa , Gopaladasa and others from
556-595: A branch of the Chozhia Vellalars were traders and merchants. The Adi-saiva vellalar sect is a strictly vegetarian Saivite group that traditionally served as priests. The Vellalar were considered to be of high status and enjoyed a high rank during the Chola period. They helped promote and stabilize Shaivism during the Chola era and many of the cult's leaders were drawn from the ranks of the Vellalar. They were
695-493: A capital: first, its location on the Yagachi River provided a good supply of water year-round. Second, its location in hilly terrain made it easily defended. Third, it lay on an important trade route, helping both commerce and communications. However, Belur was barely capital for a decade before it was moved again. The third and longest-lasting Hoysala capital was Dwarasamudra (also called Dorasamudra or Dvaravatipur), at
834-570: A clear story": Approximately a third of groups in India experienced population bottlenecks as strong or stronger than the ones found to have occurred among similarly isolated groups in human history, such as the Ashkenazi Jews or the Finns , a phenomenon "exceedingly old" in most cases in India. The ostensibly undisputed overall conclusion from DNA research among castes is that, rather than being
973-472: A colour-based system, through a character named Bhrigu, "Brahmins varna was white, Kshatriyas was red, Vaishyas was yellow, and the Shudras' black". This description is questioned by Bharadvaja who says that colors are seen among all the varnas , that desire, anger, fear, greed, grief, anxiety, hunger and toil prevails over all human beings, that bile and blood flow from all human bodies, so what distinguishes
1112-565: A conflict with a ruler of the Vijayanagar empire in the 15th century. The villages and areas settled by the Saiva Velaalar even now have a small number of Jaina families and inscriptional evidence indicate that these were earlier Jaina settlements as is evident by the existence of old Jaina temples. Even though at present, the term "Vellalar" is uncertain, a number of non-cultivating landholding castes like Kaarukaatha Velaalar and
1251-616: A degree of differentiation that is at least three times greater than that among European groups separated by similar geographic distances. Lacking genetic grounds to attribute this to differences in Ancestral North Indians ' ancestry among groups, in the Indian region from which the population came, or in social status, they examined the evidence for "bottlenecks" in the history of Indian groups They found identical, long stretches of sequence between pairs of individuals within
1390-546: A family of accountants ( Karanikas ) from Halebidu and spent many years in Hampi writing more than one hundred ragales (poems in blank verse) in praise of Virupaksha (a form of Shiva). Raghavanka was the first to introduce the Shatpadi metre into Kannada literature in his Harishchandra kavya which is considered a classic even though it occasionally violates strict rules of Kannada grammar. In Sanskrit, Madhvacharya wrote
1529-429: A fifth element, those deemed to be entirely outside its scope, such as tribal people and the untouchables (Dalits) . In ancient texts, Jati , meaning birth , is mentioned less often and clearly distinguished from varna . There are four varnas but thousands of jatis . The jatis are complex social groups that lack universally applicable definitions or characteristics and have been more flexible and diverse than
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#17327655206471668-466: A fixed hierarchy, caste functioned as one of several possible forms of social organization and identity. People could maintain multiple community affiliations, with caste sometimes taking precedence and other times being secondary to different social bonds. This flexibility allowed caste to serve as one way of creating social cohesion while leaving room for other types of community ties to flourish. Sociologist Anne Waldrop observes that while outsiders view
1807-707: A framework for grouping people into classes, first used in Vedic Indian society . It is referred to frequently in the ancient Indian texts. There are four classes: the Brahmins (priestly class), the Kshatriyas (rulers, administrators and warriors; also called Rajanyas), the Vaishyas (artisans, merchants, tradesmen and farmers), and the Shudras (labouring classes). The varna categorisation implicitly includes
1946-530: A number of crafts. The chariot-maker ( rathakara ) and metal worker ( karmara ) enjoyed positions of importance and no stigma was attached to them. Similar observations hold for carpenters, tanners, weavers and others. Towards the end of the Atharvaveda period, new class distinctions emerged. The erstwhile dasas are renamed Shudras, probably to distinguish them from the new meaning of dasa as slave. The aryas are renamed vis or Vaishya (meaning
2085-718: A professor of Sanskrit and Indian Religions and credited with modern translations of Vedic literature, Dharma-sutras and Dharma-sastras , states that ancient and medieval Indian texts do not support the ritual pollution, purity-impurity premise implicit in the Dumont theory. According to Olivelle, purity-impurity is discussed in the Dharma-sastra texts, but only in the context of the individual's moral, ritual and biological pollution (eating certain kinds of food such as meat, going to bathroom). Olivelle writes in his review of post-Vedic Sutra and Shastra texts, "we see no instance when
2224-515: A prosperous community of farmers and landowners who had provided economic support to Shiva temples in the Tamil country. In the Tamil region, Vellalar like Mudaliyar and Pillai along with certain other non-brahmin groups enjoyed a status equal to that of the Brahmins. The Vellalar also had more authority, power and status than the Brahmins in some social and ritual contexts. They were more orthodox than
2363-403: A real general definition of caste. It appears to me that any attempt at definition is bound to fail because of the complexity of the phenomenon. On the other hand, much literature on the subject is marred by lack of precision about the use of the term. Ghurye offered what he thought was a definition that could be applied across India, although he acknowledged that there were regional variations on
2502-464: A secular social phenomenon driven by the necessities of economics, politics, and at times geography. Jeaneane Fowler says that although some people consider jati to be occupational segregation, in reality, the jati framework does not preclude or prevent a member of one caste from working in another occupation. A feature of jatis has been endogamy , in Susan Bayly 's words, that "both in
2641-537: A shift to endogamy took place during the first half of the first millennium CE, at least in northern India," due to the growing influence of Brahmanism. This shift is attested in the Manusmriti (1st to 3rd century CE), which "explicitly forbade intermarriage across castes." The Mahabharata , estimated to have been completed by the end of the fourth century CE, discusses the varna system in section 12.181, presenting two models. The first model describes varna as
2780-622: A source of advantage in an era of pre-Independence poverty, lack of institutional human rights, volatile political environment, and economic insecurity. According to social anthropologist Dipankar Gupta, guilds developed during the Mauryan period and crystallised into jatis in post-Mauryan times with the emergence of feudalism in India, which finally crystallised during the 7th–12th centuries. However, other scholars dispute when and how jatis developed in Indian history. Barbara Metcalf and Thomas Metcalf, both professors of History, write, "One of
2919-493: A term of pure/impure is used with reference to a group of individuals or a varna or caste". The only mention of impurity in the Shastra texts from the 1st millennium is about people who commit grievous sins and thereby fall out of their varna . These, writes Olivelle, are called "fallen people" and considered impure in the medieval Indian texts. The texts declare that these sinful, fallen people be ostracised. Olivelle adds that
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#17327655206473058-622: A voluntary form was prevalent and prostitution was socially acceptable. As in most of India, a caste system was conspicuously present. Trade on the west coast brought many foreigners to India including Arabs , Jews , Persians , Europeans , Chinese and people from the Malay Peninsula . Migration of people within Southern India as a result of the expansion of the empire produced an influx of new cultures and skills. In South India, towns were called Pattana or Pattanam and
3197-619: Is described as a Velala. The Irungovels are considered to be of the same stock as the Hoysalas as in one of the Sangam poems, the ancestor of the Irungovel chieftain is said to have ruled the fortified city of Tuvarai. This city is identified with the Hoysala capital Dwarasamudra by some historians. Also, the legend of the chief killing a tiger ( Pulikadimal ) has a striking resemblance to
3336-510: Is in Paripadal where it is used in the sense of a landowner. The term Velaalar (வேளாளர்) can be derived from the word Vel (வேள்), Vel being a title that was borne by the Velir chieftains of Sangam age among other things. The word Vellalar (வெள்ளாளர் ) may come from the root Vellam for flood, which gave rise to various rights of land; and it is because of the acquisition of land rights that
3475-602: Is its attention to exquisite detail and skilled craftsmanship. The tower over the temple shrine ( vimana ) is delicately finished with intricate carvings, showing attention to the ornate and elaborately detailed rather than to a tower form and height. The stellate design of the base of the shrine with its rhythmic projections and recesses is carried through the tower in an orderly succession of decorated tiers. Hoysala temple sculpture replicates this emphasis on delicacy and craftsmanship in its focus on depicting feminine beauty, grace and physique. The Hoysala artists achieved this with
3614-547: Is no clear linear order among them. The term caste is derived from the Portuguese word casta , meaning "race, lineage, breed" and, originally, "'pure or unmixed (stock or breed)". Originally not an Indian word, it is now widely used in English and in Indian languages , closely translated to varna and jati . The sociologist G. S. Ghurye wrote in 1932 that, despite much study by many people, we do not possess
3753-504: Is not an accurate representation of jati in English. Better terms would be ethnicity, ethnic identity and ethnic group. Research on caste systems across the Indian subcontinent during the latter 1900s revealed that caste was far more complex and dynamic than previously thought. While British colonial authorities had portrayed it as a uniform, rigid system fundamental to Indian society, studies showed that caste's significance and structure varied considerably between regions. Rather than being
3892-663: Is thought to be the result of developments during the collapse of the Mughal era and the rise of the British colonial government in India. The British Raj furthered this development, making rigid caste organisation a central mechanism of administration. Between 1860 and 1920, the British incorporated the Indian caste system into their system of governance, granting administrative jobs and senior appointments only to Christians and people belonging to certain castes. Social unrest during
4031-602: The Sribhashya , a critique on Adi Shankara's Advaita. The effect of these religious developments on culture, literature, poetry and architecture in South India was profound. Important works of literature and poetry based on the teachings of these philosophers were written during the coming centuries. The Saluva , Tuluva and Aravidu dynasties of the Vijayanagara Empire were followers of Vaishnavism and
4170-800: The Bhakti movement in south India from the seventh century CE onwards and helped revive Hinduism. Many of the Nayanmars , the Shaiva saints, were Vellalar. In the 12th century CE, saint Sekkilan Mahadevadigal Ramadeva sang the glories of these Nayanmars in his magnum opus, the Periyapuranam . Sekkizhar was born in a Vellala family in Kundrathur in Thondaimandalam and had the title Uttama Chola Pallavaraiyan. Sekkilan Mahadevadigal Ramadeva
4309-551: The Champu style relating the life of Krishna leading up to his fight with the demon Banasura . Harihara , (also known as Harisvara) a Lingayati writer and the patron of King Narasimha I, wrote the Girijakalyana in the old Jain Champu style which describes the marriage of Shiva and Parvati in ten sections. He was one of the earliest Virashaiva writers who was not part of the vachana literary tradition. He came from
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4448-613: The Deccan Plateau . The Hoysala era was an important period in the development of South Indian art, architecture, and religion. The Kingdom is remembered today primarily for Hoysala architecture ; 100 surviving temples are scattered across Karnataka. Well-known temples which exhibit what the historian Sailendra Sen has called "an amazing display of sculptural exuberance" include the Chennakeshava Temple in Belur,
4587-902: The Hoysaleswara Temple in Halebidu, and the Chennakesava Temple in Somanathapura. These three temples were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2023. The Hoysala rulers also patronised the fine arts, encouraging literature to flourish in Kannada and Sanskrit . Early inscriptions, dated 1078 and 1090, have implied that the Hoysalas were descendants of the Yadu by referring to the Yadava vamsa (or clan) as
4726-518: The Indologist , agrees that there has been no universally accepted definition of "caste". For example, for some early European documenters it was thought to correspond with the endogamous varnas referred to in ancient Indian scripts, and its meaning corresponds in the sense of estates . To later Europeans of the Raj era it was endogamous jatis , rather than varnas , that represented caste , such as
4865-615: The Kondaikatti Velaalar who served ruling dynasties in various capacities also identify themselves as Vellalar. Likewise, the Kottai Pillaimar who were traditionally land-holders and lived inside forts, neither lease land for agriculture nor do they till their own fields. They also do not supervise cultivation directly due to the stigma attached to farming and manual labor. Similarly, the Vellala Chettis,
5004-797: The Nigamanagātha of Vinayavinicchaya , verse 3179) to his patron Achyuta Vikranta who was then (fifth century CE) ruling the Chola kingdom as Kalamba-kula nandane meaning the favourite of the Kalamba family . In Pali language as in Tamil , the word Kalamba or Kalambam (in Tamil) means the Kadamba tree , the sacred totemic symbol that is associated with Tamil god Murugan . The Velir were an ancient group of Tamil chieftains who claimed Yadava (Yadu) descent. The Ay Vels were one such Velir group that ruled
5143-756: The Rigbhshya on the Brahma Sutras (a logical explanation of Hindu scriptures, the Vedas) as well as many polemical works rebutting the doctrines of other schools. He relied more on the Puranas than the Vedas for logical proof of his philosophy. Another famous writing was Rudraprshnabhashya by Vidyatirtha. The modern interest in the Hoysalas is due to their patronage of art and architecture rather than their military conquests. The brisk temple building throughout
5282-453: The Rigveda and, both then and later, a social ideal rather than a social reality". In contrast to the lack of details about varna system in the Rigveda , the Manusmriti includes an extensive and highly schematic commentary on the varna system, but it too provides "models rather than descriptions". Susan Bayly summarises that Manusmriti and other scriptures helped elevate Brahmins in
5421-643: The Rigveda was composed (1500-1200 BC), there were only two varnas in the Vedic society: arya varna and dasa varna . The distinction originally arose from tribal divisions. The Vedic people were Indo-European-speaking tribes who migrated over a period of several centuries into northern South Asia from the Bactria-Margiana , and mixed with the "indigenous Dravidic-speaking populations," but regarded themselves as superior. The Vedic tribes regarded themselves as arya (the noble ones) and
5560-654: The Vijayanagara Empire . The empire consisted of the valleys of three main rivers, the Krishna , the Tungabhadra, and the Kaveri , whose systems facilitated the growth of crops and generated an agricultural output that was immense. The highlands ( malnad regions) with its temperate climate was suitable for raising cattle and the planting of orchards and spices. Paddy and corn were staple crops in
5699-409: The tropical plains ( Bailnad ). As agricultural land was scarce, forests, waste land and previously unfarmed land was reclaimed, and new settlements were established. Large areas of forest were cleared to bring lands under cultivation and build villages. The Hoysala kings gave grants of land as rewards for service to the heads of families, who then became landlords ( gavunda ) to tenants who worked on
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5838-476: The varna verse in the Rigveda , noting that the varna therein is mentioned only once. The Purusha Sukta verse is now generally considered to have been inserted at a later date into the Rigveda , probably as a charter myth . Stephanie Jamison and Joel Brereton, professors of Sanskrit and Religious studies, state, "there is no evidence in the Rigveda for an elaborate, much-subdivided and overarching caste system", and "the varna system seems to be embryonic in
5977-458: The varnas , he asks. The Mahabharata then declares, "There is no distinction of varnas . This whole universe is Brahman . It was created formerly by Brahma , came to be classified by acts." The epic then recites a behavioural model for varna , that those who were inclined to anger, pleasures and boldness attained the Kshatriya varna ; those who were inclined to cattle rearing and living off
6116-462: The varnas . He concludes that "If caste is defined as a system of group within the class, which are normally endogamous, commensal and craft-exclusive, we have no real evidence of its existence until comparatively late times." The Vedic texts neither mention the concept of untouchable people nor any practice of untouchability. The rituals in the Vedas ask the noble or king to eat with the commoner from
6255-577: The "Hoysala vamsa ". But there are no early records directly linking the Hoysalas to the Yadavas of North India . Kannada folklore tells a legend of a young man, Sala (also known as Poysala), who saved his Jain guru Sudatta by killing a tiger (sometimes described as a lion) that they encountered whilst in a forest, near the temple of the goddess Vasantika at Angadi, now called Sosevuru. The word strike translates to "hoy" in Old Kannada , hence
6394-655: The 14th century. The defeat of the Jain Western Gangas by the Cholas in the early 11th century and the rising numbers of followers of Vaishnavism and Lingayatism in the 12th century was mirrored by a decreased interest in Jainism. Two notable locations of Jain worship in the Hoysala territory were Shravanabelagola and Panchakuta Basadi, Kambadahalli . The decline of Buddhism in South India began in
6533-416: The 1920s led to a change in this policy. Caste was no longer used by the colonial authority to functionally organize civil society. This reflected changes in administrative practices, understandings of expertise, and the rise of new European scholarly institutions. After the 1920s, the colonial administration began a policy of positive discrimination by reserving a certain percentage of government jobs for
6672-411: The 2,378 jatis that colonial administrators classified by occupation in the early 20th century. Arvind Sharma , a professor of comparative religion , notes that caste has been used synonymously to refer to both varna and jati but that "serious Indologists now observe considerable caution in this respect" because, while related, the concepts are considered to be distinct. In this he agrees with
6811-531: The 3,000 or more castes of modern India had evolved from the four primitive classes, and the term 'caste' was applied indiscriminately to both varna or class, and jati or caste proper. This is a false terminology; castes rise and fall in the social scale, and old castes die out and new ones are formed, but the four great classes are stable. There are never more or less than four and for over 2,000 years their order of precedence has not altered." The sociologist André Beteille notes that, while varna mainly played
6950-513: The 78-nadus of Chola-mandalam and the 48000-bhumi of Jayangonda-cholamandalam (the northern districts of Tamil Nadu that is Tondaimandalam ) conquered and colonized southern Karnataka ( Kolar district) by the grace of Rajendrachola (Kulottunga I). Historian Burton Stein who has done a detailed analysis of this inscription equates the Valangai military forces and the Velaikkara troops of
7089-487: The Brahmin took food from anyone, suggesting that strictures of commensality were as yet unknown. The Nikaya texts also imply that endogamy was not mandated. The contestations of the period are also evident from the texts describing dialogues of Buddha with the Brahmins. The Brahmins maintain their divinely ordained superiority and assert their right to draw service from the lower orders. Buddha responds by pointing out
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#17327655206477228-606: The Brahmins in their religious practices. The Vellalar nobles had marriage alliances with Chola royal families. The Smarta Brahmins have always competed with the Tamil Shaivites for religious influence in the temples in the Kaveri delta region. The Smarta adopted the worship of Hindu deities and combined their Sanskritic background with Tamil Saiva and Vaishnava devotionalism and eventually identified themselves as Shaivites and started worshipping in Shiva temples. From
7367-426: The Chalukyas declined, the Hoysalas managed to gain their independence. Under Vishnuvardhana, the Hoysalas achieved the status of a real Kingdom. He annexed Gangavadi and parts of Nolambavadi from the Cholas in 1116 and moved the capital from Belur to Dorasamudra (modern Halebidu), After taking Talakadu and Kolar in 1116, Vishnuvardhana assumed the title Talakadugonda in memory of his victory. Historians refer to
7506-422: The Cholas with the Vellalas and notes that the contents of the above inscription confirm this identification. The Velaikkara troops were special units of armed forces drawn from the right-hand castes that were close to the king. The units were generally named after the king like Rajaraja-terinda-valangai-velaikkarar , that is the known (terinda) forces of king Rajaraja Chola I . The Chola inscriptions state that
7645-535: The Hoysala Empire followed some of the well-established and proven methods of its predecessors covering administrative functions such as cabinet organisation and command, the structure of local governing bodies and the division of territory. Several of their major feudatories were Gavundas of the peasant extraction. Records show the names of many high-ranking positions reporting directly to the king. Senior ministers were called Pancha Pradhanas , ministers responsible for foreign affairs were designated Sandhivigrahi and
7784-406: The Hoysala emblem depicts Sala fighting a tiger, the tiger being the emblem of the Cholas. The Hoysalas originated from the Western Ghats , mountains north-west of Gangavadi in Mysore . They emerged as borderland chiefs during the conflict between the Western Chalukya Empire and the Cholas, gaining power as they sided with the Chalukyas and were made provincial governors. After the authority of
7923-402: The Huzur plates of king Karunandakkan, the predecessor of Vikramaditya Varaguna. The Irunkovel or Irukkuvel chieftains were another ancient Velir clan who ruled from their capital Kodumbalur (near Pudukottai district). They were related to the Cholas by marriage. In an inscription of Rajadhiraja Chola an Irukkuvel feudatory who was a high-ranking military officer ( Dandanayaka ) of the king
8062-421: The Indologist Arthur Basham , who noted that the Portuguese colonists of India used casta to describe ... tribes, clans or families. The name stuck and became the usual word for the Hindu social group. In attempting to account for the remarkable proliferation of castes in 18th- and 19th-century India, authorities credulously accepted the traditional view that by a process of intermarriage and subdivision
8201-437: The Kalabhras belonged to the Vellalar community of warriors who were possibly once the feudatories of the Cholas and the Pallavas . Scholar and historian M. Raghava Iyengar identifies the Kalabhras with the Kalappalar section of the Vellalar and equates king Achyuta Vikranta with Achyuta Kalappala the father of Meykandar . Buddhadatta , the Pali writer who stayed in the Chola kingdom and authored Buddhist manuals refers (in
8340-409: The Karnataka region spread his teachings far and wide. His teachings inspired later philosophers like Vallabha in Gujarat and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Bengal . Another wave of devotion ( bhakti ) in the 17th and 18th centuries found inspiration in his teachings. Hoysala society in many ways reflected the emerging religious, political and cultural developments of those times. During this period,
8479-445: The Kesava temple at Somanathapura being an exception with strictly Vaishnava sculptural depictions. Temples built by rich landlords in rural areas fulfilled fiscal, political, cultural and religious needs of the agrarian communities. Irrespective of patronage, large temples served as establishments that provided employment to hundreds of people of various guilds and professions sustaining local communities as Hindu temples began to take on
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#17327655206478618-475: The Kingdom was accomplished despite constant threats from the Pandyas to the south and the Seunas Yadavas to the north. Their architectural style, an offshoot of the Western Chalukya style, shows distinct Dravidian influences. The Hoysala architecture style is described as Karnata Dravida as distinguished from the traditional Dravida , and is considered an independent architectural tradition with many unique features. A feature of Hoysala temple architecture
8757-421: The Kshatriyas are given a special position in the rituals, distinguishing them from both the Vaishyas and the Shudras. The Vaishya is said to be "oppressed at will" and the Shudra "beaten at will." Knowledge of this period is supplemented by Pali Buddhist texts. Whereas the Brahmanical texts speak of the four-fold varna system, the Buddhist texts present an alternative picture of the society, stratified along
8896-457: The Sangam period to the Chola period of Indian history (A.d. 600 to 1200), state-level political authority was in the hands of relatively low, Vellalar chieftains, who endowed local and nonlocal Brahmins with land and honors, and were in turn legitimized by them. Caste system in India The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic instance of social classification based on castes . It has its origins in ancient India , and
9035-399: The South Indian Tamil literature from the Sangam period (3rd BCE-3rd c.CE). This theory discards the Indo-Aryan varna model as the basis of caste, and is centred on the ritual power of the king, who was "supported by a group of ritual and magical specialists of low social status," with their ritual occupations being considered 'polluted'. According to Hart, it may be this model that provided
9174-467: The Tamil country which had been lost during a Pandya uprising, thus uniting the northern and southern portions of the Kingdom. In the early part of the 14th century, major political changes took place in the Deccan region during a period when large areas of northern India were under Muslim rule. Alauddin Khalji , the Sultan of Delhi, was determined to control southern India. In 1311 he sent his commander Malik Kafur on an expedition to plunder Devagiri ,
9313-426: The Velaikkara forces pledged under oath to commit suicide in case they failed to defend their king or in the event of his death. The Chalukya kings were also known by the title Velpularasar , that is kings of Vel country ( pulam means region or country in Tamil ) and as Velkulattarasar , that is kings of the Vel clan ( kulam ), in epigraphs and in the old Tamil lexicon Divakaram. The Vellalar also contributed to
9452-399: The Vellalar got their name. The Vellalars have a long cultural history that goes back to over two millennia in southern India, where once they were the ruling and land-owning community. Though the Vellalar have generally been associated with the landed gentry and agriculture, they are not a homogenous group and various people from diverse backgrounds have identified themselves as a Vellalar in
9591-426: The Vellalar social group. Also, the Saiva Velaalar sect are originally believed to have been Jainas before they embraced Hinduism . The Tamil Jains refer to the Saiva Velaalar as nīr-pūci-nayinārs or nīr-pūci-vellalars meaning the vellalars who left Jainism by smearing the sacred ash or (tiru)-nīru . While some of the Jains assign this conversion to the period of the Bhakti movement in Tamil nadu others link it to
9730-485: The addition of the Shudras is probably a Brahmanical invention from northern India. The varna system is propounded in revered Hindu religious texts, and understood as idealised human callings. The Purusha Sukta of the Rigveda and Manusmriti ' s comment on it, being the oft-cited texts. Counter to these textual classifications, many revered Hindu texts and doctrines question and disagree with this system of social classification. Scholars have questioned
9869-464: The basic facts of biological birth common to all men and asserts that the ability to draw service is obtained economically, not by divine right. Using the example of the northwest of the subcontinent, Buddha points out that aryas could become dasas and vice versa. This form of social mobility was endorsed by Buddha. According to Moorjani et al. (2013), endogamy set in after 100 CE. According to Basu et al. (2016), admixture between populations
10008-772: The capital city of the Seuna Kingdom By 1318 the Seuna Kingdom had been subjugated. The Hoysala capital Halebidu was besieged and sacked twice, in 1311 and 1327. By 1336, the Sultan had conquered the Pandyas of Madurai, the Kakatiyas of Warangal and the tiny Kingdom of Kampili. The Hoysalas were the only remaining Hindu Kingdom who resisted the invading armies. Veera Ballala III stationed himself at Tiruvannamalai and offered stiff resistance to invasions from
10147-465: The caste system is also practiced in Bali . After achieving independence in 1947, India enacted many affirmative action policies for the upliftment of historically marginalized groups as enforced through its constitution. These policies included reserving a quota of places for these groups in higher education and government employment. Varna , meaning type, order, colour, or class are
10286-501: The chief treasurer was Mahabhandari or Hiranyabhandari . Dandanayakas were in charge of armies and the chief justice of the Hoysala court was the Dharmadhikari . The Kingdom was divided into provinces named Nadu , Vishaya , Kampana and Desha , listed in descending order of geographical size. Each province had a local governing body consisting of a minister ( Mahapradhana ) and a treasurer ( Bhandari ) that reported to
10425-422: The city of Kannanur Kuppam near Srirangam a provincial capital and taking control over the southern Deccan region. Vira Narasimha II 's son Vira Someshwara earned the honorific "uncle" ( Mamadi ) from the Pandyas and Cholas. From 1220 to 1245 the dynasty's hegemony increased southwards to cover both the Chola and Pandya Kingdoms. Toward the end of the 13th century, Veera Ballala III recaptured territory in
10564-418: The colonial construction of caste led to the livening up, divisions and lobbying to the British officials for favourable caste classification in India for economic opportunities, and this had added new complexities to the concept of caste. Graham Chapman and others have reiterated the complexity, and they note that there are differences between theoretical constructs and the practical reality. Ronald Inden ,
10703-476: The concerns with "pollution" of the members of low status groups. The Hart model for caste origin, writes Samuel, envisions "the ancient Indian society consisting of a majority without internal caste divisions and a minority consisting of a number of small occupationally polluted groups". The varnas originated in late Vedic society (c. 1000–500 BCE). The first three groups, Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishya, have parallels with other Indo-European societies, while
10842-414: The course of history. The Vellalar are spoken of as a group of people right from the Sangam period and are mentioned in many of the classical works of Sangam literature . The Tolkappiyam does not contain the term Vellalar but refers to a group of people called Velaan Maanthar who apart from practising agriculture had the right to carry weapons and wear garlands when they were involved in affairs of
10981-535: The dominant secular aristocratic caste under the Chola kings, providing the courtiers, most of the army officers, the lower ranks of the kingdom's bureaucracy, and the upper layer of the peasantry". Two identical Tamil inscriptions from Avani and Uttanur in Mulbagal Taluk dated in the 3rd year of Kulottunga I (about 1072-1073 CE) describe how the great army of the right hand class ( perumpadai valangai mahasenai ) having arrived with great weapons of war from
11120-744: The ecstatic experience of closeness to the deity ( vachanas and devaranama ). Literary works were written in it on palm leaves which were tied together. While in past centuries Jain works had dominated Kannada literature, Shaiva and early Brahminical works became popular during the Hoysala reign. Writings in Sanskrit included poetry, grammar, lexicon, manuals, rhetoric, commentaries on older works, prose fiction and drama. Inscriptions on stone ( Shilashasana ) and copper plates ( Tamarashasana ) were written mostly in Kannada but some were in Sanskrit or were bilingual. The sections of bilingual inscriptions stating
11259-627: The eighth century with the spread of Adi Shankara 's Advaita Vedanta . The only places of Buddhist worship during the Hoysala time were at Dambal and Balligavi . Shantala Devi, queen of Vishnuvardhana, was a Jain but nevertheless commissioned the Hindu Kappe Chennigaraya temple in Belur, evidence that the royal family was tolerant of all religions. During the rule of the Hoysalas, three important religious developments took place in present-day Karnataka inspired by three philosophers, Basava , Madhvacharya and Ramanuja . While
11398-699: The establishment of the Hoysala Kingdom, the Deccan Plateau saw a four-way struggle for hegemony between four dynasties: the Hoysalas, the Pandyans , the Kakatiyas , and the Seunas. In 1217, Veera Ballala II defeated the aggressive Pandya after they invaded the Chola Kingdom, and helped to restore the Chola king. The Hoysalas extended their foothold in modern-day Tamil Nadu around 1225, making
11537-433: The existence and nature of varna and jati in documents and inscriptions of medieval India. Supporting evidence has been elusive, and contradictory evidence has emerged. Hoysala The Hoysala kingdom was a Kannadiga power originating from the Indian subcontinent that ruled most of what is now Karnataka between the 10th and the 14th centuries. The capital of the Hoysalas was initially located at Belur , but
11676-411: The form of cash, from trade and commerce generated considerable wealth for the Hoysala state, and enabled it to buy armaments, elephants, horses and precious goods. The state and the merchant class became interdependent, with some more prosperous merchants being known as Rajasresthigal (royal merchants), officially recognised on account of their wealth. They were seen as puramulasthamba ('the pillars of
11815-403: The founders of the Hoysala dynasty as Maleparolganda ('Lord of the hills'), basing their evidence on inscriptions that describes them as being originally from Malenadu . The earliest record of a member of the Hoysala dynasty is dated 950 and names Arekalla as the chieftain. Arekalla was succeeded in turn by Maruga and Nripa Kama I (976), and Munda (1006–1026). The next king, Nripa Kama I, had
11954-424: The general theme. His model definition for caste included the following six characteristics: The above Ghurye's model of caste thereafter attracted scholarly criticism for relying on the census reports produced by the colonial government, the "superior, inferior" racist theories of H. H. Risley , and for fitting his definition to then prevalent orientalist perspectives on caste. Ghurye added, in 1932, that
12093-408: The historical circumstances. The latter has criticised the former for its caste origin theory, claiming that it has dehistoricized and decontextualised Indian society. According to Samuel, referencing George L. Hart , central aspects of the later Indian caste system may originate from the ritual kingship system prior to the arrival of Brahmanism, Buddhism and Jainism in India. The system is seen in
12232-514: The invention of colonialism , "as Dirks [and others] suggested," long-term endogamy , as embodied in modern Indian society in the institution of caste, has been "overwhelmingly important for millennia." A 2016 study based on the DNA analysis of unrelated Indians determined that endogamous jatis originated during the Gupta Empire . During the early Vedic period in northern India, when
12371-420: The king releases them and gives up the practice of human sacrifice. In honour of this work, Janna received the title "Emperor among poets" ( Kavichakravarthi ) from King Veera Ballala II. Rudrabhatta , a Smarta Brahmin, was the earliest well-known Brahminical writer. His patron was Chandramouli, a minister of King Veera Ballala II. Based on the earlier work Vishnu Purana , he wrote Jagannatha Vijaya in
12510-559: The king to the level of "God on earth". Temple building served a commercial as well as a religious function and was not limited to any particular sect of Hinduism. Shaiva merchants of Halebidu financed the construction of the Hoysaleswara temple to compete with the Chennakesava temple built at Belur, elevating Halebidu to an important city as well. Hoysala temples however were secular and encouraged pilgrims of all Hindu sects,
12649-785: The land and in the forests. The praja gavunda ("the gavunda of the people") had a lower status than the wealthier prabhu gavunda ("of the lord") The Hoysala administration supported itself through revenues from an agrarian economy. Land was assessed as being wet land, dry land or garden land for the purposes of taxation, and judged according to the quality of the soil. Taxes on commodities (gold, precious stones, perfumes, sandalwood, ropes, yarn, housing, hearths, shops, cattle pans, sugarcane presses) as well as produce (black pepper, betel leaves, ghee, paddy, spices, palm leaves, coconuts, sugar) are noted in village records. The Hoysalas encouraged people to move to newly-built villages by means of land grants and tax concessions. Taxes, collected in
12788-576: The land. The gahapatis were the primary taxpayers of the state. This class was apparently not defined by birth, but by individual economic growth. While there was an alignment between kulas and occupations at least at the high and low ends, there was no strict linkage between class/caste and occupation, especially among those in the middle range. Many occupations listed such as accounting and writing were not linked to jatis . Peter Masefield, in his review of caste in India, states that anyone could in principle perform any profession. The texts state that
12927-696: The legends "victor at Nolambavadi" ( Nolambavadigonda ), "victor at Talakad" ( Talakadugonda ), "chief of the Malepas" ( Maleparolganda ), "Brave of Malepa" ( malapavira ) in Hoysala style Kannada script. Their gold coin was called Honnu or Gadyana and weighed 62 grains of gold. Pana or Hana was a tenth of the Honnu , Haga was a fourth of the Pana and Visa was fourth of Haga . There were other coins called Bele and Kani . The first Hoysala capital
13066-589: The lines of jati , kula and occupation. It is likely that the varna system, while being a part of the Brahmanical ideology, was not practically operative in the society. In the Buddhist texts, Brahmin and Kshatriya are described as jatis rather than varnas . They were in fact the jatis of high rank. The jatis of low rank were mentioned as chandala and occupational classes like bamboo weavers, hunters, chariot-makers and sweepers. The concept of kulas
13205-402: The lower castes are more similar to Asians. There is no evidence of restrictions regarding food and marriage during the Vedic period. According to Moorjani et al. (2013), co-authored by Reich, extensive admixture took place between 2200 BCE and 100 CE (4200 to 1900 before present), whereafter India shifted to "a region in which mixture was rare." In southern India, endogamy may have set in
13344-641: The lower castes. In 1948, negative discrimination on the basis of caste was banned by law and further enshrined in the Indian constitution in 1950; however, the system continues to be practiced in parts of India. There are 3,000 castes and 25,000 sub-castes in India, each related to a specific occupation. Caste-based differences have also been practised in other regions and religions in the Indian subcontinent , like Nepalese Buddhism, Christianity , Islam , Judaism and Sikhism . It has been challenged by many reformist Hindu movements, Sikhism, Christianity, and present-day Neo Buddhism . With Indian influences,
13483-594: The major husbandmen , involved in tillage and cattle cultivation. Local Sri Lankan literature, such as the Kailiyai Malai , an account on Kalinga Magha , narrates the migration of Vellala Nattar chiefs from the Coromandel Coast to Sri Lanka. Their dominance rose under Dutch rule and they formed one of the colonial political elites of the island. At present, most of the Tamil Jains are from
13622-448: The margins. According to historian Sheldon Pollock, the Hoysala era saw the complete displacement of Sanskrit, with Kannada dominating as the courtly language. Temples served as local schools where learned Brahmins taught in Sanskrit, while Jain and Buddhist monasteries educated novice monks. Schools of higher learning were called Ghatikas . The local Kannada language was widely used in the rising number of devotional movements to express
13761-565: The marketplace, Nagara or Nagaram , the marketplace serving as the nuclei of a city. Some towns such as Shravanabelagola developed from a religious settlement in the 7th century to an important trading centre by the 12th century with the arrival of rich traders, while towns like Belur attained the atmosphere of a regal city when King Vishnuvardhana built the Chennakesava Temple there. Large temples supported by royal patronage served religious, social, and judiciary purposes, elevating
13900-475: The members of the royal family at all times. These servants moved closely yet inconspicuously by the side of their master, their loyalty being so complete that they committed suicide after his death. Hero stones ( virgal ) erected in memory of these bodyguards are called Garuda pillars. The Garuda pillar at the Hoysaleswara temple in Halebidu was erected in honor of Kuvara Lakshma, a minister and bodyguard of King Veera Ballala II. King Vishnuvardhana's coins had
14039-490: The members of the tribe) and the new elite classes of Brahmins (priests) and Kshatriyas (warriors) are designated as new varnas . The Shudras were not only the erstwhile dasas but also included the aboriginal tribes that were assimilated into the Aryan society as it expanded into Gangetic settlements. This class-distinction is still reflected in the fact that the upper castes have a higher genetic affinity to Europeans, while
14178-544: The name 'Hoy-sala'. The legend purporting to show how Sala became the founder of the Hoysala dynasty is shown in the Belur inscription of the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana , dated c. 1117 , but owing to several inconsistencies in the story it remains in the realm of folklore. Vishnuvardhana achieved a victory over the Cholas at Talakadu in 1116, and the legend may have arisen or gained popularity after this event, as
14317-547: The north and the Madurai Sultanate to the south. Then, after nearly three decades of resistance, Veera Ballala III was killed at the battle of Madurai in 1343, and the sovereign territories of the Hoysala Kingdom were merged with the areas administered by Harihara I in the Tungabhadra River region. This new Hindu Kingdom resisted the northern invasions and would later prosper and come to be known as
14456-482: The notable examples of Hoysala art. While the temples at Belur and Halebidu are the best known because of the beauty of their sculptures, the Hoysala art finds more complete expression in the smaller and lesser known temples. The outer walls of all these temples contain an intricate array of stone sculptures and horizontal friezes (decorative mouldings) that depict the Hindu epics. These depictions are generally clockwise in
14595-550: The origin legend of the Hoysalas where ‘'sala'’ kills the tiger to save a sage. As per historian Arokiaswami, the Hoysala title ‘'Ballala'’ is only a variant of the Tamil word ‘'Vellala'’. The Hoysala king Veera Ballala III is even now locally known as the ‘'Vellala Maharaja'’ in Thiruvannamalai , the town that served as their capital in 14th century. According to the anthropologist Kathleen Gough , "the Vellalars were
14734-595: The origin of Lingayatism is debated, the movement grew through its association with Basava in the 12th century. Madhvacharya was critical of the teachings of Adi Shankara and argued the world is real and not an illusion. His Dvaita Vedanta gained popularity, enabling him to establish eight mathas in Udupi . Ramanuja, head of the Vaishnava monastery in Srirangam, preached the way of devotion ( bhakti marga ) and wrote
14873-432: The overwhelming focus in matters relating to purity/impurity in the Dharma-sastra texts concerns "individuals irrespective of their varna affiliation" and all four varnas could attain purity or impurity by the content of their character, ethical intent, actions, innocence or ignorance (acts by children), stipulations, and ritualistic behaviours. Dumont, in his later publications, acknowledged that ancient varna hierarchy
15012-482: The participation of women in the fine arts, such as Queen Shantala Devi's skill in dance and music, and the 12th-century vachana sahitya poet and Lingayati mystic Akka Mahadevi 's devotion to the bhakti movement is well known. Temple dancers ( Devadasi ) were common and some were well educated and accomplished in the arts. These qualifications gave them more freedom than other urban and rural women who were restricted to daily mundane tasks. The practice of sati in
15151-402: The past and for many though not all Indians in more modern times, those born into a given caste would normally expect to find marriage partner" within their jati . A 2016 study based on the DNA analysis of unrelated Indians determined that endogamous jatis originated during the Gupta Empire . Jatis have existed in India among Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and tribal people, and there
15290-683: The plough attained the Vaishya varna ; those who were fond of violence, covetousness and impurity attained the Shudra varna . The Brahmin class is modeled in the epic as the archetype default state of man dedicated to truth, austerity and pure conduct. In the Mahabharata and pre-medieval era Hindu texts, according to Hiltebeitel, "it is important to recognise, in theory, varna is nongenealogical. The four varnas are not lineages, but categories". Scholars have tried to locate historical evidence for
15429-458: The present-day site of Halebid . It became capital in 1062 and remained capital until the dynasty's end. The reason for the shift is unknown, but it may have been for administrative convenience. Canals were dug connecting Dwarasamudra with Belur and bringing water from the Yagachi to Dwarasamudra. Two trade routes passed through the city, and scores of temples were built in it. The city declined in
15568-528: The question of rigidity in caste and believe that there is considerable flexibility and mobility in the caste hierarchies. There are at least two perspectives for the origins of the caste system in ancient and medieval India, which focus on either ideological factors or on socio-economic factors. The first school has focused on religious anthropology and disregarded other historical evidence as secondary or derivative of this tradition. The second school has focused on sociological evidence and sought to understand
15707-427: The rival tribes were called dasa , dasyu and pani . The dasas were frequent allies of the Aryan tribes, and they were probably assimilated into the Aryan society, giving rise to a class distinction. Many dasas were, however, in a servile position, giving rise to the eventual meaning of dasa as servant or slave. The Rigvedic society was not distinguished by occupations. Many husbandmen and artisans practised
15846-430: The role of caste in classical Hindu literature, it is jati that plays that role in present times. Varna represents a closed collection of social orders whereas jati is entirely open-ended, thought of as a "natural kind whose members share a common substance." Any number of new jatis can be added depending on need, such as tribes, sects, denominations, religious or linguistic minorities and nationalities. Thus, "Caste"
15985-417: The ruler of that province ( Dandanayaka ). Under this local ruler were officials called Heggaddes and Gavundas who hired and supervised the local farmers and labourers recruited to till the land. Subordinate ruling clans such as Alupas continued to govern their respective territories while following the policies set by the empire. An elite and well-trained force of bodyguards known as Garudas protected
16124-466: The same group, the "only explanation" for which is the pairs of individuals descended from ancestors in the last few thousands of years who carried that DNA segment. Since the average size of the DNA segments reveals how long ago in the past the shared ancestors lived, the study of a data set of more than 250 jati groups, spread throughout India, provided results that, according to the researchers, "told
16263-468: The same vessel. Later Vedic texts ridicule some professions, but the concept of untouchability is not found in them. The post-Vedic texts, particularly Manusmriti mentions outcastes and suggests that they be ostracised. Recent scholarship states that the discussion of outcastes in post-Vedic texts is different from the system widely discussed in colonial era Indian literature, and in Dumont's structural theory on caste system in India. Patrick Olivelle ,
16402-489: The shape of wealthy Buddhist monasteries . Although Sanskrit literature remained popular during the Hoysala rule, royal patronage of local Kannada scholars increased. In the 12th century some works were written in the Champu style, but distinctive Kannada metres became more widely accepted. The Sangatya metre used in compositions, Shatpadi (six line), tripadi (three line) metres in verses and ragale (lyrical poems) became fashionable. Jain works continued to extol
16541-414: The social hierarchy and these were a factor in the making of the varna system, but the ancient texts did not in some way "create the phenomenon of caste" in India. Jeaneane Fowler, a professor of philosophy and religious studies, states that it is impossible to determine how and why the jatis came into existence. Susan Bayly, on the other hand, suggests that the jati system emerged because it offered
16680-399: The society became increasingly sophisticated. The status of women was varied. Some royal women were involved in administrative matters as shown in contemporary records describing Queen Umadevi's administration of Halebidu in the absence of Veera Ballala II during his long military campaigns in northern territories. She also fought and defeated some antagonistic feudal rebels . Records describe
16819-483: The state. The Hoysalas put resources into repairing breached tanks and broken sluices , easily damaged by heavy rainfall. They collected taxes on irrigation systems, canals and wells, all of which were built and maintained at the expense of local villagers. Repairs were undertaken by the landlords as well as their workers; such repairs were considered to be a duty and a pious act. Importing horses for use as general transportation and in army cavalries of Indian Kingdoms
16958-435: The state. The term Vellalar itself occurs in the sense of a landowner in Paripadal . The poem Pattinappaalai lists the six virtues of Vellalar as abstention from killing, abstention from stealing, propagation of religion, hospitality, justice and honesty. In the years that immediately followed the Sangam age (from third to sixth century CE), the Tamil lands were ruled by a dynasty called Kalabhras . Historians believe that
17097-421: The surprising arguments of fresh scholarship, based on inscriptional and other contemporaneous evidence, is that until relatively recent centuries, social organisation in much of the subcontinent was little touched by the four varnas . Nor were jati the building blocks of society." According to Basham, ancient Indian literature refers often to varnas , but hardly if ever to jatis as a system of groups within
17236-455: The term caste as a static phenomenon of stereotypical tradition-bound India, empirical facts suggest caste has been a radically changing feature. The term means different things to different Indians. In the context of politically active modern India, where job and school quotas are reserved for affirmative action based on castes, the term has become a sensitive and controversial subject. Sociologists such as M. N. Srinivas and Damle have debated
17375-414: The territory in and around Venad during the Sangam period. The word Venad is derived from Vel -nadu, that is the country ruled by Vel chieftains. We know of a queen of Vikramaditya Varaguna, an Ay king of 9th century who is referred to as Murugan Chenthi and as Aykula Mahadevi from inscriptions. Her father, an Ay chief called Chathan Murugan is described as a Vennir Vellala that is a Vellala by birth, in
17514-681: The title Permanadi , showing that an early alliance with the Western Ganga dynasty existed at the time of his reign. Vishnuvardhana's ambition of creating an independent Kingdom was fulfilled by his grandson Veera Ballala II , who freed the Hoysalas from domination by the Chalukya Empire during the first 20 years of his reign. He declared war against the Yadavas and defeated the Kadambas . He declared independence in 1193. During
17653-413: The towns'). The increased prosperity and prestige of some merchants encouraged them to open markets and weekly fairs, with some becoming Pattanaswami (town administrators), who had the authority to collect tolls on goods that entered the town. Merchants engaged in minting activities, sometimes producing the coins and supplying them to the state. Tanks (large reservoirs) were created at the expense of
17792-513: The traditional direction of circumambulation ( pradakshina ). The temple of Halebidu has been described as an outstanding example of Hindu architecture and an important milestone in Indian architecture. The temples of Belur and Halebidu are a proposed UNESCO world heritage sites . The support of the Hoysala rulers for the Kannada language was strong, and this is seen even in their epigraphs , often written in polished and poetic language, rather than prose, with illustrations of floral designs in
17931-489: The use of Soapstone (Chloritic schist), a soft stone as basic building and sculptural material. The Chennakesava Temple at Belur (1117), the Hoysaleswara Temple at Halebidu (1121), the Chennakesava Temple at Somanathapura (1279), the temples at Arasikere (1220), Amruthapura (1196), Belavadi (1200), Nuggehalli (1246), Hosaholalu (1250), Aralaguppe (1250), Korvangla (1173), Haranhalli (1235), Mosale and Basaralu (1234) are some of
18070-457: The virtues of Tirthankaras (Jain saviour figures). The Hoysala court supported such notable poets as Janna , Rudrabhatta, Harihara and his nephew Raghavanka, whose works are enduring masterpieces in Kannada. In 1209, the Jain scholar Janna wrote Yashodharacharite , the story of a king who intends to perform a ritual sacrifice of two young boys to a local deity, Mariamma. Taking pity on the boys,
18209-457: Was "rapidly replaced by endogamy [...] among upper castes and Indo-European speakers predominantly[...] almost simultaneously, possibly by decree of the rulers, in upper-caste populations of all geographical regions, about 70 generations before present, probably during the reign (319–550 CE) of the ardent Hindu Gupta rulers." Johannes Bronkhorst , referring to Basu et al. (2016) and Moorjani et al. (2013) states that "it seems safe to conclude that
18348-475: Was Sosavur (also called Sasakapura, Sosevuru, or Sosavurpattana), at present-day Angadi in Chikmagalur district . Sosavur was the Hoysala capital from 1026 to 1048. Even after the capital was moved, though, Sosavur remained an important commercial and administrative centre, as well as a Jain religious centre. In 1048, the Hoysala capital was moved to Belur . Several factors made Belur an attractive site as
18487-539: Was a flourishing business on the western seaboard. Song dynasty records from China mention the presence of Indian merchants in ports of South China, indicating active trade with overseas Kingdoms. South India exported textiles, spices, medicinal plants, precious stones, pottery, salt made from salt pans, jewels, gold, ivory, rhino horn, ebony , aloe wood , perfumes, sandalwood , camphor and condiments to China, Dhofar , Aden , and Siraf (the entryport to Egypt, Arabia and Persia ). In its administrative practices,
18626-670: Was an elder contemporary of Kulothunga Chola II , the king who is said to have persecuted the Brahmin philosopher Ramanuja for his Vaishnavite preachings by forcing him to sign a document stating Shiva is the greatest god. The Vellalars of Sri Lanka have been chronicled in the Yalpana Vaipava Malai and other historical texts of the Jaffna kingdom . They form half of the Sri Lankan Tamil population and are
18765-586: Was broadly similar. Along with Brahmins and Kshatriyas, a class called gahapatis (literally householders, but effectively propertied classes) was also included among high kulas . The people of high kulas were engaged in occupations of high rank, viz ., agriculture, trade, cattle-keeping, computing, accounting and writing, and those of low kulas were engaged in low-ranked occupations such as basket-weaving and sweeping. The gahapatis were an economic class of land-holding agriculturists, who employed dasa-kammakaras (slaves and hired labourers) to work on
18904-647: Was later moved to Halebidu . The Hoysala rulers were originally from Malenadu , an elevated region in the Western Ghats . In the 12th century, taking advantage of the internecine warfare between the Western Chalukya Empire and Kalachuris of Kalyani , the Hoysalas annexed areas of present-day Karnataka and the fertile areas north of the Kaveri delta in present-day Tamil Nadu . By the 13th century, they governed most of Karnataka, north-western Tamil Nadu and parts of western Andhra Pradesh in
19043-399: Was not based on purity-impurity ranking principle, and that the Vedic literature is devoid of the untouchability concept. In the 21st century, advances genetics research enabled biologists and geneticists to study the antiquity of castes in India. In studying the degree of differentiation of each jati with all others on the basis of differences of mutation frequencies, they identified
19182-438: Was previously often assumed. Certain scholars of caste have considered jati to have its basis in religion, assuming that the sacred elements of life in India envelop the secular aspects; for example, the anthropologist Louis Dumont described the ritual rankings that exist within the jati system as being based on the concepts of religious purity and pollution. This view has been disputed by other scholars who believe it to be
19321-615: Was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval , early-modern, and modern India, especially in the aftermath of the collapse of the Mughal Empire and the establishment of the British Raj . It is today the basis of affirmative action programmes in India as enforced through its constitution . The caste system consists of two different concepts, varna and jati , which may be regarded as different levels of analysis of this system. The caste system as it exists today
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