>Monkbot: Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 4 templates: del empty params (8×); hyphenate params (3×);

2020-12-20T01:42:55Z

Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 4 templates: del empty params (8×); hyphenate params (3×);

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
{{TNhistory}}

The '''[[Kanchipuram district]]''' of North [[Tamil Nadu]] is considered to be the first region in the Tamil country to be Aryanized. [[P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar]] believes that in the pre-Pallava period, this region was the southernmost outpost of Sanskrit culture. He cites the etymological derivation of the word "Kanchipuram" and other evidence in support of his claim. However, despite such claims, Kanchipuram is believed to have been mentioned in the Tamil epic ''[[Manimekhalai]]''.

In the 4th century AD, Kanchipuram emerged from an obscure past to become the capital of the [[Pallava Empire]]. The city was at the height of its power during the 7th century AD when it was visited by the Chinese traveller [[Hiuen Tsang]].

== Etymology ==

Some scholars believe that Kanchipuram might have been derived from the "Kanjiyur" which is mentioned in early Tamil poems.<ref name="ptsrinivasap323">[[#P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar|P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar]], Pg 323</ref> Kanjiyur is a place in the [[Chola]] country and its name means "place surrounded by ''Kanji'' trees".<ref name="ptsrinivasap323" /> Kanjiyur is mentioned in several early texts, one among them being the ''[[Puṟanāṉūṟu]]''.<ref name="ptsrinivasap323" />

However, [[Dravidologist]] and professor of history, [[P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar]], in his book ''History of the Tamils from the Earliest Times to 600AD'', claims that the Kanjiyur mentioned in early Tamil poems was not Kanchipuram at all but a different town altogether.<ref name="ptsrinivasap322">[[#P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar|P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar]], Pg 322</ref>

Srinivasa Iyengar claims that Kanchipuram was a Sanskrit word and that the town had no Tamil name.<ref name="ptsrinivasap322" /> In support of his claim, he states that Kanchipuram is mentioned in the books of the Sanskrit grammarian [[Patanjali]], who lived in the 3rd–2nd century BC.<ref name="ptsrinivasap322" /> On the contrary, the first references to Kanchipuram in Tamil literature, was in ''[[Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai]]'', a eulogy of [[Ilandiraiyan]], which was written as late as the 2nd century AD. Here, though, Kanchi is not mentioned in its Sanskrit form ''Kanchi'', but in its Prakrit form ''Kacci''.<ref name="ptsrinivasap322" />

On basis of this evidence, Srinivasa Iyengar concludes that Kanchipuram might have been the southernmost outpost of Sanskrit culture.<ref name="ptsrinivasap322" />

== Northern frontier of the Ancient Tamil country ==

The northernmost province of the ancient Tamil country was the district of Aruva (present-day [[South Arcot district]]).<ref name="ptsrinivasap323" /> The regions beyond Aruva were known as Aruvavadadalai.<ref name="ptsrinivasap323" /> The Kanchipuram district had no specific name until the late Pallava period when it got the name Tondaimandalam.<ref name="ptsrinivasap323" />

== History ==

=== Pre-historic Kanchipuram ===

[[Henry Bruce Foote]]'s discovery of pre-historic stone axe at [[Pallavaram]] in 1863 indicates that the region might have been occupied as early as the [[Stone Age]]s.<ref name="muthiahp129">[[#Muthiah|Muthiah]], Pg 129</ref> Archaeological findings from a later period even indicate a thriving [[Iron Age]] settlement.<ref name="muthiahp129" /> Animal fossils and stone implements found at kanchipuram to the north-west of [[Chennai]] city could very well be over 85000 years old.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Shanti Pappu |author2=Yanni Gunnell |author3=Maurice Taieb |author4=Jean-Philippe Brugal |author5=K. Anupama |author6=Raman Sukumar |author7=Kumar Akhilesh |title= Excavations at the Palaeolithic Site of Attirampakkam, South India | journal= Antiquity | volume=77 | issue=297 | url= http://antiquity.ac.uk/ProjGall/pappu/pappu.html }}</ref><ref name="sastrip44">[[#Sastri|Sastri]], Pg 44</ref>

=== 'Dravida' ===
The earliest references of Kanchipuram have been in the Sanskrit texts of Patanjali.<ref name="ptsrinivasap322" /> The [[Dravida Kingdom]] of the [[Mahabharatha]] must have been centred on the Kanchipuram region.<ref name="ptsrinivasap325">[[#P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar|P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar]], Pg 325</ref> According to one tradition, [[Chandragupta Maurya]]'s minister [[Chanakya]] was a native of Dravida.<ref name="ptsrinivasap325" /> One of Chanakya's various names was Dramila, the Sanskrit form of "Tamilian".<ref name="ptsrinivasap326">[[#P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar|P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar]], Pg 326</ref> Kanchipuram is also mentioned as Satyavrataksetra in the [[Bhagavata Purana]], after the king Satyavrata who ruled over the region. Eventually, all the kings of Kanchi until the time of the Pallavas, held the title "Satyaputra" or the "son of Satyavrata".<ref name="ptsrinivasap327">[[#P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar|P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar]], Pg 327</ref>

=== Rise of the Agamic cults ===

The Kanchipuram region is one of the first regions in the Tamil country to witness the rise of the Agamic cults. Sanskrit texts of the centuries which immediately precede the Christian era mention Kanchipuram amongst the seven holy temple cities in India.<ref name="ptsrinivasap328">[[#P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar|P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar]], Pg 328</ref> A number of Buddhist monasteries were built during the time of the Mauryan Emperor [[Ashoka]].<ref name="ptsrinivasap329">[[#P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar|P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar]], Pg 329</ref> Buddhist and Jain relics in the region attest to fairly significant Buddhist and Jain presence in the city at the time.<ref name="ptsrinivasap329" />

==See also==

* [[Dravida Kingdom]]
* [[Tamil Sangams]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==

* {{cite book | title=History of the Tamils from the Earliest Times to the Present Day| last= Iyengar| first= P. T. Srinivasa | author-link= P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar| year=1929|ref=P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar}}
* {{cite book | title=Madras Rediscovered| last=Muthiah| first=S.| date=2004| author-link=S. Muthiah| publisher=East West Books (Madras) Pvt Ltd| isbn=81-88661-24-4|ref=Madras Rediscovered}}
* {{cite book | first= K.A. | last= Nilakanta Sastri | author-link=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri | year=1955 | title= A History of South India | publisher=Oxford University Press |ref=Sastri}}

[[Category:Tamil history]]
[[Category:Kanchipuram district]]
[[Category:Ancient Tamil Nadu]]

Kanchipuram in the pre-Pallava period - Revision history

>Monkbot: Task 18 (cosmetic): eval 4 templates: del empty params (8×); hyphenate params (3×);