Date of Sriharsa

The Famous Philosopher Sriharsa date has been quite a contentious issue, Let us analyze

Dr.G.Buhler
According to Buhler on the strength of account about sriharsa given by Rajasekhara, Sriharsa was a protege of King Jayacandra who ruled Banaras between 1163AD and 1194AD. Sriharsa should have lived in his era.

K.T Telang
Telang disagrees with this date and forwards argument on the following points:

1. The Naisadhiya(by Sriharsa) is quoted in sarasvatikanthabharana(11th century AD)
2. Madhavacarya 's Sankaravijaya mentions sriharsa as one of the poets vanquished by Shankara. Madhvacarya account is before 14th century , so it more reliable than later.
3. Vacaspatimisra(11th century) wrote refutation of Khandana

By above arguments Telang comes to the conclusion, the date should be earlier by two centuries ,so9th to 10th centuries.

F.S .Growser
Hindu bard Chanda (12th century AD) , regarded Naisadha as poem of considerable antiquity. The persons mentioned are

1. sesa-naga
2. visnu
3. vyasa,
4. sukhdeva
5. sriharsa
6. kalidasa
7. Dandamali
8. jayadeva

He assumes that the names are in chronological order, thus he supports Telang.

R.D SEN
Growse is Challenged by Sen. He points out flaws in Chanda versus prithviraja , dismissing chronological order

P N. Purania
Purania identifies sahasanka of sriharsa's Navasahasankacarita with candradeva of Gadhipura(kanauj) Later part of 10th century to early 11th century.

Objections

1. Sriharsa quoted in sarasvatikanthabharana (first half of 11th century)
2. Vacaspati misra(11th century) refuted Khandana
3. Sriharsa contemporary of Shankara according to Madhva
4. Chanda(12th century) placed Sriharsa before Kalidasa

Dr.Buhler Reply

1. No Quotation of sriharsa in Sarasvatikanthabharana
2. Vacaspati is later one not of 11th century
3. Madhva work do not have any historical value
4. Chanda is not the author of Prithviraja Rosa, the work is a compilation in 14th century , so quoating sriharsa is not surprise

So Buhler Arguments seems to have the upper hand for now, let us see

Source : Sriharsa

Origin of Badaga

Wiki
The Badagas(Kannada:ಬಡಗ ಜನರು) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu, southern India.The term 'Badagu' in old Kannada means 'North',so 'Badaga' should mean 'Northener'.

They form the largest indigenous community in the Nilgiri region, with a population of approximately 150,000 encompassing some 370-odd villages and smaller settlements. They are registered as a Backward Caste, (now referred to as other backward caste(OBC) caste). Their aspirations to be recognized as a tribe, rather than a caste, is complicated by their historical and contemporary social relations with other Nilgiri peoples, from whom they have asserted some differences and even a social precedence.

For example, the Badagas have traditionally hired musicians from other Nilgiri groups (such as the Kota and Irula) to play at their social functions, which is symbolic of submission and control in that region. However, they are also known to have paid tribute in grain to other groups, such as the Todas. In general, neither stereotype of caste or tribe can be readily applied. They are most likely Dravidian by descent and they are by religion Hindus of the Saiva sect. Research has indicated they migrated to the Nilgiris from the Mysore region, sometime around 1600 after the break-up of the kingdom of Vijayanagara. They are an agricultural people and far the most numerous and wealthy of the hill tribes. Many have relocated to towns and cities of the region, and earn income from urban-style employment. Their language is Badaga, a dialect of Kannada. This is the correct representation of Badaga people ,let us see why there is confusion.

Natives of the Nilgiris
Philology states that in the beginning languages existed without scripts and only later scripts were developed. Hence this seems to be a justification that the badagas were completely an indegenous people to due to the absence in their script, but an ancient indegenous group would have a higher population or would have been completely extinct which questions the validity of this theory.

The European Connection
Badaga ethnic group from Central/East Europe for survival had to accept the local language after migration to southern India and then to the Nilgiri Hills (the nilgiris then belonged to the Vijayanagara Empire), hence the dialect of Kannada. The badagas hence adopted the language for verbal communication and did not accept the Script as it was Foreign to them. The date of the second migration from present Karnataka is probably said to be around 1500 AD - 1600 AD. But this theory is put up to convert badagas to Christianity. The same theory has been put forward in neibhouring kodagu to successful effect in conversion. To somehow show they are closer to European to spread Christianity.

Genomic studies
Genomic Studies i.e. a Y-chromosome DNA marker test on the badagas have resulted in the badagas belonging to the broader R1a and specifically R1a1 Haplogroup. A good percentage of people in Central Europe,East Europe,Scandinavia and the people of Punjab also belong to this R1a1 Haplogroup. Hence this has been suggestive of the fact that the badagas are of an Eurasian origin.
The above statement of "origin" is further diluted based on the examination of R1a1 in South Indian tribals and Dravidian population groups Saha et al. (2005) questioned the concept of its Indo-Iranian origin. Sengupta et al. (2005) claim R1a's diverse presence including even Indian tribal and lower castes (the so-called untouchables) and populations not part of the caste system. From the diversity and distinctiveness of microsatellite Y-STR variation they conclude that there must have been an independent R1a1 population in India dating back to a much earlier expansion than the Indo-Aryan migration. The other Ethnic group from southern India which belongs to the R1a1 haplogroup are the Kodava whose customs and cultural aspects for centuries have been said to be related to the Badagas.

Proto Kannada-Tamil origin
Some tamil scholars say they split from Proto-Kannada-Tamil. But this is without any basis and is linguistic chuvanism of the Tamils. This theory is mainly put forward to keep the beautiful and Nilgiris and ooty within Tamil nadu. With this theory they also forced Badagas to use Incompatible Tamil Script. The widespread use of ha indicates that Badagas migrated to Nilgiris after the Pa-Ha shift happened in Kannada, that is post Hoysala.

Conclusion
The Badagas are very much a part of the Gowdas (Land Lords in Karnataka). Many also follow Lingayat tradition. It remained as a dialect because of the isolation in the hills. The language is also believed to be the older form of Kannada (Hale Kannada). Though the practices may be unique, the culture is very much the same as the Kannadigas. This uniqueness is by shedding out old practices and adopting new ones to keep the bond among members of the community and the other tribes like Todas, Kurumbas etc.

Any Lay kannada person can understand Badaga speaking, It has retained the old charms and also some of the cultural practices. All the words in Badaga has kannada origin, they have borrowed some from neibhouring Toda, Korta , Kuruba(all Kannada tribes) and Irula (Malayalam tribe). Recently they have been using more of Tamil, because of the use of tamil script and tamil administration.

To know the origin of Badagas we dont need such elaborate analysis , the reason for migration , time of migration , placed stopped on the way are all in the Badaga folk songs.

Origin of Word Tulu

Origin and meaning of the word Tulu has been disputed in literary circles since pre-Independance days. Dr. Palthadi Ramakrishna Achar(1999) has compiled the available historical information on the word ‘Tulu’ in his book ‘TuLu naaDu- nuDi’. Most of the appraisals, as remarked by Dr Achar, have been made considering Tulu as a character of the territory or the people rather than the language.

1. In ‘Rajatha Peethapura Mahatme’(1913) it is described that a chieftain of Udupi called Ramabhoja offered Tulābhāra to the deity, to amend for the sin of killing a serpent. Tulābhāra is the offering of gold or other material (according to the status of the worshipper) equivalent to ones body weight. Thus the word Tulu has been suggested to have been derived from the Tulābhāra. The theory has not been accepted by experts since Rama bhoja appears to be an imaginary ruler unsubstantiated in the actual history of the land.
2. Another similar legend in ‘Keralotpatti’(16th century work), an ancient work that originated from Kerala, describes the rule of one ‘Tuluban Perumal’ from Koteswara, Kundapaura area, who gave the name Tulunad for the area.This is again a figment of fertile imagination since there is documented evidence of any Tuluban Perumal ruling Tulunad.
3. Dr B. A. Salettur derived the word ‘Tulu’ from the Kannada root ‘tooL’ which means to attack. Dr. Gururaja Bhat had discounted this suggestion since Tulu people were never attacked anyone nor had any expansionist ideals.
4. Manjeswara Govinda Pai proposed that the word Tulu has been considered to have derived from the proto dravidian word ‘Tulai’ which means to row or play with water.
5. Kudkadi Viswanatha Rai (cited in Dr Achar,1999) suggested that the Tulu has been derived from the phrase ‘Tullal naadu’, wherein ‘tullal’ means to wriggle or to dance. Native Mera or Muger tribes describe their marriage ceremony as 'tullal'. Yakshaghana dances.
6. Dr. Gururaja Bhat proposed that the word Tulu is modified form of the term ‘turu’ that refers to cattle. Cattle herding and grazing is considered to be one of the earliest known professions in India. Cow-herders of Gujarat, also known as Yadavas are considered to be one of the early settlers in Tulunad. Haritha of Yadava clan was said to have ruled in Tulunad according to Harivamsha. However there are no solid evidences in favour of turu>tulu word conversion .
7. ‘Tolahars’ were a royal clan that ruled a part of Tulunad. Tola>Tulu conversion has been thought of by some workers.
8. J.Sturrock in his South Canara Manual ( Vol.I ) inferred that word Tulu possibly refers to the ‘soft’ nature of the local people, since the adjective “tuluve” is applied to the soft pulpy variety of jack fruit. However, this argument has not been accepted by experts like Dr. Gururaja Bhat.
9. Sediyapu Krishna Bhat has pointed out that the word ‘Tulu’ is connected with water. ‘Tuluve’(jack fruit) also means ‘watery’ and that should be considered instead of the ‘soft’ implication. The other water related words in Tulu are talipu, teli, teLi, teLpu, tuLipu, tulavu, tamel and additionally in Kannada are tuLuku and toLe. In Tamil tuli means water drop and tulli means the same in Malayalam.Thus it can be concluded that the word Tulu implies ‘related to water’.
10. The term ‘Tulu’ was also used as a clan name, as recorded in the Honnali inscription of Shimoga district, dated 1203AD. Dr. Gururaja Bhat has cited several personal names with Tulu as affixes like Tuluveswara, Tuluva Chandiga, Tulu Senabova, Tuluvi Setti, Tuluvakka Heggadati,Tulu Alva, Tulai Amma etc. as have been recorded in the inscriptions. In the Basrur (in Kundapur taluk) inscription dated 1401 AD, mentions a Tuluvi Setti donating land to maintain the routine expenditures of the Tuluveswara temple of Basrur. Besides, Krishnadevaraya, the famous emperor of Vijayanagar was said to be hailing from the ‘Tuluva’ dynasty.Thus we can conclude that the word ‘Tulu’ means ‘that connected with water’ and it is also name of a clan or group.

However the word Tulu is more global than we ordinarily imagine!

source: Tulu Research

Myth of Cheraman Mosque

Cheraman Juma Masjid is a mosque in Kodungallur in the Indian state of Kerala. Believed to be built in 629 AD by Malik Ibn Dinar, it is considered as the oldest mosque in India, and the second oldest mosque in the world to offer Jumu'ah prayers. Constructed during the lifetime of Muhammad, the bodies of some of his original followers are said to be buried here. Unlike other mosques in Kerala that face westwards this mosque faces eastwards.

Let us analyse the Facts

Keralopathi Account(16th century AD)
As the tradition goes, a Chera king, Cheramanperumal of Kodungallure, left for Mecca, embraced Islam, and accepted the name Thajudeen. He married the sister of then King of Jeddah. On his return trip, accompanied by many Islamic religious leaders, led by Malik-ibn-Dinar (RA), he fell sick and passed away. But he had given introductory letters for the team to proceed to ‘Musiris’ (Kodungallur, the Chera capital. The visitors came to Musiris and handed over the latter to the reigning king, who treated the guests with all respect and extended facilities to establish their faith in the land. The king also organised help for the artisans to build the first Mosque at Kodungallur, by converting Arathali temple into a Juma-Masjid. It was build in 629 A.C., and the area around it had been ear-marked for the team’s settlement. This is said in Book called Keralopathi, not anywhere. But there are different versions of Keralopathi giving different accounts. In one version he converted Buddhism.

Scholarly visitors
None of the early or medieval travelers who visited Kerala has referred in their records. Thus Sulaiman, Al Biruni, Benjamin of Tuleda, Al Kazwini, Marco Polo, Friar Odoric, Friar Jordanus, Ibn Babuta, Abdur Razzak, Nicolo-Conti – none of these travelers speaks of the story of the Cheraman’s alleged conversion to Islam.

No cheraman in 7th century AD
Sreedhara Menon authoritatively states that Kerala never had a king called Cheraman Perumal and quotes Dr. Herman Gundert, the German who composed the first Malayalam-English dictionary and the grandfather of Herman Hesse for this. But there seems to have been a Cheraman Perumal, whose history is overlaid by legend. According to Saiva tradition, he had an association with a Sundaramurti, the last of the three hymnists of Devaram. This Cheraman Perumal vanished in 825 A.D, about 200 years

Legend
A mention of the Cheraman Perumal legend appeared in the 16th century book Tuhafat-ul Mujahidin by Shaik Zainuddin, but he too did not believe in its historical authenticity. But later cut and paste historians seem to have forgot to add his disclaimer.

Source :Varnam

Date of Karikal chola

Date of Karikal Chola

Karikalan is one of the most legendry kings of Tamil literature. His legendry status include.

1. Building kallanai or Grand anicut.
   
2. Waging a war on North India and Etching the chola emblem on the Himalayas
3. Making Kanchi the capital of Cholas

Though many place the date of Karikalan to 2nd century AD. There is no historical inscription to confirm this. Let us analayse the literary sources to see the date.

Cilapthikaram
Cilapathikaram is the most ancient literary work to speak about Karikalan. This work says karikalan is Maternal Uncle of Cheran Cenguttuvan. To look further on this kindly follow the link
When we cannot establish the date of Cilapathikaram how can we date karikalan using this.

Pattinappaalai
Here is the dating frenzy gone mad. The pattinappaalai is dated to 1st century BC to 1st century AD, But the king mentioned in work is dated 2nd century AD. That is author praises a king and gives vivid accounts who is born 100 years later Let us not go to another myth of antiquity of tamil article. Written by Uruttirankannanar the work talks about mostly karikalan and puhar.
Let us see info about him.

One inscription throws a different light about uruthirang kannanar A mandapa was donated to kannanar by Karikala . Around 1200 AD Sundara pandiyan ransacked the whole of chola kingdom. He destroyed all forts, palaces etc. but left this one single mandapa untouched. There is a detailed inscription in thiruvellarai - in the form of a Tamil poem – which records this. Though it was a chola who donated the gift, it was a gift for a Tamil poet - uruthirang kannanar - that's all pandiyan considered. Did a mantapa donated by Karikala survived 1000 years. Most unlikely, the date of the above poet cannot be taken for dating karikalan.

Kalingathu Parani
Kalingathu parani was composed at the time of Kulothunga chola (1070-1120). Kulothunga was chalukyan prince who crowned himself as chola king. The difference between the said date of karikala and composition has to noted here.

Ponniyn selvan
Most of the myths about cholas and tamil in general are from this book, Ponniyn selvan written in 20th century. Making the cholas great legendry builders, fighters and naval power belong to this book. The author carelessly twists the historical facts to suit his theories. Most tamil people get their history from this book and naturally gungho about their language and history.


Inscription
The first inscription to date are copper plates of Udayendram, This is in 10th century AD ,so the king who ruled cannot be remembered only after 700 years and not any where else, that should be strange. Because medieval cholas start around 9th century AD. Also see article here link2 about telugu chodas.

So there is no definite date for karikalan, Tamil historians follow circular logic in dating , they say karikala is 2nd century AD and so the authors should be around that time. And in another instance the literary works are of that age, so the king should be that age. If karikalan cannot be dated around 9th century and 10th century AD , why date him to 2nd century AD , he can be dated to 7th and 8th century AD.