Identifier: castestribesofso06thuruoft (find matches)
Title: Castes and tribes of southern India. Assisted by K. Rangachari
Year: 1909 (1900s)
Authors: Thurston, Edgar, 1855-1935 Rangachari, K
Subjects: Caste -- India Madras (Presidency) Ethnology -- India Madras (Presidency) India -- Social conditions
Publisher: Madras Government Press
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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thosewho made voyages by sea; but it does not appear thatthere is any solid foundation for this hypothesis. It isthe general belief among the Paravas that their originalcountry was Ayodhya, or Oudh ; and it appears that,previously to the war of Mahabharata, they inhabitedthe territory bordering on the river Yamuna or Jumna.At present they are chiefly found in the seaport towns ofthe Tinnevelly district in the south of India, and also insome of the provinces on the north-west coast of Ceylon.With regard to their origin, there is a variety as well asdiscordancy of opinions. Some of the Tantras representthem to be descended from a Brahman by a Sudrawoman, while the Jatibedi Nul (a work of some celebrityamong the Tamils) states them to be the offspring of aKurava (or basket-maker) begotten clandestinely ona female of the Chetty (or merchant) tribe. But theParavas have among themselves quite a different * Origin and History of the Paravas. Simon Casie Chitty. Journ. Roy. As.Soc, IV, 1837.
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PARAVA DEAIL-DANXER. HI PARAVAN tradition concerning their origin, which is founded onmythological fable. They relate that their progenitorswere of the race Varuna (god of the sea), and on theoccasion, when Siva had called Kartikeya (god ofarms) into existence, for destroying the overwhelmingpower of the Asuras (evil spirits), they sprang up withhim from the sacred lake Sarawana, and were like himnursed by the constellation Kartika. At the close of thelast kalpa, when the whole earth was covered with adeluge, they constructed a dhoni or boat, and by itescaped the general destruction ; and, when dry landappeared, they settled on the spot where the dhonirested ; hence it is called Dhonipura, or the city of theboat. The Paravas were once a very powerful people,and no doubt derived much of their ascendancy overother tribes from their knowledge of navigation. Theyhad a succession of kings among them, distinguished bythe title of Adiyarasen, some of whom seem to haveresided at Uttara Kosama

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