Ruins Of
Old Fortifications, Temples, Storehouses, Wells And Tanks, Are Found
Everywhere Along The Coast For Two Or Three Miles
North of the village of
Kayal, and a mile and a half inland; the whole plain is covered with
broken
Tiles and remnants of pottery, chiefly of China manufacture, and
several mounds are apparent, in which, besides the shells of the
pearl-oyster and broken pottery, mineral drugs (cinnabar, brimstone, etc.),
such as are sold in the bazaars of sea-port towns, and a few ancient coins
have been found. I send you herewith an interesting coin discovered in one
of those mounds by Mr. R. Puckle, collector of Tinnevelly.[2]
"The people of the place have forgotten the existence of any trade between
Kayal and China, though the China pottery that lies all about testifies to
its existence at some former period; but they retain a distinct tradition
of its trade with the Arabian and Persian coasts, as vouched for by Marco
Polo, that trade having in some degree survived to comparatively recent
times.... Captain Phipps, the Master Attendant at Tuticorin, says: 'The
roadstead of Old Cael (Kayal) is still used by native craft when upon the
coast and meeting with south winds, from which it is sheltered. The depth
of water is 16 to 14 feet; I fancy years ago it was deeper.... There is a
surf on the bar at the entrance (of the river), but boats go through it at
all times.'
* * * * *
"I am tempted to carry this long account of Kayal a little further, so as
to bring to light the Kolkhoi [[Greek: kolchoi emporion]] of the Greek
merchants, the situation of the older city being nearly identical with
that of the more modern one. Kolkhoi, described by Ptolemy and the
author of the Periplus as an emporium of the pearl-trade, as situated on
the sea-coast to the east of Cape Comorin, and as giving its name to the
Kolkhic Gulf or Gulf of Manaar, has been identified by Lassen with
Keelkarei; but this identification is merely conjectural, founded on
nothing better than a slight apparent resemblance in the names. Lassen
could not have failed to identify Kolkhoi with KORKAI, the mother-city of
Kayal, if he had been acquainted with its existence and claims. Korkai,
properly KOLKAI (the l being changed into r by a modern refinement - it
is still called Kolka in Malayalam), holds an important place in Tamil
traditions, being regarded as the birthplace of the Pandyan Dynasty, the
place where the princes of that race ruled previously to their removal to
Madura. One of the titles of the Pandyan Kings is 'Ruler of Korkai.'
Korkai is situated two or three miles inland from Kayal, higher up the
river. It is not marked in the Ordnance Map of India, but a village in the
immediate neighbourhood of it, called Maramangalam, 'the Good-fortune of
the Pandyas,' will be found in the map. This place, together with several
others in the neighbourhood, on both sides of the river, is proved by
inscriptions and relics to have been formerly included in Korkai, and the
whole intervening space between Korkai and Kayal exhibits traces of
ancient dwellings. The people of Kayal maintain that their city was
originally so large as to include Korkai, but there is much more
probability in the tradition of the people of Korkai, which is to the
effect that Korkai itself was originally a sea-port; that as the sea
retired it became less and less suitable for trade, that Kayal rose as
Korkai fell, and that at length, as the sea continued to retire, Kayal
also was abandoned. They add that the trade for which the place was famous
in ancient times was the trade in pearls." In an article in the Madras
Journal (VII. 379) it is stated that at the great Siva Pagoda at
Tinnevelly the earth used ceremonially at the annual festival is brought
from Korkai, but no position is indicated.
NOTE 2. - Dr. Caldwell again brings his invaluable aid: -
"Marco Polo represents Kayal as being governed by a king whom he calls
Asciar (a name which you suppose to be intended to be pronounced
Ashar), and says that this king of Kayal was the elder brother of
Sonderbandi, the king of that part of the district of Maabar where he
landed. There is a distinct tradition, not only amongst the people now
inhabiting Kayal, but in the district of Tinnevelly generally, that Kayal,
during the period of its greatness, was ruled by a king. This king is
sometimes spoken of as one of 'the Five Kings' who reigned in various
parts of Tinnevelly, but whether he was independent of the King of Madura,
or only a viceroy, the people cannot now say.... The tradition of the
people of Kayal is that ... Sur-Raja was the name of the last king of
the place. They state that this last king was a Mahommedan, ... but though
Sur-Raja does not sound like the name of a Mahommedan prince, they all
agree in asserting that this was his name.... Can this Sur be the person
whom Marco calls Asciar? Probably not, as Asciar seems to have been a
Hindu by religion. I have discovered what appears to be a more probable
identification in the name of a prince mentioned in an inscription on the
walls of a temple at Sri-Vaikuntham, a town on the Tamraparni R., about 20
miles from Kayal. In the inscription in question a donation to the temple
is recorded as having been given in the time of 'Asadia-deva called also
Surya-deva' This name 'Asadia' is neither Sanskrit nor Tamil; and as the
hard d is often changed into r, Marco's Ashar may have been an
attempt to render this Asad. If this Asadia or Surya-deva were really
Sundara-pandi-deva's brother, he must have ruled over a narrow range of
country, probably over Kayal alone, whilst his more eminent brother was
alive; for there is an inscription on the walls of a temple at
Sindamangalam, a place only a few miles from Kayal, which records a
donation made to the place 'in the reign of Sundara-pandi-deva.'"[3]
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