noble man') Brahmans settled in Malabar and Travancore between the sixth and eighth centuries of the Christian era. According to Keralolpatti, a mythological account of the Malayalam country composed probably by a Nambudri Brahman during the eighteenth century, Brahmans were brought down by Parasurama from the Punjab and made to settle first at Gokarnam in South Kanara, vhere they were made to shave their hind lock and to grow it on the front, perhaps as it is said, to prevent their going back to their original home. But we learn from other sources that this king was Mayurasarma—the founder of the Kadamba family and not Parasurama.
The date of Mayuravarma is about the early part of the sixth century. The Namburi Brahmans must, therefore, have settled in and around Gokarnam, during this period and their migration to the south from this centre must have taken place during the sixth and seventh centuries. The example of Mayuravarma was followed by the Chola and Pandya kings of the time, who invited small colonies of Brahmans now known as the Soliya Brahmans,
But this does not mean that there were absolutely no Brahmans in the Tamil country before the sixth century.
The country was deeply plunged in Buddhism and Jainism. The non-Brahman Saivas and Vaishnavas, of course instigated by the few Brahmans, were contending against these religionists. There were not many Brahman religious institutions ;
