Brahmans. All the Brahman saints—Vaishnava and Saiva—and some of the Brahman ministers under the ancient Tamil kings belonged to this Purvasikhai or the 'front-locked' Brahmans. The early Tamils were indebted to them for their civilisation, which developed steadily under the influence of the later Brahman immigrants from the north. These later immigrants who were specially invited by Tamil kings from the middle of the eighth century downwards, kept themselves distinct as a class and formed no social alliance with the Dravidians. They, therefore, came to be considered superior to the Nambis, Nambudris[1] or the Soliya Brahmans. Most of the land grants to the Bhatta or the later colony of Brahmans belong to this period. The early or Nambi Brahmans seem to have entered the Tamil-Malayalam districts from the north-west, while the Bhatta or later Brahmans appear to have taken the southern route through the Telugu country.
When the Nambudri Brahmans settled in Kerala the country was not uninhabited. All the lands were not wholly theirs, nor were they the sole jenmis; and we see no special reason why it should be so only in Kerala when such has not been the case in the Tamil or Telugu country. From the Paditruppattu. we learn that the Chera kings lavished presents upon Tamil poets and Brahmans of Malabar and Travan-
- ↑ It is said that the Cherumars called the Nambudris as 'Chovvar' which may be a corruption of Sabhaiyar or Savaiyar a name usually applied to the ordinary or plebeian Brahmans of the Tamil districts.
