were regarded as intruders in the southern districts. Hence, the term Pallava has come to mean a 'rogue' in the Tamil language, while a section of the Pallava subjects who settled in the Chola and Pandya countries received the undesirable appellation of Kalla or thieves. All these doubtless belonged to the Naga race, as one subdivision of the Palli caste called the agavadam, Nagapasam or Nagavamsam and the occurrence of such names as Mugali-Nagan, Oli-Nagan and Sanka-Nagan in the Mamallapuram (the Seven Pagodas) inscriptions will show; and they must have migrated from the Telugu and Canarese districts as soldiers of the early Pallava kings during the second or third century A. D. For this reason the Pallavas were always considered as strangers to Tamil districts and were never mentioned favourably in ancient Tamil works. As regards their connection with the Kurumbas and Pallars enough has been said by Mr. (now Sir) H. A. Stuart in the Madras Census Report of 1891.
Maravan and Eyinan occur very often in ancient Tamil works, and they are said to have been skilful bowmen and soldiers. The Maravas were and even now are very numerous in the Pandya country, and the habitat of the Evinas appears from time immemorial to have been the Pallava and Chola countries. Prior to the tenth century, the Kaikolas and Agambadiyas did not come into existence as distinct castes, and the origin of the former will be given presently.
