Keralolpaththi (केरळोल्पत्ति) and Keralamāhāthyam (केरळमाहात्म्यम्) are two of the sacred texts of indigenous Malayali Hindu communities. These two texts also give clear mention about the ancestries of these communities. According to Keralolpaththi, Maharishi Parashurama had initiated had 108 kalaris and donated swords to 36,000 Brahmins. According to Mahabharata, Maharishi Parashurama was the martial art teacher of Guru Dronacharya and Bheeshma Pitamaha. It is believed that Maharishi Parashurama is one of the Ashtachiranjeevis and is still alive in the Himalayas.
The Indian martial arts were actually the tradition of the Brahmin community. Dhanurveda was composed by Maharishi Vasishtha. Marmashastra was composed by Maharishi Agastya. Martial arts and Hatha Yoga traditions are also connected with Maharishi Vishwamithra. Agni Purana covers all aspects of Indian martial arts: spear fighting, empty-hand fighting, sword fighting etc. According to Hindu beliefs, Agni Purana was narrated by Lord Agni to Maharishi Vasishtha. Lord Agni belongs to a supernatural tribe called Deva of Indian sub-continent. Maharishi Vasishta belonged to Brahmin community and was the paternal grandfather of Maharishi Parashara.
In Jammu, there is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Maharishi Parashurama in a town called Akhnoor. When I was searching about Kalaris on the internet I found that in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir there is a place called Kalary. I don't know how they pronounce this name. And there are two places with name Kalari in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan's Punjab. In Afghanistan too there is a place called Kalari in the Parvan region. All these regions were once the parts of Nagavansha kingdoms.
In Jammu, there is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Maharishi Parashurama in a town called Akhnoor. When I was searching about Kalaris on the internet I found that in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir there is a place called Kalary. I don't know how they pronounce this name. And there are two places with name Kalari in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan's Punjab. In Afghanistan too there is a place called Kalari in the Parvan region. All these regions were once the parts of Nagavansha kingdoms.
Recently, I saw an article on an encyclopedia website about a caste which is actually from southern parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu according to the Census Reports. I don't know what is the real name of this caste but now its members have changed their caste name and have created a fake history to glorify it. Most of the details in this fake history are taken from the sacred scriptures of Kerala. These details They changed these details by putting their caste name instead of Brahmin and used it to create the fake history about their community. Also, they have mentioned that some of their traditions are the traditions of Nair community. I don't know why they are doing all these and what is the purpose behind it. When 108 Kalaris were set up by Lord Parashurama, there were no titles like Panicker, Kurup, Pillai, Thampi, Kaimal, Kartha and Nambiar. These titles were later given by the kings of Kerala to the members of some non-Brahmin communities according to their profession and positions in their professions.
Both Indian and foreign authorities agree that at the close of 15th century only The Kolathiri or The King of Kannur (Cannanore), The Samuthiri (Zamorin) or The King of Kozhikode (Calicut) and The Thiruvadi - as the Portuguese authorities call him - The King of Venad had what we may call full sovereign rights. It is believed that the Samuthiri Royal Family belonged to Kiriyathil Nair caste and the Travancore Royal Family belonged to Illathu Nair caste. The family deity of Samuthiri Royal Family is Goddess Shree Thiruvalayanattu Devi. She is worshipped as Shree Kalasankarpini. The deity was brought to Kerala from Kashmir. Similarly, Thiruvananthapuram is connected to Anantnag of Kashmir from ancient times. Apart from these rulers, there were minor Rajahs of whom the chief were the Rajahs of Thanoor, Kodungallur (Crangannor), Kochi (Cochin), Mangatt, Idapalli, Vadakkumkur, Procaud (Purakkad), Kayamkulam and Kollam (Quilon). The Rajahs of Parur, Purakkad and Idappalli belonged to Nambudiri or Malayali Brahmin community.
The Nairs constituted a distinct rank and caste. They comprised the upper class of the natives. They were a valiant and well-disciplined body of men. The kings could not make a Nair of a peasant, the Nairs being such by descent. A Nair could not be thrown into prison for any offence, and was only subject to the death-penalty if he killed another Nair or a cow or married women of inferior community. Social disputes of Nair community were settled by the meetings of castemen. Serious matters were referred to Nambudiri Brahmans for decision. Like the king, the Nairs too had many concubines from the communities which they were not allowed to marry. As mentioned before, Nairs were not allowed to marry women of inferior community and if they did so they were punished to death.
The Nairs never ceased taking military lessons. Two months in every year they devoted to military practice under the eyes of their masters who belonged to their own caste. They rarely laughed. Their arms, the bows, arrows, swords, jevelins, shields were very large and they used them with utmost dexterity. The Nairs used to gird themselves with Nair-knife which was called Nair Kaththi (नायर कत्ति) in Malayalam. It was a hook-shaped knife fifteen inches long and seven broad with a wooden handle about four inches long. The Nairs were exceedingly experts in the use of bows, and discharged several arrows at the same time, by means of their feet and hands. They frequently hunted tigers. Every Nair was a member of some Kalari and the Kalaris were controlled by the ruling families. The Rajahs depended for their authority on the Nair militia who thus enjoyed almost a monopoly of political influence in the country.
The Nair lords consisted of some of the hereditary officials of the state and others who were merely vassal rulers and were independent in their territory. The Nair lords resembled feudal barons, especially in that they had to provide soldiers when their suzerain (സാമന്തർ) went to war with another ruler. The Kolathunadu country was also divided up between Nair lords who maintained armies. South of the territories of the Rajah of Idappalli lay the important territory of Vadakkumkur. Its capital was Kaduthirithi, a few miles to south-east of Vaikom. The rulers of this place were Nairs and were alluded to in ancient documents as "Vadukkumkur Nair." Though nominally subordinate to Rajah of Kochi to whom they were allied by marriage, the Vadakkumkur Nairs enjoyed full ruling authority and had a very considerable military strength.
Though the Nairs were from their infancy trained up to arms, and were very bold and brave, they were nevertheless very civil and meek or gentle in their conversation, according to the custom of that country. When they entered in the houses of lower classes they only touched the doors and the walls but never ate there for the fear of being defiled. In such cases, Nairs were similar to Brahmins. A Nair may approach a Brahmin; but if a person from a lower class came near a Nair, the Nair would cut him down. The lower class of people were obliged in going along the streets or roads, to keep shouting in a loud voice, "Hoo, hoo !" so that, if a Nair were coming along, he might order them to make way for him. If a Nair met another older than himself on the road he does him reverence and gives place to him. Before the social reformation of Kerala their was hierarchy between communities. Indigenous communities were Hindus and strictly religious. Migrant communities were non-Hindus, they had their own faith and worshiped their own deities. The lifestyles of indigenous and migrant communities were different. As the indigenous communities were strictly religious they never mingled with migrant communities. In the Indian society caste is based mainly on ancestry and not profession. The Kiriyathil and Illathu Nairs are included in the Shudra category of Varna System. The word Shudra also means a person of mixed origin. The ancestors of Nairs were entrepreneurs, warriors, ministers and did various respectable professions. There are certain rules for a person to become a member of a caste. Some Hindu castes allow a person to become its members by performing some rituals whereas in strictly religious Hindu castes, i. e. indigenous castes, this is not allowed.
The Portuguese came to know about India after conquering Arabia. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Portuguese attacked the Arabian coastline, they landed there and built there own fortresses. The Portuguese became interested in the goods and possibilities of the East and Arabian peninsula. In those days, Kozhikode was an extremely powerful kingdom that dominated all its neighbouring regions and correspondingly having multiplicity of goods available: spices, Brazilwood, gold, silver, varnish (lacquer), incense, flax etc. The traders in those days were Tamil Brahmins, Konkani Brahmins, Nairs and Moors (Muslims). From the port of Kozhikode the Moors used to ship pepper and drugs, which they transported to Mecca, and spread over Turkey, and thence to all provinces of Christendom by exchange from country to country. As the pepper was high on demand in those days it was also called "black gold" in Malabar. The Portuguese made their appearance in India at the end of 15th century. The first Portuguese to set foot on the Indian soil was Peru de Covilha, a crafty adventurist and the personal agent of King John II of Portugal. In 1488, he arrived at the Indian port of Kannur on Arabian trade ship, disguised as an Arab merchant. From there he visited the towns of Kozhikode, Goa and several ports and settlements along the Malabar coast. The information he gathered about the western part of India as well as the secrets he learned from Arabs about the sea routes the way were trasmitted by him in 1491 to agents of Portuguese king in Cairo. His findings played an important role in the Portuguese expeditions of conquest of India.
When Vasco da Gama reached the palace of the Samuthiri king he was received at the gate of the palace by the commander of the bodyguard, without whose permit no one could enter the palace. The king received them seated on a rich bed set out with silk and gold in a room arranged with silk stuffs of various colours and of white canopy which was of subtle workmanship and covered the whole room. The Rajah of Kozhikode, Samuthiri king (Zamorin), was clothed in white cotton strewed with branches and roses of beaten gold but wore many ornaments of great value. He had on his left arm above the elbow a bracelet which seemed like three rings together, the middle one larger than the others, all studed with rich jewels particularly the middle one which bore large stones which could not fail to be of very great value; from this middle ring hung a pendant stone which glittered; it was a diamond of the thickness of a thumb. Round his neck was a string of pearls about the size of hazel-nuts, the string took two turns and reached to his middle. Above it, he wore a thin round gold chain which bore the jewel of the shape of heart surrounded with larger hearts and all full of rubies; in the middle was a green stone of the size of a large bean, which, from its showiness, was of great price, which was called an emerald. In the court of the Samuthiri king the Captain-Major made a speech explaining his mission and desire of the Portuguese king to open commercial relations with India.
The kind of stuff the Vasco da Gama had brought from Lisbon for exchange in India was not suited to Indian market and there was no demand for them from the Indian side. There was but little trade done between the Portuguese and the local inhabitants of Malabar. When the monsoon was over da Gama made preparations for returning to Portugal. He requested the Samuthiri king for permission to leave a factor at Kozhikode in charge of the merchandise which he was not able to sell. The Samuthiri king required customs to be paid according to the regulations of the port; but this da Gama refused to do. It was this controversy that embittered the relations of da Gama with Samuthiri king and helped to convince the latter that the new-comers were bent not merely on commercial pursuits. The Samuthiri king warned other rulers of Malabar about Portuguese.
The Nairs never ceased taking military lessons. Two months in every year they devoted to military practice under the eyes of their masters who belonged to their own caste. They rarely laughed. Their arms, the bows, arrows, swords, jevelins, shields were very large and they used them with utmost dexterity. The Nairs used to gird themselves with Nair-knife which was called Nair Kaththi (नायर कत्ति) in Malayalam. It was a hook-shaped knife fifteen inches long and seven broad with a wooden handle about four inches long. The Nairs were exceedingly experts in the use of bows, and discharged several arrows at the same time, by means of their feet and hands. They frequently hunted tigers. Every Nair was a member of some Kalari and the Kalaris were controlled by the ruling families. The Rajahs depended for their authority on the Nair militia who thus enjoyed almost a monopoly of political influence in the country.
The Nair lords consisted of some of the hereditary officials of the state and others who were merely vassal rulers and were independent in their territory. The Nair lords resembled feudal barons, especially in that they had to provide soldiers when their suzerain (സാമന്തർ) went to war with another ruler. The Kolathunadu country was also divided up between Nair lords who maintained armies. South of the territories of the Rajah of Idappalli lay the important territory of Vadakkumkur. Its capital was Kaduthirithi, a few miles to south-east of Vaikom. The rulers of this place were Nairs and were alluded to in ancient documents as "Vadukkumkur Nair." Though nominally subordinate to Rajah of Kochi to whom they were allied by marriage, the Vadakkumkur Nairs enjoyed full ruling authority and had a very considerable military strength.
Though the Nairs were from their infancy trained up to arms, and were very bold and brave, they were nevertheless very civil and meek or gentle in their conversation, according to the custom of that country. When they entered in the houses of lower classes they only touched the doors and the walls but never ate there for the fear of being defiled. In such cases, Nairs were similar to Brahmins. A Nair may approach a Brahmin; but if a person from a lower class came near a Nair, the Nair would cut him down. The lower class of people were obliged in going along the streets or roads, to keep shouting in a loud voice, "Hoo, hoo !" so that, if a Nair were coming along, he might order them to make way for him. If a Nair met another older than himself on the road he does him reverence and gives place to him. Before the social reformation of Kerala their was hierarchy between communities. Indigenous communities were Hindus and strictly religious. Migrant communities were non-Hindus, they had their own faith and worshiped their own deities. The lifestyles of indigenous and migrant communities were different. As the indigenous communities were strictly religious they never mingled with migrant communities. In the Indian society caste is based mainly on ancestry and not profession. The Kiriyathil and Illathu Nairs are included in the Shudra category of Varna System. The word Shudra also means a person of mixed origin. The ancestors of Nairs were entrepreneurs, warriors, ministers and did various respectable professions. There are certain rules for a person to become a member of a caste. Some Hindu castes allow a person to become its members by performing some rituals whereas in strictly religious Hindu castes, i. e. indigenous castes, this is not allowed.
The Portuguese came to know about India after conquering Arabia. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Portuguese attacked the Arabian coastline, they landed there and built there own fortresses. The Portuguese became interested in the goods and possibilities of the East and Arabian peninsula. In those days, Kozhikode was an extremely powerful kingdom that dominated all its neighbouring regions and correspondingly having multiplicity of goods available: spices, Brazilwood, gold, silver, varnish (lacquer), incense, flax etc. The traders in those days were Tamil Brahmins, Konkani Brahmins, Nairs and Moors (Muslims). From the port of Kozhikode the Moors used to ship pepper and drugs, which they transported to Mecca, and spread over Turkey, and thence to all provinces of Christendom by exchange from country to country. As the pepper was high on demand in those days it was also called "black gold" in Malabar. The Portuguese made their appearance in India at the end of 15th century. The first Portuguese to set foot on the Indian soil was Peru de Covilha, a crafty adventurist and the personal agent of King John II of Portugal. In 1488, he arrived at the Indian port of Kannur on Arabian trade ship, disguised as an Arab merchant. From there he visited the towns of Kozhikode, Goa and several ports and settlements along the Malabar coast. The information he gathered about the western part of India as well as the secrets he learned from Arabs about the sea routes the way were trasmitted by him in 1491 to agents of Portuguese king in Cairo. His findings played an important role in the Portuguese expeditions of conquest of India.
When Vasco da Gama reached the palace of the Samuthiri king he was received at the gate of the palace by the commander of the bodyguard, without whose permit no one could enter the palace. The king received them seated on a rich bed set out with silk and gold in a room arranged with silk stuffs of various colours and of white canopy which was of subtle workmanship and covered the whole room. The Rajah of Kozhikode, Samuthiri king (Zamorin), was clothed in white cotton strewed with branches and roses of beaten gold but wore many ornaments of great value. He had on his left arm above the elbow a bracelet which seemed like three rings together, the middle one larger than the others, all studed with rich jewels particularly the middle one which bore large stones which could not fail to be of very great value; from this middle ring hung a pendant stone which glittered; it was a diamond of the thickness of a thumb. Round his neck was a string of pearls about the size of hazel-nuts, the string took two turns and reached to his middle. Above it, he wore a thin round gold chain which bore the jewel of the shape of heart surrounded with larger hearts and all full of rubies; in the middle was a green stone of the size of a large bean, which, from its showiness, was of great price, which was called an emerald. In the court of the Samuthiri king the Captain-Major made a speech explaining his mission and desire of the Portuguese king to open commercial relations with India.
The kind of stuff the Vasco da Gama had brought from Lisbon for exchange in India was not suited to Indian market and there was no demand for them from the Indian side. There was but little trade done between the Portuguese and the local inhabitants of Malabar. When the monsoon was over da Gama made preparations for returning to Portugal. He requested the Samuthiri king for permission to leave a factor at Kozhikode in charge of the merchandise which he was not able to sell. The Samuthiri king required customs to be paid according to the regulations of the port; but this da Gama refused to do. It was this controversy that embittered the relations of da Gama with Samuthiri king and helped to convince the latter that the new-comers were bent not merely on commercial pursuits. The Samuthiri king warned other rulers of Malabar about Portuguese.
After two years Vasco da Gama reached back in Lisbon. The successful return of armada caused a great rejoicings in Portugal. The cargo he brought with him was 60 times the cost of expedition. A new expedition was fitted up with Pedro Alvarez Cabral as commander. His armada consisted 33 ships and carried 1500 men. After a very eventful voyage, in which chance led him to the coast of Brazil, which was thus "discovered and taken possession of" by Portuguese, Cabral reached India with only 6 ships. On September 18 Samuthiri king met Cabral, but the interview broke up owing to a misunderstanding. Cabral, thinking that his person was in danger, returned in a hurry to the ship, leaving the cargo and Portuguese who accompained on the shore. Negotiations were then resumed between the Samuthiri king's plenipotentiaries and Aires Correia, as the agent of Cabral. After prolonged discussions extending over two and a half months a settlement was reached which gave the Portuguese the right of having a factory in Kozhikode. The Portuguese in meantime began to claim extraordinary rights on the sea.
Cabral requested the Samuthiri king to give him the Arab ships because those ships were able to load pepper which he wanted for himself. To which the Samuthiri king replied that the Portuguese were welcome to buy as much as they could pay for. But Arab competition was keen; and dissatisfied with the method of having to bid and buy in the open market, Cabral hit upon the easy way of attacking and taking possession of Arab vessels within his reach. The Nairs on the coast had been friendly with the Portuguese. They had treated them with courtesy and had done business with them. But the news of Cabral's unwarranted aggression caused and consternation, as the people of Kozhikode had, for many centuries, been accustomed to complete security of property and person. The populace was roused to fury, and in the riot that ensued the factory was destroyed and more than half the Portuguese on land were wounded. Cabral retaliated his brutal fashion. He massacred the crew of all the boats he could lays hands on in the harbour, in some cases burning the ships with the men in them. It confirmed in the minds of Nairs of Kozhikode the belief that the intruders were uncivilised barbarians, treacherous and untrustworthy. It made the Samuthiri king an enemy and Kozhikode the most determined opponent of Portuguese connection as Affonso Albuquerque found out later on. Cabral soon discovered that further stay in Kozhikode is dangerous and the coast was unknown to him and monsoon was about to set in. He decided to sail to Kochi.
Reference: Malabar and The Portuguese by Shri. Kavalam Madhava Panikkar, Saudi Arabia By Sherifa Zuhur, Writing New Worlds: The Cultural Dynamics of Curiosity in Early Modern Europe by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, India Wins Freedom: New Constitution and the Indian Political System by Ranjana Arora, Verinder Grover, Agrarian Relations in Late Medieval Malabar by M. T. Narayanan, Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Ka'nara (2 pts.) by Government Central Press, 1883, The Voyages and Adventures of Vasco Da Gama by George Makepeace Towle, Fifteen Years in India; Or, Sketches of a Soldiers Life by Robert Grenville Wallance, Selected essays of G. Sankara Pillai by Shri. N. Radhakrishnan, Suma Oriental of Tom Pires, The Triumph and Tragedy of The Synod of Diamper by K X M John, Kalarippayat by Dick Luijendijk.
Please don't hack this website and don't make changes in the posts.
Cabral requested the Samuthiri king to give him the Arab ships because those ships were able to load pepper which he wanted for himself. To which the Samuthiri king replied that the Portuguese were welcome to buy as much as they could pay for. But Arab competition was keen; and dissatisfied with the method of having to bid and buy in the open market, Cabral hit upon the easy way of attacking and taking possession of Arab vessels within his reach. The Nairs on the coast had been friendly with the Portuguese. They had treated them with courtesy and had done business with them. But the news of Cabral's unwarranted aggression caused and consternation, as the people of Kozhikode had, for many centuries, been accustomed to complete security of property and person. The populace was roused to fury, and in the riot that ensued the factory was destroyed and more than half the Portuguese on land were wounded. Cabral retaliated his brutal fashion. He massacred the crew of all the boats he could lays hands on in the harbour, in some cases burning the ships with the men in them. It confirmed in the minds of Nairs of Kozhikode the belief that the intruders were uncivilised barbarians, treacherous and untrustworthy. It made the Samuthiri king an enemy and Kozhikode the most determined opponent of Portuguese connection as Affonso Albuquerque found out later on. Cabral soon discovered that further stay in Kozhikode is dangerous and the coast was unknown to him and monsoon was about to set in. He decided to sail to Kochi.
Reference: Malabar and The Portuguese by Shri. Kavalam Madhava Panikkar, Saudi Arabia By Sherifa Zuhur, Writing New Worlds: The Cultural Dynamics of Curiosity in Early Modern Europe by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, India Wins Freedom: New Constitution and the Indian Political System by Ranjana Arora, Verinder Grover, Agrarian Relations in Late Medieval Malabar by M. T. Narayanan, Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency: Ka'nara (2 pts.) by Government Central Press, 1883, The Voyages and Adventures of Vasco Da Gama by George Makepeace Towle, Fifteen Years in India; Or, Sketches of a Soldiers Life by Robert Grenville Wallance, Selected essays of G. Sankara Pillai by Shri. N. Radhakrishnan, Suma Oriental of Tom Pires, The Triumph and Tragedy of The Synod of Diamper by K X M John, Kalarippayat by Dick Luijendijk.
Please don't hack this website and don't make changes in the posts.
