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Podiyil theory.
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APPENDIX C.
6
entire absence or reference to Pallavas in the Sangam works. They point out that the Pallava kings of Kanchi were an important political factor in South Indian History from the 5th century onwards and that the absence of any reference to them in the Sangam works clearly indicates that these works belong to an earlier period. To this Professor Ramaswami Ayyangar replies that the Pallavas were known by their group name of Tirayars' in the Sangam works and that this name meant 'seafarers' or 'seamen.' Drayah and darya mean the sea' in Persian, and tirayar is apparently a Persian-derived name meaning 'seamen.' This fact is in entire consonance with the theory of Professor G. J. Dubreuil that the Pallavas are of Persian origin and with the fact noted by him that the emblem of the Pallavas was a ship with two masts.
"There are several other points in which Professor Ramaswami Ayyangar has thrown light on what has till now remained obscure ; I will mention only one of them here." He has clearly proved that the word Our in தொன்முதாலத்தரும் பணைப்பொதியில் does not refer to the Quru mountain as supposed by some but merely a meeting place in shade of a banyan tree; this takes away the basis of the theory that the Mauryas penetrated as far south as the Quru hill."
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