The Tamils and the Andhras

Hi All,

Please forgive any discrepancies as this my first post.

This post is directly related to an essay I read by Pandit M. Raghava Aiyangar at "http://yabaluri.org/TRIVENI/CDWEB/TheTamilsandtheAndhras.htm" titled "The Tamils and the Andhras".

In essence, the essay asserts the antiquity of the Telegu language alongside the Tamil language. This was quite a shock to me, as I had always read that Telugu and Kannada evolved much, much later than Tamil. However, logically, I should have known better perhaps, given that much of what we read as gospel truth about history in the ancient Indian region is actually leftovers and holdouts of Colonial divide-and-rule policies.

I know that many on this forum are very learned in regards to the Tamil language and Indian history, therefore I thought this would be a good place to pose a discussion.

Is the essay correct? Is it partially correct? Is it false? And why?

Dear Govender,

Without being biased towards any section of the Society I have to state the following.


The "Sanskrit Mahabharatha of Saint Viyasa" translated by Ganguly states the following;

"Vasudeva said........Thou O Karna hast been born in this way. Thou art therefore morally the son of Pandu......O thou of mighty arms with thy brothers the Pandavas with yapas and homas and auspicious rites of diverse kinds performed in thy honour. Let the Dravidas with the Kuntalas, the "Andhras" an the Talacharas, Shuchupas, and the Venupas all walk before thee......."

MAHABHARATHA - UDYOGA PARVA, PAGE 270-271


".........O son of Kunti art indulging in similar bragging, be a man !........O Partha thou wishest in vain to conquer !........why art thou not able to realise the might of this vast army of the assembled monarchs......the Dravidas, the "Andhras" and the Kanchis, this host of many nations ready for battle......."

MAHABHARATHA - UDYOGA PARVA, PAGE 311

The above gives a hint to the antiquity of Andhras, in addition to the Cheras (Keralas) Cholas and Pandiyas, who are mentioned in many places in the Mahabharatha.

Dear Virarajendra,

Thank you for your words and assistance.