Indus bearer symbol and the occupation of the Cheran ancestry
Given below is the bearer sign (3rd symbol - fig 1) in the Indus scripts. It shows a person carrying the shoulder yoke with loads on either side. This is symbolic of a person (possibly a government official) shouldering certain responsibility. According to Iravatham Mahadevan - the renowned epigraphist - who relied on the bi-lingual parallels to conclude that there had been a cultural continuity from the Indus times, the bearer symbology is really significant as the names of the several later year dynasties were ascribed to this.
Poru in Malayalam means to bear. Poraiyan (the one who bears) was a title of the Chera kings. I feel that the term Irum-porai (as in the Chera names like Perum Cheral Irumporai and Ilam Cheral Irumporai) is voicing the Indus bearer symbol. The title is clearly illustrative of a person with loads suspended from both ends of the shoulder yoke.
Bharathas, as we know, were among the first Aryan tribes to settle on
the banks of Indus. Bhr in Sanskrit means to
bear, and Bharatha - the one who bears
(the responsibilities of a leader) - is nothing but the Sanskrit
equivalent of the Poriyan. Bharthr in Sanskrit is also derived from
the same root (it means matters dealing with the husband who, bears certain responsibilities, as the head of the family). Bharthav
in Malayalam (meaning husband) is also supposedly derived from this.
You can see the variants (4th and 5th symbols - fig 1) of the original bearer sign with the Jar and Arrow. According to Mahadevan, Sata in Sanskrit is a sacrificial vessel (for holding food/water) and Salya (as in Salyar - a character in the epic Mahabharata) means an Arrow/Lance. Vahana in Sanskrit would mean the bearer (even now a Karyavahak is an officer in charge of certain duties). Thus, it is highly likely that the Andhra dynasties like Sata-Vahana (200 BCE - 300 CE) and Sali-Vahana derived their names from the bearer symbol variants. These symbols are indicative of their ancestral duties as the supplier/carrier of food (Sata) or arms (Salya) during the Indus times.
At this point, I would like to invite your attention to a word called Atan - a popular title of Chera kings (as in the Uthiyan Cheral Atan- The first of the early Chera rulers). Atan could very well be related to the Sanskrit word (S)ata (Sata, according to Mahadevan, could have been loaned from the Dravidian). Chatha(m) (or Sradham) in Malayalm is ceremonial rice for the ancestors and Sadya (means feast in Malayalam) is rice served with a variety of curries. So, the title Atan, in all its likely hood, also means food bearer. The same is the case with the Chera title Sata Poraiyan. It is a clear pronouncement of the bearer with jar symbolism of the Indus valley. This suggests that the ancestors of the early Cheras were also in charge of food supply/storage in the Indus cities.
The fact that the ancestors of several ancient Indian dynasties had the same occupation, during the Indus times, and perhaps even kindred, is intriguing. The occupational alter ego side by side with their religious identities (i.e., whom they had deified-say the Cheras worshipped the snakes) define the Indus population. A careful analysis of both the identities would help us to understand the rise and evolution of myriad dynasties, their rivalries and alliances in the Post Harappan era.
Chuvaru/Choru in Malayalam is wall. According to Mahadevan, Choras were the people who lived inside the walls (i.e., the fort complex atop the mount). Pandiyans (or Panthiyans), on the other hand, were people from the panthi (means row in Malayalam) - the grided city that lay beneath. Other thing that captured my imagination, is a Sanskrit parallel, which Mahadevan had pointed out. He said that the words Kuru, Kaurava etc. have their root in Kur (Kura in Malayalam is house) and indicative of the royalty who stayed inside the citadel. The Pandavas were the commers from the lower city (Panthi) and he understood the epic war at the Kurukshetra as struggle between the ruling elite and rebellious commoners.
Now, one might be able to appreciate why Uthiyan Cheral Athan was also called as the Perum Chorru Uthiyan. The legend has it that Uthiyan had fed the armies of Kauravas and Pandavas in the epic war of Mahabharata which earned him the title. There is a story in the Mahabharata where Bhima (the second of the Pandava brothers) was thrown into a river after being poisoned by his envious cousins – the Kauravas. He happened to reach the Naga world (or, perhaps, a settlement of Naga people). The Nagas taught him the art of cooking. Bhima would emerge later and showcase his culinary skills. Naga and Chera, as I had mentioned in my earlier articles, were both used in reference to the same set of people - the snake worshippers. This is yet another account associating the Cheras with the food.
Incidentally, I had read about a community in Kerala who claim to be the descendants of the Kauravas. In fact, there are temples dedicated to Duryodhana (the first of the Kauravas) and his evil uncle Shakuni, in Kollam, Kerala. These are, perhaps, the only one of their kind in the country.
Bibliography
Mahadevan, I. (1970). Dravidian Parallels in Proto
Indian Script. Journal of Tamil studies.
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