113992242-Dravidian-Settlements-in-Ceylon-and-the-Beginnings-of-the-Kingdom-of-Jaffna-By-Karthigesu-Indrapala-Complete-Phd-Thesis-University-of-London-1965

with the Agni-kula as plausible, it is difficult to explain why
312
their name was derived from a rarer word like vahni instead of
agni. Vanni being a caste name in modern India, the early
occupation of the Vaiyar may provide a clue to the origin of
the name, for almost all caste names are based on the occupations
followed by the different castes. The modern Vaiyar caste
of South India follows the profession of cultivation like the
Ve.as The Vaiyars of the Vijayagagara period, too, seem
to have been engaged in the same occupation, for they appear in
inscriptions of the time as tenants of BrThmaa and Ve33a
landlords and paid a special tax called the in iya-vari But
in the earlier centuries they appear to have been warriors.
The Cilai-eupatu praises their skill in the art of archery
and gives the bow as their emblem The Kallam refers to them
as aai-vaflLiyar (Vaiyars of the four-fold army) which
shows that they were also warriors employed in the four-fold
army of the states The evidence in the KalIam agrees with the
attributes showered on them in the Cilai-eupatu. It appears,
therefore, that in times past the Vaiyars were a community
1. H.F.Cox, . cit., p. 236.
2. I. .R. for 1913, Inscriptions o. 223 of 1912 and Nos. 30 and
3F of 1913.
3. S pv&asar ippa-vaipava-vimarc auam p. ko.
k. Kalltam, v.7 , p • 3oJJ (€4 Yv.0
.t1.Aics