Abstract
Historians include the Bāṇas among the important minor dynasties of South India. They are first mentioned as Bṛhadbāṇas in the Tāḷagunda inscription of the fifth century. Rulers with the Bāṇa name existed up to the sixteenth century in the Tamil country. During their history, they also married into major dynasties like the Cōḻas and claimed to be descendants of a lineage starting from Bali. Many historians have noted the semantic similarity between the term Bṛhadbāṇa and the earlier Tamil bardic Perumpāṇaṉ of the Caṅkam literature. The historians, however, have not explicitly addressed the issues of whether the Bāṇas originated from the Tamil Pāṇar and why they chose to claim Purāṇic Bali to be their progenitor. In the present essay, based on an analysis of Caṅkam texts, and epigraphic data, it is shown first that the Bāṇas must have originated from the Tamil bards. Later, the reasons for the Bāṇas choosing to have Bali as the progenitor of their lineage are explored. It looks like Tamil bardic age values might have played a role in this.
Highlights
Historians include the Bān.as among the important minor dynasties of South India.They are first mentioned as Br.hadbān.as in the Tāl.agunda inscription of the fifth centuryCE
In the third part, I shall conclude with findings regarding the Tamil bardic culture, openness of the Tamil society that led to the formation of the Pān.ar dynasty, later dynastic shift, Sanskritization, and the adoption of a unique Purān.ic identity influenced by the old bardic values
We have shown that a dynasty founded by the Pān.ar, the Tamil bards, had been established in the northern part of the Tamil country
Summary
Historians include the Bān.as among the important minor dynasties of South India They are first mentioned as Br.hadbān.as in the Tāl.agunda inscription of the fifth century. Rulers with the Bān.a name existed up to the sixteenth century in the Tamil country, where they were called the Vān.ar In many of their inscriptions, they are said to belong to the lineage of Bali, an Asura. In many of their inscriptions, they are said to belong to the lineage of Bali, an Asura1 During their history, they married into major dynasties like the Cōlas. Pān.ar (plural of Pān.an) were the bards of the Tamil country These historians, have not explicitly addressed the issues of whether the Bān.as originated from the Tamil Pān.ar and why they chose to claim Purān.ic Bali to be their progenitor. In the third part, I shall conclude with findings regarding the Tamil bardic culture, openness of the Tamil society that led to the formation of the Pān.ar dynasty, later dynastic shift, Sanskritization, and the adoption of a unique Purān.ic identity influenced by the old bardic values
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