Ilanji Vel is one among the ancient

velirs The Velir (also known as Vellalar) were a royal house of minor dynastic kings and aristocratic chieftains in Tamilakam in the early historic period of South India. They had close relations with Chera, Chola and Pandya rulers through ruling a ...

of the

Yadu This is a list of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of Indic religions. From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the northern p ...

Kingdom. He ruled a territory called

Ilanji Ilanji is a panchayat town in Tenkasi district, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located between the towns Tenkasi and Shencottah. Geography The word 'Ilanji' has a number of meanings including a water body. The village has three lakes ...

, near

Courtallam Courtallam is a panchayat town situated at a mean elevation of in the foothills of the Western Ghats in Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu, India. The Coutrallam Falls on the Chittar River is a major tourist attraction. Demographics India cens ...

. He belongs to the clan of ancient Pandyas. In 2003, a cave engraving has been found revealing the facts about Ilanji Vel and his ancestry. From the inscription it says illanji king was son of great paravan. This paravars today live in coastal belt who got converted to Christianity in 1530s. Hence this inscription concludes or gives vivid picture that pandiyan lineage should be from Paravars. The inscription says, "Ilanji Vel,Maa paravan Magan nal mazhukkai kodupithavan", (" Ilanji Vel, the son of a great Paravar headman has given this auspicious cave dwelling.")

References

Year of birth missing Year of death missing Tamil history Tamil monarchs {{India-royal-stub