The Kosar people are a group of individuals mentioned in the ancient

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

literature.

In Tamil literature

*In Akam 281, the Kosars are believed to be a North Karnataka power that had an alliance with the Mauryas. *In Tamil literature, Kosars were mentioned as ''west Vadukas'' with their origin as

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...

near

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

. ''Erattar'' were a branch of Kosars who became ''Maha Rattirar'' (Prakrit) or Maharashtrans (Sanskrit). Historian Burnell confirms this. *Kosars were called ''Nar Kosar'' or ''Nanmozhi Kosar'' in the third

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...

. Nannul or Tholkappiam notes them as ''Kannadam'' (

Kannadigas The Kannada people or Kannadigaru IAST">nowiki/>IAST:_Kannadadavaru_or_Kannadigas_(English_term).html" ;"title="IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowiki/>IAST: Kannadadavaru or Kannadigas (English term)">IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowik ...

), ''Vaduku'' (

Tulu Tulu may refer to: People *Derartu Tulu (born 1972), Ethiopian long-distance runner *Walid Yacoubou (born 1997), Togolese footballer nicknamed "Tulu" India *Tulu calendar, traditional solar calendar generally used in the regions of southwest Kar ...

), ''Kalingam'' ( Oriya) and

Telugu people Telugu people ( te, తెలుగువారు, Teluguvāru), or Telugus, or Telugu vaaru, are the largest of the four major Dravidian ethnolinguistic groups in terms of population. Telugus are native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh ...

. Kamba-ramayanam Payiram says Kosars were ''Vadakalai'' (

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

), ''Thenkalai'' (Tamil), ''Vaduku'' and

Kannada people The Kannada people or Kannadigaru IAST">nowiki/>IAST:_Kannadadavaru_or_Kannadigas_(English_term).html" ;"title="IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowiki/>IAST: Kannadadavaru or Kannadigas (English term)">IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowik ...

. Kosars were truthful to their kings and were called ‘Vai-mozhi Kosar’ (truthful in keeping their words). *The Mathurai Kanchi 508-09 & 771-74 records them as:

"Poyya Nallisai Niruththa punaithar, Perum peyar Maaran Thalaivan Aka, Kadanthadu vai val Elampal Kosar, Eyaneri Marabin Vai mozhi ketpa" and "Pazhayan Mokoor Avayakam vilanka Nanmozhi Kosar Thontri yanna".

*The Pandyan dynasty's Nedunchezhian's army head was ''Mohoor Pazhayan Maaran''. Kosars were present in his army. They followed Maran's words in battle and were honored for their job in his court. *''Elampal Kosar'' (young Kosars) were present in the armies of the Cheras. *

Silappatikaram ''Cilappatikāram'' ( ta, சிலப்பதிகாரம் ml, ചിലപ്പതികാരം,IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the e ...

says ''Kon kilam Kosar'' were present in the Kongu Army (

Kongu Nadu Kongu Nadu, also known by various names as Kongu Mandalam and Kongu belt, is a geographical region comprising present day parts of western Tamil Nadu, southeastern Karnataka and eastern Kerala. In the ancient Tamilakam, it was the seat of th ...

). *The Prakrit form of Vai-mozhi Kosar is ''Saththiya Putthirar'' and Asokan inscriptions call the Vadukus by this name. *The Akananooru 15, 2-7 records:

"Thokai Kavin Thulu nattu anna Varunkai Vampalaith Thankum panpin Cherintha Seri Chemmal Moothur". (Then captured Kudaku Nadu and Erumai Nadu and settled in Tulu Nadu with Moothur as their capital).

Identification

Krishnasami Aiyangar explores the ''Nalur Kosar'', (i.e. Kosars who settled in 4 places: ''naal''=4, ''ur''=place) as foreigners to Tamil country. He suggests that they may be the Kosakara tribe mentioned in the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

. The Kosars have also been identified with the ancient

Khasas Khasas (Devanāgarī: खश; ') were an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and a late Janapada kingdom from Himalayan regions of northern Indian subcontinent mentioned in the various historical Indian inscriptions and ancient Indian Hindu and Tibetan lite ...

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* Aiyangar, S. Krishnaswami. (1995). Some Contributions of South India to Indian Culture. * Akananooru 386. * Nannul Noortpa, Page 272. * Akananooru 205 * buntsmathrsangha.net * Kosar by R. Raghava Iyengar * https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzPRs9pD01zeWEVHQTd5M0pzZ1E/view?pref=2&pli=1 Social groups of India