Sadayappa Vallal was a wealthy 12th-century ''

velir 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 an ...

'' (chief) who had his residence at both Puduvai ( Puducherry) and Thiruvenainallur in India.se period, C. Rasanayagam">Ancient Jaffna: being a research into the history of Jaffna from very early times to the Portug se period, C. Rasanayagam He was known for his

philanthropic Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

activities. He was a close friend and a patron of Kambar, the Tamil poet who wrote ''

Kamba Ramayanam ''Ramavataram'', popularly referred to as ''Kamba Ramayanam'', is a Tamil epic that was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki's ''Ramayana'' (which is in Sanskrit), the story describes the life of King ...

'' (also known as ''Ramavataram''). He was also associated closely with Pararajasingam, the king of Kandy,

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

.se period, C. Rasanayagam"/>

Patronage of Kambar

Kambar had a number of patrons but Sadayappa Vallal was foremost among them. He attended the wedding of Kambar's son; according to one story, on seeing that all the seats were taken, took an unassuming position standing on the side of the ceremony. Kambar, in gratitude for Sadayappa Vallal's patronage and forbearance, lauded Sadayappa Vallal every 1000 stanzas in the

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, nati ...

epic ''Kamba Ramayanam''. According to tradition, Kambar's son, Ambikapathi was later put to death for having fallen in love with the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

King's daughter and Kambar himself had to flee. In his old age, he was then supported and patronized by his friend Sadaiyappan.

King Pararajasingam

Sadayappa Vallal was also a close friend of king Pararajasingam of Kandy, Ceylon. When Kandy was hit by a

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

, he immediately came to the aid of his friend by sending

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

and other necessities in numerous

ship A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguished ...

s. He is praised for this event as thus (loosely translated):

Patronage of Kambar

King Pararajasingam

References

Further reading