Velakkaras are royal guards mentioned in various historical accounts of
Sri Lanka
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 ...
. The general prevailing notion is that they were
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 ...
mercenaries
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
employed by the Sinhala and Tamil kings. They were considered to be loyal to the king, but occasionally rebelled against him as happened during the time of
Vijayabahu
Vijayabahu I (born ''Prince Keerthi'') (ruled 1055–1110), also known as Vijayabahu the Great, was a medieval king of Sri Lanka. Born to a royal bloodline, Vijayabahu grew up under Chola occupation. He assumed rulership of the Ruhuna principal ...
.
Etymology
"Velam" in Tamil means "the inner court" and probably these guards were elite and guarded the king and his family. Velam also could be the Sanskrit 'aham', both meaning the inner line of defence in a royal set up.
See also
*
Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka#Historyvellai-kara means time soldiers.vela in tamil have 3 meanings,vel -spear,velai- work,velai- time
References
{{SriLanka-hist-stub
Anuradhapura period
Polonnaruwa period