Vēḷ Pari was a ruler of Vēḷir lineage, who ruled ''Parambu nādu'' and surrounding regions in ancient

Tamilakam Tamiḻakam (Tamil: தமிழகம்; Malayalam: തമിഴകം), refers to the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nad ...

towards the end of the Sangam era. The name is often used to describe the most famous amongst them, who was the patron and friend of poet

Kapilar Kapilar or Kabilar (Tamil: கபிலர்) was the most prolific Tamil poet of the Sangam period (c. 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE). He alone contributed some 206 poems, or a little less than 10% of the entire Sangam-era classical corpus ...

and is extolled for his benevolence, patronage of art and literature. He is remembered as one of the ''Kadai ēzhu vallal'' (literally meaning, the last seven great patrons) in

Tamil literature Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from T ...

.''Topics in South Indian history: from early times up to 1565 A.D, page 53''

Ascension and rule

Pāri is described as the master of the hill country of Parambu nādu and held sway over 300 prosperous villages.''Epigraphia Indica, Volume 25, page 91'' Pari patronized various forms of art, literature and bards thronged his court.''Traditions of Indian classical dance, page 45'' Parambu nadu consisted of parts of modern-day

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

and

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

stretching from

Piranmalai Piranmalai is a village located in Singampunari Taluk in Sivaganga district, Tamil Nadu, India. The nearest town is Singampunari located at away. Piranmalai is a fortified hill at an elevation of over . This is a last outcrop of the Easter ...

in Sivaganga district,

Nedungadi Nedungadi is a Samanthan last name, originating in the Indian state of Kerala. Nedungadi belong to Samanthan section of the Malabar ruling class of Nairs. Samanthans were the erstwhile rulers of small Nadus (Places) under the Chera Dynasty. The ...

Palakkad district Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...

. His

favorite A favourite (British English) or favorite (American English) was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In post-classical and early-modern Europe, among other times and places, the term was used of individuals delegated si ...

was poet

who was his close friend and lifelong companion.''The Four Hundred Songs of War and Wisdom: An Anthology of Poems from Classical Tamil, the Purananuru'' From

Purananuru The ''Purananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the genre puram"), sometimes called ''Puram'' or ''Purappattu'', is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam literatu ...

, song 107 by

: Pāri was noted in of the last Sangam era for his generosity and was popular as one among the Kadai Ezhu Vallalgal (last seven patrons). Pāri's fame is described in

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 ...

as "முல்லைக்கு தேர் கொடுத்தான் பாரி" (One who gave his chariot to a climber plant). He was so generous that he gave away his chariot to a climber plant when he saw that it was struggling to grow without a suitable support.

Siege and death

The three crowned

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 ...

kings Cheras,

Cholas The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic 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 to the 3rd century BCE d ...

and Pandyas expanded their kingdoms ruthlessly and turned their attention towards independent Vēḷir Kings thus turning them into subordinates or eliminating them and assimilated their kingdoms. They laid siege to the heavily fortified country of Parambu, but Vēḷ Pāri refused to give in and the war dragged for years.

Kabilar Kapilar or Kabilar (Tamil: கபிலர்) was the most prolific Tamil poet of the Sangam period (c. 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE). He alone contributed some 206 poems, or a little less than 10% of the entire Sangam-era classical corpus ...

approached the kings and asked them to turn back describing his patron Pari as an unconquerable warrior (excerpt from

: song 109): After a long war, enemies begged for paari life and so he donated it by taking a sword Vēḷ Pāri killed himself. ''Great women of India, page 309''

, song (112) of Pāri's daughters on his death:

Family and succession

Pāri and his wife Aadhini had two daughters, Angavai and Sangavai.

become their guardian after Pari's death and the three of them left Parambu country. Kapilar unsuccessfully approach different Vēlir kings to find grooms. Kapilar later took his own life by ''

vadakirrutal Vatakkiruttal (), also Vadakiruthal and vadakiruttal, was a Tamil ritual of fasting till death. It was especially widespread during the Sangam age. The Tamil kings, in order to save their honour, and prestige, were prepared to meet their death f ...

'', one of the

ways of committing suicide. Later, poet

Auvaiyar Avvaiyar (Tamil: ஔவையார்) was the title of more than one female poet who were active during different periods of Tamil literature. They were some of the most famous and important female poets of the Tamil canon. Abidhana Chinta ...

takes care of them and marries them successfully to another king called Malaiyamaan Thirumudi Kaari.

Legacy

Pariyur Pariyur is a panchayat village located near Gobichettipalayam in Erode District of Tamil Nadu state, India. It is located about 3 km from Gobichettipalayam on the way to Anthiyur via Savandapur. It is a religious center with many famou ...

("place of Pāri") or Parapuri near

Gobichettipalayam Gobichettipalayam () is the Selection grade municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Gobichettipalayam taluk. It is situated at the center of the South Indian Peninsula, from the district hea ...

is named after Pāri. After Pāri was defeated, the place was deserted towards the end of thirteenth century A.D. and people migrated to settle down in neighboring areas what became the modern day town of Gobichettipalayam. Pariyur has four temples dedicated to various Gods namely, Kondathu Kaliamman Temple, Amarapaneeswarar Temple, Adinarayana Perumal Temple and Angalamman Temple. Pāri's daughters were married to the son of Kāri at Manam Poondi near Tirukkoyilur.

In popular culture

* ''Velpari'' by S. Venkatesan

Notes

References

*Topics in South Indian history: from early times up to 1565 A.D. By A. Krishnaswami *Epigraphia Indica, Volume 25 By Devadatta Ramakrishna Bhandarkar, India. Archaeological Survey, India. Dept. of Archaeology *Traditions of Indian classical dance By Mohan Khokar *Poets of the Tamil Anthologies: Ancient Poems of Love and War, George L. Hart III, Princeton: Princeton University Press *Great women of India edited by Mādhavānanda (Swāmĭ.), Ramesh Chandra Majumdar *Poems of love and war: from the eight anthologies and the ten long poems of classical Tamil By A. K. Ramanujan *The Four Hundred Songs of War and Wisdom: An Anthology of Poems from Classical Tamil, the Purananuru, Translations from the Asian classics By George L. Hart, Hank Heifetz {{DEFAULTSORT:Vēḷ Pari Tamil monarchs Indian philanthropists Kadai ezhu vallal