Velirs

Velirs were tribal chieftains of Tamil Nadu in the early historic period. They were nominally subordinate to the three main Tamil dynasties, Chola, Chera and Pandya, though Karikala Chola married a Velir princess [K.A.N. Sastri, "The Colas" p 49] . Numerous poems in the ancient Sangam literature extol these chieftains' charity and truthfulness. Among the most prominent were those known as the 'seven patrons' ("kadaiyezhu vallal"); Paari, Malayaman Thirumudi Kaari, Ori, Adigaman, Began, Nalli and Ay Kandiran. Neduman Anji, an Adigaman chieftain, based in Tagadur was a contemporary of Auvaiyar. The Sangam poem "Thagadur yathirai", now lost, was written about his battle with the Chera king.

Asoka's edicts mentioned the a clan of rulers called "Satyaputas" along with three crowned Tamil kings [Asokas's second rock-edits mention these names - Sastri, K.A. A History of South India pp 77] but the identity of this clan has not so far been satisfactorily established. The Sanskrit name means 'members of the fraternity of truth'. [Sastri, K.A. A History of South India pp 77] A Tamil and Prakrit epigraph found recently near Tirukkovilur in Tamil Nadu says " satiyaputo atiyan netuman anci ceyivitta pali" (Monastery built by Satyaputa Athiyan Nduman Anji ) [ [http://tamilartsacademy.com/articles/article25.html] ]

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