Meenavar

In the ancient times Rajasthan was ruled by a dynasty of Meenas which had the emblem of Fish like the Pandyan kingdom of the south. The Meena kingdom ruled the east of the river Jamuna roughly corresponding to the modern Jaipur and Alwar (ruler) areas. The meena kingdom (Fish kingdom) was called Matsya Kingdom in Sanskrit was mentioned in the Rig Veda. The Bhil Meenas could correspond to the Dravidian Villavar (Chera) and Meenavar (Pandya Kingdom)respectively and may descend from indigenous Dravidian rulers (Alwars) originally. Most of the Bhil Meenavas were aryanised even during the Vedic Period (1500 BC) and were considered as Vedic Tribes and had adopted Indo Aryan languages but a minority of the Bhil (tribal) Meenas still talk Dravidian as their mother tongue. Bhils and Meenas are included in theKshatriya Varna.In the later days the Bhils and Meenas mixed with the Pardeshis or Rajputs who were Scythian, Hepthalite or other Central Asian clans. The Scythian mixed Meenas and Bhils remain as Rajput subclans while the Meenas and Bhils who were displaced by the Scythian invaders and Muslims have mixed with the tribal Bhils and form the Bhil (tribal) meenas who still speaks a Dravidian tongue and still considered as Rajputs.Bhil meenas are also found in parts of North eastern India and Sind area of Pakistan.

Fate of the Meenavars

Meenavars might have mixed with Parada or Paratarajas or Parvata Raja Kulam, an Indo-Scythian clan and got alienated from the Villavar and Nadalvar (Nadar) clans. Mudirajus or Mutharaiyar a Kalabhra aristocracy who once ruled Chera, Chola and Pandyan kingdoms as Muvendars regard Paratas as one of their own clan. [http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:UZ832dP7y84J:www.grifterrec.com/coins/parata/parata.html+parataraja&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=in# Parataraja]