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"Malaya mountains" in Sanskrit does *not* mean the Malay region (Malaysia). The word is an Sanskrit adaptation of the Dravidian (ie., an etymology common to Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam) word, 'malai', meaning hill or mountain, and applied to the Western Ghats.
So Malayajam ("[borne] of the Western Ghats") == Santalum album (sandalwood) that grows in Kerala/Karnataka ghats Malayamarutam == the cool breeze from the Western Ghats
whereas 'Malayalar' = Tamil for 'people of the hills' 'Malayalam' = from 'Malayalar', language spoken by the 'people of the hills' — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sierra1bravo (talk • contribs) 16:58, 17 September 2011 (UTC)