Vēl Pāri

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

A statue of Paari giving away his chariot to a climber plant

Ascension and rule

Pāri is described as the master of the hill country of Parambu Nādu and held sway over 300 prosperous villages. Pari patronized various forms of art, literature and bards thronged his court. Parambu Nādu consisted of parts of modern-day Tamil Nadu and Kerala stretching from Piranmalai in Sivaganga district, Tamil Nadu to Nedungadi in Palakkad district, Kerala. His favorite was poet Kabilar who was his close friend and lifelong companion. From Purananooru, song 107 by Kabilar:

Again and again they call out his name: "Pāri! Pāri"! Thus do poets with skilled tongues all praise one man.
Yet Pāri is not alone: there is also the rain to nourish this earth.

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 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 kings Cheras, Cholas 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 approached the kings and asked them to turn back describing his patron Pari as an unconquerable warrior (excerpt from Purananooru: song 109):

You may think Pāri's mountain is easy to conquer. Even though the three of you with your gigantic royal drums lay siege to it..Like the sky is his mountain. Like the stars in the sky are its springs. Even though your elephants are tied to every tree, your chariots spread through every field, you will not take it by fighting. He will not surrender it by the sword. But here: I know how you can win it. If you play little lutes, their strings of rubbed twine, have your dancing women come behind with thick, fragrant hair, and go to him dancing and singing, he will give you his mountain and his whole land.

After a long war, enemies begged for Paari life and so he donated it by taking a sword Vēḷ Pāri killed himself. Purananooru, song (112) of Pāri's daughters on his death:

That day in that white moonlight, we had our father, and no one could take the hill. This day in this white moonlight, kings with drums beating victory, have taken over our hill, and we have no father.

Family and succession

Pāri and his wife Aadhini had two daughters, Angavai and Sangavai. Kabilar become their guardian after Pari's death and the three of them left Parambu country. Kabilar unsuccessfully approach different Vēlir kings to find grooms. Kabilar later killed himself by vadakirrutal, one of the Tamil ways of committing suicide. Later, poet Avvaiyar (Sangam poet) takes care of them and marries them successfully to another king called Malaiyamaan Thirumudi Kaari.

Legacy

Pariyur ("place of Pāri") or Parapuri near Gobichettipalayam in Tamil Nadu 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, Pariyur Kondathu Kaliamman Temple, Amarapaneeswarar Temple, Aadhinarayana Perumal Temple and Angaalamman Temple.

Pāri's daughters were married to the son of Kāri at Manam Poondi near Tirukkoyilur.

In popular culture

• Velpāri by S. Venkatesan

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 Purananooru, Translations from the Asian classics By George L. Hart, Hank Heifetz