வேளாளர் நாகரிகம்
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prompted by an innate desire to learn the nature and constitution of things and ascertain the causes that are at work within the heart of things. He is ever free to think on life and life -struggles and no power can restrain his thought nor can hold it eternally captive. To this freedom of thinking, the spread of western education is con- tributing its mighty and accelerating influence and we, on our part must do our utmost to bring the people to think for themselves and examine their beliefs in the lightr of reason before communicating them to their youngsters.
The object of this book is to examine some of the important beliefs that have clustered around the mind of the people and to rid it of such beliefs as are likely to mislead them or to hamper their progress in the path of right knowledge.
In the first place attention is directed to Velalas the civilized agricultural class of the Tamils, and to their origin, and organiza- tion. From references made to them, their occupation and social rank, in Tholkappiam the most ancient and existing Tamil work in all its entirety, the age of which goes back to 3500 B.C., it is shown that at a time when all the people except those who lived all along the equatorial regions, were leading the life of hunters or nomads, these Velalas attained perfection in the art of agriculture, built towns and strong forts, had been priests, kings and traders and by means of navigation occupied the whole of India settling in rich and fertile countries along the coasts and river - sides.
When the Aryan hordes came from the north-west of Punjab and poured forth into the interior, it was the ten velala kings then ruling in the north that stopped their advance (See Ragozin's Vedic India.). When after a while, the intellectual section of the Aryan nomads found it impossible to get admission into the Tamilian terri- tories by combating with their kings, they sought it by peaceful means and were thereafter accorded a cordial reception and ad- mitted to a high rank in the Tamilian society. To the few stray hymns brought by the Aryans, the Tamil kings added a greater number of their own: and, in imitation of their four Tamil vedas which treated of practical ethics, political economy, love and heavenly bliss, they
