The untold history of "The great Tuluva empire" .

The untold history of "The great Tuluva empire" .

TULU LANGUAGE :Tulu is a Dravidian language.

Separated early from Proto-South Dravidian, Tulu has several features not found in Tamil-Kannada.For example, it has pluperfect and future perfect, like French or Spanish, but formed without an auxiliary verb.

Robert Caldwell in his pioneering work A Comparative Grammar of the Dravidian or South-Indian Family of Languages called this language “peculiar and very interesting”. According to him, “Tulu is one of the most highly developed languages of the Dravidian family. It looks as if it had been cultivated for its own sake”.Tulu is the oldest

language known. The language does not have much written literature, but has a rich oral literature such as the Siri Epic.

It is the primary spoken language in Tulu Nadu, a region which comprises the district Kasaragod taluk of Kerala , Udupi and SouthCanara district & Koppa ,Sringeri,Mudigeri, & Sakleshpura Taluk in state of Karnataka and .Apart from Tulu Nadu significant emigrant population of Tuluva people is found in Maharashtra, and Gulf countries. Beary people in Tulu Nadu are generally well-versed in the language. The language was originally written using the Tulu script, which is an adaptation of Grantha script. From the beginning of the 20th century the original script was abandoned by Karnataka government. Tulu language has given birth to other sub languages like Beary ,Kodava

Navayath ,Are base,Manglore konkani & Canarese . Ancient Tulu Language is said to be one of the oldest Dravidian language & finding relate's to Indus valley civilization .Free naturaly occuring words in Tulu being the live examples for this .Devi Mahatme, which is the Tulu

translation of the Sanskrit holy verse ‘Saptashati’, is the oldest Tulu work available till now. The palm leaves’ manuscripts of this work were discovered by Dr Venkataraja Puninchitthaaya at the house of Sri Thenkillaaya in Puttur. The period of this work can be traced back to 1200 A.D. Mahabharatho :A poet called Arunabda, who lived at Kodavoor in Udupi, somewhere around 1383 A.D. is the composer of this work. Dr.Venkataraja Punchitthaya discovered its palm leaves’

manuscript at Sri Laxminarayana Kekunnaaya’s house at Mundya in mudnoor village of Puttur Tq. D.K. Among the 1757 stanzas of this verse, 883 stanzas have been in octaves. Tulu Karna Parva:The author of this work is Immadi Harihara, the king of Vijaya Nagara. He is also called Hariyappa. This shows that the rulers of Vijaya Nagara, not only belonged to the ‘Tuluva’ family, but they also had Tulu as their language. The defeat of Karna by Arjuna is the subject of this verse. On the basis of one of the opening verses of this work, its period can be traced back to

around 1385. The verse is written in partial sestets. It makes use of other vrutta as well. It is very special that invoking Ganapathi, the author offers to him Bananas, leaf Appas, sugarcane, ‘Undaliges’ and jack fruit too as Naivedyam. The remembrance of his predecessors by the poet also suggests the existence of the tulu poetic tradition prior to the poet.People here belive Tulu (the language of gods & daivas) & is sacred .

Advantages of learning Tulu :

• *Tulu is the oldest and living language on our planet.
• *It is a natural language. There is a direct link between the sound and signs; it is phonetic.
• *"TULU IS CLOSE TO HEART" This is common belief of every Tulu speaker ie Clear in speech, perfect in pronunciation, sharp in memory, rapid in

thinking,logical in analysis, rational in understanding, accurate in expression and communication, .*"Tulu is not spoken its always

sung" , sentence structure is flexible ,articulate in conversation, polite in behaviour. The declensions and the conjugations have a wide range.Hence every student has more freedom in composing sentences*There aren't many punctuation marks found in Tulu script.

• *It is systematised and perfected. Its alphabets are impeccably arranged.
• *They are easy to remember and help in memorising textual stanzas which explains why the oral tradition of Indian wisdom is so popular and long-standing in the entire world.
• *Tulu itself has written rules of grammar, phonetics, etymology and epistemology.
• *It is the language of the most ancient Indian scriptures belonging to various faiths.
• *There is logic in its sound system, and a natural continuity in its word-making as well as sentence-making.
• *For writing Tulu language, any comprehensive alphabet can be used and vice versa.
• *Tulu is computerized long before the computers came in use.
• *Freedom in using Tulu language because of "No syntax". This means that even a beginner can proceed with words as one.s thoughts
• *Thanks to its phonetic scripts, there is an easy-flowing, natural and logical way to proceed while learning this wonderful language or to write any language
• Adaptability & Flexibility - Same sentence can be said in a variety of ways.
• *Tulu is universality. It can do all functions, - scriptural (holiness), technical(precision and derivative power) and romantic (resourceful and flowery style)etc
• *Tulu is economy.Any lengthy expression could be put in brief in Tulu.

TULUNADU is known as Parashurama srusti[gift] ,Parasurama is the sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. This incarnation was born in human form as the fifth and youngest son of Jamadagni and Renuka. The word Parashu

means axe and rama, this incarnation is named as Rama with axe.His main purpose was reportedly to rid the planet of wrongness, especially formed by powerful kings who mistreated their status.Once his mission was accomplished he with permission of sea god he created a land .Land arose to the extent he had thrown his axe to create a land known as

Tulunad. People

here use his axe as symbol to represent Tulunadu .This symbol has 2 headed axe which is

guarded by 2 mighty tigers .

Tulu Nadu is a region which comprises the district Kasaragod taluk of Kerala ,Udupi and South Canara district & Koppa ,Sringeri,Mudigeri & Sakleshpura Taluks in state of Karnataka .

Historically, Tulu Nadu included the two separate lands of Haiva and Tuluva. The Ballal Ki

ngs of Sullia had ruled this area around 1100 years back. Madhvacharya in the 13th century built the eight monasteries (Matha) in Udupi. During the rule of Vijayanagara Tulu nadu was administered in two parts – Mangaluru Rajya and Barakuru Rajya. Tulunad was the original homeland of the dynasty that founded the Vijayanagar Empire based in eastern Karnataka. Tulu Nadu was governed by feudatories of the Vijayanagara Empire until the 17th

century. The longest reigning dynasty of Tulu Nadu was the Alupas.

The Alupas, however, were independent and their subordination was nominal at best. They ruled until the Vijayanagara kings totally dominated the Tulu Nadu from 14th to the 17th centuries.

The region became extremely prosperous during Vijayanagara period with Barkur and

Mangalore gaining importance. After the decline of the Vijayanagara Empire, the Nayakas controlled much of Tulu Nadu. Seemerajya [feudatories] was very prominent in Tulunadu .Hence Tulunadu did not fall directly under any outside Kings .Thus one can find small forts everywhere in Tulunadu .Though most of the fort have vanished in morden days ,we can still find few of them.

Specialities of Tulunadu :

*Dance - The classical Tulunadu dance forms have their audiences world wide. Each dance form of India represents the

culture and ethos of a particular region. Kola ,nema ,yakshagana ,naganruthya ,Philivesha,ati,koraga etc

*Art - The paintings and sculpture of

Tulunadu has remain a source of inspiration for many.

The earliest palm leaf paintings & the rock paintings of the pre- historic times.

*Cuisine - The Tulunadu food cuisine has

undergone a great change with the passage of time. Wheat,

lentils, rice ,fish and meats were the earliest Tuluvas food.

*Festivals - Tulunadu is the land of some of the most fascinating festivals which adorns the canvass called life

, Most of the festivals celebrated here have religious associations like Car[cart] festivals, Bisu, Atidongi Janmasthmi,

& Jayanti, Ganesh Chaturthi,

TULUVAS :The Tuluvas , plural Tuluver also called the Tulu people, are an linguistic ethnic

group native

to the Tulu Nadu region of India, presently divided amongst the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi district & Koppa ,Sringeri,Mudigeri & Sakleshpura Taluks of Karnataka and the Kasaragod district of Kerala. They are the native speakers of the Tulu language .Tulu & Tulunadu has

always been associated with Kunkuma colour (Electric red) with sun & moon in it . Alupas had their flag with same kunkuma colour with sun & moon on it ,carvings & palm leaf pictures . Given palm leaf picture like 2 men on elephants back with Alupa flag shows how it was used. Later same flag was used by

[nayakas & seeme rajas]. Even to these days temple priests in Tulunadu use kunkuma colour cloth

to rob themself .One should see the way its dressed really mind

blowing which reminds me of how people used to wear cloth in olden days. Every house in Tulunadu has Tulsi painted in kunkum colour with sun & moon god in it.

Tuluvas are the only oldest race known in souther India .A rare copper plate inscription collected by a numismatic expert and retired lecturer of Shimoga Khandob Rao throws new light on the Alupas who ruled parts of the Malnad and coastal districts of Karnataka for thousands of years from 450 AD making Udyavara, Mangalore, Barkur and Mudbidre as their capitals. S.G. Samak of DVS Pre-University Independent College in Shimoga and archaeologist,

who has deciphered the inscription, says that the Alupas, who ruled today’s districts of South Canara, Kasargod ,Udupi and a part of Shimoga & Hassan are credited with having the longest

reign in Kerala & Karnataka for nearly a thousand years. Robert Caldwell in his book specified that apart from these culurally rich people ,Tuluvas were great warriors .They were usually heired warriors .Their fame & bravery had attracted many far way kings heier them during wars. Another sect of Tuluvas were a great hunters & fishermen .Tulu men in ancient days were famous for Martial Arts (Garadi)in Tulu. Where women were famous for their beauty . Women were famous for their delicious home made dishes . Reciepes were usualy home secret .

Khandob Rao says that the inscription is written on a copper plate measuring 20 x 20 cm. At the top is the figure of twin fishes, the royal sign of the Alupas. There are 14 lines written in typical Rashtrakuta characters. “Hence, it can be assigned to the 8th century AD,” he says.

Dr. Samak says that the inscription belongs to Aluvarasa II of Alupa family. “It mentions that Aluvarasa and Ereyyaparasa made a grant to Belmannu Sabha, free from tax to be paid to Shivalli on the day of the Solar eclipse. This grant was made in the administrative sub-division of Manideva of Kantavara and the document was prepared in the presence of Chokkapadi Bhatta. The grant was to be protected by Boygavarama of Kapu, Nanda of Bela, Nanda of

Kolunur, Medini of Santuru and Urapppana. An interesting feature of the copper plate inscription is that the contents are similar to that of Belmannu copper plates discovered in 1973 by Late Gururaj Bhat of Udupi. Belmannu copper plates are claimed to be the earliest copper plate inscriptions in Tulu .

“But the difference is the Belmannu inscription is written on five copper plates in 28 lines, whereas the present

inscription is written on a single plate in 14 lines,” says Dr. Samak.

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What struck me about this image right away was the "double fishes" at the top - they reminded me so much of Indus"fish" symbols. Of course, this copper plate was inscribed at least 2,000 years after the height of the Indus civilization - but I wonder - is there a connection that was passed down from generation to generation as the

original Indus Valley settlers migrated south and east?