Tamizhakam

Tamizhakam is work of Chattampi Swmai. He wrote it using the pen name Agasthyar. It provides evidences that can reveal that that Dravidian culture is more ancient than Aryan. Swami opines that the southern kingdoms of India were together known as Tamizakam. The meaning of term Tamiz+ akam is beautiful region. One opinion about the origin of the name Dravidian is that; the place was initially known as Thiruvidam, which means the place of branching or separation because here the branching of Aryans and Dravidians occurred. Thiruvidam later became Dravidam. Swami agrees to this opinion. As per the accepted method that the name of the place originates from its physical state; the term Dravidam would have occurred like this. Thiru + idam= thiruyidam – thiruvidam –thiravidam - Dravidam. It means prosperity, beautiful region etc. The basis of all Dravidian languages is Mooladravidam. The language of people who occupied the southeastern region of India before the use of written language was Karimtamizh. It was reformed to make Chemmayantamiz i.e. Chentamizh. Che –chemmu –azhaku – Inakkam – chevavai, suddham. From Karimtamiz the language of Malayalam originated. So Chenthamizh and Malayalam are sister languages and for both of them Karimtamizh is the mother language. According to Swami root of all Dravidian languages was one and the same and all the languages of the world originated from the same source; the same sabda brahma. According to Swami the ancient borders of Tamizhakam in north was; Tirupathi, and in south; Kanyakumari, east; Bay of Bengal and west Arabian Sea. About 1800 years ago the language of the land was Tamil. Swami in the work Tamilakam discusses the developments further up to receding of the sea to the west and people living in Western Ghats occupying that region, which later become known as Keralam.

Extract from: Chattampi Swami: An Intellectual Biography. By R. Raman Nair and L. Sulochana Devi. Trivandrum, Centre for South Indian Studies, 2010