Derivation of Tuḷuva

-Studies in Tuḷuva history and culture, Author – Professor P. Gururaja Bhatt, M.A., B.T., Ph.D.

The basic question in the history and culture of Tuḷunāḍ is to determine who the earliest Tuluvas were, how, the Tulu country derived its name and in what manner it was evolved. Any attempt at the analysis of this problematic question involves a researcher in an inevitable set of complicated propositions and challenging situations. At the very outset, it has to be confessed that in finding any solution to this problem, the interface could, at best, be hypothetical and not final and absolute.

The derivation of the term Tuḷuva

Various interpretations have been attempted to explain the etymology of the word Tuluva, some of which seem queer and fanciful. According to the Rajatapīṭhapura Mahātmya, which is locally supposed to be part of the Skandapurāṇa, the name of the country Tuḷuva is traced to a legendary ruler Rāmabhōja, who is supposed to have made profuse gifts like the Tulādāna Tulāpurusha, etc. in order to absolve himself of the sin, he committed by killing a serpent inadvertently. This Puranic account fixes the seat of regal authority in Rajatapīṭhapura, the modern Uḍupi district of the Tulunad. Since king Rāmabhōja gave these gifts for all benefaction, he was eulogized by his countrymen, and his country, henceforth, came to be known as Tuḷuva-dēśa and his dynasty Tuḷuva vamśa. This account seems to have been popularly handed down in Tuḷu-nāḍ for generations in traditional mythology. But this version is hardly acceptable because of two reasons, In the first instance the story of Tulunad itself knows no such ruler as Rāmabhōja Rāja, secondly, the purely imaginary way, that is adopted to weave a story to explain away from the origin of the word Tuḷuvas is self-evident. The word Tauḷava is Sanskritised form of Tuḷuva, whose connotation has to be found elsewhere, for the earliest form as known through the Saṅgam literature or through the epigraphs is Tuḷu and not Taulava or Tuḷu-dēśa.

The origin of the name Tuḷuva has been traced to the activities of a person called Tuļuban Perumāḷ who is said to have had his capital at Kōṭēśvara in the Kundapur taluk of the district of Udupi. This is the account given in the Kēralōlpatti according to which Tuluva was a part of Kerala before its separation. This contention defies historical proof. Since no such person as Tuluban Perumāl is met within the entire recorded history of Tuluva and since Tuluva is never known in any period of its history to have been a part of Kēraḷa, we had better dispense with this account as unhistorical. Tamil records, both epigraphical and literary, refer to the Tuļus and to their country separately and not as part of Chēra or Kerala.

Dr. B. A. Saletore, in his History of Tuḷuva, opines that the word Tuḷuva may be traced to the Kannada word Tūlu, meaning ‘to attack’, which appellation seems to have been given to the people by their northern neighbors, the Karnātaka people. Prima facie, it looks as though this derivation is worthy of credence. But on deeper examination, it fails to satisfy historical credibility. The Tuļuvas never attained an imperial stature in any period of their history and they were not a ‘scare and care’ for the Karnātaka imperial sovereigns. Hence, it is really very difficult to agree with Dr. B. A. Saletore that because of the depredating and predatory attacks conducted by the Tuluvas, they must have acquired that name.

A fourth untenable view is that which seeks to derive the name Tuḷuva from the weak character of the people. Sturrocks writes ‘The name Tuḷuva, in the opinion of some, is derived from a Tuḷu word meaning mild, humble weak and is supposed to denote the quiet and peaceful character of the inhabitants. It is contended that the word Tuḷu denotes essentially softness and mildness, depending on the quality of a kind of fruit, and the land that bore such a character was called Tuḷuva and the people who acquired such a quality came to be known as the Tuluvas. Sturrock in the South Kanara Manual rightly puts it, ‘The word Tuḷu, meaning mild, is not in common use and though the Tuḷu people are mild and peaceable as a rule, they are not markedly more so than their neighbors and there have been times when they gave trouble’. The soil of Tuḷu-nāḍ can hardly be accepted as soft and mild, for the laterite covers the Western Coast continuously and for the most part up to the very foot of the Ghats. M. Govinda Pai advances two major propositions. He opines that the word Tuḷu may have been derived from the Tamil root Tuḷai which means to row (obviously the boat). There are other two words Tuḷai and Tuḷaiyans which signify ‘to plunge in the water and to play in water’ respectively. Based on Tamil etymology, Sri Pai surmises that the people of the Tulu country who were mostly fishermen and whose chief business and activity were on the water, may have been called the Tuḷuvas. This is the first hypothesis. The second one is the possibility of the transformation of the word Chuṭu into Tuḷu with the passage of time. The second proposition suffers from too much conjecture and it is unrealistic too.

A view-point
The term Tuḷu may have some integral relationship with toḷu or toru? which in turn seems to be connected with cattle or cattle-shed. The ancient Tuḷuvas (Tuḷu people) may have been a class or community of shepherds. As time passed on, all those who happened to inhabit this land came to be called the Tuḷuvas. It is possible that the chieftaincy of the Tolahas of Surālu (near the historic city of Bārakūru in the district of South Canara) may have had the early political leadership among the Tuḷuvas (Toḷaha is also known as Toraha or Toḷaha). The antiquity of this ruling family is not yet authentically known. We have the first reference to this family in an inscription from the Pañchaliṅgēśvara temple, Bārakūru dated A.D. 1139-40. They must have established themselves in Surālu much earlier than this date. A few other considerations may also draw our attention. A much-damaged inscription dated A.D.1203, found at Honnāḷi of the Śivamogga district refers to Tauḷava-kula and although circumstances of reference and details are not known, the epigraph is important in the sense that it leads us to infer that the Taulavas belonged to a particular community of people. An inscription from Basarūru, dated A.D. 1455, mentions the four temples – Nagarēśvara, Tuḷuvēśvara, and others which were to be supervised by the halaru-seṭṭikāras of the two kēris of Basarūru. Nakhara was a merchant guild. Likewise, the term gavare is used to signify a distinct group of trading people. The temples caused to be erected by them were the Nagarēśvara and the Gavarēśvara temples. We can, as well, infer that the temple erected by the Tuḷuvas was Tuḷuvēśvara. The proper names Tuḷuva Chandiga Tuḷuva Sēnabōva, Tuḷuvi Setti, Tuḷuvakka Heggadathi,Tuḷuvāļuva and Tulayi Amma suggest the origin of this name from a community of people. An analogy may be drawn between the two proper names, Tuḷuva and Aḷuva. The earliest kings of the Āḷupa dynasty were named Āḷuvarasar, called after the group Āḷuva or the progenitor Āḷuva. Similarly, it may be suggested that the name Tuḷuvarasar may have taken its origin from the group Tuḷuva. Later, the term Tuļuva came to be used for all those living in the territory of Tuļuva or Tuḷu-nādu. The land, therefore, may have taken its name from the community of the Tuḷuvas, just as the name Āḷoakhēda seems to have owed its origin to the Āļupas (Āḷuvas). Only future investigations should reveal to us when exactly the early Tuḷuvas settled on this land and what their main features were. Thus, it may be inferred that the Tuļuvas were an ancient community and in the history of South India, they figure from the early centuries of the Christian era. The terms toḷu, toru, turu, tura and tora – all mean the same, being connected with kine. The first Tuḷuvas were, perhaps, different from the rest of the people of Tuḷunāḍ. With the passage of time, all the inhabitants came to be called the Tuḷuvas.