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Who are Dravidians? Whence and how did they come to South India? These are some of the outstanding problems in Indian ethnology. During the past fifty years various theories have been put forward from the point of view either of philology or anthropology or literature, and it cannot be said that the last word has been pronounced on the subject. It is not intended in these short papers to put forth any new hypothesis, but to bring together all the existing theories bearing on the subject, and to examine them in the light of the evidence furnished by ancient Tamil literature and the labours of reputed scholars and savants.

The word Dravida is widely used as a synonym for Tamil and at the outset it is desirable to explain its origin and meaning. According to Sanskrit pandits 'Dravida' was the name of a particular tract of country in Southern India; and it is so defined in the Sabdakalpadruma on the authority of the Mahabharata. The country called 'Dravida’ extended along