Page:Tamil studies.djvu/444

Rh Ceylon or Lanka was renowned in the Puranas. This word is quite distinct from 'Izham' which means 'toddy.' The latter is derived from 'Izhu,' to draw, and it may be found in Telugu as 'Idiga'. It is highly probable that 'Izham' has come to denote toddy also, as a number of synonyms for toddy indicates the high importance of this beverage which was esteemed in early times as valuable as gold. On these grounds we are far from agreeing with Dr. Caldwell and other scholars in tracing the word 'Izhain' or 'Izhavan' from 'Simhalam' which had already found its way into the Tamil language in the form of Singalam.

Similarly we would derive Tiyan from ti-an, which means a 'sweet man,' or one whose occupation is the manufacture of the ti or 'sweet' drink. It is an occupational but not a territorial name applied to this class of toddy drawers. When most of the Drvidian castes, like Nayadi, Pulayan, Cheruman, Kammalan and Panikkan, who are supposed to carry pollution with them, possess Dravidian names, why should Tiyant and Izhavads alone be called by Sanskrit appellations ? 27