Page:The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago.djvu/26

Rh Tamilakam was divided into thirteen Nadus or provinces, the names of which were:—Pândi, Thenpândi, Kuddam, Kudaâ, Karkâ, Vên, Pooli, Panri, Aruva, Aruva-vadatalai, Cheetham, Malâdu and Puna-nâdu. Of these, Pandinadu, which corresponded nearly to the whole of the modern district of Madura, was considered the most important, being that tract where pure Tamil was then spoken. The chief town in this Nadu was Mathurai, the capital of the Pandyan kingdom. It appears to have been so called after the sacred city of Muttra on the banks of the Jumna, which was most probably the capital of the northern kingdom of the descendants of the Pândus, the heroes of the Mahâbârata. This is evident from the appellation ThakkanaMathurai or Southern Madura given to it by Tamil poets of this age. The Pandyan king called himself Panchavan (the decendant of the five.) and Kaurian (of the line of the Kurus), names which clearly indicate his origin from the Pandus, who were five brothers. The city of Madura retains to this day its ancient name, and thus bears living testimony to the fact that the descendants of the Pandus, who ruled in Muttra, had in early times established their power in the most Southern parts of the peninsula. It was a fortified city. There were four gates to the fort, surmounted by high towers, and outside the massive walls which were built of rough-hewn stone was a deep moat, and surrounding the moat was a thick jungle of thorny trees. The roads leading to the gates were wide enough to permit several elephants to pass abreast, and on the walls on both sides of the entrance, there were all kinds of weapons and missiles concealed, ready to be discharged on an enemy. Yavana soldiers with drawn swords guarded the gates. Over the gates and walls waved many a standard which had been taken in battle. The principal streets in the city were the royal street, the market street, the