LESSON 1

GEOGRAPHY OF TAMIL COUNTRY

AND
THE HISTORICAL SOURCES

Learning Objoctives
features of Tari
By and large the objective of this unit i to exploro the geographical
various sources for the History of Tamil Nadu
country and the

this lesson, you will be able to

After having read
Analyze the physical and environmental geography of Tamil country

or
Understand and interpret the primary and secondary sources constructing the history

Tamil Nadu.

Acquire the knowledge of archaeological sources and literary sources.

Structure

1.1 Introduction

12 Geographical Divisions

Influence and Culture

1.3 Geographical

1.4 Archaeological Sources

1.5 Literary Sources

1.6 Summary

1.7 Model Questions

1.1 Introduction

constant companion of historical studies; it is

It is said that, "Geography is -by nature the
other" because the events of history take place on
hardly possible to grasp the one without the
the stage of the world, they are inevitably influenced
and even determined by geography.
the two eyes of History without which we cannot learn the
Geography and Chronology are

the land before to enter

basics of history. Hence it is vital to study the geographical features of
into the history.
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1.2 Geographical Divisions

1.2.1 Location

The Tamil Country

T
familiarly known as Thamizhagam of Tamilnadu is bounded
plateau the north and northwest,
on Dunded by Mysore
Tirupathy hills on the northea_t, Bay of Bengal on
by M
Indian Ocean on the south and the the
to the southeast of
Arabian Sea lies on the
west.)The island east
Ceylon is situatoa
Tamilnadu which is a ated
geographical and cultural continuation of Tan
country.
The present Tamilnadu lies between Longitudes 77 to 80° E and
and situated in the Far Latitudes 8° to 13
South of Indian
sq km and 600 miles Peninsula. The state covers with a land area of
1,30,058
long coastline along the Bay of
Bengal in the east, the towering
Ghats forming a natural border Westem
to the west
Kamataka and Andhra Pradesh separating the state from Kerala, the states
of
sitting on its top in the northwest and north
respectively.
1.2.2 Mountains

Tamil Nadu is the

only state in India which has both the
Ghats Western Ghats and the Eastem
mountain ranges which both meet at
at a height of 2623 meters (8652 Doddabetta the highest mountain in the Nilgiri Hill
the
ranges
Ghats are the feetOlderthan Himalaya Mountains, the Western
mountain groups running parallel to the westem coast of Indian
Ghats are well known for its peninsula. Westem
bio diversity, where we
fauna. Anaimalai, can find a
variety of flora and
Elamalai, Neelamalai, Kuthiraimalai and
mountains of Western ghats. Podhigai are some of the hills and
Nilgris and Anaimalai are divided
by Palghat gap.
The Eastern ghats are in
broken form and leave
The Palani, Kodai and Podiyil are notable passage for the rivers to run
Peaks of the Eastern eastwards.
ghats
Ottacamund, Kunnoor, Kothagiri, Yercaud and
and summer resorts. Kodaikkanal are the important hill
stations

1.2.3 Monsoon Rains

Tamil Nadu is heavily dependent on monsoon

when the monsoons fail.(The climate of the rain_, and thereby is prone to droughts
state ranges from
Tamil Nadu
agriculture is under dry sub-humid to semi-arid.
on rains for
a
gambling of
monsoon) Since the state is entirely dependent
recharging its water resources, monsoon
severe drought. failures lead to acute water
scarcity and
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1.2.4 Rivers

Kaveri, also referred as Ponni, flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
starts from the Coorg region of Mysore. It is the third largest after Godavari and Krishna in
South India and the largest in Tamil Nadu. River Kaveri on its course bisects the state into North
and South. It is the main source of fertility in the Kaveri Delta.

River Vaigai and Tamiraparani are the chief sources for irrigation in the southem Tamilnadu.
Palayar and Kodayar and other small rivers are in Kanyakumari region. Palar, Thenpennayaru
and Cheyyar are the other important rivers of Tamilnadu.

1.2.5 Coastline and Deltas

The eastern parts of the Tamil Nadu are fertile coastal plains. The East Coast lies between
Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal. The coastal strip between the Western Ghats and
the Arabian Sea is narrow, while that between the Eastern Ghats and the Bay of Bengal is
broad. The rivers on the west coast are short and swift and do not end in deltas. On the east

coast, a number of rivers form deltas. There ports and natural harbours in the west
are more

to which he appends the word

than in the east. Ptolemy lists six coastal places in Tamilnadu
known from anthologies
'emporium'. Three of these, Musiri, Korkai and Kaverippattinam are
The Tamils had a rich harvest of foreign
which have been chief ports of three early kingdoms.
the east.
trade as far as Rome in the West and Spice Islands in

known Karnatic
in the east, there is a vast plain
as
Since the land is located in slopes
is known as Coramandal Coast.
Delta and the coastal area on the east

1.2.6 Flora and Fauna

Tamil country with
unmerciful to the Tamils. It has provided the
Nature has not been
demand in foreign markets; pepper,
natural which have been in great
products
Some unique
etc.
bamboos, rosewood,
pearls, ivory, cloves, sandalwood, teak,
wild animals are preserved.
Anaimalai forests many
In the Mudumalai sanctuary and
The Javvadu hills, Elagiri,
centre for Ornithologists'.
Vedanthangal near Madras is a study
of birds and animals.
some rare species
Yercaud and other mountains also have