It is stated, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that the inscription at Mandasōr in Western Mālwa “relates how the Pattavāyas, as the caste was then called, were induced to migrate thither from Lāta on the coast of Gujarāt by king Kumāra Gupta (or one of his lieutenants), to practice there their art of silk-weaving. The inscription says many flattering things about the community, and poetically compares the city to a beautiful woman, and the immigrants to the silk garments in which she decks herself when she goes to meet her lover. [The inscription further records that, while the noble Bandhuvarman was governing this city of Dasapura, which had been brought to a state of great prosperity, a noble and unequalled temple of the bright-rayed (sun) was caused to be built by the silk-cloth weavers (pattavāyair) as a guild with the stores of wealth acquired by (the exercise of their) craft.] On the destruction of Mandasōr by the Mussalmans, the Pattavāyas seem to have travelled south to Dēvagiri, the modern Daulatābād, the then capital of the Yādavas, and thence, when the Mussalmans again appeared on the scene at the beginning of the fourteenth century, to Vijayanagar, and eventually to Madura. A curious ceremony confirming this conjecture is performed to this day at Patnūlkāran weddings in South India. Before the date of the wedding, the bridegroom’s party go to the bride’s house, and ask formally for the girl’s hand. Her relations ask them in a set form of words who they are, and whence they come, and they reply that they are from Sōrath (the old name for Saurāshtra or Kathiawar), resided in Dēvagiri, travelled south (owing to Mussalman oppression) to Vijayanagar, and thence came to Madura. They then ask the bride’s party the same question, and receive the same reply. A Marāthi MS., prepared in 1822 at Salem under the direction of the then Collector, Mr. M. D. Cockburn, contains the same tradition. Mr. Sewell’s ‘A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar’ shows how common silk clothing and trappings were at Vijayanagar in the days of its glory. Most of the Patnūlkārans can still speak Telugu, which raises the inference that they must have resided a long time in the Telugu country, while their Patnūli contains many Canarese and Telugu words, and they observe the feast of Basavanna (or Boskanna), which is almost peculiar to the Bellary country. After the downfall of Vijayanagar, some of the caste seem to have gone to Bangalore, for a weaving community called Patvēgars, who speak a dialect similar to Patnūli, still reside there.” Concerning the Patnūlis who have settled in the Mysore Province, it is noted, in the Mysore Census Report, 1891, that “with silk they manufacture a fine stuff called katni, which no other weavers are said to be able to prepare. It is largely used by Mussalmans for trousers and lungas (gowns). It is said that Haider Ali, while returning from his expeditions against Madras, forcibly brought with him some twenty-five families of these weavers, who were living in the Tanjore district, and established them at Ganjam near Seringapatam, and, in order to encourage silk and velvet weaving, exempted them from certain taxes. The industry flourished till the fall of Seringapatam, when most of the class fled from the country, a few only having survived those troublous times. At present there are only 254 souls returned to these people, employed in making carpets in Bangalore.”
“The Patnūlkārs,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,[84] “say that they were originally Brāhmans, living in a town of Surat called Dēvagiri, in which twelve streets were entirely peopled by them. For some reason, of which they profess themselves to be ignorant, the residents of one of these streets were excommunicated by the rest of the caste, and expelled. They travelled southwards, and settled in Tirupati, Arni, and Vellore, as well as in Trichinopoly, Tanjore, Madura, and other large towns, where they carried on their trade of silk-weaving. Another story is to the effect that they were bound to produce a certain number of silken cloths at each Dīpāvali feast in Dēvagiri for the goddess Lakshmi. One year their supply fell short, and they were cursed by the goddess, who decreed that they should no longer be regarded as Brāhmans. They, however, still claim to be such, and follow the customs of that caste, though they refuse to eat with them. They acknowledge priests from among themselves, as well as from among Brāhmans, and profess to look down upon all other castes. In religion they are divided into Smartas, Vaishnavas, and Vyāpāris, some among the Smartas being Lingayats. Those who can write usually employ the Telugu characters in writing their language.”
The Patnūlkārans, according to one tradition, claim descent from a certain Brāhman sage, known as Tantuvardhanar, meaning literally a person who improves threads, i.e., manufactures and weaves them into cloths. This is, it is suggested, probably only an eponymous hero.
In the Manual of the Madura district, the Patnūlkārans are described as “a caste of Surat silk-weavers, whose ancestors were induced to settle in Madura by one of the earlier Nāyakkan kings, or in response to an invitation from Tirumala Naik, and who have thriven so well that they now form by far the most numerous of all the castes resident in the town of Madura. They are very skilful and industrious workmen, and many of them have become very wealthy. They keep altogether aloof from other castes, and live independently of general society, speaking a foreign tongue, and preserving intact the customs of the land of their origin. They are easily distinguished in appearance from Tamils, being of a light yellowish colour, and having handsomer and more intelligent features. They are called Chettis or merchants by Tamils.” In a recent note,[85] the Patnūlkārans of Madura are described as being “exceedingly gregarious; they live together in large numbers in small houses, and their social status in the country is quite unsettled. Though they delight to call themselves Saurāshtra Brāhmans, the Tamils consider them to be a low caste. Like the Brāhmans, they wear the sacred thread, and tack on to their names such titles as Iyengar, Iyer, Rao, Bhagavather, Sastrigal, and so forth, though the conservatives among them still cling to the time-honoured simple Chetti. Child marriage is the rule, and widow marriage is never practiced. Hindus by religion, they worship indiscriminately both the Siva and Vaishnava deities, but all of them wear big Iyengar nāmams on their foreheads, even more prominently than do the real Iyengars themselves. All of them pass for pure vegetarians. The proud position of Madura to this day as second city in the Presidency is mainly, if not solely, due to her prosperous and industrious community of Saurāshtra merchants and silk-weavers, who have now grown into nearly half her population, and who have also come to a foremost place among the ranks of her citizens. They have their representatives to-day in the Municipal Councils and in the Local and District Boards. Their perseverance has won for them a place in the Dēvastānam Committee of one of the most prosperous temples in the district. But, in spite of their affluence and leading position it must be confessed that they are essentially a ‘backward class’ in respect of English education and enlightenment. They are, however, making steady progress. An English high school for Saurāshtra boys, and a number of elementary schools for girls, are now maintained by the Saurāshtra Sabha for the proper education of their children.” In 1906, a member of the community was appointed a member of the committee of the Srī Kalla Alagar temple in the Madura district.
In an order of the Director of Public Instruction, in 1900, it was laid down that “Saurāshtras having been recognised (in 1892) as a backward class falling under Pattunulgars, the manager cannot continue to enjoy the privileges accorded under the grant-in-aid code to schools intended for backward classes, if he returns his pupils as Brāhmans. If the pupils have been returned as Saurāshtra Brāhmans, the manager should be requested to revise, as no such caste is recognised.” A deputation had an interview with the Director, and it was subsequently ruled that “Saurāshtras will continue to be treated as a backward class. Pupils belonging to the above class should invariably be returned in future as Saurāshtras, whether the word Brāhman is added or not.”
In a “History of the Saurāshtras in Southern India”[86] it is recorded that “when the Saurāshtras settled in the south, they reproduced the institutions of their mother country in the new land; but, owing to the influence of the Southern Dravidians, some of the institutions became extinct. During their migrations, the men were under the guidance of their leader, and the process of migration tended to increase the power of kinship. The people were divided into four heads, called Goundas (chiefs), Saulins (elders), Vōyddoos (physicians), and Bhoutuls (religious men). Some traces of the division still survive in the now neglected institution of Goundans. The Goundans were supposed to be responsible for the acts and doings of their men. The masses enjoyed the property under the joint undivided Hindu family system as prescribed in the Code of Manu. The chiefs were the judges in both civil and criminal affairs. They were aided in deciding cases by a body of nobles called Saulins. The office of the Saulins is to make enquiries, and try all cases connected with the community, and to abide by the decision of the chiefs. The Vōyddoos (pandits) and Bhoutuls (Josis and Kavis also ranked with Vōyddas and Bhoutuls) had their honours on all important occasions, and they are placed in the same rank with the elders. The Karestuns, or the Commons, are the whole body of the masses. Their voice is necessary on certain important occasions, as during the ceremonies of excommunication, and prayaschittas for admitting renegades, and during periodical meetings of the community. The Goundans at present are not exercising any of their powers, except in some religious matters. Saurāshtra Brāhmans were originally leading a purely religious life, but now they have begun to do business of different descriptions fitted to their position. Their chief occupation is agriculture, but some are trading, dyeing and weaving; however, it can be safely affirmed that their business interferes in no way with their religious creed and ceremonies. The name Patnulgar means silk weavers, and is sometimes erroneously applied to the Saurāshtras too; but, on the contrary, the term strictly applies to all classes of weavers in Southern India, called Seniyars, Kaikkolars, Dēvāngas, Kshatris (Khattris), Parayas, Sengundas, Mudaliars, Saliyurs, Padmasalays, but not to the Saurāshtras in any way. The Saurāshtras are now seen as a mercantile community. They are brave but humble, god-fearing, hospitable, fond of festivities and amusement. The Saurāshtras, it is said, were originally a class of sun worshippers, from sourā meaning sun, but the term Saurāshtra means inhabitants of the fruitful kingdom. Their religion is Hinduism, and they were originally Madhvās. After their settlement in Southern India, some of them, owing to the preachings of Sankaracharya and Ramanujacharya, were converted into Saivites and Vaishnavites respectively. The Saurāshtras belong to the Aksobhya and Sankaracharya Matas. The Saurāshtras, like other nations of India, are divided into four great divisions, viz., Brahma, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sūdra. The Vaisyas and Sūdras are to be found in almost all towns and villages, and especially at Tirupati, Nagari, Naranavanam, Arni, Kottar, Palani, Palamcottah, Vilangudi, and Viravanallur.”
The affairs of the Patnūlkārans at Madura are managed by a Saurāshtra Sabha, which was started in 1895. Among the laudable objects for which the Sabha was established, the following may be noted:—
(a) To manage the Madura Saurāshtra school, and establish reading-rooms, libraries, etc., with a view to enable members of the Saurāshtra community to receive, on moderate terms, a sound, liberal, general and technical education.
(b) To manage the temple known as the Madura Srī Prasanna Venkatēswara Swāmi’s temple, and contribute towards its maintenance by constructing, repairing and preserving buildings in connection therewith, making jewels, vehicles and other things necessary therefor, and conducting the festivals thereof.
(c) To found charitable institutions, such as orphanages, hospitals, poor-houses, choultries (resting-places for travellers), water-sheds, and other things of a like nature for the good of the Saurāshtra community.