country was according to Marumakkatayam law. This Senguttuvan was not the son of Athan II and the Chola princess Sonai as he has given; but he was the nephew of Athan as the following lines will show:
குடவர் கோமா னெடுஞ்சேரலாதற்குச்
சோழன் மணக்கிள்ளி யீன்ற மகன்
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கடல் பிறக்கோட்டிய செங்குட்டுவன்
On the other hand, the Silappadikaram informs us that Senguttavan was the son of Seraladan by a Chola princess—சேரலாதற்குச் சோழன் மகளீன்றமைந்தன் செங்குட்டுவன். And elsewhere in the same work the Chola king Valavankilli is spoken of as the brother-in-law of Senguttuvan-நின்மைத்துனன்வளவன்கிள்ளி. I am inclined to believe that the word மகள் in the first quotation from Silappadikaram should be மகன், as otherwise the parentage given to some of the Chera kings in the Padirruppattu must all be false, which is improbable.
In the Tamil country the Aryan Brahmans had already settled in small numbers. They were patronized by kings with grants of land. Some of them were engaged as purohits or priests, while others occupied themselves in teaching the Aryan religion and philosophy to the Tamils. The Tamil poets Kapilar and Palai-Gautamanar were Brahmans. There were also poetesses like Nacchellaiyar ; and education of women was not neglected in those days. Besides poets of both sexes among Brahmans and Vellalas, there was a low class of minstrels called
