Chapters (15)
- Who are the Padmasaliyar?
- Bhavana Rishi and the Padmasaliyar tradition
- The puranic tradition of origin
- Lotus, Padma and the weaving tradition
- Ancient homeland and migration
- Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
- The weaving trade and contribution to society
- Padmasaliyar in the age of kings
- Temples, religion and culture
- Social structure, gotras and divisions
- The tradition of the curse — a separate section
- The colonial period and its records
- Padmasaliyar in modern times
- The community around the world
- Conclusion
Conclusion — from heritage to the future
We said at the start that the history of the Padmasaliyar should be seen not as a single story but in many layers. At the end, let us bring together where those layers stand firm and where they remain open questions.
- Kulapurana
- Living tradition
- Written evidence
- Open question
What we can say with certainty
What we have kept as Kulapurana
Open questions — a consolidated list
We have gathered in one place what was marked “yet to be verified” in each chapter. These are the site’s next research tasks.
| Chapter | What is needed |
|---|---|
| 2, 3 | A copy of the Kulapurana; whether the Markandeya Purana has a passage on Bhavana Rishi; a source for the “Padma Veda” |
| 2, 10, 11 | A manuscript, copper-plate or inscriptional source for the eight divisions and the four seats (a record of tradition exists); a date for Padmabhavacharya; which place “Srirama Agraharam” is |
| 4 | The linguistic root of the word “Sali”; whether there is any old record of lotus-fibre weaving in South India |
| 5 | An original inscription for the claims of Satavahana and Chola-period migration; a source for “Saliyar Street” in Kanchipuram |
| 6, 13, 14 | Reliable numbers for Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and the whole of India; the spread abroad |
| 7, 8 | The original of the Uttama Chola copper plates; whether the “Saliyar” are indeed Padmasaliyar; the Kakatiya inscriptions (Epigraphia Telanganica) |
| 9 | The link between the Bhavanarayana temples and the community; family deities, days of worship |
| 10 | Finding and verifying the real source of the list on the home page (thesis TH12178 is Kone Lingaiah’s study of textile art); confirming the Tamil transliteration; the Markandeya (102nd) gotra and its relation to the “single gotra” record of 1909; the sub-divisions by type of cloth |
| 11 | Dates for Tata Acharya, Pattabhi Ramaswamy and the Mahasabha |
| 12 | The full text of the separate article “Padma Sale”; other Census and gazetteer records |
The principles of this site
How you can help
Next tasks
- Confirming every statement marked for verification by consulting the original work directly (sources used: the references page).
- Village-by-village community documentation: settlements, temples, associations.
- Recording oral history: interviews with elders.
- Adding separately, when needed, the sections on Ramanuja and the Sri Vaishnava tradition and on Manavala Mamunigal (set aside at the start).
- Full pages in the Tamil and Telugu languages.
Have a comment or a correction?
If you find an error or a variant in anything here, or have more information, please tell us. Copies of the Kulapurana, old manuscripts, family traditions and village histories are very valuable. It helps if you send the source and the permission along with it.
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