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Padmasaliyar History

The Kulapurana tradition, the tradition of the craft, written records, migration and culture — 15 chapters that record each one separately and with its evidence.

How to read this series

Colours and line styles show which category each piece of information belongs to.

  • Kulapurana / Purana
  • Living community tradition
  • Written / inscriptional / statistical evidence
  • Yet to be verified

Chapters

  1. 1. Who are the Padmasaliyar?Lineage, weaving, the name — an introduction
  2. 2. Bhavana Rishi and the Padmasaliyar traditionMarkandeya, Bhavana Rishi, the gotra tradition
  3. 3. The puranic tradition of originWhat the Kulapurana says, and its limits
  4. 4. Lotus, Padma and the weaving traditionLotus fibre, the word “Sali”, weavers’ names
  5. 5. Ancient homeland and migrationFrom Andhra to other regions
  6. 6. Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil NaduSpread and classification, state by state
  7. 7. The weaving trade and contribution to societyHandloom, silk, trade, Kanchipuram
  8. 8. Padmasaliyar in the age of kingsCholas, Kakatiyas, Vijayanagara
  9. 9. Temples, religion and cultureDeities, rites, culture
  10. 10. Social structure, gotras and divisionsGotra, house name, sub-divisions
  11. 11. The tradition of the curse — a separate sectionThe traditional story and the view of researchers
  12. 12. The colonial period and its recordsRecords including Thurston 1909
  13. 13. Padmasaliyar in modern timesClassification today, occupations, achievers
  14. 14. The community around the worldAssociations and spread abroad
  15. 15. ConclusionSummary, open questions, work ahead

Supporting pages

  1. Questions to ask the eldersA guide to recording family traditions, with 34 questions
  2. References and sourcesSources used, their category, verification status, links