Vēl Pāri

Vēl Pāri (palli venden pari vallal) was a dynasty of Tamil Vēlir kings who ruled Parambu nādu and surrounding regions in ancient Tamilakkam towards the end of the Sangam era. The name is often used to describe the most famous amongst them, who was the patron and friend of poet Kapilar and is extolled for his benevolence, patronage of art and literature. He is remembered as one of the Kadai ēzhu vallal (literally meaning, the last seven great patrons) in Tamil literature.

Pāri is described as the master of the hill country of Parambu nādu and held sway over 300 prosperous villages. Pari patronized various forms of art, literature and bards thronged his court. Parambu nadu consisted of parts of modern day Tamil Nadu and Kerala stretching from Piranmalai in Sivaganga district, Tamil Nadu to Nedungadi in Palakkad district, Kerala. His favorite was poet Kapilar who was his close friend and life long companion. From Purananuru, song 107 by Kapilar:

Pāri was noted in of the last Sangam era for his generosity and was popular as one among the Kadai Ezhu Vallalgal (last seven patrons). Pāri's fame is described in Sangam literature as "முல்லைக்கு தேர் கொடுத்தான் பாரி" (One who gave his chariot to a climber plant). He was so generous that he gave away his chariot to a climber plant when he saw that it was struggling to grow without a suitable support.

The three crowned Tamil kings Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas expanded their kingdoms ruthlessly and turned their attention towards independent Vēlir Kings thus turning them into subordinates or eliminating them and assimilated their kingdoms. They laid siege to the heavily fortified country of Parambu, but Vēl Pāri refused to give in and the war dragged for years. Kabilar approached the kings and asked them to turn back describing his patron Pari as an unconquerable warrior (excerpt from Purananuru: song 109):

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