Kumari Kandam- The Lost Continent

Kumari Kandam is the legendary sunken continent, according to many of the ancient extant Tamil literatures and some of the Sanskrit literatures. Almost 100 years back tamil nationalists came to identify and associate Kumari Kandam with Lemuria, a hypothetical “lost continent” posited in the 19th century to account for discontinuities in biogeography.

Located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans but now sunken, this sunked continent is believed to be the connections between Africa to South India, through Madagascar.

Many of the earliest extant Tamil literary works and their commentaries, mentions a Tamil continent called Kumari Kandam, which was ruled by Pandiyan Kings for 10,000 years, before getting submerged in the Indian Ocean, south of present-day Kanyakumari district at the southern tip of India.

References of Kumari Kandam from some of the Tamil literary sources

According to Silappadhikaram, one of the Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature written in 2nd century CE, states that the cruel sea took the Pandiyan’s land, part of which was present between the rivers Pahruli and the mountainous banks of the Kumari. These rivers are said to have flowed in a now-submerged land.

Adiyarkkunallar, a 12th-century CE commentator on the epic, explains this reference by saying that there was once a land to the south of the present-day Kanyakumari, which stretched for 700 kāvatam from the Pahruli river in the north to the Kumari river in the south. The modern equivalent of the measurement kāvatam, which is also known as kātam in Tamil, is a distance of 6.25 miles (10.06 km).

Kanakkathikaram, a 15th century Tamil Mathematical literary work which is in the form of poems, defines the length of 1 kāvatam(1 kātam) as 24,000 muzham (33,000 feet, 6¼ miles) and it also defines the time taken to cover it which is the distance that can be covered by normal walk in 7½ Nāzhigai or 1 Sāmam (equivalent to 3 hours). So, the distance of 700 kāvatam is equivalent to 4,375 miles (7,041 km) in modern day measurements.

This land was divided into 49 territories, which he names as Seven coconut territories (elutenga natu), Seven Madurai territories (elumaturai natu), Seven old sandy territories (elumunpalai natu), Seven new sandy territories (elupinpalai natu), Seven mountain territories (elukunra natu), Seven eastern coastal territories (elukunakarai natu) and Seven dwarf-palm territories (elukurumpanai natu). All these lands, he says, together with the many-mountained land that began with KumariKollam, with forests and habitations, were submerged by the sea. Two of these  territories were supposedly parts of present-day Kollam and Kanyakumari districts.

The 7th century CE commentary written by Nakkīranār for the Tamil literary work Iraiyanar Akapporul, gives the list of Pandiyan kings who ruled the Kumari Kandam. It also gives information about the three Tamil Sangams (assemblies of Tamil scholars and poets who do research on Tamil language and also creates literary works) which spans about 10,000 years.

According to th Kumari Kandam tradition, over a period of about just 11,000 years, the Pandyans, a historical dynasty of Tamil kings, formed three Tamil Sangams, in order to foster among their subjects the love of knowledge, literature and poetry. These Sangams were the fountain head of Tamil culture and their principal concern was the perfection of the Tamil language and literature. The first two Sangams were not located in what is now South India but in antediluvian Tamil land to the south which in ancient times bore the name of Kumari Kandam, literally the Land of the Virgin or Virgin Continent.

The First Sangam (Mutaṟcaṅkam) is described as having been held at the Pandiyan King’s capital city, Madurai (Kadal Konda Then Madurai – which means Southern Madurai which was submerged in the sea. The old Madurai was called as Southern Madurai to differentiate it with the capital city of Madurai of third Sangam), which lasted a total of 4440 years, and had 549 members, which supposedly included some gods of the Hindu pantheon such as Siva, Kubera and Murugan. A total of 4449 poets are described as having composed songs for this Sangam. There were 89 Pandiyan kings starting from Kaysina valudi to Kadungon were decedents and rulers of that period.

If credence is given to this commentary, then the beginning of first Sangam should be placed somewhere in 9000 B.C.

Most of the lands of Kumari Kandam were submerged in the sea during first devouring of the land by the sea. Then, the Pandiyan King and the remaining people migrated to the remaining land of Kumari Kandam and the king moved his capital to Kapatapuram. At the same time, the present location of Tamil Nadu was ruled by Chera, Chola, and 46 other small kingdoms.

The Second Sangam (Irandaam Caṅkam, Iṭaicaṅkam) was convened in Kapatapuram, the then capital city of Pandiyan King. This Sangam lasted for 3700 years and had 59 members, with 3700 poets participating. There were 59 Pandiyan kings starting from Vendercceliyan to Mudattirumaran were decedents and rulers of that period.

This city was also submerged in sea. Ramayana and Arthasastra of Kautalya corroborates the existence of a city named kavatapuram. There is a reference to a south Indian place called kavata by sugriva in a verse which runs something like ‘having reached Kavata suitable for Pandiya‘. The place kavata is also mentioned by Kautalya (also known as Acharya Chanakya) in Arthasastra.

Having lost the complete Kumari Kandam, the Pandiyan King conquered the part of lands belonging to the Chola and Chera kings (Silapathikaram, Maturaikkandam, verses 17-22) and made Korkai, a seaport on the southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, as his capital and in later times moved his capital to the current city of Madurai.

The Third Sangam (Moondraam Caṅkam, Kaṭaicaṅkam) was purportedly located in the current city of Madurai, the then capital city of Pandiyan King, and lasted for 1850 years. There were 49 Pandiyan kings starting from Mudattirumaran (who came away from Kabadapuram to present Madurai) to Ukkirapperu valudi were decedents and rulers of that period.

The academy had 49 members, and 449 poets are described as having participated in the Sangam.

map of lemuria or Kumari kandam in Indian ocean
Map of Lemuria or Kumari kandam in Indian ocean

 

References of Kumari Kandam in Puranas and Ancient Tamil Literature

Bhagavata-Purana, 10th Skanda.

 

  • In Tamil literary works Aintiram, Silappadhikaram, Manimekhalai and SaivamPaayanam and in Sanskrit literary work Bhagavatha Purana, there are information about Tamil sage Mayan, who wrote one of the Tamil Sangam literary works Aintiram, and was part of Tamil Sangams and lived in Kumari Kandam.This sage also wrote other Tamil literature Pranava Vedham (which is called by Vyasa as the predecessor of four Vedas in Bhagavatha Purana), MayaMatham (Book about Architecture, Sculptures and Vasthu) and SuriyaNool (Book about Astronomy and Astrology), one Tamil grammatical work, etc. According to Aintiram, Kumari Kandam was a land which has huge area and the PalThuli river (PalThuli – Divided grammatical form of Pahruli according to Tamil grammar which means many drops), one of the Kumari Kandam rivers, originated from PeruMalai(means big mountain – represents MeruMalai – Meru Mountain). It also tells that there were 49 lands in Kumari Kandam.Tamil literary work SaivamPaayanam gives information about Kumari Kandam and its territories. It also mentions the existence of PeruMalai (MeruMalai – Meru Mountain) in Kumari Kandam.
  • The Tamil literary work Manimekhalai, mentions about multiple Tsunamis in the ancient city of Poompuhar and was swallowed up by the sea. This event is supported by archeological finds of submerged ruins off the coast of modern Poompuhar.
  • The Tamil poetic literature Tamil vidu thoothu describes the Topography of Kumari Kandam. It is also said that the Pahruli river was excavated to irrigate the mountain valley by the Pandiyan King Nediyon.
    The third Sangam literary work Purananooru talks about Kumari Kandam and the river Pahruli which was there in Kumari Kandam.
  • The Tamil Grammar work Nannool talks about the sunken country Kumari Kandam.
  • The Tamil literature SiruKakkaip Paadiniyaar talks about the Kumari Kandam.
  • There are references for Kumari Kandam present in Kantapuranam, which mentions it as one of the nine continents of old times, or one of the nine divisions of India and the only region not to be inhabited by barbarians.
  • According to the Matsya Purana, Manu was the king of Dravidadesa (South Indian country) in Kumari Kandam.
  • There are references for Kumari Kandam present in Garuda Puranam. Also, There are scattered references in Sangam literature, such as Kalittokai 104, to how the sea took the land of the Pandiyan Kings, after which they conquered new lands to replace those they had lost.

 

References of Kumari Kandam (Lemuria) in Chinese & Greek Literature

In some of the ancient Chinese chronicles, there are references to Pahruli river, Peru river and Meru Mountain (with 49 peaks) from where the Kumari River, Peru river and Pahruli river were originated (according to Tamil literature). It is said that Chinese laborers were employed by the Pandiyan King and when they went down the mines they appeared like a huge army of small ants. Therefore, they were called pon thondi erumbukal (Gold mining ants). This is also confirmed by ancient Chinese chronicles.

Megasthenes (ca. 350 – 290 BCE), a Greek ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period, authored the work Indika, the account of his travels in India. In this work, he says that Taprobane (old name of Sri Lanka) was separated from the mainland (Indian Peninsula) by a river, which means that during the period of Megasthenes, Sri Lanka could have been connected to Indian Peninsula by a small landmass in between them and was divided by Thamirabarani River (Porunai River).
The current Thamirabarani River in Tamil Nadu flows into the sea suggests that the Thamirabarani River would have reached Sri Lanka through a now-submerged landmass existed between Indian Peninsula and Sri Lanka during the period of Megasthenes.

Archaeological Data supporting existence of Kumari Kandam

remains found of kumari kandam
archeological findings at Poompuhar
  • The marine archeological findings at Poompuhar (Tamil Nadu) by marine archeological research conducted by the National Institute of Marine Archeology (Goa) reveals that much of the town of Poompugar (Tamil Nadu) was washed away by progressive erosion and a Tsunami around 300 BC.
  • Ancient Pottery dating back to the 4th century BC have been discovered off shore by marine archeologists east of this town. The timeline of this Tsunami also coincides with the timeline (after the period of Megasthenes visit to India) of the submergence of landmass which was claimed to be existed between Indian Peninsula and Sri Lanka according to Megasthenes accounts.
  • The geological survey reveals that most of the places in the land under the sea, where Kumari Kandam is claimed to be existed, has the maximum depth of the sea of 200 meters. In some of the places, the maximum depth of the sea is 2000 meters. Since, these areas has low sea depth, there are more possibilities to exists a now-submerged land in which people lived.
  • Languages spoken by Australian tribes, African tribes, Andaman and Nicobar tribes and Lakshadweep tribes are identical to Tamil language. So, there are high possibilities that there might be a connecting land which exists in between India, Australia and Madagascar
  • Types of plants, trees and animals present in Africa and Madagascar are identical with that of in India. So, there might be a connecting land which exists in between India and Madagascar.

Expedition to Poompuhar – Remains of Kumari Kandam

SHARE
Previous articleThe Lost temple of India
Next articleAnti-black quotes of Gandhi
Mystery of India is a culture and society website that presents facts about India, that have been erased from history. It updates regularly about matters related to India (like history, festivals, temples, sacred places, Culture, tradition, archaeology), the latest developments in Indian society and religions.
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
30 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
b.gupta
b.gupta
7 years ago

Bhupinder Gupta My views — in Kandha Guru Kavasam , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wm2vVdFeeE&spfrel oad=10 one word comes ‘ kanni ma “‘ there would be some concern or link with ( kumari kandam ) . at those times some things would had been took placed wrong . why the things were/are happening wrong and wrongs from the very very ancient times . humans were/are being spoiled killed . Were rama and ravana were enemy ? , if i am not wrong rama shakti and murgan and veerbhadra are same avatars . there would had been great conspirancies to kill the peoples .which were… Read more »

Confused
Confused
6 years ago

“has the maximum depth of the sea of 200 meters.” That is grossly inaccurate. Looking at a map of the area the depth of the sea is rarely less than 2000 meters and frequently over 5000. And nothing about the topography of the area even hints at a sunken land mass.

These are very interesting myths, but they have no basis in reality, certainly not when taken literally.

Raf
Raf
6 years ago
Reply to  Confused

Not only that, but the languages of the aborigines in Australia have been demonstrated to be completely independent from any other language group. They moved over to Australia some 60,000 years ago it is estimated, and were in isolation until the Brits came and started sticking flags in things. No way is their language connected with anything Tamil.

Truth
Truth
5 years ago
Reply to  Raf

1 question how did the African migrate to Australia
Ship or walking

Citragupta
Citragupta
5 years ago
Reply to  Confused

Yes you are right many claims but nothing substantial to back it up. Kumari Kandam existed but not the way they make it out to be a solid land mass from Africa to Australia.

Catherine
Catherine
6 years ago

Why don’t the present archaeological people do a research again and find out the myths. It will be really interesting

Aditya M
Aditya M
6 years ago
Reply to  Catherine

they have and they have confirmed that its a myth. Kumari kandam is nothing but another name for the hypothetican continent of Lemuria. the existance of lemuria is now discredited as modern theory of plate tectonics explain the biogeographic discontinuities which lemuria was supposed to account for … by the myth still lives on mostly due to Tamil sub-nationalism .. the aryan invasion is another such favourite myth of tamil nationalists which has also been refuted scientifically

Emmanuel
Emmanuel
6 years ago
Reply to  Aditya M

Its not a myth, it’s the truth. Kumari Kandam still exists under the sea, We do have literature dating back to 10000 BC, Tamil is the ancient language In India, Dravidians are the natives, Harrapa and Mohenjadaro civilizations are Dravidian civilizations which has been confirmed. Phalus worship was first done by Dravidians, then came the Aryans who worshiped in everything they feared, mainly animals.. These have scientific proof and even the literature had backed it. Somehow people in North India didn’t want to believe it, south India never in the history was under any ruler from the North.. The main… Read more »

vasanth
vasanth
5 years ago
Reply to  Emmanuel

Spot on, especially on the finance part for archaeological expedition. Indian government fears that large scale expeditions will reveal the truth and will cause the raise of Tamil nationalism and purposefully keeps it under wraps and keeps low profile. Just check the amount of money and research done about history of North India and the amount of money and time spent for South indian history! Even more evident is the history taught in central school syllabus which barely mentions about Kings of south and full focus is on Kings of North. Even the recent expedition off mamallapuram shore temple, about… Read more »

Ram
Ram
4 years ago
Reply to  Emmanuel

you are a Christian where your great grandmother was raped by some britisher & converted ….So you don’t have any right to say about Lord Rama

Sampige Srinivasa Kadaba
Sampige Srinivasa Kadaba
5 years ago

Wah what a story. Nice for catoon movies. This is all false stories by Tamil nationalists to spread Tamil Supremacy. Sri rama lived in Tretatuga 13 Lakh years ago and there was sea between Bharath and Lanka on which Ramar built Sethu with thr help of Vanaras which exists even today and can clearly see from sattelite pictures. Rama killed Demon Ravana to bring back his beloved wife Seetha Mata which is the truth!

vasanth
vasanth
5 years ago

Sir, please wake up! 13 lakh years ago man may not have been even a monkey

Citragupta
Citragupta
5 years ago
Reply to  vasanth

So now you resort to even more ridiculous myth than the one of Kumari Kandam, evolution is unproven and the pet theory of atheists.

Amlan Kumar
Amlan Kumar
5 years ago

I’d like to use the time machine you’re using.

Amlan Kumar
Amlan Kumar
5 years ago

Btw, Ravana was the real intelligent entity surviving at that age.
Ram was just a wanabe RSS pseudo-nationalist cum Hindu extremist.

Citragupta
Citragupta
5 years ago
Reply to  Amlan Kumar

What are you smoking?

Dr Indeevar V Mishra
Dr Indeevar V Mishra
5 years ago
Reply to  Amlan Kumar

Be careful what u r saying..

asafuulah
asafuulah
5 years ago
Reply to  Amlan Kumar

one more donkey …amlan kumar

Citragupta
Citragupta
5 years ago

More like 8-9 lakhs ago.

Chandi
Chandi
5 years ago

Funny, talk with facts. 13 lakh years ago. Do u have something under your skull. I can’t stop laughing.

Why Tamils need to prove thier supremacy which is already existing.

praveen
praveen
4 years ago

please live in reality, study geography…

Bala
Bala
4 years ago

Sri Rama lived..?

Amlan Kumar
Amlan Kumar
5 years ago

If this happened around 300 BC, then how would one explain Ramayana’s events? Cause according to that story, there was a gulf between India and Sri Lanka, then, unlike this pic above which covers India’s mainland, till Madagascar(west) and Australia(in the east). Plus, what about the theory of India’s geographical location shifting from South-east Africa to the land, where its now in? Never heard about any mentions of an extended land mass this big. And what about the cultural change? Never found any Tamil natives in masses in the jungles of Australia, nor found any historical evidence of their ancestors,… Read more »

Citragupta
Citragupta
5 years ago

While I found the article interesting there are no real citations to prove your points and to make claims that Australian tribes and African tribes speak Tamil is just wrong and makes you look foolish. Stick to what is true and don’t make false claims. Also try to be a lot more scholarly this article sounds like it was written by a grade 6 student regarding intellectual rigor.

Ayele Kumari
Ayele Kumari
5 years ago

The wise ones and diviners in South Africa are called Sangomas …the same as Sangoms who are the sages in ancient India. The healers are called Ngangas in South Africa while the ancient healers in South India are called Nagas. Mystical words of power in South Africa are also similar or same as in South India as well.

SAHARSH BAGARIA
SAHARSH BAGARIA
5 years ago

Then how did lord Ram build a path to Sri Lanka when he went to save Sita. By this, the path was already there?

Truth
Truth
5 years ago

The Main reason I believe this theory without any evidence is because Africans and Tamizhs are the only race on earth to have the same skin colour
BLACK
any excuse for this please!!!

ahsanul
ahsanul
5 years ago

Madurai? Madura still exist today Island North of east java. the eastern part of east java sea oil and gas block is called north east madura (NEM) is part of the sunken sundaland where the capital of lost continent atlantis was located.

SantYogi
SantYogi
3 years ago

Middle Earth by JRR Tolkien is such as concept. And, Essos/Westeros by GRR Martin (Game Of Thrones) is another. Or Hogwarts by JK Rowling. Fictional places generated for fictional purposes. Nothing more. Wasted time and effort in this so-called research.

John
John
1 year ago

The map next to Kumari Kandam, the map is incorrect because the islands of Java Dwipa and Sumatra (Svarna Dwipa), borneo etc (the Indonesian archipelago) have not been formed yet because in ancient time those islands have not been separated by rising sea levels from the mainland of Bharata Varsa, This large landmass is called Sundaland, this area stretches from the Himalayas to Sundaland Also Sundaland belongs to the Vedic civilization in ancient times, Through history we know that the teachings of the Vedas are not imported … because Veda culture cover the whole earth. But some Indonesians consider Hinduism… Read more »

Last edited 1 year ago by John