Editing Varuna (section)

== Other accounts ==

=== In Tolkappiyam ===
The [[Tolkāppiyam]], a [[Tamil language|Tamil]] grammar work from the 3rd century BCE divides the people of ancient [[Tamilakam]] into five [[Sangam landscape]] divisions: ''kurinji, mullai, paalai, marutham'' and ''neithal''.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8uP7LHS3cDMC&q=sangam+landscape&pg=PT124 |title=Tamil Oratory and the Dravidian Aesthetic: Democratic Practice in South India |last=Bate |first=Bernard |date=2010-06-01 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-51940-3 |pages=100 |language=en}}</ref> Each landscape is designated with different gods. ''Neithal'' is described as a seashore landscape occupied by fishermen and seatraders, with the god of sea and rain, ''Varunan'' or ''Kadalōn''.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=Trade, ideology, and urbanization: South India 300 BC to AD 1300|last=Champakalakshmi|first=Radha|date=1996|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=78|language=en}}</ref> "Varuna" means water which denotes the ocean in the Tamil language.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bIQOAAAAYAAJ|title=A glimpse of Tamilology|last1=Manickam|first1=Valliappa Subramaniam|last2=Nadu|first2=Academy of Tamil Scholars of Tamil|date=1968|publisher=Academy of Tamil Scholars of Tamil Nadu|pages=174|language=en}}</ref>

=== Sri Lankan Tamils (Karaiyar caste) ===

[[Karaiyar]] is a Sri Lankan [[Tamils]] caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora.
They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborne trade. They fish mostly in deep seas, and employ gillnet and seine fishing methods. The Karaiyars were the major maritime traders and boat owners who among other things, traded with pearls, chanks, tobacco, and shipped goods overseas to countries such as India, Myanmar and Indonesia. The community known for their maritime history, are also reputed as a warrior caste who contributed as army and navy soldiers of Tamil kings. They were noted as the army generals and navy captains of the Aryacakravarti dynasty. The Karaiyars emerged in the 1990s as strong representatives of Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism. The nuclear leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have background in the wealthier enterprising section of the Karaiyars.

The word "Karaiyar" is derived from the [[Tamil language]] words ''karai'' ("coast" or "shore") and ''yar'' ("people").<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dravidian Linguistics Association |title=International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics |date=1990 |publisher=Department of Linguistics, University of Kerala. |pages=110 |language=en}}</ref> The term ''Kareoi'' mentioned by 2nd century CE writer [[Ptolemy]], is identified with the Tamil word "Karaiyar".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Arunachalam |first=S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2vhIAAAAIAAJ |title=The History of the Pearl Fishery of the Tamil Coast |date=1952 |publisher=Ananamalai University |pages=34 |language=en}}</ref> The Portuguese and Dutch sources mentions them under the term ''Careas'', ''Careaz'', or ''Carias,'' which are terms denoting "Karaiyar".<ref name=":0" />

''Kurukulam'', ''Varunakulam'' and ''Arasakulam'' were historically one of the significant clans of the Karaiyars.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Raghavan |first=M. D. |title=The Karāva of Ceylon: Society and Culture |date=1961 |publisher=K.V.G. De Sīlva |pages=5, 13, 195 |language=en}}</ref> Kurukulam, meaning "clan of the ''Kuru''", may be a reference to their origin from [[Coromandel Coast|Kurumandalam]] (meaning "realm of Kuru's") of [[Southern India]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Raghavan |first=M. D. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fb4LAAAAIAAJ |title=Tamil culture in Ceylon: a general introduction |date=1971 |publisher=Kalai Nilayam |pages=194 |language=en}}</ref> They attribute their origin myth from the [[Kuru Kingdom]], mentioned in the Hindu epic ''[[Mahabharata]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kemper |first=Steven E. G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pGUEAAAAYAAJ |title=The Social Order of the Sinhalese Buddhist Sangha |date=1973 |publisher=University of Chicago. |pages=215 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NA5uAAAAMAAJ |title=Nēthrā: A Non-specialist Journal for Lively Minds |date=2000 |publisher=International Centre for Ethnic Studies |pages=47 |language=en}}</ref> Some scholars derived ''Kurukulam'' from Kuru, the [[Tamil language|Tamil]] name for [[Jupiter]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Perinbanayagam |first=R. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzPXAAAAMAAJ |title=The karmic theater: self, society, and astrology in Jaffna |date=1982 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |isbn=9780870233746 |pages=30 |language=en}}</ref> Varunakulam, meaning "clan of ''Varuna''", is a reference to their maritime origin.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Vriddhagirisan |first=V. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GD_6ka-aYuQC |title=Nayaks of Tanjore |date=1995 |publisher=University of Annamalai |isbn=9788120609969 |pages=91 |language=en}}</ref> Varuna is the god of sea and rain, mentioned in [[Vedic Literature]], but also in [[Sangam literature]] as the principal deity of the ''Neithal [[Sangam landscape]]'' (i.e. [[Littoral zone|littoral]] landscape).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Xavier Thaninayagam |author-link=Xavier Thaninayagam |title=Tamil Culture: Its Past, Its Present and Its Future With Special Reference to Ceylon |date=1966 |publisher=Academy of Tamil Culture |language=en}}</ref> Arasakulam means "clan of kings".<ref name=":13" /> They used the [[Makara (Hindu mythology)|Makara]] as emblem, the mount of their clan deity, the sea god Varuna, which was also seen on their flags.

=== Sindhi Hindus ===
[[File:Jhulelal hindu deity.jpg|thumb|150px|left|[[Jhulelal (Hinduism)|Jhulelal]] is considered an incarnation of Varuna by [[Sindhi people|Sindhi Hindus]].]]
Jhulelal is believed by Sindhi Hindus to be an [[incarnation]] of Varuna.<ref name="Dalal2010p178">{{cite book |author=Roshen Dalal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |publisher=Penguin Books India |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-14-341421-6 |page=178}}</ref> They celebrate the festival of [[Cheti Chand]] in his honor. The festival marks the arrival of spring and harvest, but in Sindhi community it also marks the birth of Uderolal in year 1007, after they prayed to Hindu god Varuna to save them from the persecution by tyrannical Muslim ruler named Mirkhshah.<ref name="falzon159" /><ref name="kumar120" /><ref name="Ramey2008p8" /> Uderolal morphed into a warrior and old man who preached and reprimanded Mirkhshah that Muslims and Hindus deserve the same religious freedoms. He, as Jhulelal,<ref name="Ramey2008p8" /> became the champion of the people in Sindh, from both religions. Among his [[Sufi]] Muslim followers, Jhulelal is known as "Khwaja Khizir" or "Sheikh Tahit". The Hindu Sindhi, according to this legend, celebrate the new year as Uderolal's birthday.<ref name="Ramey2008p8" /><ref name="falzon159" />