Dear Asko,
Thank you for your comments.
A twelfth-century inscription in the Tiruviṭaimarutūr temple (Nagaswamy (2012, pp. 373–74)) discusses an order by Cōḻa Kulottuṅga II41 to appoint a Pāṇaṉ to sing before the deity, appoint other Pāṇar, and train two classes of temple women to sing. In Nagaswamy’s Mirror of Tamil and Sanskrit
‘A new service was started in the temple of Thiruvidaimarudūr creating an enactment for singing the Thirup-padiayams [sic] and also arranging for the dancing girls of the temple to sing in the 9th year of Vikramachola, the son of Kulottunga II. The service was called “Bānap-peru” (Bānap-pani). This was a royal appointment issued by Vikkramachola [sic] and a certain Irumudi Cholan alias Acancala Peraraiayan [sic] was appointed to do the service...The record states that he was to sing in the presence of God of the Thiruvidaimarudūr temple and direct other Bānas for arranging the Dancing girls to sing (Thiruvidai marudur—udaiyārukku—pādavum, ikkoyil Taliyilārai pāduvikkavum ikkoyil Devaradiyārai pāduvikkavum Bānapperāka). The Bānas were great singers from the Sangam age and we find the Bānas, Yālpāna was a close friend of Jnāna-sambandar and again we find the Bānas were appointed in the Great temple of Thanjavaur [sic]. According to this inscription the service should be added to the temple service and the Bāna should be paid one kalam of paddy per day to the Perariayan [sic] for singing. He should be allotted one residence as Bānak-kudiyiruppuas before…
Venkatesan says,
“The territorial division viz., Pāṇāḍu, is in all probability, the same as Bāṇāḍu i.e., the nāḍu of the Bāṇas. (emphasis mine) The Bāṇas were an ancient line of kings, who also ruled a portion of the Tamil country. This is the earliest so far known inscription, which mentions their territorial division as Pāṇāḍu. The names Vāṇagōppādi-nāḍu and Perumbāṇappādi, etc., are employed in the Tamil inscriptions of the latter period to indicate the territory of the Bāṇas.
From: Asko Parpola <aparpola@gmail.com>
Date: Friday, March 25, 2022 at 11:23 AM
To: "palaniappa@aol.com" <palaniappa@aol.com>
Cc: Indology List <Indology@list.indology.info>
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] R. Nagaswamy on the Tamil word for bard
The Sanskrit word meant by Nagaswamy should be (instead of bāṇa- ‘arrow’) vāṇá- ’sound, voice, music’, attested since the Rigveda, but according to Mayrhofer without a good etymology. A look at DEDR 4068 suggests that Tamil pāṇ ’song, melody’ etc have a good Dravidian etymology, which could explain Sanskrit vāṇa.
Best wishes, Asko Parpola