High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Vellalars, Velalars or Vellalas were, originally, a high/dominant caste of Tamil agricultural landlords in Tamil Nadu, Kerala states in India and in neighbouring Sri Lanka; they were the nobility, aristocracy of the ancient Tamil order (Chera/Chola/Pandya/Sangam era) and had close relations with the different royal dynasties. Literary, archeological sources trace the origin of the Vellalars to a group of chieftains called Vel or Velir. According to old Hindu,