Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Ārya

by Edgar Thurston

Ārya.—Ārya or Āriya (noble) occurs as a class of Pattar Brahmans, a division of Sāmagāras, and an exogamous sept of Kurubas. Some Pattanavans call themselves Āriya Nāttu Chetti (Chettis of the country of chiefs) Āriyar, or Ayyāyirath Thalaivar (the five thousand chiefs).