[11] The word Vellalar (வெள்ளாளர்) may originate from the root Vellam for flood, denoting their ability to control and store water for irrigation purposes.
An early Tamil tradition states that a king known as Ādonda Chakravarthi brought a large number of agriculturists (now known as the Tuluva Vellalas) from the Tulu areas in order to reclaim forest lands for cultivation in Thondaimandalam.
[14] Scholar M. Arokiaswami identifies Tondaiman Ilandiraiyan with king Adondai Chakravarthi, the legendary figure who is referred to in the Mackenzie Manuscripts.
[15] Sometimes this migration of Thuluva Vellalas is also assigned to later Chola times when Hoysala Ballalas of Karnataka had occupied portions of Kanchipuram and Trichy.
[16] Their original stronghold in present-day Tamil Nadu was Thiruvannamalai in North Arcot district, the town that served as the capital of the Hoysala king Veera Ballala III in the 14th century.