It may appear strange, but the Jack fruit was the first edible fruit used in antiquity in the Indian subcontinent. Even today, the use of the words Pala, Phala, or Pela to represent the Jack fruit suggests that the word (Pala / Pela / Phala) was originally or since the beginning used to denote the common Jack fruit, arguably a native fruit of the Indian subcontinent.

In Sanskrit, the basic word ‘phala’ means ‘fruit.’ Most Indian languages have adopted the now-common phrase, such as phala (Kannada), phalam (Malayalam), and so on.

While analysing words found in the Vedas, Michael Witzel (1999) concluded that some words in Rigveda (early parts of Rigveda were estimated to be ca.1700-1500 BC old) are not original Indo-Aryan (or early Sanskrit) words. He has given a list of words borrowed into Rigvedic middle compositions (circa 1500 BC or younger), including phala, mayur, and so on. These extraneous words had to be borrowed from contemporaneous languages that existed near Vedic scholars and their settlements. He claims that phalam is derived from the Tamil word palam, which means ripe fruit.

In addition to the word ‘palam’ (=ripe fruit), the word ‘pala’ also means jackfruit in Tamil, according to T. Burrow and M. B. Emeneau’s Dravidian Etymological Dictionary. Similarly, the jack tree/fruit is represented by the Tulu language words ‘pela’ (>pelakai) or ‘pila’ (>pilakai). Previously, the ‘pala’ version may have existed in Tulu, as the wooden planks derived from the jack tree are known as ‘palai.’ However, in Tulu, the word palai now refers to any wooden plank.

The proto-Tulu/Tamil word pala appears to have represented the jack fruit during the early historical period of Rigveda composition. It was possibly the most popular or common fruit at the time. It is easy to imagine that the Vedic scholars regarded the pala (or pela or pila), the jack fruit, as an important and popular edible fruit at the time and adopted it in the form of ‘phala’. The fruit was later represented by the word phala, which was incorporated into Sanskrit. Perhaps the mango, the king of Indian fruits, was underappreciated at the time.

As a result, the word pala (>phala) came to represent any ripe fruit.

The jack fruit/trees may not have been common trees in the Pirak region, or Vedic scholars may have been unfamiliar with the Pala/Pela tree at first. As a result, it appears that the word was picked up by Vedic scholars from proto-Tulu/Tamil tribes.

Malayalam has words that are similar. In early Kannada, jack fruit was referred to as ‘palas.’ The Telugu word for jack is ‘panasa.’

The presence of similar words in Tulu and Tamil suggests (a) either their derivation from a common proto language or (b) the coexistence of proto-Tulu and proto-Tamil tribes at some point in history prior to the compilation of the Vedas. In other words, the coexistence or common heritage of Tulu-Tamil languages and the exchange of words between these communities imply that some members of these tribes were living in the vicinity of Vedic tribes during the time of Vedic compilation.

However, the Tulu tribes do not commonly use the terms pala or phala to refer to fruits in general. They use the term “parn′d” to refer to fruit. [The symbol ′ represents the time lag in pronunciation; d as unaspirated th in English ‘the’]. The Tulu word “parn′d” also means ripe banana, but it can also refer to any ripe fruit. It’s worth noting that while Vedics used the word ‘pala,’ or jack, to represent edible fruits, Tulu tribes preferred the word ‘parn′d,’ or banana, to represent fruits!

Aside from the intriguing pala/ pela in Vedas, Michael Witzel lists three extraneous words in the early Rigveda that he considers to be words of uncertain origin. These are ukha (hip), phalgu (minor weakness), and aaNi (lynch pin). These words exist in Tulu and may have been borrowed by Vedics from proto-Tulu neighbours.

In Tulu, ukha means hip. In Tulu, okka noolu refers to ‘loin string,’ or the thread tied around the hip in the olden days. Phalgu is similar to Tulu’s ‘palku’; palkuni (verb) in Tulu means softening, like ripe fruit. In Tulu, aaNi means “nail.” Another interesting word is mayUra (=peacock), which is considered an extraneous word in Rigveda. The word’maira’ has been used in Tulu since ancient times; the ‘Maire’ (=peahen, the female pea fowl) was a popular name for women among Tulu tribes in the past.

The presence of Tulu words in the Rigveda indicates the age of the Tulu language. It could also imply that proto-Tulu speakers lived in the area where the Vedas were composed.

Footnote on Pela and Peja

The English word “jack fruit” comes from the Malayalam word “chakku palam.” Based on a random reading, I incorrectly suggested that word came from ‘jakku palam’ in an earlier note (24) I must have misunderstood it. Manjunath informed me that he had never heard the phrase ‘jakku palam’ in Malayalam. So I did some research on this howler and came across some interesting information provided by Julia F Morton (1987).

Jack fruit, also known as Jakfruit, Jak, or Jaca (botanical name: Artocarpus heterophyllum), is thought to be indigenous to India’s Western Ghats. The trees thrive in rainy, tropical-subtropical regions and can be found in Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, Malaya, Indonesia, the Philippines, Mauritius, Uganda, Kenya, Zanjibar, and parts of the Himalaya and southern China, in addition to most of India.

Morton divided Kerala jack fruits into two types: (1) Kooja chakku and (2) Kooja phazam (barke or Varika). The jack fruit with soft, puply carpels known as ‘tuluve’ in Tulu is known as ‘kooja chakku.’ So we have the word ‘chakku,’ which became ‘jack.’

The Malayalam word ‘kooja’ is related to the Tulu word ‘gujje,’ which refers to jack fruit. The Tulu word ‘barke,’ which refers to soft jackfruit that can be opened with one’s hands, is also found in Malayalam. The words ‘varika’ (Malayalam), ‘varukkai’ (Tamil), and ‘varaka’ (Srilanka) appear to be related to the word ‘barke.’

Another Artocarpus genus (A.pubescens?-wild jack) species known as peja or pejakai grows in the Sahyadri, Western Ghats, and coastal hinterland. The fruit is smaller than an orange and has a soft spiny exterior, as well as smaller carpels the size of grapes that taste very different from jackfruit. Otherwise, it is similar to jackfruit in terms of characteristics. Because this tree has not been described elsewhere, it is possible that it is not a common tree in other tropical forests. Pejavara (=peja+avara) is a village name that means “open ground with peja trees.” Take note of the tree names that sound similar: pela and peja in Tulu.

Early Kannada (or Old Kannada, ca.400 AD) flourished around Banavasi town (now southeastern Uttara Kannada region), with Mayur Sharma establishing the Kadamba dynasty at Banavasi. The similarities between Tulu ‘pela/pala’ and Kannada ‘palas’ words in the two languages that grew up together are significant.