What was the purpose of Ishwar in creating the Vedas?

1. Let me counter-question: What was the purpose of Ishwar in not creating the Vedas?

2.  Ishwar has infinite knowledge and He is benevolent. Now knowledge is the most valuable attribute to possess. So unless Ishwar illuminates us with His knowledge, He does not remain benevolent. Ishwar justifies his attributes only by illuminating us with His knowledge – the knowledge of Vedas.

3. Ishwar is like our parents. He loves us and wants us to be blissful. Thus He has gifted us with knowledge of Vedas so that we can use this knowledge to maximize our bliss. Had Ishwar not blessed us with this knowledge, purpose of creation would have defeated. Everything else in the world makes sense only when we possess the knowledge to utilize them for our ultimate objective of maximizing bliss.

4. Knowledge is more bliss-producing than all the wonders of creation. And when Ishwar has gifted us with such wonderful gifts of creation, why would He keep Vedas to Himself and defeat His very purpose of creation, as well as His core attribute of benevolence.

And such is this knowledge, unlike Bible, Quran and Purans, that WD Brown wrote in “Superiority of Vedic Religion” that ” Vedic religion is thoroughly scientific where science and religion meet hand in hand . Here theology is based on science and philosophy.”

In “The Bible in India” by L Jacoliot, it is stated that ” Veda, of all revelations, is the only one whose ideas are in perfect harmony with modern science.” Huge number of other scientists who scratched the surface of Vedas share such views.

Doubt: How did Ishwar arrange for pen, ink and paper to write Vedas in inception of creation?

1. This is a most stupid doubt. As discussed earlier, when Ishwar can create universe without any additional tools, why  should He be unable to create Vedas?

2. Ishwar did not illuminate Vedas by publishing them in beginning of civilization. He illuminated the minds of noble Rishis – Agni, Vayu, Aditya and Angira during inception of civilization. Shatpath Brahman 11.5.2.3 elaborates this. These Rishis in their state of meditation receive the knowledge of Vedas and they adopt it in same manner as a toy moves when its button is pressed – in exactly the manner it is supposed to move!

Doubt: Agni, Vayu, Aditya appear to be name of inanimate objects Fire, Air and Sun.

This doubt is again baseless. Knowledge cannot be acquired by inert matter. If someone says, Court has issued summon, it does not mean the building of court has issued summon. It means that the people working in court have issued the summon. Similarly, knowledge can be acquired only by humans.

Doubt: Ishwar may have given them knowledge and they then created Vedas with this knowledge

Yet another baseless doubt. When knowledge is sourced from Ishwar, then Vedas created by Rishis are also sourced from Ishwar. Why would Rishis add their own masala for distortion when they have the knowledge of Ishwar in pure form?

Doubt: If Ishwar is Just, why did He not illuminate everyone’s mind with Vedas and chose only four among them? Hence Ishwar is biased.

The choice of only four Rishis confirms that Ishwar is just. Because justice implies meritocracy – rewarding one as per his or her deeds. So Ishwar chose the most meritorious among them for dissemination and further propagation of Vedas as per their past deeds. Rigveda 10.71.7 states that though all possess eyes and ears but intellect differs among humans.

Doubt: But we are talking of inception of creation. How can we talk of past deeds then?

Creation and Dissolution is a continuous cycle without beginning or end. During beginning of creation, souls take birth as per their deeds in previous creation. Never is the account of past deeds, completely vacant in this process.

Doubt: Why is Ishwar anti-women? Why did He not choose women for dissemination of Vedas?

Soul has no gender. Ishwar gave Rishis the body of men during inception of civilization because a male is more suited for propagation of knowledge among rest of the people who are thriving only through their natural instincts. A male is more suited to tame such uncivilized people. However in later phase, many women also became Rishis who discovered new meanings of these Vedic mantras.

Doubt: Are Chhandas like Gayatri also created by Ishwar?

Yes, when Ishwar has infinite capabilities, why doubt this one?

Doubt: Brahma created Vedas from his four mouths and Ved Vyas later compiled them in written form and divided in four parts- we hear this in history.

This theory has no basis. No authoritative text mentions this. This theory is propounded in Purans which are much later dated and full of blatant discrepancies. Some people believe Purans to be perfect and derived from Ishwar. But this claim is only as true as the claim of Quran and Bible hailing from Ishwar.

The fact is that Brahma learned the four Vedas from these Rishis. Brahma was a person with one head, two hands and two legs and not the caricature as represented in false Purans. Ved Vyas was commentator of Yoga Darshan and writer of Mahabharat. Nowhere except in Purans we find the theory of Ved Vyas being writer of four Vedas. And if these Purans have to be believed, we shall also have to believe in false stories of Jesus, Muhammad, Victoria etc, condemnation of women, denigration of our role models like Ram and Krishna and other foolishness that we accuse Bible and Quran to also contain. Further there is no foolproof mechanism to claim that the books we call Purans today are authentic. This prerogative or litmus test of authenticity is passed only by Vedas.

If Vedas were one in inception and later divided into four parts by Veda Vyas, then no text prior to Veda Vyas should refer to Vedas in plural. Also names of four Vedas should not be present. But if we look at actual references, this does not hold true and hence Vedas have been four from inception.

To cite references, please see the following for usage of Vedas in plural or name of more than one Vedas:

Atharva 4.36.6, Atharva 19.9.12, Rig 10.90.9, Yajur 31.7, Atharva 16.6.13, Yajur 34.5, Atharva 10.7.20, Yajur 18.29, Yajur 36.1, Yajur 12.4, Shatpath 6.7.2.6, Taittriya Samhita 4.1.10.5, Maitrayani Samhita 16.8, Shankhayan Grihya Sutra 1.22.15, Yajur 10.67, Atharva 11.7.14, Atharva 15.6.7-8, Atharva 12.1.38, Atharva 11.7.24, Rig 4.58.3, Yajur 17.61, Gopath Brahman 1.13, Shatpath 14.5.4.10, Brihad Upanishad 3.4.10, Aitareya Brahman 25.7, Gopath 3.1 etc.

Such references also come in Upanishads, Manu Smriti, Mahabharat, Sarvanukramani, Ramayan and many other texts.

In fact, the fact that Mahabharat is said to be fifth Veda by many Pundits implies that Vedas were originally four. Also Ayurveda, Dhanurveda, Gandharvaveda and Arthaveda are called Upaveda. This also implies that Vedas are four in number.

Doubt: In Veda Samhitas, we find names of Rishis before each Sukta or Chapter. They must have written those verses

1. These are names of Rishis who researched on particular verses of Vedas. Many verses have large number of Rishis.

2. Brahma was born long before Vyas, Madhuchhanda and other Rishis. When Brahma studied Vedas from original four Rishis, as explained even in Manu Smriti, there is no doubt that Vedas existed long before these Rishis.

We shall scrutinize this false allegation in greater depth in a subsequent post.

Doubt: Why we find two names to denote knowledge of Ishwar – Veda and Shruti?

Veda is derived from Vid root. Vid means knowledge as in Vidya, or existing as in Vidyamaan, or benefit or thought. Shruti is derived from “Shru” root meaning “to listen”. Since by studying them we get knowledge, understand truth, derive benefits and can become thinkers, they are called Vedas. And since we have been listening to this knowledge from inception of civilization and none ever saw the originator (since He is shapeless), they are called Shruti.

Doubt: How old are Vedas?

As per the details of texts like Surya Siddhanta and traditions throughout India, Vedas are supposed to around 1.97 billion years old. Scholars have debates over whether this period refers to time of origin of earth or humans and it remains a topic of research. However in India, whenever a Yajna happens, people call out in detail the time since origin in units of Manvantar, Yuga and Year. This calculation is same across all parts of India.

Doubt:What about works of Wilson and Max Muller who claim Vedas to be 2000-3000 years old?

They were rogue Christian missionaries with no knowledge of Sanskrit or Indian culture who came with purpose of destroying Indian culture. They have been quite successful in their designs and performing their duties for which they were paid by British. But unfortunately, their crazy theories have no basis whatsoever. There is no logical or rational foundation of their claims but they are parroted by communists and missionaries because they thrive on denigrating the foundations of our culture. Vedas existed since inception of civilization and shall remain till dissolution of creation 2.33 billion years from now.

Courtesy: Agniveer.com

Guys, please see agniveer.com webpage for further discussions related to the above page with other religious scholars.

Leave your comments here if you have difference of opinion to enlighten others, though I am not a scholar of any religion, I will try to find out more on queries arises.

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The Chera Dynasty

                                                                              chera coins

The kingdoms of the Cheras were located to the south of the great Mauryan Dynasty and Keralaputra and Cheraputra were first mentioned in the inscriptions of Ashoka the Great. However we come to know many details about the Chera Dynasty from the poems of the Sangam literature.

The Chera dynasty was one of the ancient Tamil dynasties who reigned over south India from early times until the fifteenth century. Their kingdom extended over the Malabar Coast, Karur, Coimbatore and Salem Districts in South India, which now is a part of present day Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Chera kings were constantly into conflicts with their neighboring kingdoms to established political associations they sometimes inter- married with the families of the adversary kings.

The first Chera ruler was Perumchottu Utiyan Cheralatan who founded the Chera dynasty. He was succeeded by his son Imayavaramban Nedum Cheralatan who converted the Chera dynasty into a powerful one and extended and enriched his kingdom from all aspects. Imayavaramban’s reign was also very important for the development of art and Literature as he patronized art and culture greatly. His poet laureate was Kannanar.

However, the greatest ruler of the Chera Dynasty was Kadalpirakottiya Vel Kelu Kuttuvan, whose reference has been made in the great Tamil epic- Silappadigaram.

Trade and Commerce flourished during the reign of the Cheras. The Cheras traded in ivory, timber, spices and exported precious gems and pearls to the Middle East and these trade contacts with the Middle East established Judaism.

Though the Cheras had their personal religion, a large number of other religious traditions also existed during their rule. Buddhism and Jainism both were introduced in Kerala by the second century BC.

Thanks: mapsofindia

Pandyan empire

Religious Traditions of the Tamils

Prof. A. Veluppillai

1. Introduction.

The Tamils can be defined as people, having Tamil as their mother tongue. Tamil language is a member of the Dravidian/ South Indian family of languages. The four southernmost states of India- tamiz Nadu, kERaLa, karNAdaka, and Andra Pradesh- are predominantly linguistically Dravidian, each state carved out on the basis of predominance of the four major Dravidian languages. The Dravidian languages are mother tongues of about a quarter of the Indian population. Though about 80% of the speakers are found within the borders of these four South Indian states, a number of Dravidian languages have been identified in other parts of South Asia. Among the tribal languages of Central India, almost extending to the borders of Bengal, distinct from the Austro-Asiatic family of languages, many Dravidian languages have been identified. The northern reaches of this family have been located in isolated settlements in Nepal and Pakistan. The Brahui speakers are found in the hills of Baluchistan, almost on the borders of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. So, the Dravidian family of languages is a South Asian family of languages in one sense. About 22 languages are classified as belonging to the Dravidian family and on linguisic criteria, sub-division as North, Central and South Dravidian are made. Tamils alone number about 60 million people.

South India and Sri Lanka have been homelands of the Tamils, from the beginning of recorded history. The region, roughly covered by the modern states of tamiz NAdu and Kerala are identified as ancient tamizakam up to about 10th century AD. Even though some evidence exists for Tamil influence , and Tamil presence in Sri Lanka is noticeable from very early times, strong Tamil presence and influence in Sri Lanka, from about the 10th century. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Tamils migrated to some British colonies in search of employment and thus there are substantial Tamil populations in Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, Fiji and South Africa. After the World War II, a movement of Tamil professionals to UK, USA, Australia and New Zealand is proceeding continuously. Due to the recent civil war type situation in Sri Lanka, many thousands of Tamils in about 20 countries, with large numbers in Canada, Germany, France, and Switzerland. Within the Nordic countries, Norway and Denmark have more Tamils than Sweden.

2. Present Situation regarding religious affiliations of the Tamils.

Hinduism, Christianity and Islam are the major religions among the Tamils in that order: Hindus are counted as forming more than 80% of the population and the other religions are reckoned to be less than 20% of the population. Some of the other religions like Jainism, Buddhism have relatively few adherents. The Tamil Christians include both Roman Catholics as well as the Protestants. The Muslims are mainly Sunni. The situation is fairly stable, only Christian missions, said to be marginally successful in making new converts. The general atmosphere is religious toleration and harmony.

The official policy of India is secularism,,,. Overall, Hinduism is neither a missionary nor an exclusive religion. To put it in a negative way, the Hindus withdraw into themselves and don't react except when they feel threatened. Many scholars have commented on the tolerant attitude of the Hindus. Some recent developments in India challenges this view. But tamiz Nadu and the Tamils, generally keep up the Tamil tradition of tolerance, There is no Hindu extremism worth mentioning among the Tamils. No serious claim is put forward that Hinduism should have special privileges, compared to other religions.

3. The Dravidian Hypothesis about the people of the Indus valley Civilization.

The Tamils have legends that their ancient history extends up to about ten thousand years, sea swallowing up their lands twice and kings establishing new capitals and fostering Tamil in three successive academies. The legend is first mentioned in the commentary of kaLavijal, which is assigned to about 8th century AD. This legend is one of the reasons- one of the excuses- for connecting up the Tamil civilization with some prehistoric ancient civilizations, whose identity and continuity poses special problems.

The records of the Indus Valley Civilization have not been satisfactorily deciphered. Material remains have been interpreted by archeologists. There cannot be finality, till a satisfactory reading of the records. Material remains are generally interpreted in the light of elements in the later Hinduism. Siva worship in the form of pacupati and NadaRajA, Sakti worship and some other deductions are made. In the 1950s, Father Heras argued for the Dravidian identity of the Indus Valley people. In the 1960s, the Scandinavian Institute of Asian Studies issued many announcements, trying to establish this identity. This hypothesis is still defended seriously by Japanese Professor Noboru Karashima, President of the International Association for Tamil Research in 1994.

4. The Dravidian Identity of the Sumerians.

This is another hypothesis that is strongly advocated by certain scholars. The Sumerian records have been deciphered and material remains have been interpreted satisfactorily. Linguistic and cultural affinities between the Sumerians and the Tamils, separated by much more than a millennia, are pointed out. The late Professor A. catAcivam (A.Sathasivam) from Sri Lanka and Dr. ulakaNAtan muttarAjan (Loganathan Muttarayan) from Malaysia are examples. Eminent historians of the caliber of K.A. Nilakanda cAttiri (Nilakantta Sastri), have pointed out similarities in temple worship. A hypothesis, connecting the ancestors of the Dravidians, if not the Tamils. to the Mediterranean area, is still advocated by certain scholars.

5. A study based on the historical times.

Literary, epigraphical and archeological sources existt for the study of religious traditions of the Tamils for about 2000 years. As materials exist for such a long period of time, it is only fitting that we pay just passing attention to doubtful prehistoric connections and concentrate on the historical period. Tamil is one of the two classical languages of India, along with Sanskrit. There are Tamil literary texts and Tamil inscriptions, dated roughly, round about the beginning of the Christian era. As in most of ancient and medieval Indian texts, controversies exist on the exact dates of early Tamil records and documents. We have to be dependent on rough calculations and the most probable dates. Some distinct historical periods: (1) 100 B.C to 300 A.D.; (2) 300 A.D. to 600 A.D.; (3) 600 A.D. to 1200 A.D.; (4) 1200 A.D. to 1800 A.D.; and (5) 1800 A.D. to today.
 



5.1 cangkam (Academy) period.
The general designation for the early period is cangkam period, because of the strong tradition that three academies existed in the remote past and that what we get as early literary texts were those approved by those academies. The main source for the early period is literary evidence. From a study of the literary evidence, some scholars argue that the Tamil society was secular then. It is only a relative term in the sense that when compared to early North Indian literature and later Tamil literature, a distinctiveness of relative secularism can be pointed out.

Some indigenous elements of religion, peculiar to the Tamils, have been noticed in the earliest available stratum of Tamil literature. A portion of this early Tamil poetry is identified as Heroic poetry. There were three Tamil Kingdoms - cEra, cOLa and pAnhdija - and many independent chieftaincies in the early period and there were intermittent and internecine wars and battles for violent state formation. maRam (valour) was the celebrated theme.

5.1.1. Nadukal (planted stone).

The worship for the fallen brave warriors is one of the popular forms of worship in early Tamil poetry. tolkAppijam gives an elaborate description in six stages in the planting of stone, beginning with looking for a suitable stone and ending in the institution of formal worship. The portrait of the hero is often decorated with peacock feathers. Some poems refer to spears and shields erected around the planted stones. Offering of Naravam (toddy = alcohol) to the spirit of the fallen hero, represented in the planted stone, is mentioned in some verses.

5.1.2. veRijAdal (dance in ecstasy).

The dance in ecstasy is found mainly in the worship of murukan/muruku (youth, beauty, god-head). He was the god of the hilly region. The name of god or archetype was different in each landscape among the five different landscapes of the Tamil land. mAjOn (dark male)/ mAl (great one) was the god of the forest or pastoral landscape. koRRavy (lady of victory) was the goddess of ferocious appearance for the arid or waste land. vEl (spear) was the main weapon of murukan. He is a warrior-hero par excellence, but is often mentioned in akam (love) poetry, the other main theme of the earliest stratum of Tamil literature. Love-sickness of young girls in separation from their lovers seem to be generally interpreted as caused by murukan who needs propitiation in worship. The organizer and chief priest of the worship was vElan (man with spear). A number of verses refer to the sacrifice of the blood of ram and offering of toddy in the ritual. The veRijAdal occurred in koRRavy worship also, Later, murukan was considered son of koRRavy. A group dance of girls, known as kuravyjAdal, is also associated with murukan worship. Some elements of ecstasy were also involved in this dance. This dance occurred in mAjOn worship also. murukan has continued to be very popular among the Tamils and he is frequently hailed as the Tamil god. Kamil Zvelebil had chosen to name his first volume on Tamil literature, as The smile of murukan.

5.1.3. cinyc cuRAvin kOdu (pregnant Shark bone).

A solitary verse mentions this worship in the littoral region. On full moon day, fishermen and families get drunk and worship. This may be the peculiar worship of Nejtal, (littoral) landscape.

5.1.4. kanhdu (post, stone.)

This worship is often mentioned in connection with manRu (public meeting place). Lighting of lamps by women is specifically referred to in some verses. Floor of the manRu was smeared with cow-dung.

5.1.5. Influence of North Indian religious traditions.

Jaina monks lived in hills around maturai, the capittal of the pAnhdijAs and in a few other places. Early Tamil Brahmi inscriptions of round about the beginning of the Christian era, testify to this. Some kings and chieftains were responsive to Brahmins and Vedic sacrifices. Many instances can be quoted to show that beliefs in the existence of the ujir (soul), maRu piRappu (rebirth) and vAnOr ulaku (world of celestial beings) existed among the Tamils even in that early period.

5.2. Post-cangkam Period 300 A.D. to 600 A.D.

Politically in this period, the Tamils were under foreign kalabhra domination. Their political history is characterized by many historians as a dark period. Buddhism and Jainism appear to have prospered during this period. Some notable literary works are assigned to this period. The early Tamil kAppijangkaL, (epics) are assigned to this age, as for examples, cilappatikAram, a Jaina epic and manhimEkaly, a Buddhist epic. aRam, the equivalent of Sanskrit dharma , becomes the main theme of literary works. Eleven didactic works were written in this period. Their main purpose seems to be reformation of the society - bringing back values which were reversed during the Heroic Age.

tirukkuRaL the most outstanding work in Tamil, belongs to this period. This sets the tone of didactic works. According to Albert Schweitzer's evaluation in his book, Indian Thoughts and its Development, tirukkuRaL represents a synthesis of much of the best in Indian thought up to that time with a positive approach to life. The positive approach to life , also called life-affirmation, seems to owe its influence to the literary traditions of the Academy period. varnAcirama dharma, the central concept of the Brahminical religion, prescribing different rules for the four-fold castes and for the four stages of human life, has not even been mentioned in this work. This work is of universal appeal. The Tamil society never had the varnha system. There was no cattiryjAs, and the vycijAs. The ruling kings and their ancestors, were sometimes eulogized and flattered as the cattirijAs, but there was no consequent development from this position. The non-Brahmin high caste Tamils resented the term - cUttirAs, the name of the fourth caste. So, what we get in the Tamil works, equivalent to the Sanskrit dharmasastras, is sAmAnija dharma applicable to every human being. Religious affiliation of the author is not known.

ThiruvaLLuvar, the author, has kept himself clear of external trappings of different religions. The Hindus, the Jains, and the Buddhists have claimed this work as their own. Many Christian missionaries and British administrators have praised this work, even tracing Christian influence in the work. This work, consisting of 1330 verses, has been translated into many languages. Other didactic works, follow the lead by tirukkuRaL. The authors are identified as Jaina or Brahminical, mainly by their invocation verses. Otherwise, there are no deep differences in the contents of these works. NAladijAr the second most important work with 400 verses, ascribed to Jaina authorship and with a noticeable slant to life-negation, had been translated into English by G.U. Pope almost a century ago. tirukkuRaL and NAladijAr can be said to constitute the ethical core of the religious traditions of the Tamils. It is important to note here that varnAcirama dharma had not been brought into Tamil literature. Though the Tamils also developed an evil and pernicious caste system, in certain respects, quite distinct from the varnha system, in subsequent periods, that system had no sanction either in Tamil or in Sanskrit texts.

5.3. Bhakti Period 600 A.D. to 1200 A. D.

The Tamils were under the Pallava and the pAnhdija kingdoms during the earlier half of this period and under the cOLa Empire during the latter half of the same. The Tamil power reached its zenith under the cOLa Empire, which also ruled many non- Tamil communities in South India and Sri Lanka. In the history of religion and literature, this period is referred to as the bhakti period. Bhakti is a Sanskrit word, meaning devotion. This Sanskrit word and the Tamilicised form patti became popular quite late. The bhaktti poetry seems to be a curious transformation of literary traditions of the Academy period. Both akam tradition, dealing with love between man and woman and puRam tradition, dealing with heroism and generosity of warriors are combined in a strange manner and the position of man as well as hero goes to god, while the position of woman and hero-worshipper go to the devotee.

A. K. Ramanujan has recently brought out a good translation into English of some of these early poems. Though the origins of the concept of bhakti are traceable in Sanskrit sources, bhakti movement as such originated in the Tamil land. Personal relationship between the devotee and the god was its main characteristic, and worship became a fervent personal experience in response to divine grace. Religion for the devotees is no longer a matter of contemplation of a transcendent, impersonal absolute, but of ecstatic response to an intensely personal experience. This leads to a profound sense of the devotee s own shortcomings and to a trustful recourse to the god s forgiveness, with the whole personality being surrendered to the deity. It is this position which inspired the scholar - missionary G. U. Pope's evaluation - which seems to be somewhat superficial - of this religion as the religion, closest to Christianity, among Indian religions. Norman Cutler has worked on the poetics of Tamil devotion.

The vedic religion - the Brahminical religion - becomes a popular religion of the Tamils, through the bhakti movement. The Sanskrit sources contributed another important element for this religion. This religion owes a massive debt to the Sanskrit purAnhAs and epics. The temple rituals, prescribed in the Sanskrit AkamAs, became very important. From the very beginning, sectarian differences are noticeable, may be because of the influence of purAnhAs. Saiva and Vaishnava movements were presented to the Tamil people as Tamil religions This was made possible by religious synchronism. murukan becomes identified with Skanda and kArttikEja and related to Siva as a son, koRRavy becomes identified with umA, Siva's consort and as murukan s mother, and mAjOn becomes identified with Vishnu. Saivism is the form of Hinduism, very popular among the Tamils.

The Saiva movement was relatively more involved in religious conflicts and controversies. Saint Appar, a convert from Jainism to Saivism, converted the Pallava ruler from Jainism to Saivism. His poetry seems to be a strange mixture of Jaina world-view and Siva bhakti. Even though he expresses his regret for having wasted much of his life as a Jaina monk, his poetry seems to be a form of synchronism between Jainism and Saivism. The Jaina world-view and Jaina didactic works become acceptable to the Saivites. Saint Campanthar, a younger contemporary of saint Appar, converted the pAnhdija ruler from Jainism to Saivism.. He defeated the Buddhists in another controversy. As a Brahmin, he was a champion of Vedic religion against the Jains and the Buddhists. There are plenty of polemical references about the Jains and the Buddhists in his bhakti poetry. Saint Manikkavasagar was also said to have defeated the Lankan Buddhists in a controversy, but there is no trace of polemics in his compositions.

For about a millennium, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism were the three important religions among the Tamils. The triangular contest for the loyalty of the Tamils led to the growth of polemical literature to which adherents of all religions contributed. The Buddhist contribution is seen in the manhimEkaly and the kunhdalakEci, the Jaina contribution in the NIlakEci and the Saiva contribution in the civagnAnacittijAr. But overall, conflicts are rare, especially after Hinduism consolidated its position. The Saiva or Vaishnava rulers, were generally generous to all the Hindus, irrespective of their personal inclinations and also patronized the Jaina and Buddhist religious establishments of their subjects.

A very important text for Tamil Saivism is the periya purAnham, the Saiva hagiology of 63 NajanmAr, (saint lords), all of whom lived in South India and attained heaven through their bhakti to Siva. This work influenced vIra Saivism of Karnataka. Saint Manikkavasagar's devotional poems are acknowledged as the most moving in Tamil literature. G. U. Pope brought a translation of the tiruvAcakam into English. almost a century ago. Glenn Yocum has published a study of tiruvAcakam recently. The devotional poems of Saint cuNtarar, numbering about a tthousand verses, had been translated by David Shulman recently. The Twelve Sacred Books of the Tamil Saivas were complete in the 12th century A.D. For the vast majority of the Tamil Saivites, the basic works of their religion are these Twelve Sacred Books. They don't look to any Sanskrit work for guidance.

The Vaishnava bhakti movement was dominated by twelve AzvArs - those who contemplate deeply on Vishnu. They were authors of tivvijapirapaNtam (sacred composition) of four thousand verses. Compared to the saiva devotional poems, the Vaishnava devotional poems make greater use of akam tradition and less of puRam tradition of the classical period. Friedhelm Hardy had brought out a fine publication recently on the history of this movement. Some important saints are AdAL, kulacEkarar, tirumangky and NammAzvAr. The works of the last one are very important and are sometimes referred to as Tamil Vedas. Though less influential in Tamil land, the Vaishnavite bhakti movement exerted great influence throughout India, during the later periods.

The temple worship seems to be a prominent feature from the beginning of the bhakti movement. Temples, built of durable material, first rock-cut and then made of stone, made their appearance from the 8th century. Huge stone temples were built by the cOLa Emperors and their successors throughout tamizNAdu. The temples became the centres, around which many aspects of life of the people were organized. Architects and sculptors were needed in the construction activities. Music, dance, and drama were patronized by the Hindu temples. These temples were generally rich, having been owners of land other forms of wealthy. They employed people and helped them in times of distress. The big temples are still great pilgrim centres to which the Tamil Hindus from all over the world yearn to visit. Most of the big temples in tamiz Nadu have myths of their own. David Shulman has made an interpretation of these myths recently. The big temples are the main attraction for the modern tourists in tamiz NAdu.

5.4. Age of Religious Philosophy. 1200-1800 AD.

The beginnings of philosophical speculations in India are traced to the Upanishads, which originated in North India and which are in Sanskrit. Buddhism dominated the philosophical field for many centuries and South India began to make significant contributions. The definitely identifiable contribution from tamizNAdu can be said to start from the 8th century A.D. Many religious philosophical doctrines of South Indian origin have been written in Sanskrit, may be because that language was the lingua-franca throughout the South Asian sub-continent in that age. In the eighth century, Sanskrit the propounder of Advita (monoism) hailed from Kerala, a part of ancient Tamil land. His Vedanta philosophy assimilated much of the world-view of the Buddhists and gave it a new twist. He is said to have toured throughout the sub-continent and engaged in debates with the Buddhists. What he had taken over from Buddhism is said to have helped him to win over large number of adherents of Buddhism which was already in decay in India at that time.

In the eleventh-twelfth centuries, Ramanuja, the propounder of (Visistadvita-qalified monoism) hailed from the present tamizNAdu. He was strongly influenced by the Vaishnava bhakti literature, based on the Puranic religion. He was better received in Karnataka than in tamiz Nadu. Ramanuja wrote in Sanskrit, so his impact among the Tamils is relatively limited. The history of Vaishnavism in tamizNAdu becomes a little complicated as the later Vijayanagar Emperors and the Nayak kings who were mainly Telugu origin gave it sustenance. They patronized Sanskrit and gave importance to Sanskrit sources. Soon, there was a schism in tamizNAdu Vaishnavism into vadakaly, (northern school) and tenkaly, (southern school) sects. The southern school, looks mainly to the Tamil Vaishnava texts for inspiration.

The thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries saw the appearance of the fourteen works of Saiva Siddhanta philosophy in Tamil.The basic Tamil work is civagnanapOtam. There is still a big controversy on whether this work is a translation of twelve aphorisms from an obscure or unattested portion of (Rauravagama). Saiva Siddhanta is a South Indian religion, found among the Tamils only. Besides the canonical fourteen works, there are subsidiary works and commentaries in Tamil only. Agamas are accorded a special status while the Vedas only a general status as basic works to the philosophy. The importance given to the Agamas makes South Indian Saivism, a distinctive form of Hinduism, in some respects. The Tamils try to derive the basic framework of the system from their own Twelve Sacred Books.

The development of many philosophical schools led to development of sectarian conflicts and later attempts to patch them up, especially by mystic poets like Saint tAjumAnavar in the 18th century and Saint IrAmalingkar in the 19th century. camaracam, (harmony) becomes the main theme. The former praises the CLEVER cittar, (poets of powers) who found harmony between Vedanta and Siddhanta. The latter founded cutta camaraca canmArkka cangkam, a Society for Religious Wisdom of Pure Harmony.

5.5. Modern Period.

Islam and Christianity are important minority religions in this period. Islam came to Tamils in two ways. Arab traders intermarried with local people and built up a community, who now speak Tamil or Malayalam. Muslim invaders from the North had temporary success in the South and their descendants speak Urdu. As in Vaishnavism, there is some split in the attitude of the Muslims towards Tamil. Many of them are proud to claim Tamil as their language and they have made substantial contributions to the development of Tamil for more than six hundred years.

The Syrian Christian community, in the West coast, claims that they were the descendants of native converts of the Apostle Saint Thomas, from the first century A.D. They have preserved some copper plates, which according to them, were received by Saint Thomas from native rulers of his time. Modern epigraphists have dated the these plates in the ninth and the thirteenth centuries. It is now clear that this community is enjoying certain privileges in Kerala at least from the 9th century. Like the Christian trading community, a small Jewish trading community also in the West coast, gained privileges from the native Hindu rulers in the 10th century, as testified by a copper plate in the possession of their descendants. Roman Catholicism was introduced by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Protestantism was introduced by the Dutch in the 17th century. The British ruled over the entire Tamil homeland for 11/2 centuries - roughly from 1800 to 1950. Westernization and Modernization are going on, especially from the beginning of British rule and they are powerful forces even now. Christian missionaries have been very active and have considerable success in proselytisation. There was again Tamil polemical literature, reflecting a triangular contest among the Hindus, the Roman Catholics and the Protestants, especially between 1850 and 1925.

As for Jainism and Buddhism, the former continues to flicker, while the latter disappeared completely and has taken a new birth recently. Its rebirth is as a religion of protest, as a religion of the down-trodden. The people who became underprivileged and untouchable in the Hindu society felt that even Islam and Christianity could not bring them salvation and chose to accept Buddhism, on the advice of the late Dr. Ambedkar, their leader. Only a section of the underprivileged community called Dalits in India became converts. Their problem of integration into the rest of the population cries for solution.

The appeals to fundamentals of Brahminical Hinduism, as it is understood in North India, do not seem to have its echo among Tamils, because of the character of Hinduism in tamizNAdu. A few months ago, Prof. Saraswathy Vijayavenugopal, a folklorist from Madurai University in South India, in a lecture in Uppsala, made the observation that there seem to be many folk religions among the Hindu Tamils. Synchronization - continuing synchronism of different religions - seems to be a living process within what is called Hinduism among Tamils. The influence of political Hinduism, exemplified by Bharatiya Janata Party and Vishva Hindu Parishad, which champion Brahminical values, is negligible among Tamils.

The last half century in tamizNAdu is dominated by a powerful socio-political Dravidian movement, against North Indian influences, including Sanskrit and Hindi domination, but particularly Brahmin domination and oppression. among the Tamils in South India. Though the movement is split into many political groups. of which two are the two dominant political parties of tamizNAdu, there are still no indications that parties which don't subscribe to the ideology of the Dravidian movement can make headway in tamizNAdu. A small Brahmin community at the top is very vulnerable. Christians, Muslims, Buddhists and Jains find comfort in identifying themselves with the vast majority of the Hindus in the Dravidian movement. A kind of secularism is fostered as the ideology of the movement. tirukkuRaL is held up as the embodiment of Tamil Culture. The classical Cangkam period literature is idealised as the literature of the Golden Age of the Tamils.

Thanks: tamilelibrary.org

Must know facts about tamil language

Chola Dynasty - Must know Great Tamil Kings

Chola Dynasty

 
The Cholas are the earliest and the most ancient among the South Indian royal houses. The artifacts of the period found in South India mention Mahabharata as well as Ashokan edicts.
 
The CholaKingdom is very ancient, there has been references made in Mahabharatha and even in Ashokan inscriptions. It is known that Karikala was the Chola ruler who reigned in the 2nd century AD. During Karikala's reign, the capital city was moved to Kaveripattanam from Uraiyur. Nedumudikilli seems to have been the successor of Karikala, whose capital town was set to fire by the sea pirates. The frequent attacks of Pallavas, Cheras and Pandyas declined the Chola power and it was in the 8th century AD, Cholas glory began to shine when the Pallavas power declined.
 
Vijayalaya: In around 850 AD, Vijayalaya founded the dynasty probably by starting off as a vassal of the Pallava king. With the conflict between Pallavas and Pandyas, Vijayalaya occupied Tanjore and made his capital. He was succeeded by his son Aditya-I. Aditya-I defeated Pallava king Aparajita and also Parantaka Viranarayana, the Kongu ruler.
 
Aditya-I: Aditya-I was soon succeeded by his son Parantaka-I and ruled between 907 to 955 AD. Cholas power reached supremacy under his reign. He annexed territory of Pandya King and soon conquered the Vadumbas. He swept away all the traces of Pallavas power, but received a set back at the hands of Rashtrakutas.
 
Raja Raja Chola: The powerful ruler of the Chola kingdom was Raja Raja - the Great. He ruled from 985 - 1014 AD. His army conquered Venginadu, Gangapadi, Tadigaipadi, Nolambavadi, Kudamalai-nadu, Kollam, Kalingam, Ilamandalam of the Singalas. His first triumph was achieved early in his reign by destroying the Navy of Cheras at Trivendrum. He annexed north part of Ceylon to his kingdom and sacked Anuradhapuram. Polonnaruva was made his capital of the Chola province of Ceylon. Political divisions of the Western Ganga's Gangavadi, Tadigaivadi and Nolambavadi were conquered in 991 AD and it remained under them for the next century. Union of Eastern and Western Chalukyas was stopped by helping Eastern Chalukya ruler . Towards the end of the reign, the Cholas was attacked by the Western Chalukyas, but Raja-raja Chola won the war.
 
Rajendra-I: Rajendra-I founded his new capital at Gangaikonda Cholapuram. He set up Vaishnava centre and the Vedic college for teaching Vedas. He had a friendly relationship with the China emperor, and had a peaceful reign of 32 years. He extended the territory inherited from his father, and subdued the power of Pandyas and Keralas. He performed Asvamedha sacrifice too. He was very successful in the beginning but later on he lost his life in the famous battle of Koppam on the Tungabhadra. The next ruler Rajendra-II (1052-1064 AD) just managed to maintain the Chola empire though he had to struggle with the troubling Chalukyas.
 
Vira Rajendra: Vira Rajendra (1064 - 1070 AD) was the elder brother of Rajendra-II. He succeeded his brother to reign for the next seven years. He met the invasion of Chalukya King and defeated the Chalukya ruler. He reconquered Vengi and foiled the efforts of Vijayabahu of Ceylon who was trying to drive the Cholas out of Ceylon. When Someswara-II succeeded the Chalukyas throne, Rajendra made some incursions but later on built a friendly ties by giving his daughter to Vikramaditya. Soon after the death of Vira Rajendra in 1070 AD, there was a contest for the throne and Adhi-Rajendra, the heir apparent took the throne. He had a short uneventful reign, Vijayabahu assumed independence in Ceylon.
 
Kulottunga - I: Rajendra-II succeeded Adhirajendra under the title Kulottunga Chola. In about 1073, Kalachuri King Yasahkarana invaded Vengi but did not gain anything. Pandyas and Chera's attack were put down by Kulottunga. The southern Kalinga revolt were put down too. In about 1118 AD, the Viceroy of Vengi - the Vikramaditya VI took control of Vengi from Chola and thus succeeded in separating the Cholas from the Eastern Chalukyas. Gangavadi and Nolambavadi were lost to Hoysala's Vishnuvardhana.

Vikrama Chola (1120 - 1135 AD): The next successor, the son of Kulottunga-I restored the Chola power by reconquering Vengi and by taking control of part of Gangavadi. His reign was somewhat peaceful to his subjects though there were floods and famines in the South Arcot. The Hoysala expansion took control of Chola power slowly and subsequently. The last rulers namely Kulottunga - II, Rajaraja - II, Rajadhiraja - III could not stop the Hoysalas annexation of Chola Kingdom. Cholas hold on Pandyan kingdom had already weakened. In about 1243, the Pallava chief declared independence. The Kakatiyas and Hoysalas partitioned among themselves the territory of the Chola empire and Chola empire ceased to exist for ever.

Why is emperor raja raja cholan

Why is Emperor Raja Raja Cholan Standing outside the Thanjai Big Temple?

I have found an article in regards to statue of Emperor Raja Raja Cholan that I want to share with you guys. Indian Central Government opposed to place Raja Raja Cholan's statue in Tanjai Peria Koil's ground, I feel as Tamilians we need to know this fact and if you feel the same then please pass it to all Tamils. Spreading hatredness among Indians are not our goal but knowing Tamils history, value and respect our tradition and culture.

Proud to be Indian.

Thanjai Nalankilli

Definitions:

Hindians: People whose mother tongue is Hindi; much of Uttar Pradesh, Madya Pradesh and some surrounding areas in northern India is their homeland. Hindian politicians control and dominate the Indian government because they form the single largest block in the Indian parliament.

Outline

1. Background

2. A Brief Biography of Raja Raja Cholan

3. The Reason Why?

A Note about Names

The three ruling dynasties of old Tamil Nadu are written and pronounced in Tamil as Cheran, Cholan and Pandian (or Cherar, Cholar and Pandiar) but most English writers write them as Chera, Chola and Pandia. We may use it interchangeably. (Cholan is sometimes spelled as Chozhan. Pandian is also sometimes spelled as Pandyan or Pandiyan).

1. Background

Emperor Raja Raja Cholan built the Thanjai Big Temple (also referred to as Thanjavur Peria Koil or Tanjore Big Temple) almost a thousand years ago; it took 4 years of construction and was dedicated in1010 AD. Why is his statue not allowed in the temple grounds and is standing on a public street further away from the view of the thousands of visitors to the temple? We are not talking about installing the statue inside the temple but within the outer walls of the temple where visitors can see it. There are other structures within the outer wall. In fact, we see a statue of Raja Rajan and his queen Ko-perum-thevi in the Tiruvisalur temple. This statue was there well before there was an Indian Government. But, alas, the Indian Government would not permit the statue of this great Tamil emperor to be installed on the grounds of the temple he built.

Some two decades ago the Tamil Nadu State government commissioned a statue of the Emperor and intended to place it within the outer walls of the Thanjai Big Temple. The Indian Government told the Tamil Nadu Government that it would not allow the statue inside the temple grounds. So the latter placed it in a nearby street. The outcome is, the many thousands of devotees and tourists who visit the temple do not see the statue.

You may wonder why the Tamil Nadu Government has to get Indian Government's permission to install the statue of a Tamil emperor within the outer walls of a Tamil Temple built by the Tamil Emperor on Tamil soil with Tamil money and labor? Indian Government decided, without any consultation with the Tamil Nadu Government, that it would take over the major temples in Tamil Nadu. Now nothing significant can be done without the consent of Hindians who control and dominate the Indian parliament.

2. A Brief Biography of Raja Raja Cholan

Who is this Raja Raja Cholan (more precisely, Raja Raja Cholan-I)? Readers who are fans of the popular Tamil novelist Kalki may be familiar with his historical novel "Ponniyin Selvan". That novel is woven around the life of Raja Raja Cholan, also known an Arunmoli. Of course, much of the novel and many of the characters in it are fiction although that fiction is wrapped around historical events. What we present in this section are historical facts taken from such authoritative works as Dr. M.  Rajamanickam's "Cholar Varalaru", Nilakanta Sastri's "The Cholas" and T. V. Sadasiva Pandarathar's "History of the Later Cholas".

Raja Rajan reigned between 985 AD and 1014 AD. It can be rightly said that the Second Golden Age of Tamil Nadu started with his reign and continued for another two centuries. (The First Golden Age of Tamil Nadu in known Tamil history was in the days of the Third Tamil Academy (Third Tamil Sangam)). He built one of the most glorious empires of South Asia that peaked during the regin of his son Rajendra Cholan - I and continued for another 200 years or so under his sons, grandsons and great grandsons. He was not only a great warrior king in the tradition of Cheran Senguttuvan, Cholan Karikalan and Pandian Nedunchezhian, he was also an able administrator, a patron of the arts and a devote Saivaite Hindu.

During that period, Sinhala kings from Ilankai (now known as Sri Lanka and Ceylon) had the habit of interfering in Tamil Nadu by allying with one Tamil king against another, usually allying with Cheras or Pandias against the Cholas. (Of course, the blame should rightly be put on those Tamil kings who invited foreign interference and not on the Sinhala kings who made use of the opportunity.) So, after decisively defeating the Cheras and Pandias, Raja Rajan Cholan turned his attention to the Sinhalese King Mahinda-V. He assembled a naval armada and sent it to Sri Lanka. The Chola Navy defeated King Mahinda. After the military victory Raja Rajan built a Hindu temple there in Polonnaruva.

Having defeated the enemy in the south, he moved north. The Chola army under the command of Crown Prince Rajendran marched north, all the way up to what is now Bijapur. The army defeated all who opposed its march north, including the powerful army of Chalukya Emperor Satyasraya who ruled the Deccans.

As noted before, Raja Rajan's legacy is not just wars and conquests. He is remembered today primarily for the construction of the Tanjore Big Temple (Thanjavur Peria Koil). The temple is also called "Rajarajeswaram" after him. This Saivaite Hindu temple is one of the most beautiful and magnificent architectural monuments in South Asia. The magnificent tower and the delicate sculptures are truly a feast for the eyes. Not only Hindus from all over the world, but also tourists from around the world visit this temple.

Though Raja Rajan was a devote Saivaite Hindu, he respected other religions. He built Vishnu temples in Mysore after he conquered the region. He not only permitted Silendra Emperor Srimara Vijayottunga Varman to build the Buddhist shrine Chudamanivihara in Tamil Nadu at Nagapattinam, he also contributed money for its construction.

Many arts - sculpture, painting, drama, dance and music - flourished during his time. He conduccted a survey of his kingdom and is considered a major achievement of that time. He divided the kingdom into a number of administrative units and appointed administrative officers for each unit. Villages were governed by local elders (a type of self-government). According to Dr. M. Rajamanickam, Raja Rajan's administrative structure is comparable to modern administrative structure seen around the world.

Raja Raja Cholan is truly one of the greatest rulers in Tamil history. This is in fact the reason why Hindi politicians who dominate and control the Indian Government refuse permission to install his statue within the outside walls of Thanjai Big Temple that he built. Let me elaborate.

3. The Reason Why?

Why do the Hindi politicians who control the Indian Government refuse permission to install Emperor Raja Raja Cholan's statue within the outer walls of the Thanjai Big Temple?

Many thousands of Hindu devotees and tourists from around the world visit the Thanjai Big Temple. If Raja Rajan's statue is installed on the temple grounds for all to see, they may ask the others and tour guides about him and will come to know of his conquests, his majesty and the glorious days of the Second Golden Age of Tamil Nadu. The Hindian controlled Indian Government does not want people to know about this glorious past and the great kings of Tamil Nadu who are second to none. Hindian politicians and elite want people to think that all the glorious past of Indian history is centered on the Hindi heartland of today. They want to hide and put under a blanket all other histories, be it that of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bengal, Karnataka, Kerala or Tamil Nadu, for example.

Read the history books used at schools under the jurisdiction of the Indian Government (Central Schools and schools accredited under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)). You will read in detail about the kings and emperors who ruled from what is today the Hindi heartland, for example, Chandra Guptan, Ashokan, Akbar, et al. But you will not read anything about the Tamil kings or the Bengali kings or the Assamese kings, etc. In the Indian history according to Hindians, these lands do not have a glorious history worth mentioning although, in truth, every one of these nations has a rich past. Refusal to grant permission to install the statue of one of the greatest emperors of South Asia on the grounds of the temple he built is just another attempt by the Hindian politicians to hide the glorious past of the Tamil people.

(NOTE: Emperor Raja Raja Cholan is not the only one whose history the Indian Government wants to hide.

About two decades ago, the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi tried to distort the history of Emperor Rajendra Cholan's conquest of the Ganges Plains (today's Hindi land). I published an article about it in the Tamil magazine "Thamizh Nilam" a decade ago.)

Thanks: nakkeran.com

Ponniyin selvan Book 

bull-baiting rituals in Indus valley...

Tiru. Iravatham Mahadevan, expert on Indian scripts and epigraphs, has mentioned about bull-baiting rituals in Indus valley, c. 2000 BCE. http://www.hindu.com/2008/01/13/stories/2008011355961800.htm Looking at the seal M-312 published in The Hindu newspaper, I wrote a letter to the Editor. Here, it is.

----------------------------

The animal in the Indus seal (M-312 in A. Parpola, Corpus of Indus seals and inscriptions) given in the article by T. S. Subramanian ("Bull-baiting of yore", The Hindu, January 13, 2008) is most likely a water buffalo, not a taurus bull.

The body structure, legs, and the graceful inward-curving horns show it as a water buffalo. While four persons are not in direct physical contact with the buffalo and are shown vaulting all around the animal, there is a person stuck in the left horn of the animal. This human being is possibly a female and her chest is stuck in the buffalo's left horn. The person could be female because her long head-pendent made of cloth or braid is particularly visible above the buffalo's body. Note also the skirt worn by the female and the skirt of the central female figure in M-312 is mentioned by Indus archaeologist, W. A. Fairservis (Sci. Am., 238:3, 1983).

Alf Hiltebeitel ("The Indus Valley 'Proto-Siva', Reexamined through Reflections on the Goddess, the Buffalo, and the Symbolism of Vaahanas." Anthropos 73:5-6 (1978):767-97 ) thinks the animal involved is a wild buffalo.

pg. 772, "Finally it is likely that the horns are not only those of the buffalo but of the wild buffalo. Other Indus Valley seals show the animal in "truculent" poses, one buffalo in particular (Mackay, no. 510) having "thrown" five human figures about him. The upward curve of the horns which characterises the buffalo on all these seals portrays the animal at his most aggressive potential."

In Indus seals, women are shown many times wearing long head-pendent made of cloth in different seals. This "turban" like cloth tied around the head has a long tail-piece of cloth floating in the air. Next, we will see five Indus examples.

(1) K-65 seal from Kalibangan where a woman with a long hair-pendent stands in between two males holding spears. And this long "turban" is especially visible on the two women whose body is attached to tigers. The head ornamental cloth with a long tail-piece is called urumaalai, talaippaaLai, talaippaakai or talaikkaTTu in Tamil. Interestingly, the cloth-turban word stands for "generation" in Tamil, E.g., "10 generations" will be rendered as '10 talaikkaTTu' in Tamil due to the ritual of placing a turban for the succeeding generational person.


(2) M-305 seal (pg. 185, Parpola, 1994) where a woman with the long head cloth pendent and also wearing buffalo horns. She sits in the same yogic pose as the famous so called proto-siva (M-304) seal. Both M-304 and M-305 seem to have buffalo hooves. In Indus art, we see often horns on several animals (e.g. on tigers) and also composites. In Tamils' every day speech, horns are part and parcel of stock phrases. For clay ovens with multiple bumps to hold vessels, Sangam literature uses horn imagery - 'pal kOTTu aTuppu' literally 'multi-horned oven' (akanAn2URu), 'kOTu uyar aTuppu' (puRanAn2URu). "avanaik kompu 'horn' ciivaatE' (don't make him big or angry), "avanukku kompu muLaiccirukkaa?" (has he grown so big? lit. has he started growing horns), "avan periya kompanaa?" & so on. KampaNa, the founder of Vijayanagara kingdom, KampaNa < KompaNa "horned-leader" (kompu 'horn' > kampu). Also, Kampan, the Tamil poet who is like Shakespeare in English, supposed to be from vELaar potters caste traditional priests of Durga and KaaLi temples. In the early Buddhist art of India, Buddha is represented aniconically using a buffalo or gaur face. Even though art historians have called the Buddhist symbol variously as trident, nandipada, nandyavarta, triratna and so on, originally this seems to be a heritage from Indus civilization and Buddha is represented by a buffalo/gaur face, which I call as mahishamukha. Refer John Marshall's treatise on Mohenjodaro (3 volumes, ASI) where he identifies the Indus sign for the bovine face. Also, the Penguin India book by I. Mahadevan (in press, 2009) has a chapter on how the tamil nILakaNTan "great buffalo" turns into sanskrit nIlakaNTha "blue necked" for 'Siva.


(3) There is a pendent-wearing being (shaman priest. male?) standing under a pipal-leaf arch (R. Meadow, H95-2485, 1995 find. Thanks, Rich for the nice picture!). The "shaman" nature of the male priest is indicated by a "ladder" sign shown above his head. Even today, shamanistic ladders are found among the Kalash people in Pakistan. In Tamil, ladders are kaTavai, iRaivai (Cf. kaTavuL 'god', iRaivi 'goddess'). The human may be a male, but wearing the female "turban" we see so often in other seals, and also wearing bangles usually worn by females in Indus art. What is "he"? May be a shaman priest of the goddess we see in the pipal trees as shown in M-1186. He imitates his goddess by wearing her "turban" with a long tail-piece and her bangles, but note that he does not wear any skirt unlike females in M-1186 and M-312 and also the horns on the head are absent. Hence, my take that he is a priest, but not the goddess.

For comparison of the "turban" on the male priest in the pipal arch, take a look at the same "turban" worn by a male priest in M-1186 (5) (offering a human warrior head? Th "double-bun" hair style of the warrior head is visible). Here in H95-2485, bangles and long cloth pendent (both typical for females) as well as the pipal-leaf arch are symbols for the goddess whom the male priest serves. Such cross-dressing is seen even today on important festival days in some large south Indian temples. This "turban" is not the same as the braid which is shown on the seven women in M1186 (Pleiades?, called in south Indian village festivals as 7 virgins "7 kannimAr". may be the idea behind Murukan-skanda's mothers).

Tamil name of the ficus religiosa tree is 'araicu' - so named because of the noise of bodhi tree leaves in the forest winds and this phenomenon of murmuring leaves of the peepul trees are mentioned widely in Indian literature. The other famous fig tree is ficus indica (Indian fig tree). In Tamil, it is called aal and vaTam tree, so named because of the prominent aerial roots occupying large area. vaTam, which means 'rope' in Tamil, has entered Sanskrit and other Indian languages as a loan word denoting the banyan tree. The common English name for ficus indica tree, banyan comes from merchants striking deals in the shade of the village vaTam trees and vaNi/vaNiyan "merchant" (Cf. vaNij in Rgveda) has to do with "paNam" (token for barter, cash) in Tamil. p-/v- alteration: paNam/vaNi. The northerly direction in Tamil is vaTakku and this originates from the ficus indica name vaTam because of the astronomical associations of the Indian fig tree with the pole star.

(4) H-176 from Harappa is a very important seal on the Indus goddess religion. H-176a depicts a water buffalo, and the female with the long turban standing in front of a hut. On the H-176b side, the turbaned female is seated in the typical Indus deity fashion as in so-called proto-Siva seal (M-304) in the center. On her right is a sacrificial animal (markhor goat?) and on her left is the shaman on a tree (acacia?) with a tiger with its head turned back looking at him. Acacia (khadira) tree is particularly important for KoRRavai of the forest, as the famous Vanadurga temple is in the village, khadirA-mangalam in Thanjavur district. Rajaraja Cholan I who led naval expeditions against Ceylon, Maldives and Srivijaya kings in Southeast Asia was an ardent bhakta of Katiraa-maGkalam vanadurga and his sword is placed on the idol during worship there. KatiragAmam, a Murukan (s/o KoRRavai in sangam texts) temple in the dense forests of Sri Lanka is also named after the acacia tree. In Shaakta (tantra) worship of the goddess, tAmbulam (betel leaves) is chewed with acacia nuts (an astringent) and lime paste mix in old Indian literature.

(5) The famous M-1186 seal, where a female deity in a pipal (bodhi) tree frame stands and is shown at, http://www.harappa.com/indus/34.html
Walter A. Fairservis, Jr. who did archaeological work in the Indus valley sites wrote a book on Indus script taking it as belonging to Dravidian family of languages. Dr. Fairservis remarked about the female being attacked by a water buffalo in M-312, and mentioned the skirt worn by this woman in M-312 (Script of the Indus valley civilization, Scientific American, 238:3, pp. 58-66, March 1983) : "A fourth seal, even more elaborate than the "Lord of the Beasts," introduces a "worshipper element". It repeats the depiction of a pipal tree, this time at its upper right corner. Between the branches of the tree stands a horned anthropomorphic figure. Facing the horned figure is a kneeling one, skirted and thus presumably female; to the left of the kneeling figure is a large goat. Seven skirted figures occupy the bottom half of the seal, their hair dressed in some kind of long "ponytail." A rather gruesome depiction on a fifth seal [M-312 in the Parpola, Corpus of Indus inscriptions ~NG] shows several similarly coiffed figures, one of them wearing a skirt, being attacked by a water buffalo."

Please note that this is also possibly a mythological scene where a female deity fights with a buffalo demon. This seal of buffalo fight could have arisen from jallikattu-like village festivals with bulls and buffalo male animals in the bronze era Indus valley. It need to be researched whether this deity has relations with the goddess, kOTTaavii (early centuries CE in North India) and koRRavai of old Tamil literature. Several Indus era sites have place names ending as -kOT (cf. Tamil kOTTai). While there are scores of town names ending in kOTTai in south India, there are some that start with kOT- like kOTTaiyUr, kOTTaippAkkam as well (Cf. the pre-Harappan site, Kot Diji near Mohenjo Daro). Even now, there is an ancient Dravidian language called Brahui in the Indus region. The oldest Indian descriptions of bull-baiting are found in Tamil sangam literature, written at a time midway between the mature Indus valley civilization and now. In sum, M-312 is a Proto-Durga (KoRRavai/kOTTavi in Tamil, ...) mythological battle scene, and her aspects are seen in many Harappan civilization seals such as H-176, K-65 and M-1186.

Kind regards,
N. Ganesan

References:

BTW, bull-baiting is described in sangam literature. And, later on the motif is found in Sanskrit bhakti texts like Bhagavatam written in Tamil Nadu. In sum, M-312 is a Proto-Durga (KoRRavai/kOTTavi in Tamil, ...) mythological scene. Observe that the horns of the buffalo do not seem attached to the animal head in his battle scene with proto-Durga (M-312). In historic Indian art, the most famous battle scene of Durga vs. buffalo is at Mamallapuram (7th century, Pallava) near Chennai. The buffalo horns little away from their head (M-312) can be compared with the hands dangling which are displayed at a little distance from the thighs in Indus seals showing gods in "yogic" posture. An example from Dean Anderson,
http://www.eastwestcultural.org/public/protoyogi/
It will be useful the measure the actual distance between the horns and their buffalo head, it may be ~ 0.3 mm.


Parpola, Asko, (2000), Vāc as a Goddess of Victory in the Veda and her relation to Durgā, Zinbun, Kyoto University, 34, 2, pp. 101-143. The pdf file can be downloaded at
http://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/handle/2433/48782
http://www.harappa.com/script/

The Indus script papers by A. Parpola
(1) http://www.harappa.com/script/indus-writing.pdf
(2) http://www.harappa.com/script/indusscript.pdf

Zvelebil, Kamil, Bull-baiting Festival in Tamil India, Annals of the Naprstek Museum 1, Prague 1962, pp. 191-199.

Erik Af Edholm and C. Suneson, The seven bulls and Krsna's marriage to Nila/Nappinnai in Sanskrit and Tamil literature, Temenos, v.8, p. 29-53, 1972.

Rabe, Michael, "Victorious Durga, The Buffalo Slayer", Muse: Annual of the Museum of Art and Archaeology, No. 20,University of Missouri - Columbia (1986), pp. 50-65 with added color plates
http://web.sxu.edu/mdr1/durga/index.htm

Vanamala Parthasarathy, Bull baiting in Tamil and Sanskrit, Jl. Inst. Asian studies, 1998

The ID of Indus bovines:
http://dakshinatya.blogspot.com/2008/11/zebu-buffalo.html

There is a long article on bull-baiting in Tamil and Sanskrit traditions by Ulrike Niklas at Cologne. It appeared in the Kolam journal. F. Gros translated VaaTivaacal novel into French. In Italian, there is a book with photos, Fabio Scialpi, La festa di Pongal a Madurai, 1991.

Thanks: nganesan.blogspot

jallikattu unbelieveable tamil

The Pandyan Empire

The Pandyan Empire (Tamil: பாண்டியர்) was an ancient Tamil state in South India. The Pandyas, Chola, Chera and Pallava Dynasties are the four Dravidian Tamil Dynasties which ruled South India until the 15th century CE. They initially ruled from Korkai, a seaport on the Southernmost tip of the Indian Peninsula, and in later times moved to Madurai. Pandyan was well known since the ancient period, with contacts, even diplomatic, reaching the Roman Empire; during the 13th century AD, Marco Polo mentioned it as the richest empire in existence. The Pandyan empire was home to temples including Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, and Nellaiappar Temple built on the bank of the river Thamirabarani in Tirunelveli.

The Pandyas of Southern India are believed to have been founded around five to six centuries before the Christian Era. Their recorded existence and mention are found in records dating to as early as 550 BC. Emperor Augustus of Rome at Antioch knew of the Pandyan of Dramira and received a Pandyan ambassador with letters and gifts from this ancient Tamil Kingdom. Strabo described an ambassador to emperor Augustus Caesar from a South Indian King called Pandyan. The country of the Pandyas, Pandi Mandala, was described as Pandyan Mediterranea by Periplus and Modura Regia Pandyan by Ptolemy.

The early Pandyan Dynasty of the Sangam Literature faded into obscurity upon the invasion of the Kalabhras. The dynasty revived under Kadungon in the early 6th century, pushed the Kalabhras out of the Tamil country and ruled from Madurai. They again went into decline with the rise of the Cholas in the 9th century and were in constant conflict with them. The Pandyas allied themselves with the Sinhalese and the Cheras in harassing the Chola empire until they found an opportunity for reviving their fortunes during the late 13th century.

The Later Pandyas (1150-1350) entered their golden age under Maravman Sundara Pandiyan and Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan (c. 1251), who expanded the empire into Telugu country, conquered Kalinga (Orissa) and invaded and conquered Sri Lanka. They also had extensive trade links with the Southeast Asian maritime empires of Srivijaya and their successors. During their history, the Pandyas were repeatedly in conflict with the Pallavas, Cholas, Hoysalas and finally the Muslim invaders from the Delhi Sultanate. The Pandyan Kingdom finally became extinct after the establishment of the Madurai Sultanate in the 16th century.

The Pandyas excelled in both trade and literature before the Christian Era. They controlled the pearl fisheries along the South Indian coast, between Sri Lanka and India, which produced some of the finest pearls in the known ancient world. Tradition holds that the legendary Sangams were held in Madurai under their patronage, and that some of the Pandya Kings were poets themselves.

Etymology

The word Pandya is derived from the Tamil word "Pandi" meaning bull. Ancient Tamils, considered the bull as a sign of masculinity and valor. Pandya became the epithet of the first Pandyan king of Madurai, Kulasekharan Pandya as he was built like a bull. It was used as an epitome of masculinity. His son, the second king of Madurai, the legendary Malayadwaja Pandya who sided with the Pandavas and took part in the Kurukshetra is described as follows in Karna Parva(verse 20.25):

"Although knowing that the shafts(arrows) of the high souled son of Drona employed in shooting were really inexhaustible, yet Pandya, that bull among men, cut them all into pieces"

Malayadwaja Pandya and his queen Kanchanamala had one daughter Thathagai alias Meenakshi who succeeded her father and reigned the kingdom successfully. The Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple was built after her. The city of Madurai was built around this temple .

Another theory suggests that in Sangam Tamil lexicon the word Pandya means old country in contrast with Chola meaning new country, Chera meaning hill country and Pallava meaning branch in Sanskrit. The Chera, Chola and Pandya are the traditional Tamil siblings and together with the Pallavas are the major Kings that ruled ancient Tamilakkam.

Historians have used several sources to identify the origins of the early Pandyan dynasty with the pre-Christian Era and also to piece together the names of the Pandyan kings. Pandyas were the longest ruling dynasty of Indian history. Unfortunately, the exact genealogy of these kings has not been authoritatively established yet.

Sangam Literature

Four-armed Vishnu, Pandya Dynasty, 8-9th century CE.

 

Various Pandya kings find mention in a number of poems in the Sangam Literature. Among them Nedunjeliyan, 'the victor of Talaiyalanganam', and Mudukudimi Peruvaludi 'of several sacrifices' deserve special mention. Beside several short poems found in the Akananuru and the Purananuru collections, there are two major works — Mathuraikkanci and the Netunalvatai (in the collection of Pattupattu) — which give a glimpse into the society and commercial activities in the Pandyan kingdom during the Sangam age.

It is difficult to estimate the exact dates of these Sangam age Pandyas. The period covered by the extant literature of the Sangam is unfortunately not easy to determine with any measure of certainty. Except the longer epics Silapathikaram and Manimekalai, which by common consent belong to an age later than the Sangam age, the poems have reached us in the forms of systematic anthologies. Each individual poem has generally attached to it a colophon on the authorship and subject matter of the poem. The name of the king or chieftain to whom the poem relates and the occasion which called forth the eulogy are also found.

It is from these colophons, and rarely from the texts of the poems themselves, that we gather the names of many kings and chieftains and the poets and poetesses patronized by them. The task of reducing these names to an ordered scheme in which the different generations of contemporaries can be marked off one another has not been easy. To add to the confusions, some historians have even denounced these colophons as later additions and untrustworthy as historical documents.

Any attempt at extracting a systematic chronology from these poems should take into consideration the casual nature of these poems and the wide differences between the purposes of the anthologist who collected these poems and the historian’s attempts to arrive at a continuous history. Pandyas are also mentioned by Greek Megesthenes where he writes about southern kingdom being ruled by women.Huien tsang also mentions about it citing his Buddhist friend at Kanchi and callas it Malakutta or Malakotta but the capital city is not mentioned.

Government and Society

Trade

Megasthenes reported about the pearl fisheries of the Pandyas, indicating that the Pandyas derived great wealth from the pearl trade.

Religion

Historical Madurai was a stronghold of Saivism. Following the invasion of Kalabhras, Jainism gained a foothold in the Pandyan kingdom. Jainism was something not new to the land of Pandyas as references to a Jainist (and Buddhist) past are found in ancient Tamil literature (see Civaka Cintamani). With the advent of Bhakti movements, Saivism and Vaishnavism resurfaced. The latter-day Pandyas after 600 AD were Hindus who claimed to descend from Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Pandyan Nedumchadayan was a staunch Vaishnavite.

Thanks: thefullwiki

Must know facts about tamil language