RESEARCH ARTICLE WRITTEN BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Post No.7766

Date uploaded in London – 31 March 2020   

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

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Tamils are super Hindus. Out of 200,000 temples in India, about 45,000 temples are in Tamil Nadu. H R C E of Tamil Nadu Government are maintainig them. The devotional literature in Tamil is more than what we have in Sanskrit if we take the medieval period into account. Of course Sanskrit had more devotional literature more than 3000 years ago. At that time Tamil didn’t have anything.

Tamils understood the Vedas better than other communities. They named the Vedas rightly ‘Secret’, ‘Hidden’, ‘un written study’ (Kurun 156) etc. They knew that Vedas shouldn’t be read literally. Many thousand years later, Tamil Siddhas used such symbolic, coded language.

Oldest book available in Tamil is Tolkaappiam. It is a grammar book similar to Ashtadhyayi of Panini composed by a Brahmin disciple of Agastya. His name is Trunadumagni according to the most famous Tamil commentator Nacchinarkiniyar. Agastya is a gotra (clan) name , so we don’t know which Agastya he mentioned. But Nacchinarkiniyar thought that it was Rig Vedic Agastyar (spouse of Queen Lopamudra).

The great surprise in the oldest book of Tamils is, all the Tamil Gods mentioned by him are Vedic Gods! Older generation easily digested this fact. Because they knew Tamils are like their counterparts in the north. But the Dravidian politicians could not digest it and so they thought that it was an interpolation. But they cut a sorry face when scholars pointed out that the Sangam Literature is full of Vedic Gods. To every one’s surprise neither the name of Gautama Siddharta Buddha nor the great Jain saint Varthamana Mahavira is named anywhere in Sangam literature. But passing remarks of Buddhists and Jains are there. But again Dravidian politicians are not happy. Because all the words are in Sanskrit or spoken / colloquial Prakrit (in Brahmi inscriptions)!

Sangam Tamil literature is vast; 18 books have nearly 30,000 lines composed by over 450 poets.

Let us look at the Gods mentioned in the oldest book Tolkaappiam.

Author Tolkaapiar alias Truna Duma Agni begins his verse with

“The world of forests desired by MAYON;

The world of hills desired by SEYON;

The world of fields desired by the KING;

The world of coast desired by VARUNAN

• Tolkappiam Porul  Adhikaram 905

Mayon means black god –  Vishnu;

Seyon means Red God – Murugan/ Skanda

King means Vedic God Indra

Varunan is the only God mentioned by Vedic name.

In other paces he mentioned the Goddess of arid area as Durga (in Tamil Korravai and Ayirai).

There is no difference of opinion in identifying the gods.

Reference about Indra Festival, bringing down the Indra pillar , Indra Flag are in later literature which confirms what Tolkappiam said.

In the same way, Varuna’s worship by sea faring community and fisherman is also in Sangam literature.

Palmyra flag of Balarama is also mentioned in  another place in Tolkappiam and later Sangam verses.

According to chronology, Purananuru comes next. There are innumerable references to Vedas, Vedic Sacrifices (including Rajasuya Yagam), Vedic altar in the shape of Eagle constructed for Karikal Choza, Yupa Stamba, Lord Shiva with poison in his neck, Vishnu, Goddess Uma, Durga , Aryambika (in Tamil Ayirai) etc.

Most interesting thing is the gods are identified by their flags or Vahanas. So Tamils were well versed with the Puranas 2000 years ago. And another surprising thing is full description of a Vedic sacrifice by Vishnudasa of Kaundinya Gotra (Viinan+Thayan= Vishnu Dasa). A 33 line verse about his Yajna has got lot of information which no one could explain in full.

One world be surprised to see poets’ names such as Valmiki, Brahma, Damodara, Kesava, Kannadasa (Kannan+ Thayan) , Vishnu dasa, Kamakshi (Kamakkanniyar), Sulochana (Nakkannai), Kabila, Barana, Dharmaputra, Gauthama etc.

Kaundinya, Kausika, Kavya gotras of poets are also prefixed with their names.

Highest number of poems are composed by two Brahmin poets Kabilar and Baranar (Tamil spelling Paranar).

6000 year old Sanskrit words of Rig Veda are used in Sanskrit itself in Sangam Literature!! Vadhuvai, Yupam, Ganga, Himalayas, Muni, Vanik/a etc.

xxx

Now let us look at some references-

Verse number/line number

Reference to Lakshmi

Kali – 8/14, 44/6, 104/10, 45/64

Pari – 1/8, 1/36, 13/12, 15/22,

Puram – 179/5, 342/5, 358/6

Akam -316/13, 13/6

And in many other verses

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Skanda /Murugan /Kartikeya

Whole book of Tiru Muruku Atruppadai , shortened in references as ‘Muruku’ is singing the glory of lord Skanda .

I will just give references from Purananuru  –

Puram 16/12, 23/4, 56/14, 259/5, 299/6

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Indra temple

Puram 241/3

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Goddess Durga

Tol. -1005;

Kali. 89/8;

Akam. – 345/3;

Nedunal. Lines 166-168;

Pathirruppattu – 79/16, 38/11, 89/19

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Two Brahmins – Asura guru and Deva guru

Kali -99/1

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Uma Devi

Kali – prayer verse, 38/1;

Pari -8/127

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Brahma

Perumpan – lines 402-404

Muruku – lines 164, 165

Pari – 5/22;

Kali 2-1

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Vishnu & Balarama

Puram 56, 57, 58

Kali and Pari – lot of places

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Shiva

Puram 6, 55, 56, 91, 166

Akam – 181, 360

Malaipadu. – lines 81-83 and 225-233

Muruku, Kali and Pari – lot of places

Of the verses on Lord Shiva , the most beautiful one is Purananuru Verse number 6 on Pal Yagasalai Mudukudumi Peruvazuthi.

His country was full of Yupa pillars/poles and he would bow his head only twice in his life. When he goes around Shiva temple and when Brahmins bless him. He was one of the oldest Pandya kings. And he was a Pre-Tsunami catastrophe king. Pahruli River and Kumari landscape devoured by the sea were still intact in his days according to the verses. And the strangest thing is Sanskrit word ‘Veda’ and ‘Yupa’ are used in Sanskrit. Later they were translated into Tamil ‘Marai’ and ‘Maram’  or ‘Thun’.

tags -Dravidian , Vedic Gods, Tamil Gods, Sangam Verses, Tolkappiam,

—subham–