Post No.7845
Date uploaded in London – 18 April 2020
Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com
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A Madras lawyer called Viswanatha Kanakasabhai Pillai (1855-1906) wrote an excellent book under the title ‘THE TAMILS 1800 YEARS AGO’ in English and spread the name and fame of the Tamil community in the world. Though there were more scholarly works before him , all those works were mostly in Tamil. He was the first one to bring out a solid book in English about the Tamils. Though the book contains many absurd remarks such as Tamil originated in Mongolia etc, the credit goes to Pillai for enlightening the Non -Tamil Speaking world. Of late, lot of scholarly works in English such as ‘The Smile of Murugan’ by Czech scholar Kamil Zvelebil (1927-2009) threw more light on the Tamil.
( I always recommended this book and A L Basham’s ‘The Wonder That was India’ to all my students at the SOAS, University of London).
Now with the knowledge we have acquired from various archaeological and literary sources we may even write a book ‘THE TAMILS 3000 YEARS AGO’. Now we know that men started living in the heart of India one lakh years ago. The Bhimbetka caves in Madya Pradesh show that primitive men lived there 100,000 years ago started painting the caves 40,000 years ago.
In Tamil Nadu we have evidence to show that men lived here at least 40,000 years ago in the Palaeolithic age.
But when were the people in the South civilized?
When did the Tamil civilization begin?
1.Tamils are fanatics and they claim every day that they were the first civilized human beings on the earth. There is even a saying that ‘Tamils appeared with swords in their hands before the rocks became sand’. You have to imagine a rocky surface like Moon or Mars and imagine Tamils fighting among themselves with swords. 2.There is another group of fake Tamil scholars who claim their origin in Indus-Sarasvati River basin. 3.There is yet another group of fake and fanatical people who claim they originated in Kumari Kandam also known as Lemuria.
You can have a good laugh at these three groups and enjoy their jokes if you are familiar with linguistics, sociology, anthropology and world history. They take some words like Dravidian etc out of context and interpret it in their own way. Soviet and Finnish “scholars” said something about the structure of Indus script or words. Even after 80 years not an inch of progress made in that direction with all the super computers in our hands. So it is absurd. And over fifty interpretations are there for Indus Script!
So what is the truth?
Ramayana has reference about the Kapatapuram devoured by the Sea.
Mahabharata has reference to Arjuna’s marriage with a lady in the South .
Manu smriti has reference to people in the South.
All Tamil literature speak of Agastya codifying a grammar for Tamil Language which proves that Tamil language existed before Agastya; that Engineer Agastya even diverted River Kaveri into the plains of Tamil Nadu like the North Indian engineer Bhageertha diverted Ganges in to the plains of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal. He even took Tamils to South East Asia to establish Hindu culture there which lasted until 16th or 17th century. We find statues of Agastya in almost all South East Asian country.
HERE ARE THE FACTS
2700 years ago, Panini wrote the first grammar book in the world; he mentioned Marica (black pepper). Commentators who came a few hundred years after him, wrote about various routes. So it might have come by land route from the South.
Before him Engineer and Great Rishi Agastya laid a land route via Vindhya Mountains. Till then there was no land route along the mountainous area. But this Agastya is not the Rishi mentioned in Rig Veda as the husband of Loamuda. But a descendent in the same Agastya Gotra. Puranas clearly say he ‘belittled Vindhya Mountains’ (Garva Bhangam).
Rama and Lakshmana contemporary of Agastya might have used the land route via mountains or coastal route. But we have clear reference to Rocky caves of Kishkinda, now identified with Hampi in Karnataka. What we know from Ramayana is that there were semi civilized race with monkey or ape totems. They were literate, educated but lived with a different set of rules. In course of time they were pictured as monkeys.
Reference about Kapatapuram may be later additions. BUT Kapatapuram comes from three difference sources. From Ramayana, from Chanakya’s Arthsastra (kapata pearl) and Tamil Iraiyanar Akapporul Urai (Tamil Sangam) ; so it must be true. But the period of sea devouring Kapatapuram may be Second century BCE when there was a big Tsunami according to geological scientists.
Then came Mahabharata, where we see more civilised people once again with different set of rules. Arjuna married Chitrangatha, one among them. Tamils called her Alli Rani in their folk tales.
Though there are references to Pandya, Kapatapura in the epics, they were all in the updated versions of the epics. The evidence shows that Hindus constantly edited their scriptures and updated them. That is why we have different versions in the Puranas.
These are all non -historical literary sources.
But we know that Ravana lived in an island beyond India. Because Sanskrit word lanka means Island.
Historical Literary sources
1.Rig Veda 10-61-8; 1-179-6
Though there are two remarks about Dakshinapatha- Southern route and Agastya’s connection with two classes, both are very vague. Different interpretations are available.
R V 1 – 179- 6 says about two classes and Agastya .
But except Jambunathan no body translated ’two classes’ as Tamils and Northerners. So we have to leave it.
The dakshinapatha/southern route reference in 10-61-8 gets some support from Vedic Index of AA Macdonell and A B Keith. It is in Bodhayana Dharmasutra as well. Other reference to Tamil women wearing flowers to decorate their head and hair is also in dharma sasatras.
2.Panini’s Ashtadhyayi
The reference about Marica/ pepper clearly show the southern connection
3.Kautilya’s Reference to Pearl as Kapata Muktam also shows Tamil city Kapatapuram existed at 4th century BCE.
4.Mahavamsam of Sri Lanka
Mahavamsam says that Pandya king of Madurai sent his daughter along with the daughters of ministers to Sri Lanka for marrying the Royals in Sri Lanka IN THE Sixth century BCE. But we don’t know which Madurai. Then (South) Madurai was devoured by the sea.
5.Megasthanes reference about Pandya Queen
Megathanes , Greek Amabassador mentioned a Panadaiya (Pandy Rani Goddess Meenakshi??) queen ruling in the south.
6.Asokan ,Kharavelan Inscriptions
Very clear matter is available from the 2300 old Asokan inscriptions. It mentioned the Tamil Kingdoms
Two hundred years after Asoka, Kharavelan of Orissasays that he defeated the Pandya King in spite of the Tamil Front formed by the three kingdoms.
7.Sanskrit literature- Kalidasa etc
Kalidasa was the first poet in India to mention the Pandya – Agastya connection. My research and famous foreign and Indian scholars place him in second century BCE. Sangam Tamil never mentioned Agastya but indirectly connects Pothiyil (Southern Mountains) and Himalayas in one Purananuru’s verse. This confirm two stories related by later commentators:
1.To control the population explosion in Northern India, Lord Shiva sent him to the South; He also ordered him to give Tamil a grammar. He brought 18 tribes to South India according to Tamilcommentators.
2.He is the one who wrote the first grammar book for Tamil language Known as Agaththiyam; it is lost; but his disciple Tolkappiar wroe the next grammar which is followed to day.
8.Sangam Tamil literature
Sangam Tamil literature commentators say a Chera King fed both Kaurava and Pandava army. Without any secondary evidence it is very difficult to believe that. Actual word used in the poem is ‘Perum Soru’ meaning big feast. My opinion is this is given to honour the departed souls every year. Even today, Saivite saints departure days are celebrated as Guru Puja and all are fed on that day.
In Purananuru verse 201 Kapilar, the brahmin poet who contributed highest number of poems to the Sangam corpus,talks about 49 generations of a chieftain known as Irungovel . If we give 1000 years for 49 generations we can guess his tribe came with Ahastya to Tamil Nadu around 1000 BCE.
9.Three Tamil Sangams
Three Tamil Sangams are given an incredible period of 10,000 years which cannot be supported by anyone who knew world history. Again the fabulous dates are given in a coded language. (I have explained it in my article on the Age of Three Sangams)
10.Foreign trade with Rome Egypt and Babylonia
Roman trade between South India and Rome for 400 years from First century BCE is confirmed by Tamil Sangam books and discoveries of coins throughout South India. Cross references are available in Roman books. Other links have only Sanskrit words such as Kapi (monkey) Tuki (Siki for Peacock) Maricha (for black pepper) etc.
11.Tsunamis – geological evidence
One Tsunami that happened in second century BCE corresponds well with our Tamil Sangam stories. Language of the second Tamil Sangam verses are like the Third Tamil Sangam poets without any difference. So the gap between each Tamil Sangam is only 100 years or so.
12.Kumarikandam called Lemuria might have existed before civilised men appeared on the face of earth. There is no scientific proof for a civilized land mass.
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13.CONCLUSION
We have confirmed sources to show that 18 civilised groups/ tribes came to Tamil Nadu under the leadership of Engineer cum Sailor cum Seer Agastya in the 10th century BCE. He may be a later Agastya, not the Rig Vedic one. Agastya is a gotra name and so many people with the same name existed.
But even before this migration of 18 tribes from the north semi civilised groups with Vanara (apes) totems lived in South India.
Though Palaeolithic and Neo lithic tools show that people lived for several thousand years before this, they may not be civilised.
All ancient Sanskrit scriptures tell us that sons and descendants of Kshatriya turned Brahmana Rishi Visvamitra had 50 sons. They did not follow Vedic rituals and were demoted as Sudras and sent to South. Like British sent all criminals to Australia and other places, Hindu criminals were also banished to the South. Price Vijaya, a criminal from Bengal was sent to Sri Lanka.
Now we can write a book The Tamils 3000 Years Ago.
THE TAMILS, 3000 YEARS AGO, INDUS CIVILIZATION, KUMARI, LEMURIA
–subham–
Tamil and Vedas 