Post No. 11,371
Date uploaded in London – 19 OCTOBER 2022
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Ramayana is mentioned directly only in two places in the 2000 year old Sangam Tamil literature. But those two anecdotes are unknown to either Valmiki or Kamban. But there is a rare mention of a Tamil Poet by name Valmiki in Purananuru. These unknown anecdotes show that Ramayana was part of ordinary Tamil folks. Because the rule for using similes is that it should be known to everyone.
Let us look at the details:
Purananuru verse 378 composed by Unpothi Pasunmkudaiyar ( uunpothi pasumkudaiyaar= Mr Green Umbrella of Unpothi)
The poet met a Choza king and he gave the poet and his group of men and women many different ornaments. The group was so poor that they have never seen such jewels. So without knowing what to wear where in the body, the folks used the ear ring on hand and hand jewels in ears. The scene was a big comedy similar to the monkeys that wore jewels in wrong places when Sita Devi threw her jewels from the air plane when abducted by Ravana. This anecdote is not found in famous Ramayanas. But Tamils knew this 2000 years ago.
The poet used two epithets to Rama and Ravana; Rama ‘who destroys enemies’ and Ravana , ‘the demon who has a strong hand’. So Ravana was never portrayed as a goody in Tamil; he was called an ARAKKAN, tamilized word for Rakshasa.
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Akananuru 70 by Kaduvan Mallan ( full name of the poet- mathurai thamiz kuuththanaar Kaduvan Mallanaar)
This poet gives a beautiful comparison. A town was full of gossip because one gentleman was meeting a beauty there very often, but was dodging actual wedding. Her lady companion compelled him to marry her friend. He agreed and the whole town became quiet without any gossip when the news of impending marriage was known.
Poet says the gossip disappeared like Rama quietened the birds in the big banyan tree under which he was having a secret meeting with the engineers about building a bridge to Sri Lanka to attack the demon king Ravana.
The commentators add that Rama just signed with his hand saying ‘Be Quiet’ and the birds obeyed his command. So, this is reported as a Tamil Miracle. the second thing mentioned in the poem is the location. Poet says it happened in Tol Muthu Koti of Pandya country; some people think it was Dhanushkoti or Setu near Tiruppullaani in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu.
We must also note the epithet given to Rama ‘Vel Por’, literally ‘War Winning’; actual meaning is Ever Victorious.
So Rama is always praised and Ravana was always denounced by the Tamil community 2000 years ago.
This confirmed by Kalittokai verse 38 by Brahmin poet Kabilar. He compared an elephant piercing a tiger with its tusk but unable to extricate the tusk from tiger’s body with Ravana trying to lift the Himalayas with Uma and Siva and suffering unable to take his crushed hands. Here also the poet described Ravana as a demon with ten heads. (ten heads are not actual heads; he had ten bad habits or qualities .See Manu Smrti 12-5/7 where he listed the ten bad qualities).
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Mysterious Tamil Valmiki
Sangam Tamils have Sanskrit names along with pure Tamil names. Many of the Sanskrit names were Tamilized which is confirmed by the doyen of Tamil literature U VE Saminatha Iyer and Kanchi Paramacharya (1894-1994). Both agree that Tamil poetess Kaaamakkani is Kamakshi, goddess of Kanchipuram. We have one poet by name Vaanmiiki who composed verse 358 of Puram. Commentators say he may be a descendent of great Sanskrit poet Valmiki or a name given to him because he praised Sanyaasam (ascetic life) better than Grahasthaashram (family life). He also said where Goddess Lakshmi would reside in the same philosophical verse.
In short ancient Tamils were great Hindus upholding the Sanaatan Dharma.
Tamil references:
ஐயிரு தலையின் அரக்கர் கோமான் – கலி 38
கடுந்தெறல் இராமனுடன் புணர் சீதையை
வலித்த கை அரக்கன் வெளவிய ஞான்று – புறம் 378
வெல்போர் இராமன் அரு மறைக்கு அவித்த
பல்வீழ் ஆலம் – அகம் 70
To be continued…………………….
tags- ராமாயணம், Ramayana, Valmiki, Tamil Sangam, Rama, Ravana, in Sangam poems,
Tamil and Vedas 