Date uploaded in London – – 24 APRIL 2024
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Hindus worship all animate and inanimate things as God or God’s representatives. It may be a bell or a conch or a shoe or a well, a plant or an animal. They give utmost respect to snakes and scorpions as well.
A phrase that is used very often in Hindu scriptures is “From ant to Elephant”. God is seen in all these, or God protects all whether small or big.
Black ants are considered sacred, and Hindus feed them with Sugar or Rice Flour. Tamils draw Kolams (Rangoli) with rice flour every morning in front of their houses. The reason for using rice flour is to feed the ants. They are seen as Lakshmi and Vishnu. If children try to crush any ant, mothers will warn them not to harm them. When the children ask why, they say ‘in your next birth you will be born as an ant and they will crush you’. Thus Karma theory is taught to them through ants at a tender age.
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Many stories are told about ants in Hinduism.
There is a temple town in Tamil Nadu named after ants. There is another temple where ants are considered sacred because it showed the way to God.
There is one story where Lord Shiva fed even the ants boxed by Parvati. There are some Tamil proverbs that shows their knowledge about weather. Manu says be busy like ants. And 2000 year old Sangam tamil literature also mentioned ants.
Ant in Vedic Literature
Pipīlikā (पिपीलिका) is in the Atharvaveda and later denotes an ‘ant’, the form of the word referring doubtless not so much to the small species of ant, as it is taken in the later lexicons. The form Pipīlaka is found in the Chāndogya-upaniṣad.
Ant in Puranas
Pipīlikā (पिपीलिका).—The love quarrels between two ants, husband and wife, the husband having given pieces of modaka to some other she ant, the wife ant resented, the husband repented and promised to behave better in future;1 marching north they forebode evil.
Ant and Gold
Pipīlika (पिपीलिक).—An ant .Pipilikam- A kind of gold (said to be collected by ants); तद् वै पिपीलिकं नाम उद्धृतं यत् पिपीलकैः । जातरूपं द्रोणमेयमहार्षुः पुञ्जशो नृपाः (tad vai pipīlikaṃ nāma uddhṛtaṃ yat pipīlakaiḥ | jātarūpaṃ droṇameyamahārṣuḥ puñjaśo nṛpāḥ) || Mahābhārata (Bombay) 2.52.4.
Derivable forms: pipīlikaḥ (पिपीलिकः).
2) Pipīlika (पिपीलिक):—[from pipīla] m. an ant, [Adbhuta-brāhmaṇa; Mahābhārata] etc.
3) [v.s. …] n. a kind of gold supposed to be collected by ants, [Mahābhārata ii, 1860.]
2600 years ago Herodotus knew Mahabharata story and wrote about Gold Digging Ants of India.
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Gold Digging Ants
The gold-digging ant is a mythical insect described in classical and medieval bestiaries. They were dog- or fox-sized ants that dug up gold in sandy areas. Some versions of the Physiologus said they came from Ethiopia, while Herodotus claimed they were located in India.
In Histories (Book 3, passages 102 to 105) Herodotus reports that a species of fox-sized, furry “ants” lives in one of the far eastern, Indian provinces of the Persian Empire. This region, he reports, is a sandy desert, and the sand there contains a wealth of fine gold dust. These giant ants, according to Herodotus, would often unearth the gold dust when digging their mounds and tunnels, and the people living in this province would then collect the precious dust.
Gold-digging insects
A 2011 study by Australian scientists found that termites have been found to excrete trace deposits of gold. According to the CSIRO, the termites burrow beneath eroded subterranean material which typically masks human attempts to find gold, and ingest and bring the new deposits to the surface. They believe that studying termite nests may lead to less invasive methods of finding gold deposits.
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Ant Town in Tamil Nadu – Tiru Erumbiyur near Trichy
Tiruverumbur is near Trichy. Here Lord Shiva became an anthill so that Devas in the form of ants can climb and worship him. The story is that an Asura/ demon by name Tharukasuran got a boon from Brahma andcame to this town. To deeive him the Devas/ angels came in the form of ants to worship Lord Shiva. Since the surface of Shiva Linga was slippery, Lord himself became anthill to provide easy access to Devas. So the mane of the town is Holy Ant Town. The Temple is at least 1500 year old. Saivite saints have sung in praise of the temple.
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Ten Kasi (South Benares/ Varanasi) in Tamil Nadu
Tenkasi Shiva Temple is a huge and beautiful temple. King and Queen of this region were great Shiva devotees. They went to Kasi in the north and had Darshan of Viswanathar. They wanted to one temple for Kasi Viswanath in Tamil Nadu. One day Lord Shiva appeared in King’s dream and asked him to follow the line of ants. Shiva asked him to build a temple where the ants finish its travel. As directed the king followed the ants that were going from his for. They led him to the beautiful garden on the banks of river. Then he built a huge temple. So Hindus got a temple because of the ants.
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Manu on Ants
धर्मं शनैः सञ्चिनुयाद् वल्मीकमिव पुत्तिकाः ।
परलोकसहायार्थं सर्वभूतान्यपीडयन् ॥ २३८ ॥
dharmaṃ śanaiḥ sañcinuyād valmīkamiva puttikāḥ |
paralokasahāyārthaṃ sarvabhūtānyapīḍayan || 4-238 ||
Without causing pain to any beings, he shall, for the purpose of obtaining a companion in the other world, accumulate spiritual merit, slowly; just as the white ants accumulate the ant-hill.—(Manu Smriti 4-238).
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Parvati’s Challenge to Lord Shiva
Women are more compassionate towards living beings than men. Mothers would like the little ones are fed before everyone else. Parvati thought that her husband Lord Shiva did not know this. One day she challenged Shiva, Hey Man you don’t care for living beings; only mothers feed their babies; you men are after other things.
Lord Shiva smiled at her and said, No My Darling! It is I who look after all creatures from ant to elephant. Parvati did not believe him and kept quiet. But had a different plan in her mind. Without Shiva’s knowledge she took some ants and put them in a box and kept them in her private room. Next day she went to Shiva and asked him whether he gave food to all living beings in the world. Shiva said, Of course, My Darling. All had enough food and even left something for next day.
Parvati said, You Cheat ! Now I caught you red handed. Look at this box. She opened it to surprise Shiva but she was surprised to see left over rice grains in the box with ants feeling very happy with full stomach.
Shiva smiled at her innocence and ignorance.
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In Tamil
Tamils use Sanskrit words without any hesitation. Tamil Dictionaries have more Sanskrit words than Tamil words. So we find Pipilika, Sanskrit word for ant in Tamil dictionaries.
Pipīlikā (பிபீலிகா) noun See பிபீலிகை. ((சங்கத்தகராதி) தமிழ்சொல்லகராதி) [pipiligai. ((sangathagarathi) thamizhsollagarathi)]
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Pipīlikācantāṉam (பிபீலிகாசந்தானம்) [pipīlikā-cantāṉam] noun < pipīlikā +. Continuity, as of a line of ants; எறும்புகள் தொடர்ந்தூர்வதுபோன்ற தொடர்ச்சி. [erumbugal thodarnthurvathuponra thodarchi.] (மணிமேகலை [manimegalai] 30, 38, கீழ்க்குறிப்பு. [kizhkkurippu.])
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1) Pipīlikamadhya (पिपीलिकमध्य):—[=pipīlika-madhya] [from pipīlika > pipīla] mf(ā)n. thin in the middle like an ant
2) Pipīlikamadhyā (पिपीलिकमध्या):—[=pipīlika-madhyā] [from pipīlika-madhya > pipīlika > pipīla] f. Name of any metre the middle Pāda of which is shorter than the preceding and following, [Ṛgveda-prātiśākhya]
3) Pipīlikāmadhya (पिपीलिकामध्य):—[=pipīlikā-madhya] [from pipīlikā > pipīla] mfn. Name of a kind of fast (beginning on the day of full moon with 15 mouthfuls, decreasing by one daily until the day of new moon, and after that increasing by one daily until the next day of full moon), [Manvarthamuktāvalī, kullūka bhaṭṭa’s Commentary on manu-smṛti on Manu-smṛti xi, 256.]
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pipīlikāmārga (पिपीलिकामार्ग).—m S (The ant-way.) In the system of yōga. The gentle and gradual method of accomplishing samādhi (abstract spiritual contemplation). Contrad. from vihaṅgamamārga. 2 The gradual way of attaining weanedness from the world and mortification of all affections, appetites, and senses. 3 fig. The creeping or slow way of accomplishing or performing in general.
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Pipīlikāniyāyam (பிபீலிகாநியாயம்) [pipīlikā-niyāyam] noun < pipīlikā +. Nyāya illustrating the principle of judging things correctly like ants; எறும்பு போல முறைப்பட எண்ணித் தவறாதுதுணியும் நெறி. [erumbu pola muraippada ennith thavarathuthuniyum neri.] (W.)
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Pipīlikānyāya (ಪಿಪೀಲಿಕಾನ್ಯಾಯ):—[noun] a maxim of ants working slowly but steadily and continuously.
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Pipīlikāstra (ಪಿಪೀಲಿಕಾಸ್ತ್ರ):—[noun] a kind of mystic arrow that would drop innumerable ants on the target.
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Let us look at ants in Sangam Tamil Literature, Tamil proverbs, Atharvana Veda and Brhat Samhita of Varaha Mihira.
To be continued……………………………………..
Tags- Ants, Hinduism, Manu, Ant Towns, Parvati, Ant Story, Tiruverumbur, Tenkasi, Herodotus, Gold digging ants
Tamil and Vedas 