Lord Siva- Gaja Samhara Murti

WRITTEN BY LONDON SWAMINATHAN

Post No. 13,362

Date uploaded in London – 20 JUNE 2024                                   

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.

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socrates on  gold coin

Not only Indra and his Amrita (Ambrosia, Elixir, Nectar) are sung by Valluvar in his Tirukkural, but also Vishnu’s Avatars/ incarnations and Lord Shiva are also praised by Tiru Valluvar. Over 70 Kurals praised Hindu Gods and Hindu values. And 130 couplets under Ascetic Value gives the gist of Vedas. Even if all Hindu scriptures in Sanskrit disappear tomorrow, these 200 Kurals will save Hinduism. Valluvar is praised for his brevity. He gave us the essence of Hinduism.

Vishnu’s Avatars

Refer Kurals 1103, 1258,1228, 610,

Vishnu’s consort Lakshmi 179, 519, 617, 920

Lakshmi’s sister – 617, 936

Lord shiva – 580

Here are some examples:

Vamana (vaamana)/Trivikrama Avatar

A prince, who gives no room at all for sloth, will gain the whole universe,

Which was measured in three steps by the Lord Trivikrama – 610

Or

The king who is free from sloth shall gain all  that has been measured by the feet of Lord Vishnu -610

The reference is to Lord Vishnu , who in his incarnation as Trivikrama measured the whole universe in three  strides. He came as Vamana, a short dwarfish brahmin boy to king Mahabali and asked him to give land measuring only three steps. When the king said, granted, Vaamana measured the earth in one step, the heaven in second step and with the third he sent the king to the nether world (South America). But he was allowed to return to India once a year which is celebrated as Onam in Kerala. Thiru Onam is the star of Lord Vishnu. Sambandar also listed it as one of the famous festivals in his Tevaaram.

Vaamana became gigantic Trivikrama to do this. The three stride episode is in Rig Veda as well.

Whole Tamil Nadu knew this story and other Vishnu stories which is evident from 2000 year old Sangam Tamil Literature.

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Valluvar is neither a Buddhist nor a Jain

Can the lotus -eyed vishnu’s heaven be indeed as sweet to those who delightto sllep in the delicate arms of their beloved?- Kural 1103

Or

Is the world of the lotus eyed God Himself any sweeter than the tender arms,

Of the loving maiden in delightful embrace?- 1103

Buddhists and Jains won’t say this type of thing; they don’t praise Grihasta Dharma (Sex and family life)

Buddha was dead against women in the Ashrams; but his prime disciple Ananda begged him to include women as monks. Buddha agreed and said because of this, my religion would have shorter life of 500 years only. Dr Radhakrishnanan, President of India and philosopher has given these details in his beautiful introduction to his Dhammapada translation ( I have posted it in my blog with more details) .

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Caution

Following two are my interpretations.

There are two more Kural couplets where Krishna is mentioned. I interpret it Krishna  because of evidence from Tamil Literature.

In one Kural 1258 Valluvar used two words MAAYA and KALVAN

Maaya- magic/ magician

Kalvan – Thief/ Chor in hindi; chora in Sanskrit

Krishna hiding Gopi’s saris when they were bathing in River Yamuna is already in Sangam literature. Krishna is ‘praised’ as a chor/thief in Bhajan songs and other hymns. He plundered not only butter from every Yadav’s house but also the hearts of his devotees, particularly Gopi women. He did it as a boy not as an adult. Vaishnavite woman saint Andal of Thiruppavai also used the Tamil word Maayan/magician. Greatest Saivite saint Thiru Gnana Sambandar also called Lord Shiva as a Thief/Kalvan in Tamil in his very first verse when he was only three years old. Vishnu Sahasranama  in Mahabharata called Vishu as Maya (maaya) in at least two places.

Ilango , author and brother of Chera king Senguttuvan, also used Maayavan to praise Lord Vishnu .

My research shows that Tolkappiyam, Tirukkural and Silappadikaram (Tamil epic) belong to the same period, i.e. fifth century CE because of the Sanskrit word ADHIKAARAM.  So we see a pattern of the use of word Maaya. Andal who followed these authors, also used the same word in her Tiruppaavai.

Here is the Kural 1258

It is the weapon of soft words wielded by this wily and fraudulent character

That breaks the modesty of my womanhood-1258

Or

Are not the enticing words of my roughish lover capable of many lies, the weapon that breaks up my feminine firmness –1258

0r

It is the subdued speech of that false one , skilled in many a wily art, that breaketh through all the defences of our womanly decorum ( V V S Iyer’s Translation)

Those who are familiar with Mira Bhajans can feel the echoes of her Bhajans here.

In both devotional hymns and Lover’s poems/Kural they use the words Thief, Fraud, False one with positive connotation. Actually, it is ‘praising and not criticising.

Tamil literature has many more examples of Thief in positive connotations.

My second interpretation – Kural 1228

Like a shepherd’s flute it heralded a happy evening before, when my beloved was here,

Now it is a murderous weapon bringing total grief- 1228

Or

The shepherds flute now sounds as a fiery precursor of night and become a weapon that kills me – 1228

Lord Krishna and Saivite Saint Aanaaya Nayanar used flute to mesmerise both humans and animals. Music instrument flute is always associated with Lord Krishna; he is praised in Bhajan songs and hymns as one who is an expert in Murali, Vamsi/Flute.

This Kural brings us to our memory Radha, Mira and Gopi women.

Valluvar might have had Krishna in his mind when he used Flute in this couplet.

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Lord Shiva in Kural 580

Caution : this is also my interpretation. I wrote an article in Megam magazine in London in the 1990s linking Shiva- Socrates and -Valluvar. Again, it was published in my book in 2005.

First let us look at the couplet 580

Men of refined courtesy accept even a cup of poison and look cheerfully calm- 580

Or

He is said to possess the very pink of courtesy and graciousness,

Who can drink poison, seeing even seeing it poured in his presence—580

The same thought and words are found in Natrinai poem 355 which shows it is very familiar in Tamil speaking world. Natrinai is part of 2000 year old Sangam literature.

Valluvar’s description in this Kural fits to Socrates more than to Lord Shiva. But Tamils never knew Socrates at that time. But Socrates’ wealthy friend Crito described Socrates exactly the same way as Valluvar.

So if you leave Socrates out, another poison drinking case is Lord Shiva. When the poison came out of Samudra Manthan (Churning of ocean for getting Amrita), Shiva happily took it. It is thousands of hymns in Tamil. But Parvati, Shivas wife, stopped the poison half way through his throat. Sangam Tamil literature called him Neela kantan ( Blue Throated God). So, I conclude Valluvar described only Shiva and not Socrates. Already I showed that Valluvar used the Sanskrit word AMRITA in many of his couplets. The same Amrit episode contains this ‘poison drinking’ as well.

Picture- Death of Socrates

All the above Hindu episodes justify the name Tamil Veda for Tirukkural.

—subham—

Tags- Vishnu Avatars, Tirukkural, Lord Siva, Socrates, Poison Drinking, Maya, Tri Vikrama, Krishna Avatar, Lotus eyed