Post No. 13,893
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Dreams in Andal Poems and Silappadikaram
What is a Dream ?
DREAM IN THE HUTCHINSON ENCYCLOPEDIA
Series of events or images perceived through the mind during sleep. The function is unknown, but Sigmund Freud saw them as wish fulfilment (nightmares being failed dreams prompted by fears of repressed impulses). Dreams occur in periods of rapid eye movement (REM) by the sleeper when the cortex of the brain is approximately as active as in waking hours. Dreams occupy about a fifth of sleeping time.
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I have already explained that the ancient Hindus were the pioneers in the research of dreams. They discussed dreams in Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, all Sanskrit hymns such as Viveka Chudamani of Adi Sankara. The Brahmins have been reciting a Vedic mantra thrice a day in their Sandhyavandana till this day. They discovered that no one can sleep without dreaming and so they requested to God to destroy the night mares.
Hindu references to dreams show that they can reveal good things or bad things that is going to happen. This explodes the Freudian theory on dreams. Westerners except a few never believed dreams can come true.
Tamil speaking Hindus went one step ahead and sang about dreaming animals too.
Here below are dreams from Silappadikaram,the greatest of the five Tamil epics, and the Vaishnavite Saint Andal, a teenage girl, who lived 1300 years ago. We see all the nightmares in Silappadikaram and all the good dreams in Andal’s Varanam Ayiram meaning Elephants Thousand poem. In that poenm she not only described good signs before getting married to Lord Vishnu, but also sang about the Hindu Wedding Rituals in proper order. So, Vaishnavite Hindus of Tamil Nadu sing the relevant stanzas in their weddings.
In short Hindus have created a written record of dreams for 3000 to 4000 years. In the Kamba Ramayana we come across good and bad dreams of Bharat and Trisada.
Let us hear the dreams now straight from their mouths
Andal Dreams
Aandaal (Kodhai) daughter of Vishnuchitta (Tamil name- Periyazhwar) secretly wears the garland meant for the deity Vatapatrasayee (Vishnu) of Srivilliputtur in Tamil Nadu. She admires herself by looking at her reflection in the water of the well at home and is lost in a divine visualization of her dream wedding with the lord. She sings a set of verses beginning with “Varanam Ayiram” (vaaranam= elephant; aayiiram= thousand) , describing this dream in great detail to a friend. This set is included in the 143 verses of her Nachiyar Thirumozhi. Each verse in this set ends with the phrase “…kanaa kanden thozhi naan” which translates to “…so I dreamt, my friend!”, the inspiration behind this piece. Andal’s name is a household name for Tamils, because of her another set of 30 famous verses called Tiruppaavai.
I Dreamed a Dream – by Andal
(following is the translation by P R Ramachander)
1.Oh dear friend in my dream I saw,
That Lord Narayana was walking around the town,
Surrounded by one thousand elephants and,
He is being received by with golden poorna Kumbhams,
And that the town is being decorated with streamers.
2. Oh dear friend in my dream I saw,
That they have fixed tomorrow as the wedding day ,
And I saw the lad named as Madhava and Govinda,
Entering the Pandhal decorated by betelnut trees.
3. Oh dear friend in my dream I saw,
That Indra and all other devas have come,
And were talking about me to be made as a bride,
And Durga Devi made me wear new auspicious cloths ,
And the wedding garlands .(sweet scented garland)
4. Oh dear friend in my dream I saw,
That several learned Brahmins bringing sacred waters,
From all the four directions and sanctify it by Manthras,
And sprinkle on me who is a maid and ,
Tied my wrist with a protective band to those of the pure one.
5. Oh dear friend in my dream I saw,
Pretty maids carrying lighted lamps which were shining like sun,
Along with pots of water , receiving that king of sweetness,
Whose walking steps were making the earth shake.
6. Oh dear friend in my dream I saw,
That with the playing of drums and booming of conches,
Below the pandhal which was decorated with low strands of pearl,
The killer of Madhu who is my betrothed, holding my hands.
7 Oh dear friend in my dream I saw,
That when those with good voice chanted the Manthras from Vedas,
Spread grass all round the fire , offered dry holy sticks to it
That one came like an angry elephant , held my hands and lead me round the fire.
8. Oh dear friend in my dream I saw,,
That the Narayana who is our main stay in heaven and in several births ,
And to whom all of us belong , holding my feet by his red tinged hand,
And placing it on the grinding stone.
9. Oh dear friend in my dream I saw,
That after that my brothers with pretty eye brows came,
Made me stand near the sacred fire in front ,
Placed my palms on the palms of the lion faced Achyutha,
And made the puffed rice in my hand fall in fire.
10. Oh dear friend in my dream I saw,
That Kumkuma and cool sandal paste were applied on us,
And I along with him went round the streets of the auspicious town,
Riding on an elephant and then we were given a holy bath.
11.If these ten verses in pure Tamil composed,
By Godha who is daughter of the king of Villiputhur(Nammazghvar),
Who is famous for his writings describing ,
The dream she saw for marrying the cowherd(Sri Krishna),
Are chanted, they would get good children and be happy.
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Silappadikaram (also spelt Cilappatikaram)
Professor V R Ramachandra Dikshitar translated this epic into English in 1939. He introduced the great Tamil epic to the western world. Dravidians are not in favour of this epic because it is full of Hindu themes; all the Vedic Gods, their temples are touched by the poet Elango from the very beginning till the end. Moreover, a Brahmin called Madala Maraiyon is the link in the epic. At the end, he chastises the great Chera king Senguttuvan and ask him to stop the wars and do Vedic Yagnas. He not only obeyed the Brahmin’s command but also gave him gold equivalent to his weight. At that time Chera king would have weighed 70 to 90 Kilos. Lucky brahmin got it. For the first time Jain principles were also sung by the poet.
Story is full of supernatural anecdotes; Dravidian politicians project themselves as Anti Hindus and never appreciate the greatness of this epic. This is the only full-length story about an ancient Tamil personality. Other full-length stories are from the Middle Age.
Notwithstanding these tragic elements which evoke the reader’s sympathy and tears, the ending is happy. Both the wronged persons attain Heaven in a celestial car surrounded and celebrated by gods.
We come across three dreams in the epic. Kovalan, the tragic hero, Kannaki, the heroine who challenged the great Pandya king for unjustly executing her husband Kovalan and the Pandya Queen are the three people who described their dreams forecasting disasters. Kannaki burnt Madurai city to revenge the execution and got elevated to the status of Goddess by the Chera King Senguttuvan. He went to the Holy Himalayas to get the stone for Kannaki’s sculpture and got it bathed in the Holy River Ganga . For the installation ceremony he invited all the kings of the land and Gajabahu of Sri Lanka. Though it happened around 130 CE, the epic was composed around fifth century.
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அடைக்கலக் காதை Kovalan’s Dream
To this Kovalan replied, ‘Half awake in the middle of
the dark night I dreamt thus “Through a low person in
this city, well defended by the righteous monarch, this girl with the five plaitsof fragrant hair suffered great agony; stripped of my robes by some stranger I mounted a horned buffalo. Later in the company of the handsome lady of the charmingly curled hair, I attained the great status of those who have renounced attachment. I also saw Matavi yielding her daughter Manimekalai to a Buddhist saint of great glory, thereby making the god of love fling his flower dart on the barren ground and sob helpless”. I anticipate some imminent trouble
This is actually an introduction to the second epic called Manimekalai
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Pandyan Queen’s Dream வழக்குரை காதை
ancient Tamils attached much importance to dreams. They
believed that a dream foreshadowed coming fortune or
misfortune.
‘Alas ! I saw, I saw (in my dream) the sceptre fall
and the umbrella. The bell at the palace-gate shook
itself and tinkled as it quaked.
‘Alas ! I also saw, I saw the eight cardinal points
agitated : and darkness swallowed the sun. Alas ! I also
saw, I saw an iridescent rainbow in the night ;a meteor
glowing with heat fell by day. Alas !’
THAT WHICH IS PROGNOSTICATIVE
8-12 ‘The righteous sceptre and the white umbrella falling
upside down to the hard ground ; the bell at the gate of
our victorious king’s palace quivering and making the
mind shiver with fear ; the rainbow appearing in the night,
the meteor falling by day ; the eight cardinal points in a
state of agitation ; all these indicate some impending
calamity. I shall inform the king of it.’
( There was in existence a treatise
on dreams which foretold the
results of dreams, good or bad. Adiyarkkunallar quotes
from that book in his commentary.)
*****
Kannaki’s Dream கனாத்திறம் உரைத்த காதை
Kannaki had an evil dream which she communicated to
Devandi ;
Devanti blessed Kannaki with these words: May you get back your husband
But Kannaki replied, ‘Though I may get him back,
my heart will still be pained ; for I have had a dream. It
was thus. We went, hand in hand, to a great city. There
some people belonging to the city said something which
was unbearably unjust. Some crime was thrown upon
Kovalan. It stung me like a scorpion-bite. Hearing
it, I pleaded before the protecting king. The king as well as the city would witness a great calamity. I shall not say no more because it was a bad dream. O Lady with close fitting bangles, if you listen to the evil deed done to me and the happy results achieved by me and by my husband, you will laugh i(n derision).
Ilango , the author, like a film director gives some suspense hints, so that the reader would rush through the pages.
In fact Silappadikaram is such an epic that one would not stop reading it in the middle . every chapter has something new and interesting. Bharatiyar, the greatest of the modern Tamil poets praised Silappadikaram as WHICH GRIPS ENRAPTURED HEARTS.
VENBA (Inserted Stanze in Four Lines)
The dream dreamt by his wife made the words of the
black and long-eyed Madavi empty. Early, before the
sun dispelled the darkness of night, (Kovalan and his wife)
started, impelled by fate which had decreed their doom
long ago.
****
Role of Dreams in Tamil Saivite Literature
Tamil and Vedas
https://tamilandvedas.com › 2013/07/04 › role-of-drea…
4 Jul 2013 — In the story of Pusal Nayanar we read about the construction of a temple by two methods. Pusal Nayanar did build a temple mentally. Pallava king …
Dreams
Tamil and Vedas
https://tamilandvedas.com › tag › dreams
—subham—Tags- Dreams, Andal, Varanam Ayiram, Kannaki, Kovalan, Pandyan Queen, Disasters, Good , bad, omens, Silappadikaram, V R Dikshitar, Cilappatikaram ,Tamil Hindus, Explodes, Freudian Theory ,on Dreams.
Tamil and Vedas 