Moon in Sangam Tamil books : Purananuru wonders-38, Tamil Encyclopedia-78 (Post.15,970)

Written by London Swaminathan

Post No. 15,970

Date uploaded in London – 10 July 2026

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Purananuru wonders-38, Tamil Encyclopedia-78, One Thousand Interesting Facts -Part 78.

English translations are from Vaidehi Herbert; thanks.

ITEM 604 — Hare on Moon

Hare on moon is described in Sanskrit and Tamil books.

In Sangam literature we see it in

Akam .141. we see it in Panchatantra stories as well.

Akanānūru 141, Nakkeerar, Pālai Thinai – What the heroine said to her friend

May you live long, my friend!
My nights are sweet with dreams;
my days have seen good omens in our
decorated house; and my heart is very
full and happy with great desire.

May he come
when the full moon with its dark spots
that appear like a hare, joins the Pleiades
constellation in the middle of the night,
when farming dies down because
the rain in the sky moved away,
and when Karthikai festive lights
are lit and flower garlands are hung
in the streets of our ancient town.

A bride wearing small bangles, fragrant
thakaram paste in her short hair, joins other
women and boils milk on a stove with many
sides.  Women pound rice from the bent paddy
spears in the large fields with their strong pestles,
and on hearing the rapid pounding sounds a
pregnant heron perched on a nearby banana tree
with sweet fruits flies away in fear to a nearby
mango tree with a tall trunk.

He went to earn wealth and fame like
that of Idaiyāru town
that belongs to the victorious Karikāl Chozhan
who lifts people who are facing tough times.

He went on the honey-fragrant, tall Vēnkadam
mountain paths, where male monkeys leap and
frolic, dropping fresh naranthai flowers
that grow between the boulders near vēngai
trees that have tiger-colored flowers with dots.

***

ITEM 605- kartikai light festival

Kartikai festival is celebrated in Tamil Nadu on a grand scale until this day.

It has been celebrated for over 2000 years, here is a reference in

Akam .141 (see aboves)

***

ITEM 606 ashtami Chandra

The crescent moon on the eighth – Ashtami- day is compared with the forehead of a woman

Kuru. 129;

***

ITEM 607 – moon devoured by the snake

Like in Sanskrit books, Tamils also described lunar eclipse as a snake devouring the moon.

Hindus calculated the lunar and solar eclipses precisely and announced them well in advance in the almanacs/ panchangams.

But the popular belief that moon devoured by the snake stayed.

Here are the references,

Akam 114;

Cirupan .lines 180-185;

***

ITEM 608 lesson from moon

Tamils even taught some lesson about the transitoriness of life to the common men using moon..

According to Uraiyur Mutukuttanar the moon has a lesson even for the ignorant; one can learn the transitoriness and changeability of the lives and things of the world by observing the moon in the sky- Puram 27.

***

ITEM 609

Worshipping seven stars!

Brahmins worship seven seers called SAPTA RISHIS THRICE A DAY. THEY REPRESENT SEVEN STARS IN URSA MAJOR CONSTELLATION.

Seven Stars= Seven Seers;

Panini also mentioned the seven seers in the same order 2700 years ago as in Brahmin’s daily worship.

Tamils knew them very well because they mentioned star Arundhati very often.

Arundhati star is a part of a double star system of Vasistha in the Ursa Major constellation.

Here is a reference where the poet says worshipful seven stars in Narri .231

***

ITEM 610 – thunder and snake

Tamils had a superstition about snakes and thunder. They believed that thunder kills snakes.

Very often they used the expression that the thunder is the enemy of snakes

Puram.17-38;37-1; 58-6; 126-19; 366-3;

Kuru .158; 190;268;391;

Akam.92-11; 323-10; 202-9;

Narri.37-8; 114-9;129-7; 255-10;

Pathir.51-25;

In a general description poetess Avvaiyar says that the thunder was so fierce that it splits the hills and even shakes the Himalayas –

Kuru. 158 (Poem is given below)

***

ITEM 611- rainbow – Indra Dhanush

In Sanskrit rainbow is called Indra’s bow.

One Tamil Sangam poet described it as the garland of Vishnu.

Akam.  175.

Another poet compared it with the neck stripes of parrot- Akam.  192.

***

ITEM 612- Hail in Sangam works

Hail is a form of solid precipitation consisting of balls or irregular lumps of ice. It forms inside severe thunderstorms when strong updrafts carry raindrops high into the freezing atmosphere. These ice pieces grow in layers until they become too heavy for the wind to support and fall to earth.

The fall of hail is likened to the fall of small white flowers from the Murunkai trees and the Marram trees-

Akam. 101; 211;

Another poet compared it to the dice round in shape- Akam. 334; or

Eenkai  flowers- – Akam.125.

***

ITEM 613- rain

Many world poets have described rain in beautiful words. Tamils also did not miss it.

We see some beautiful descriptions in

Akam. 188;

Narri 139; 238; 248;

Kuru. 158; 280;

Kurunthokai 158, Avvaiyār, Kurinji Thinai –

What the heroine said to the rain, as the hero listened nearby

O rain!  You have come with
your swift and roaring thunder,
that can kill snakes in the lofty
mountains, mixed with winds
carrying swollen, dark clouds.

You have the ability to cause
the greatly famous Himalayas
to tremble.  Why do you not have
any pity for pathetic women who
are without their lovers?

To be continued…………………..

Tags- Moon in Sangam Tamil books ,Purananuru wonders-38, Tamil Encyclopedia-78, rainbow, thunder, snakes, eclipse, hail, hare