Rope made with human hair; Chera king did this.

Written by London Swaminathan

Post No. 16,220

Date uploaded in London – 21 September 2026

Contact – swami_48@yahoo.com

Pictures are taken from various sources for spreading knowledge.

this is a non- commercial blog. Thanks for your great pictures.

tamilandvedas.com, swamiindology.blogspot.com

xxxx 

Attack on Tamil Women! Purananuru wonders-69, Tamil Encyclopaedia 109, One Thousand Interesting Facts -Part 109

Item 937- Naar Mudi is Golden Crown!

The name of the Chera king sung in this section 4 is Kalangāykanni Nārmudichēral,.

Lines 39-13/17 explain what is Naar Mudi (literally Fibrous Crown).

“Oh Chēra king wearing a fiber crown with bright pearls strung
on it, and gems set in new gold that sparkle like swaying spider
webs with hair-like delicate silvery strands”

A cone like part was made with 24 carat gold and gems were fixed on the edges. And the goldsmiths made strands with pearls. It looked like a spider web. The top was covered with fibres. That is why it is called Naar Mudi.

What we can guess from this description is there was a tradition of wearing naturally made crown with fibres from plants. In course of time the plant crown was replaced by gold and gems. We have several examples to confirm it. Thaadangam was made up of palmyra leaf to insert in the pierced part of ear. This was worn by women in the olden days. Then it became Thodu made up of gold and diamonds. Kanchi Sankaracharya (1894-1994) has explained it beautifully in his lectures. In Rig Veda and Vishnu Sahasranama ,we see Four Horns worn by Gods. We see it on, the so called Pasupati Seal, in Indus Valley as well.

Tamil commentators gave the full description of Naar Mudi (Naar=Fibre).

***

Item 938- Gold Melting Hindus!

Hindus had the very bad habit of melting enemy’s golden jewels and making them as foot stools ofvictorious kings. This is the best way of insulting enemies, they thought. But here the poet says only golden chains/necklaces were made from enemy gold:

Oh magnificence who wears a gold garland made from
crowns of seven kings on your fine wide chest!
You attacked and ruined king Nannan with golden
chariot, and cut down his sacred vākai tree

In other poems, we hear about foot stools of kings were made with golden jewellery of enemy kings.

Hindu women have the very bad habit of melting ancient jewellery and historic gold coins to make new jewellery. Thanks to foreigners who robbed Hindus, we have lot of Gupta gold coins in British Museum in London. They have Tamil gold coins as well!

***

Item 939- Tree Astrology!

In certain cultures like Etruscans, Romans etc we see Liver astrology. They cut an animal and take out its liver and soothsayers interpret the lines on it (see my old articles on Etruscans). Here we see a strange type of fortune telling. They watch UNNAM TREE and make forecasts.

Lines 40-17/20

The unnam trees with parched trunks are bent, spelling bad
omens for your enemies.  You own Neri Mountain, where
loud waterfalls flow down the peaks.

The commentators give us some interesting information about this type of fortune telling.

If the tree is flourishing that is a bad omen for the king. If it is withering and bending, that shows the enemy kings will face defeat.

***

Item 940- Attack on Tamil Women and Thaali/Mangala Sutra

The next ten verses sung by the famous Brahmin poet Paranar form Fifth Decad.

Here we get two vital information: 1. about how Tamil ill treated enemy women and 2.How they lost their Mangala  sutra.

Paranar is a famous poet always paired with greatest Brahmin poet of Sangam age, Kapilar.

The Intro. or Epilogue  called Pathikam give the following details:

(in my book it is given as foreword for every decad)

Neduncheralathan had two wives; Narmudi cheral was one through another wire. Here we see the most famous Chera King Senguttuvan who marched to Holy River Ganga in the north. First time he went with his mother for her to have a holy dip. Second time he went up to the Himalayas to take a stone from the holy mountain and bathe it in the holy river Ganges and make a statue for Kannaki. Ilango, author of Tamil epic Sillapadikaram, immortalised Kannaki and made Chenguttuvan the greatest Chera.

Tamil Atrocity

He chopped Pazhaiyan’s black-branched,
protected sacred neem tree, its thick trunk like a drum,
brought home the lumber in elephant wagons, using ropes
made from the fragrant, thick, black hair of Pazhaiyan’s women

Who lost their THAALI/Mangala Sutra……

Women who lose their husbands take off their mangala sutra (Thaali) and shave the hair on their heads. It is a Hindu custom. But using it as a rope to pull a chariot is an insult to womenkind. In the north we see enemy’s women are taken to the harem of victorious king. Here the Tamil word used for Thaali is Vaal Izai. Ancient commentators interpreted it as Mangala sutra (see page 170 of Pathitruppaththu by Mi.Pon.Ramanathan Chettiyar, Aruna Publication, Tamil Lecturer, Sir Thigarayar College, Chennai-21, Year 1964)

But when it is compared with Christian violence on women, Tamils did not do anything murderous; for five centuries Christian fanatics caught non- Christians and forced them to confess and convert. Those who refused like Joan of Arc were burnt alive. Many thousand women lost their lives because of this Inquisition.

Only Bernard Shaw exposed Christian atrocities against women.

பழையன் காக்கும் கருஞ்சினை வேம்பின்

முழாரை முழு முதல் துமியப் பண்ணி,

வால் இழை கழித்த நறும் பல் பெண்டிர் 15
***

Item 941- attack on pirates in the sea

Line 41-27 is explained by the commentators as how Senguttuvan went to an island of pirates and destroyed them. Sri Lanka’s Mahavamsa also talk about the sea pirates and their destruction.

The epithet in the king’s name Kadal Pirakottiya is not explained by the commentators; probably it means he has a powerful naval force with which he destroyed his enemies.

***

Item 942- stitching the wounds

Lines 42-1/5 give us some medical information.

Poet compared the stitching needles to the beaks of king fisher birds. He said that the soldiers’ wounds were stitched with such needles and they have the scars on their chests.

Sushrutha, the father of surgery,  in his Samhita described lot of medical instruments 2600 year ago. No wonder Paranar described it (London Wellcome Library displayed the replicas of original instruments and I took pictures. The pictures and my article on it are in this blog)

Your warriors wearing dark, palm-frond garlands and gold
warrior anklets are covered with wounds caused by arrows,
and big scars caused by long bright needles, used to sew up
wounds, that pierced repeatedly like cunning, sharp-beaked
kingfishers that dive again and again into cold ponds in search
of fish.

***

Item 943 Copied Kalidasa

Copied Kalidasa’s Kumara sambhava- Devataatmaa Himalaya

கடவுள் நிலைய கல் ஓங்கு நெடுவரை

வட திசை எல்லை இமயமாகத்

தென்னங் குமரியொடு ஆயிடை அரசர்

முரசு உடைப் பெருஞ்சமம் ததைய ஆர்ப்பு எழச்,

In the soaring Himalayas with tall summits where gods
reside, beautifully jeweled women donning stylish hair
knots that look like the hair of yak, and spreading hair
that look like black clouds, love to play on the tree swings
in forests where bright-tusked, large-trunked, rutting
bull elephants with legs like pounding stones wander, and
count the loving female elephants that join their mates.
Unable to count them, they abandon counting.

In the land between northern Himalayas and southern Kumari

Sangam Tamil poets repeat the phrase Imayam to Kumari. The concept of One Nation existed even before the foreigners ruled India.

Her Paranar said God Residing Himalaya. This is a translation of Kalidasa’s Devtaatmaa Himaalaya

Kalidasa lived in first or second century  BCE according to Hindu scholars.

To be continued……………………………………

Tags-Item 943, Attack on Tamil Women, Purananuru wonders-69, Tamil Encyclopaedia 109, One Thousand Interesting Facts -Part 109