Picture of Tiruvalluvar
Written by London swaminathan
Date: 4 March 2017
Time uploaded in London:- 15-20
Post No. 3690
Pictures are taken from various sources; thanks.
contact; swami_48@yahoo.com
In the Atharva Veda (3-30):-
“The union of hearts and minds
and freedom from hate I will bring you
Love one another as the cow
loves the calf that she has borne.
Let son be loyal to father
and of one mind with his mother;
let wife speak to husband words
that are honey-sweet and gentle.
Let not a brother hate a brother,
nor a sister hate a sister
unanimous, united in aims
speak you words with friendliness
I will make the prayer for that
concord among men at home
by which Devas do not separate,
nor ever hate one another”.
–Atharva Veda 3-30
Hindus consider Mother, Father and Teacher as Gods:
Mata, Pita, Guru (Teacher), Deivam
Linguists know that the English words Mother, Father, Teacher and Deity came from these Sanskrit words.
There is another interpretation for the above Sanskrit quote. Respect is given to in the following order; mother, father, teacher and god.
All the saints have praised god as Mother and Father. So they knew that no one else can excel their love and affection. I have given below some similes and verses about father in Sanskrit and Tamil literature.
Tamil Veda Tirukkural says:
What a father is expected to do his son is to make him fit to hold the foremost pace among the learned (Kural 67)
The duty of the son to the father is to make others exclaim “ what penance has he done to be blessed with such a worthy son.”
Tiruvalluvar, author of the Tamil Veda Tirukkural knew about the penance domne by the parents of Adi Shankara and Markandeya.
Picture of Agastya
In the Rig Veda
Several passages in the Rig Veda show father as a standard of affection. The Vedic seers implore the fire god to be of easy access as a father is to his son
sa nah pite’va suunave agne suupaayano bhava RV 1-1-9
Vyusitaasva protects all the castes as a father protects his own sons:apaalayat sarvavarnaan pitaa putraan ivau rasaan –Mahabharata 1-112-13;1-110-11; 3-3-5
Yudhisthira going into exile into the forest is described as abandoning his subjects like a father abandoning his sons:
pite’vaputraan apahaaya caa smaan. Mbh 3-24-9
Sometimes, paternal affection takes the shape of advice, e.g. like a father instructing his sons, Matali instructs the Pandavas and goes away:
pite’va putraan anusisya cai’naan.Mbh 3-161-25
Arjuna implores Lord Krishna to pardon his faults as a father pardons those of a son, a friend those of a friend, a lover those of his beloved:
pite’va putrasya sakhe’va sakhyh priyah priyaayaa rhasi deva sodhum.Mbh 6-33-44
as a father lifts his fallen son, so does the minister lift the fallen king Samvarana who is unable to bear his beloved Tapati’s sudden disappearance:
tam samutthaapayaam aasa .. pite’va patitam sutam.Mbh 1-162-5
Bhisma embraces Karna by one arm as a father embraces his son:
pite’va putram gaangeyah parisvajyai ‘kabaahunaa.6-117-7
Damayanti, lamenting, accuses the Himalaya of not consoling her with its voice as a father consoles his distressed daughter:
giraa naasvaasayasy adya svaam sutaam iva duhkhitaam. 3-61-52
from very childhood, Parasara, the grandson treats vasistha as his father:
janmaprabhri tasmims ca pitarii’va
vyavartata. Mbh 1-169-4; 3-24-7
Picture of Tamil Poet Tiruvalluvar
In Kalidasa:-
In the Raghu Vamsa by reason of his protecting and maintaining the subjects, he was virtually their father. Their real fathers were merely the source of their birth.
Raghuvamsa 1-24
Vasistha blesses Dilipa, “May you stand like your father, at the head of those who are blessed with worthy sons”. RV 1-91
Again, the great sage Kautsa blesses Raghu, “May you obtain a son wothy of your excellence as your father obtained yourpraiseworthy self”
Raghuvamsa 5-34
Just as King Pundarika was the father with an excellent son Devanika, who was ready to please his father, similarly, the son had an excellent father by reason of loving his son. The image suggests the perennial affection between the father and son. Raghuvamsa 18-11; 17-2
Also read my previous article:
Ruler is Father and Mother: Hindu Concept in Tamil … – Tamil and Vedas
https://tamilandvedas.com/…/ruler-is-father-and-mother-hindu-con…
11 Feb 2017 – Hindus considered the Rulers as their father and mother. Generally, Guru and God are praised as father and mother by the Hindus in their …
–Subham–
Tamil and Vedas 