Meant to archive. Useful excerpt from a comment at
indiafacts.co.in/in-honor-of-tamil/
Related to posts 189 and 246 (3rd blockquote) of the Buddhism thread.
indiafacts.co.in/in-honor-of-tamil/
Related to posts 189 and 246 (3rd blockquote) of the Buddhism thread.
Quote:R Nanjappa(Also useful to read point 11 in conjunction with point 10 above it.)
It is good to see an article in honour of Tamil. The issue of language is so charged with political overtones, especially in Tamil Nadu, that one feels hesitant to mention facts. Yet some facts must be mentioned.
1. Before the Dravidian parties took over, scholars had always reckoned its origin as divine, tracing it to Sage Agastya who came to the South as directed by Lord Siva. Tamil Saivite Saints like Appar talked of Sanskrit and Tamil as the two languages originating directly from lord Siva.
2 Tamil was developed by groups of poets, sitting in congregation, called 'Sangam'.. Lord Subrahmanya was also part of it at times. Any new poetic work had to be approved by the Sangam. There were three Sangams spanning long intervals. The first one was at 'Kapatapuram"; (mentioned in Valmiki); the second was at 'South Madurai'. Both these were located south of Kanyakumar but were submerged in sea. So, the last Sangam came to the present Madurai. The Pandya kings had always been associated with Sangam.
3 Many poetic works of the Sangam period , long and short,are avilable in tact. It is these which truly reflect the antiquity, magnificence and majestry of the language. They are colleced in three compilations called '10 songs', 'Group of 8' and the 'Collection of 18',, though the last is not considered strictly or wholly of the Sangam age. Tirukkural belongs to this group. Dating is subject to disputes , both scholarly and other wise.
But some clues are available. For instance, the very first work in the very first collection is dedicated to Lord Subrahmanya (Muruga) who was the Deity of the hills and hilly regions, the highest part of land, and the first to emerge out of water! Such was their devotion to God. This poem describes how the people of different tribes and communities worshiped the Lord at different centres, especally six of them. Describing how Brahmins worshipped at Swamimalai. the poem says that they had 'dedicated 48 years to 'brahmachaya and learning' The poet actually says "those who had dedicated 6x4x2 years on this path of discipline". Now, the normal reckoning for brahmacharya and Vedic learning is up to 24 years, even according to Manu. So this must be a period even prior to that!
4. Agastya was supposed to have written a grammar for Tamil but that is extinct. The oldest grammar available now is that of Tholkappiar , a student of Agastya. In the olden days, his original name was taken as 'Trunadhumagni'. But after the rise of Dravidian politics, this is obscured. This is a book not just covering linguistic grammar, but the very grammar of life!
5. Tirukkural belongs to the group of 18, which deals with Dharma, called in Tamil, Aram. In fact Tirukkural deals with Aram. Porul, Inbam, which are the exact Tamil rendering of Dharma, Artha and Kama. The only difference is that while in Sanskrit, kama stands for any desire, though predominantly associated with human sexualty in the popular mind, the Kural deals with just human sexuality. One important question here is why did Valluvar leave out Moksha (Called Veedu in Tamil) when he adopted the other 3 of the standrd 4 purusharthas? One of the celebrated ancient commentators , Parimelazhagar, answered this that while the human mind can think and talk of the other three, Moksha was beyond human thought and expression- (anirvachaniyam as we would say)it had to be realised by other means and not lalked about! ' and so Valluvar did not deal with it separately. But he does mention it in appropriate contexts.
6. It is necesary to remember that Tirukkural is a dharmasastra. It starts with praise of God and asks what is the use of learning if does not lead to the feet of God. It departs boldly from certain usages of ancient Tamils of the sangam age- such as meat eating, drinking and prostitution. The whole Kural is a reflection of our dharma sastras, without any contradiction anywhere: the panchayajna, the six duties of brahmins, the duties of the kings etc. In dealing with artha, he deals with both economic and political aspects, which are reflective of the respective provisions in Manu and Kautilya. These have led some scholars to say that the Kural belongs to a later age. Political interests today would like to paint the Kural as a secular ie non-religious, non- Hindu literature dealing with mundane matters. This is not so..Indian spirtuality never separated the two facets of life.
7. The Silappadhikaram (now written as Cilappadikaram) is a unique work, which was spedifically written to teach three truths through a tale:
i. For a ruler who falls from Dharma, Dharma itself will become (cause) death.
ii. A true Pativrata will be honoured by the sages.
iii.One's fate or destiny will pursue him, no matter what!
The work is classified as 'kappiam' ie kavya. it is rather encyclopaedic, mirroring the poltical social economic and religious life of the people and all the three kings of the Tamil land. Its coverage of music and other arts is one of the main sources of our knowledge of those aspects of ancient Tamil life.
8. In ancient and Classical times, there was no prejudice or hatred against Sanskrit or any other language. Tolkappiam in fact prescribes rules as to how those words from other languages are to be adapted into Tamill usage. But the ancient poets, including Tolkappiar and Tiruvalluvar used direct Sanskrit words where necessary. In the first Kural itself, he uses three Sanskrit words.
9. Many important words in Tamil are adaptations from Sanskrit , which most Tamilians do not know eg.
ilakkanam= grammar= Lakshana ( hence Lakshmana becomes Ilakkuvan in Kamban)
ilakkiyam = literature= Lakshya
Kaappiam = epic = kavya
deivam = deity, god, etc = Deva.
vulagam= world = Lokam
vulogam = metal =Loham
The very word Sangam is Sanskrt!
etc.
10. But Tamil also has stunning direct originals for important Sanskrit words.
eg. Veda is called Marai in Tamil It means literally what is hidden. That is because the Vedic truths are not apparent, and are to be reflected upon, intuited, and learned through proper authorities.
Veda is called Shruti in Sanskrit, because it is to be heard, not written. This is stunningly called " Ezhudhaak kilavi" ie that which is not written. It is also called 'vottu' in Tamil, because it is recited in a particlar way, which is called "Vodudal".There are innumerable such examples
11. Sri Aurobindo who studeid the Veda intensely on his own, and also Tamil has said that the knowledge of very ancient Tamil words ( of very great antiquity) enabled him to understand certain Vedic words better!
Death to traitors.