BRAHMINS IN SANGAM LITERATURE-7

LITERATURE-LIGHT AND DELIGHT

BRAHMINS IN SANGAM LITERATURE-7

              Purananooru

Pandyan Palyaagasaalai Mudukudumip Peruvazhuthi is the hero in two other poems which contain important information about Brahmins and the Brahminical order.

Meenakshi temple at Madurai, the capital of the Pandyas.
Jorge Ryan/http://www.royan.com.ar, via Wikimedia commons.

Wars among Tamil kings

One unfortunate but prominent feature of ancient Tamil life was the almost regular and constant warfare  among their kings,causing untold loss of life and property. There are explicit and detailed accounts of how the victor kings caused damage and destruction.The victor is always praised, however brutal, and the loser is quietly forgotten, however brave. Brutality of the victor is painted as bravery,even when the victims were of the same clan.North had but one Mahabharata, but in Sangam literature we find war and violence for over thousand years.  The major kings were the Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas, but there were many smaller chieftains who sided with one or the other of the bigger kings. It was quite common for one of these kings to subdue the others and annexe their kingdoms. There were occasions when the three joined together to subdue another, as the famous Paari. There were of course times when the three were friendly, and appeared together on happy occasions and some such have been sung about. But they were rare. Those Dravidians who talk about imagined Aryan invasion about which there is absolutely no evidence of any kind, in an area where there is no evidence that the Tamilians lived, should compile the history of wars among Tamil kings themselves, which were quite brutal, for which their own literature provides solid and substantial evidence!

But righteous war!

But even such wars were fought on the basis of some basic rules honoured by all sides. All fighting stopped at sunset. Non-combatants were never harmed. Civil life in society was not disturbed. War was not sudden and was preceded by many other efforts, including negotiation,alliances,etc.

Exempted categories

Almost the first sign of war was a formality called "aanirai kavardal". It involved the invading king capturing the cattle of the enemy grazing in the border. But why capture the cattle? It was to protect them! In poem 9, a female poet Nettimaiyar நெட்டிமையார் tells us a few interesting things about this.

Before launching his attack, this Pandya king made an announcement:

Aavum aaniyal paarppana maakkalum,

Pendirum piniyudaiyeerum, paenith

Thenpulam vaazhnarkku arunkadan irukkum

Ponpol pudalvar peraadeerum

Em ambu kadi vidudum, num aran sermin yena

Araththaaru nuvalum pootkai.....


ஆவும் ஆனியற் பார்ப்பன மாக்களும்
பெண்டிரும் பிணியுடையீரும், பேணித்
தென்புலம் வாழ்நர்க்கு அருங்கடன் இறுக்கும்
பொன்போல் புதல்வர்ப் பெறாஅ தீரும்
எம் அம்பு கடிவிடுதும், நும் அரண் சேர்மின் என
அறத்தாறு நுவலும் பூட்கை...........

He asked some categories of people to leave the area and reach places of safety. The poet says:

 " 'You asked Cows, Brahmins who are cow-like in nature ( ie naturally timid and fearful of violence), women, the sick, those who do not have valuable son to protect them and perform the obligatory rites for the pitrus- all of you should go to places of safety before my arrows attack you'. Such was your adherence to Dharma."

Exempting the cows and Brahmins from all conflict was a universal practice those days. Cows and Brahmins  were never harmed. It has been explained that it was in order to preclude any possibility of harm that the cows were rounded up by the attacking king himself! Dr.U.Ve.S. Iyer furnishes many literary sources for this exemption.

Obligation to Pitrus

Paenith thenpulam vazhnarku arunkadan irukkum ponpol pudalvar peraadeer: Those who do not have male issues to perform the sraddha rites for the pitrus.

This too was an article of faith among the ancient Tamils. The Vedic  dharma prescribes five rites for all householders as obligatory: rishi yajna, deva yajna, pitru yajna, manushya yajna, bhuta yajna. They are called 'pancha maha yajnas' and are treated as debts (kadan கடன்) which have to be discharged- their performance does not confer merit, but non-performance is sin. Valluvar recognises this, but he records primary place to pitrus! He says:

Thenpulathar deivam virundu okkal thaan yenraangu

Aimpulaththaar ombal thalai.  (43)

தென்புலத்தார்  தெய்வம் விருந்து ஒக்கல் தான் என்றாங்கு
ஐம்புலத்தார் ஓம்பல் தலை

This comes in the section on the life of the householder, immediately following praise of God, praise of Rain, glory of the Renunciates, and the reiteration of Dharma ie this is almost the first dharma he expounds for householders!

Thenpulathar- those who occupy or have gone to the South- these are the Pitrus or Manes. They are supposed to go to South as it is the direction of Yama! It is the son who has the natural duty to look after the parents and perform the sraddha rites. The king is so thoughtful of dharma that he does not want people without male issues to be killed in war.

One more thing may be noted here. The Veda does not restrict the sraddha rites only to the Brahmins.Following it, Valluvar too makes it common to all householders!

Celebration of Indra

The king then marched on and won the war. The poet then mentions three more important points.

 Enko Vaazhiya

Munneer vizhavin nediyon

Nanneerp Pahruli manalinum palave 

எங்கோ வாழிய......
முந்நீர் விழவின் நெடியோன்
நன்னீப் பஃறுளி மணலினும் பலவே

May you, my King, live more years than the sands on the banks of the Pahruli river , created by the great Deity of the sea whose festival was celebrated by you.

Here we learn that the Deity of the sea was celebrated by the Pandyas. Varuna was of course the presiding Deity of the sea and Tholkappiam records that his world is full of sand- "Varunan meya perumanal vulagamum".வருனணன் மேய பெருமணல் உலகமும். Varuna was one of the 5     celebrated Tamil Deities, along with Thirumal, Murugan, Indra, and Kottravai. We also know from Silappadikaram that Indra festival was also celebrated by the Tamils in a grand way. (Incidentally, Bhagavatam reveals that Krishna stopped the festivities connected with Indra, and instead instituted the worship of Govardhana!)

One clarification is in order. Agni,Indra, Varuna are names found in the Vedas and Puranas, but they do not mean the same thing. The Veda declares: "Ekam Sat,Vipra bahuda vadanti" : That which Is, is One; Sages call it variously. In the Veda,these are all names of the One Supreme, considered from different angles. But in the Puranas, they are reduced to the status of Devas, with Indra as their head, discharging their assigned functions. Shiva and Vishnu are also names subject to this confusion.From one angle, they are part of the Trimurtis, along with Brahma. But each of them is also considered Supreme in His own right, by the respective sets. The Vedic name Rudra or Vishnu or Narayana are not sectarian names, but names of the Supreme. They are not different entities, but different names of the One. The Indra and Varuna that the ancient Tamils celebrated are to be taken in this light. For people of a particular land, that Deity was the Supreme. (See note below).

"Munneer" literally means 'three waters' and signifies the sea. It is called so because the sea fuses rain, river and spring waters. It is called mun முன் also in the sense that water precedes land in creation. It is also called three because water creates, sustains and destroys land! All this is bound up intimately with Vedic philosophy and cosmology.

Pahruli river and Dwaraka- the connection!

The reference to the Pahruli பஃறுளி river is of great historical significance. The poet is obviously referring to a current entity- for in wishing long life to a king, no one will dare to make a comparison with a non-existent entity! This means that they were living when the river was still flowing! The Tamil tradition is that ancient Tamil Nad extended in the South beyond Capecomorin called Kumarimunai now. That area was called 'Kumari kandam', though no one is sure what was its extent or direction. It derived its name from a mountain range and river of that name, along with Pahruli river. They were submerged in the sea.The first Sangam existed in that land. Silappadikaram refers to this matter clearly:

Pahruli aatrudan panmalai adukkattu
Kumarik kodum kodum kadal kolla       11.19-20

பஃறுளி ஆற்றுடன் பன்மலை அடுக்கத்து
குமரிக் கோடும் கொடுங்கடல் கொள்ள

The bent sea having taken (sumberged) the Kumari mountain with its many ranges, along with Pahruli river. (Geologists talk of many such areas all over the world which got submerged.eg Atlantis, mentioned even by Socrates.)
In this connection, see posting no.5 covering the Chera king Perunchotru Udiyan who fed the two armies in the Mahabharata war. We indicated there that this was at the time of the first Sangam which functioned from the old Madurai. This area was submerged probably along with Dwaraka before 3100 BCE. This poem specifically refers to the Pahruli river which flowed there, which was submerged later. So this poem also was probably  composed during the first Sangam and covers a Pandya king! We do not know whether the two kings were contemporaries!

WAR AND VAELVI (YAJNA)

We have two more poems on this king by the same poet. One of them-no.15 contains information on Brahmins.

This poem celebrates the war victories of this king over his opponents, who were also mostly Tamils! By way of details, the poet records how he destroyed the streets of the opponent's towns by ploughing them with donkeys! Their farm lands (vilai vayalவிளை வயல்) were destroyed by making horses and chariots run over them! Their protected water works (kaappudaiya kayam காப்புடைய கயம்) were destroyed by engaging huge elephants!  All this, apart from the men killed. This is how one Tamil king dealt with another Tamil king. ( A similar thing we can see in Pattinappalai, the king there being the famous Karikal Cholan!)

But on the other side, this king conducted many Yajnas!


Narpanuval naalvedattu
Arum seerthip perum kannurai
Neim mali aavudhi pongap panmaan
Veeyaach chirappin vaelvi mutri
Yoobam natta viyan kalam pala kol!

நற் பனுவல்  நால்வேதத்து
அருஞ் சீர்த்திப் பெருங்  கண்ணுறை
நெய்ம்மலி ஆவுதி பொங்கப் பன்மாண்
வீ யாச் சிறப்பின் வேள்வி முற்றி
யூபம் நட்ட வியன் களம் பல கொல்

Many are the sites where you conducted   Yajnas according to the four Vedas which prescribe what is beneficial for us, fixing  tall yooba stambas, offering Ahuti with highly praised samithu, and other ingredients, pouring ghee, causing smoke to rise high! 

So this is how things have always been! On the one side, destruction in the name of valour and bravery, and on the other, acts of religious merit! Only, we don't have wars or yajnas of that type anymore. Now we have commercial wars and people who make huge money in white, black and all other colours in between also make huge donations to temples or other 'charities' in many fancy names like 'corporate social responsibility'! Who knows how much of such charity represents 'conscience money'?

Obviously this king was not alone in performing Yajnas. We have others like Chola Peru Nal Killi, who performed Rajasuya Yajna, so that he is called "Rajasuyam vaetta Perunar Killi". All this shows that the Tamil kings of the Sangam age performed Vedic yajnas, like kings in the rest of the country.

 Old books record that Pandya kings hail from the Lunar dynasty. Pandavas too belonged to this, while Rama and the Ikshvakus belonged to the Solar dynasty-Raghuvamsa! The Cholas are reputed as Sembians- the descendants of Sibi, another star of the Solar dynasty. Vedic tradition believes that the whole of humanity came from Manu, and both Devas and Asuras are the progeny of the same Prajapati. Dravidians probably came from elsewhere! Yes, they came from the brain of white-skinned colonials who descended from apes, according to Darwin!

Note:

1. The names of Hindu Deities is causing lot of confusion even among Hindus. We have Vedic deities, puranic deities, local deities etc. How are they all connected?

It is now accepted on all hands that Adi Sankaracharya classified all Hindu deities under 6 categories, usually called Shanmata. But Hindus do not care for the meaning, and fight over the labels! What do these six names mean? Sri Kripananda Variar has beautifully explained this.
The Supreme has , in human conception, six natures as under:

Shivam : meaning Mangalam (Auspiciousness)
Vaishnavam :  meaning Vyapagam or Extensiveness
Ganapatyam : meaning absence of Obstruction
Kaumaram :    meaning Ever young (Agelessness)
Saktam    : meaning Power
Sauram   : meaning Light (Enlightenment)

Sects have selected one of these as their main idea and treat others as separate. But is not God all-inclusive?  Is not God all extensive? Does He not confer auspiciousness? Can anything obstruct God? These are not small, separate deities, but different aspects of the One Supreme! They are not to be confused with Trimurti and such other ideas.If people care for the true meaning, will they quarrel? 

Please see Variar: Tiruppugazh commentary, vol14, p.255.  Guhasri  Variar Publications, Chennai-2, 1998.

2.Yajna is a basic Vedic concept.Numerous yajnas are prescribed. It is obvious to any one studying the literature seriously, that they are not meant for all. Many of them require such enormous resources and organisation that they are beyond the capacity of most emperors! And what benefit do they offer in the end? Long or short stay in heaven-but however long, subject to definite end and rebirth! Can this be the benediction really meant by the Veda for all?

The true concept of Vedic yajna applicable to all householders is totally different. That is the Pancha Maha Yajna: Rishi yajna, Deiva yajna, pitru yajna, manushya yajna, and bhuta yajna. The scriptures have laid down that they are debts to be discharged and so should not be shirked. We have seen that Tiruvalluvar also indicates 5 types of observances as the main ones for householders.When he mentions 'thaan' ie self, it should actually be taken as mainly meaning spiritual effort as satisfying physical needs is common to animals too! Man alone is capable of spiritual effort. Householder life is a step in that direction.
In the course of its long history, religious pundits have stressed in the name of Vaidika karma only such rites as Vajapeyam, Atiratram, Soma yajna, Agnihotra, Sraddha and other samskaras. Two of the pancha maha yajnas are specifially social in intent: manushya yajna and bhuta yajna. But, religion became a vehicle for personal profit, at the cost of social welfare! A few boasted of religious piety, while the masses were plunged in misery. This certainly was not the intention of Hindu seers. In medieval times the sages of the Bhakti cult realised this and took corrective steps. During his visit to Varanasi, Samartha Ramadas addressed an assembly of learned pundits and established that by yajna, only these pancha maha yajnas were meant,especially for the Brahmin, on the authority of Acharya Sankara, based on his commentary on Chap.3 of the Gita. He also established that manushya yajna and bhuta yajna should not be neglected and that Bhagavata dharma which recognised this could alone save Sanatana dharma in the coming days. This is the unanimous view of the seers, and we see that only this is practicable now. In particular, he showed that all these dharmas were not meant for the exclusive benefit of the Brahmin, but for all humanity. The Veda declares: Sham no astu dwipadey, sham chatushpadey- May all two legged creatures and four legged creatures attain happiness (auspiciousness). Does this not mean that Brahmins have a responsibility for all forms of life? Can they interpret dharma to mean their own well being?

See: Swaminatha Atreyan: History of Samartha Ramadas, p.78-84. 2008 (Tamil)Sri Rama Nama Bank, Chennai-33. 

The Gita insists that Daanam, Yajna and Tapas should not be given up. But it has expanded the meaning of Yajna, from the original limitations. In the Sangam literature, we see the situation which prevailed in the ancient days, as in the rest of India. Much water has of course flown under the bridge since then.

Nice pen drawing of Madurai temple.