I am quite intrigued by the antiquity and the relation ship between two great languages , Tamil and Sanskrit.
It is not about simply which is rich or which is more ancient for each language has its own specialty.
So curious that I have been studying and looking for articles on this ,but the more I read I get more interested and more confused.
I have posted four to five articles on allied subjects, touching on this.
The point is this.
1.There is no direct reference to Tamils in the Vedas.
Bur reference is made of Pearls from Tamils.
Other than this, I am unable to find anything more.
2.However one can find numerous references to Tamils, Tamil Kingdoms, wealth of Tamils int the Ramayana and Mahabharata.
I have posts on this issue.
I provide one quote from Valmiki Ramayana.
”
Kavatapuram was the second capital of early Pandyas whose first capital South Madurai was devoured by sea. ‘Kavatapuram’ means the doorway (of South India). Valmiki Ramayana has a few references to South India. One of them goes like this:–
‘’tato hemamayam divyam muktamani vibhushitam
Yuktam Kavatanam Pandyanam gata drakshyata vanarah
“Behold on the shore of the ocean the Pandya’s golden gates decked with gold and pearl”.
3.Tamil quotes Vedas, Rama, Krishna(Mayon),Varuna, Durga,(Korkai0 Skanda( Murugan, Cheyon),Indra.
”
The Tolkappiyam also formulates the captivating division of the Tamil land into five regions (tinai�), each associated with one particular aspect of love, one poetical expression, and also one deity�: thus the hills (kuri�ji�) with union and with Cheyon (Murugan)�; the desert (palai�) with separation and Korravai (Durga)�; the forests (mullai�) with awaiting and Mayon (Vishnu-Krishna)�; the seashore (neytal�) with wailing and Varuna�; and the cultivated lands (marutam) with quarrel and Ventan (Indra). Thus from the beginning we have a fusion of non-Vedic deities (Murugan or Korravai), Vedic gods (Indra, Varuna) and later Puranic deities such as Vishnu (Mal or Tirumal). Such a synthesis is quite typical of the Hindu temperament and cannot be the result of an overnight or superficial influence�; it is also as remote as possible from the separateness we are told is at the root of so-called �Dravidian culture.�
Expectedly, this fusion grows by leaps and bounds in classical Sangam poetry whose composers were Brahmins, princes, merchants, farmers, including a number of women. The �Eight Anthologies� of poetry (orettuttokai�) abound in references to many gods�: Shiva, Uma, Murugan, Vishnu, Lakshmi (named Tiru, which corresponds to Sri) and several other Saktis.[37] The Paripadal, one of those anthologies, consists almost entirely of devotional poetry to Vishnu. One poem[38] begins with a homage to him and Lakshmi, and goes on to praise Garuda, Shiva on his �majestic bull,� the four-faced Brahma, the twelve Adityas, the Ashwins, the Rudras, the Saptarishis, Indra with his �dreaded thunderbolt,� the devas and asuras, etc., and makes glowing references to the Vedas and Vedic scholars.[39] So does the Purananuru,[40] another of the eight anthologies, which in addition sees Lord Shiva as the source of the four Vedas (166) and describes Lord Vishnu as �blue-hued� (174) and �Garuda-bannered� (56).[41] Similarly, a poem (360) of a third anthology, the Akananuru, declares that Shiva and Vishnu are the greatest of gods[42]
Not only deities or scriptures, landmarks sacred in the North, such as the Himalayas or Ganga, also become objects of great veneration in Tamil poetry. North Indian cities are referred to, such as Ujjain, or Mathura after which Madurai was named. Court poets proudly claim that the Chera kings conquered North Indian kingdoms and carved their emblem onto the Himalayas. They clearly saw the subcontinent as one entity�; thus the Purananuru says they ruled over �the whole land / With regions of hills, mountains, / Forests and inhabited lands / Having the Southern Kumari / And the great Northern Mount / And the Eastern and Western seas / As their borders….�[43]”
All this from Sangam Literature.
Later works , including Thirukkural has references to Vedas in abundance.
3.The Gods mentioned in Tamil are in the Vedic Period.
My doubt is why is it that no Avatar of Vishnu, Shiva have not manifested in the South?
By South, I mean the landmass below the Vindhyas.
Another curious fact is that Shiva is called Ayonija, one who does not stay in the womb,
His 64 Avatars are recorded in Tamil Literature.
Shiva is reported to have founded the Tamil Language through Sage Agasthya.
And Shiva in His Avatar as Soma Sundarar married Meenakshi, Goddess Uma at Madurai.
Excepting this there seems to be no Avatar like ram, Krishna.
4.Similarly why there is no record of the 64 Avatars of Shiva in Sanskrit and in the areas above the Vindhyas.
My surmise is that there was no division as below and above Vindhyas and as such there was one Bharat Varsha.
All this confusion emanates from the now disproved Aryan Invasion Theory and systematic misinterpretation of Vedas and Tamil by vested interests.
Comments with Data welcome.
This is a Post for academic interest, not one where demands “reservation policy” of Avatars of God in specific areas.
For discussion I have taken into account only the Avatras mentioned in the Puranas.
So under this category, Thiruvilayadal Puranam of Shiva.s 64 Avatars are not covered.
Citation.
http://micheldanino.voiceofdharma.com/tamilculture.html
Image credits.
http://solelyhinduism.blogspot.in/p/lord-vishnu.html
http://ramanisblog.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/437e0-dasamahavidya1.jpg
Even though the MARUTHI RAMAYANA pre-dates the Valmiki Ramayana, Lord Jaya Maruthi Hanuman wanted Maharishi Valmiki’s Ramayana to become famous as the first Ramayana and so He did not announce His own version.
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