The Myth of an independent,secular(?) Dravidian Culture has been and is propagated.
Let us see whether the Statement that the Dravidian, more specifically the Tamil Culture was/is independent of Sanatana Dharma, on the basis of historical and archaeological evidence.
Pandyan coin depicting a temple between hill symbols and elephant, Pandyas, Sri Lanka, 1st century CE.
1.Tamil quotes Vedas right from the Sangam Age.
2.Vedas and Sanskrit quote Tamil and the land of Tamils, pointedly at Dravida, meaning south of the Vindhyas.
3.The earliest recorded Tamil Kingdom was Pandya Kingdom.
Lord Krishna visited the capital of Pandyas , Madurai.
Arjuna married a Pandyan Princess during his pilgrimage(see my post on this-Arjuna’s Pilgrimage)
The earliest Pandya to be found in epigraph is Nedunjeliyan, figuring in the Minakshipuram record assigned from the 2nd to the 1st centuries BC.
The record documents a gift of rock-cut beds, to a Jain ascetic.
Punch marked coins in the Pandya country dating from around the same time have also been found.
Jainism came after Vedic Period.
So when Jainism had made inroads the religion that was in existence was Hinduism even in Tamil Nadu.
This may be known by the gifts made by the Pandya Kings to Brahmins(Vediyar, Anthanar)
Again we have a reference to a Chera King who participated in the Mahabharata war;he fed both the Kaurava and Pandya Armies.
“Reference to Perum Chorru Udiyan Cheral Adan, in the second verse of thePurananuru, an earliest text of Sangam literature, is about his feeding the two armies of the Mahabharata battle.
And PT Srinivasa Iyengar states that Perunchoruudiyan Chealathan had granted 100 Velis (one Veli equals 100 acres) of land to Brahmins on the condition that he should see the smoke from the Homa from the Brahimn Agraharam daily
He also performed Tharpana, rituals for the dead, to those who died in the Mahabharata war.
Hence the religion that was practiced in Tamil Nadu was Sanatana Dharma and not an independent Tamil Culture.
Based on the Aryan invasion theory, it was assumed that only Apasthamba came to the South that Hinduism was introduced.
This is incorrect.
The Five gems of Tamil Valayapathi, Kundalakesi,Seevaka Sinthamani,Silappathiparam and Manimekalai.
All these epics dating to BC (appx) refer to Vedic practices and Silappathikaram and Seevaka Sinthamani Manimekalai refer to Buddhism and Jainism as well.
The canard of an independent Tamil Culture is a Myth.
How and Why.
”
And yet, such statements do not go deep enough, as they still imply a North-South contrast and an unknown Dravidian substratum over which the layer of �Aryan� culture was deposited. This view is only milder than that of the proponents of a �separate� and �secular� Dravidian culture, who insist on a physical and cultural Aryan-Dravidian clash as a result of which the pure �Dravidian� culture got swamped. As we have seen, archaeology, literature and Tamil tradition all fail to come up with the slightest hint of such a conflict. Rather, as far as the eye can see into the past there is every sign of a deep cultural interaction between North and South, which blossomed not through any �imposition� but in a natural and peaceful manner, as everywhere else in the subcontinent and beyond.
As regards an imaginary Dravidian �secularism� (another quite inept word to use in the Indian context), it has been posited by many scholars�: Marr,[56] Zvelebil[57] and others characterize Sangam poetry as �secular� and �pre-Aryan�[58] after severing its heroic or love themes from its strong spiritual undercurrents, in a feat typical of Western scholarship whose scrutiny always depends more on the magnifying glass than on the wide-angle lens. A far more insightful view comes from the historian M.�G.�S. Narayanan, who finds in Sangam literature �no trace of another, indigenous, culture other than what may be designated as tribal and primitive.�[59] He concludes�:
The Aryan-Dravidian or Aryan-Tamil dichotomy envisaged by some scholars may have to be given up since we are unable to come across anything which could be designated as purely Aryan or purely Dravidian in the character of South India of the Sangam Age. In view of this, the Sangam culture has to be looked upon as expressing in a local idiom all the essential features of classical �Hindu� culture.[ 60]
However, it is not as if the Tamil land passively received this culture�: in exchange it generously gave elements from its own rich temperament and spirit. In fact, all four Southern States massively added to every genre of Sanskrit literature, not to speak of the signal contributions of a Shankara, a Ramanuja or a Madhwa. Cultural kinship does not mean that there is nothing distinctive about South Indian tradition�; the Tamil land can justly be proud of its ancient language, culture and genius, which have a strong stamp and character of their own, as anyone who browses through Sangam texts can immediately see�: for all the mentions of gods, more often than not they just provide a backdrop�; what occupies the mind of the poets is the human side, its heroism or delicate emotions, its bouncy vitality, refined sensualism or its sweet love of Nature. �Vivid pictures of full-blooded life exhibiting itself in all its varied moods,� as Raghunathan puts it. �One cannot but be impressed by the extraordinary vitality, variety and richness of the poetic achievement of the old Tamil.�[61] Ganapathy Subbiah adds, �The aesthetic quality of many of the poems is breathtakingly refined.�[62] It is true also that the Tamil language developed its own literature along certain independent lines�; conventions of poetry, for instance, are strikingly original and more often than not different from those of Sanskrit literature.
More importantly, many scholars suggest that �the bhakti movement began in the Tamil country and later spread to North India.�[63] Subbiah, in a profound study, not only challenges the misconceived �secular� portrayal of the Sangam texts, but also the attribution of the Tamil bhakti to a northern origin�; rather, he suggests, it was distinctly a creation of Tamil culture, and Sangam literature �a reflection of the religious culture of the Tamils.�[64]
As regards the fundamental contributions of the South to temple architecture, music, dance and to the spread of Hindu culture to other South Asian countries, they are too well known to be repeated here. Besides, the region played a crucial role in preserving many important Sanskrit texts (a few Vedic recensions, Bhasa�s dramas, the Arthashastra for instance) better than the North was able to do, and even today some of India�s best Vedic scholars are found in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.[*] As Swami Vivekananda put it, �The South had been the repository of Vedic learning.�[65]
One finds it very curious about the relationship of the people of India living in the northern part of India, North of the Vindhya Ranges, where the
Vedic civilization flourished and the Southern part, South of the Vindhyas.
There are some assumed facts.
1.Vedic civilization was a closed one and Dravidians had no inkling of it.
2.The Vedic people considered the Dravidians as Barbarians and uncultured.
They were called as Dasyu meaning Slaves.
3.That the Vedic life was introduced by the sons of Viswamitra through their descendant, Apasthamba( I was holding this view and you can see my
posts on this and my view was based on the scholarly view of PT.Srinivasa Ayyangar in his Book History of the Tamils.
The Vedic people banished criminals and the sinners to Dravida Desa.
4.The Dravidas were invaded by people from the north and the Dravidians , subjugated and the Dravidians became cultured.
Lets us see how right these assumptions are.
1.Vedic civilization was a closed one and Dravidianas had no inkling of it.
Far from it.
To begin with the Bharata varsha extended beyond the Vindhyas,Asia, included Lemuria,Far east,Africas, Americas and the Europe, including the
Scandinavian Countriies.
The customs that have survived in these areas, the artifacts and temples, system of worship point to Vedic Presence.
The worship of Fire, Burning the corpses,Worship of the Sun, Use of Spices native to India, Temples like Angkor,worship of ancestors , especially in
Read some of my posts on these under Hinduism.
The designation as the Chief God of each geographical Division unique to Tamils-Varuna for Neythal Seashore,Korkai, Durga for Palai, Desert, Mayon,
Vishnu for Mullai, Forests.
The participation of Northern kings in Southern princesses’ Swayamvara and of the South in the North.
In Damayanti Swayamvara Tamil kings were present.
In Lord Rama’s marriage tamil kings names are mentioned as being present tin the Swayamvar of Sita.
Tamil Chera King Udiyan Cheralathan fed both he Kaurva and Pandavas armies during the Mahabharata War.
Tamil kings participated in the Mahabharata war, some on the side of the Pandavas some on the side of Kauravas
Pandya King fought along the Pandavas,his daughter was married to Arjuna when hwas on a Pilgrimage to South.
So this argument that the Tamil and the Vedic people were mutually exclusive is erroneous and mischievous.
2.The Vedic people considered the Dravidians as Barbarians and uncultured.
They were called as Dasyu meaning Slaves.
Again sheer nonsense.
The Puarans quote Tamil Kings as cultured, wealthy and highly industrious.
The Vedic people bought Ivory and pearl from the South.
The History of Tamil is as old as Sanskrit and beyond tracing.
Please refer my posts on these.
Now to the term Dasyu.
Rigveda 1.33.4
O, All Powerful Warrior! You possess a variety of powers and roam alone. Do use your powerful weapon to destroy wealthy Dasyu (criminals) and Sanakah (those who steal from others). May they reach their deaths through your weapon. These Sanakah are devoid of noble acts.
The adjective used for Dasyus are “Ayajva” meaning those who do not perform noble acts or noble resolutions. Obviously such people would be criminals. Thus the king is advised to destroy such criminals to safeguard his people.
Sayana defines Dasyu as thief. Dasyu origins from root ‘Dasa’ which means “Upakshaya” or that which leads to destruction. Hence Dasyu refers to those people who are destructive or criminals. It does not refer to any caste or race.
Rigveda 1.33.5
Those Dasyu (criminals) who are themselves devoid of noble resolutions and clash with noble people, flee away due to your protection. O brave warrior, you have destroyed the Avrata (unscrupulous) from everywhere.
In this mantra, two adjectives are used for Dasyu – Ayajva (those who do not perform noble acts and noble resolutions) and Avrata (indisciplined and unscrupulous).
Very clearly, Dasyu refers to criminals and they are accorded the same treatment in Vedas as they deserve in any civilized society.”
So this misinformation falls flat.
3.That the Vedic life was introduced by the sons of Viswamitra through their descendant, Apasthamba( I was holding this view and you can see my
posts on this and my view was based on the scholarly view of PT.Srinivasa Ayyangar in his Book History of the Tamils.
The Vedic people banished criminals and the sinners to Dravida Desa.
In the light of explanation in 1 and 2 this is no more valid.
However it is a fact that criminals were sent to Dravida desa ,Viswamitra banished his sons and and Apasthamba compiled the Apasthamba Sutra being
practiced even to day in the South.
4.The Dravidas were invaded by people from the north and the Dravidians , subjugated and the Dravidians became cultured.
Aryan invasion theory is deliberate misinformation and proved to be a Myth.
Read my post on this.
As,
Indus valley inscriptions do indicate the so called Dravidian insignia and the artifacts found in the South in places likes like Aikkamedu contain Vedic
Symbols,
The cultural unity in customs and practices between the north and the South,
Many Rishis are common both to North and South, Agasthay, Bhargava, Parashuama, Viswamitra, Vasishta,Ygnyavalkya,
The ancient languages both Tamil and Sanskrit quote each other, and as
, nothing definite is known about the ancient domain of the Dravidian parent speech. It is, however, a well-established and well-supported hypothesis that Dravidian speakers must have been widespread throughout India, including the northwest region. Origins of Dravidian people are informed by various theories proposed by linguists, anthropologists, geneticist and historians. According to geneticist Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza in the book The History and Geography of Human Genes, the Dravidians were preceded in the subcontinent by an Austro-Asiatic people, and were followed by Indo-European-speaking migrants sometime later.
Most linguists believe that Dravidian-speaking people were spread throughout the Indian subcontinent before a series of Indo-Aryan migrations. In this view, the early Indus Valley civilization (Harappa and Mohenjo Daro) is often identified as having been Dravidian.Cultural and linguistic similarities have been cited by researchers such as Finnish Indologist Asko Parpola as being strong evidence for a proto-Dravidian origin of the ancient Indus Valley civilization.
Some scholars like J. Bloch and M. Witzel believe that the Indo-Aryan moved into an already Dravidian speaking area after the oldest parts of the Rig Veda were already composed. The Brahui population of Baluchistan has been taken by some as the linguistic equivalent of a relict population, perhaps indicating that Dravidian languages were formerly much more widespread and were supplanted by the incoming Indo-Aryan languages.(wiki)
My conclusion is that the people of the North and the South were one under Bharatavarsha lived together, married between them , fought against each
other.
When they were against each other they considered the other as undesirable and once he issues are sorted out they became one together.
Otherwise lot of things in Sanatana Dharama, Temples, Archaeology become meaningless and self contradictory.
People who were living North of Vindhyas were not seemingly unaware of the existence of the Great Culture that was thriving in the Dravida, meaning South, part of India , The South of Vindhya ranges.
Viswamitra, banished his 52 sons to Dravida for having disobeyed and questioned him to the Dravidian Region.
They found a superior culture, if not on par with the Vedic culture to be thriving there.
They found that , of all the civilizations known then , The Tamils were the only Culture, who were so evolved that they ascribed five landmasses in their territory, ascribed Gods, birds.Animals, Palnts, Lifestyle to each of these Divisions, this was explained in Agathiyam , Thokappiyam , the ancient Grammatical works of the Tamil language, dated some five thousands years!
Curious fact is that these Tamil texts quote Vedas and they , in turn, quote, the Tamils!
Please read my post, Million year Old Tamil quotes Vedas and They quote Tamil.’
The great Tamil Chera King Nedunchearalaathan was the man who fed both the armies of the Mahabharata War, Kauravas and Pandavas.
He had been addressed as P’erunchotru Udiyan’ one who fed many number of Stomachs-Nedunchotru Uthiyan Neduncheralaathan was how he was called.
He donated 100 veli( one veli= 100 acres) of land to Brahmins on the condition that he should see the Homa Smoke in the morning from this area every morning!
( source.History of Tamils By PT.Srinivasa Iengar)
There are references to Arjuna marrying a Princess from Madurai on his pilgrimage.
Now coming back to Viswamitra’s sons.
The sons of Viswamitra mingled with the Tamils and followed the Tamil Customs.
Their descendant , Apasthamaba, combined the best of Tamil practices and the Sanatana Dharma ad compiled the Apashamba Sutra, which is practiced by the Brahmins even to-day(Apasthamba Sutra)
One notable custom is the inclusion of Mangaya Dharana, Thali in a Marriage, which is not found in Vedic Marriages.
In Santana Dharma, marriage is complete with the performance of Panigrahana and Sapthapati.
And the wearing of ‘Metti’, wring worn around the toe of the leg of Man was practiced among the Tamils, to indicate that he was married.(women were decribed as not looking at Men in the Face!)
This custom was changed to Women by Apasthamba.
Read the following information to complicate the issue.
Evidence indicates that Apsthamba compiled the practices of the Tamils and the Sanatana Dharma was unaware of the Tamils Culture.
Yet Archaeological and other Puranic references indicate that there was interaction between the two great cultures.
It seems that there were two different cultures existing side by side at the same time.
Or is it that both were One and that History is lost in India , as usual with us.
I tend to agree with the last view.
”
The archaeologist K.�V. Raman also notes�:
Some form of Mother-Goddess worship was prevalent in the Megalithic period … as suggested by the discovery of a small copper image of a Goddess in the urn-burials of Adichchanallur. More recently, in Megalithic burials the headstone, shaped like the seated Mother, has been located at two places in Tamil Nadu.[17]
Megalithic culture attached great importance to the cult of the dead and ancestors, which parallels that in Vedic culture. It is also likely that certain gods later absorbed into the Hindu pantheon, such as Aiyanar (or Sastha), Murugan (the later Kartik), Korravai (Durga), Naga deities, etc., were originally tribal gods of that period. Though probably of later date, certain megalithic sites in the Nilgiris were actually dolmen shrines, some of them holding Ganesh-like images, others lingams.[ 18] Megalithic practices evocative of later Hinduism are thus summarized by the British archaeologists Bridget and Raymond Allchin�:
The orientation of port-holes and entrances on the cist graves is frequently towards the south. … This demands comparison with later Indian tradition where south is the quarter of Yama. Among the grave goods, iron is almost universal, and the occasional iron spears and tridents (trisulas) suggest an association with the god Siva. The discovery in one grave of a trident with a wrought-iron buffalo fixed to the shaft is likewise suggestive, for the buffalo is also associated with Yama, and the buffalo demon was slain by the goddess Durga, consort ofSiva, with a trident. … The picture which we obtain from this evidence, slight as it is, is suggestive of some form of worship of Siva.[ 19]
About the third century BC, cities and towns appear owing to yet little understood factors�; exchanges with the Mauryan and Roman empires seem to have played an important catalytic role, as also the advent of iron. From the very beginning, Buddhist, Jain and Hindu[*] streaks are all clear.
Among the earliest evidences, a stratigraphic dig by I.�K. Sarma within the garbagriha of the Parasuramesvara temple at Gudimallam,[*] brought to light the foundation of a remarkable Shivalingam of the Mauryan period (possibly third century BC)�: it was fixed within two circular pithas at the centre of asquare vastu-mandala. �The deity on the frontal face of the tall linga reveals himself as a proto-puranic Agni-Rudra�[20] standing on a kneeling devayana. If this early date, which Sarma established on stratigraphic grounds and from pottery sherds, is correct, this fearsome image could well be the earliest such representation in the South.
Then we find �terracotta figures like Mother Goddess, Naga-linga etc., from Tirukkampuliyur�; a seated Ganesa from Alagarai�; Vriskshadevata and Mother Goddess from Kaveripakkam and Kanchipuram, in almost certainly a pre-Pallava sequence.�[21] Cult of a Mother goddess is also noticed in the early levels at Uraiyur,[22] and at Kaveripattinam, Kanchipuram and Arikamedu.[ 23] Excavations at Kaveripattinam have brought to light many Buddhist artefacts, but also, though of later date, a few figurines of Yakshas, of Garuda and Ganesh.[24] Evidence of the Yaksha cult also comes from pottery inscriptions at Arikamedu.[25]
The same site also yielded one square copper coin of the early Cholas, depicting on the obverse an elephant, a ritual umbrella, the Srivatsa symbol, and the front portion of a horse.[ 26] This is in fact an important theme which recurs on many coins of the Sangam age[27] recovered mostly from river beds near Karur, Madurai etc. Besides the Srivatsa (also found among artefacts at Kanchipuram[28]), many coins depict a swastika, a trishul, a conch, a shadarachakra, a damaru, a crescent moon, and a sun with four, eight or twelve rays. Quite a few coins clearly show a yagnakunda. That is mostly the case with the Pandyas� coins, some of which also portray ayubastambha to which a horse is tied as part of the ashvamedha sacrifice. As the numismatist R.�Krishnamurthy puts it, �The importance of Pandya coins of Vedic sacrifice series lies in the fact that these coins corroborate what we know from Sangam literature about the performance of Vedic sacrifices by a Pandya king of this age.�[29]
Finally, it is remarkable how a single coin often depicts symbols normally associated with Lord Vishnu (the conch, the srivatsa, the chakra) together with symbols normally associated with Lord Shiva (the trishul, the crescent moon, the damaru).[30] Clearly, the two �sects��a very clumsy word�got along well enough. Interestingly, other symbols depicted on these coins, such as the three- or six-arched hill, the tree-in-railing, and the ritual stand in front of a horse, are frequently found in Mauryan iconography.[31]
All in all, the material evidence, though still meagre, makes it clear that Hindu concepts and cults were already integrated in the society of the early historic period of Tamil Nadu side by side with Buddhist and Jain elements. More excavations, for which there is great scope, are certain to confirm this, especially if they concentrate on ancient places of worship, as at Gudimallam. Let us now see the picture we get from Sangam literature.
Vedic & Puranic Culture�Literary Evidence
It is unfortunate that the most ancient Sangam compositions are probably lost for ever�; we only know of them through brief quotations in later works. An early text, the Tamil grammar Tolkappiyam, dated by most scholars to the first or second century AD,[*] is �said to have been modelled on the Sanskrit grammar of the Aindra school.�[32] Its content, says N. Raghunathan, shows that �the great literature of Sanskrit and the work of its grammarians and rhetoricians were well known and provided stimulus to creative writers in Tamil…. The Tolkappiyam adopts the entire Rasa theory as worked out in the Natya Sastra of Bharata.�[33] It also refers to rituals and customs coming from the �Aryans,� a word which in Sangam literature simply means North Indians of Vedic culture�; for instance, theTolkappiyam �states definitely that marriage as a sacrament attended with ritual was established in the Tamil country by the Aryas,�[ 34] and it uses the same eight forms of marriage found in the Dharmashastras. Moreover, it mentions the caste system or �fourfold jathis� in the form of �Brahmins, Kings, Vaishyas and Vellalas,�[35] and calls Vedic mantras �the exalted expression of great sages.�[36]
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]
The Kural (second to seventh century AD), authored by the celebrated Tiruvalluvar, is often described as an �atheistic� text, a hasty misconception. True, Valluvar�s 1,330 pithy aphorisms mostly deal with ethics (aram), polity (porul) and love (inbam), following the traditional Sanskritic pattern of the four objects of human life�: dharma, artha, kama, and moksha�the last implied rather than explicit. Still, the very first decade is an invocation to Bhagavan�: �The ocean of births can be crossed by those who clasp God�s feet, and none else�[44] (10)�; the same idea recurs later, for instance in this profound thought�: �Cling to the One who clings to nothing�; and so clinging, cease to cling� (350). The Kural also refers to Indra (25), to Vishnu�s avatar of Vamana (610), and to Lakshmi (e.g. 167), asserting that she will shower her grace only on those who follow the path of dharma (179, 920). There is nothing very atheistic in all this, and in reality the values of the Kural are perfectly in tune with those found in several shastras or in the Gita.[45]
Let us briefly turn to the famous Tamil epic Shilappadikaram (second to sixth century ad), which relates the beautiful and tragic story of Kannagi and Kovalan�; it opens with invocations to Chandra, Surya, and Indra, all of them Vedic Gods, and frequently praises Agni, Varuna, Shiva, Subrahmanya, Vishnu-Krishna, Uma, Kali, Yama and so forth. There are mentions of the four Vedas and of �Vedic sacrifices being faultlessly performed.� �In more than one place,� writes V. Ramachandra Dikshitar, the first translator of the epic into English, �there are references to Vedic Brahmans, their fire rites, and their chanting of the Vedic hymns. The Brahman received much respect from the king and was often given gifts of wealth and cattle.�[46] When Kovalan and Kannagi are married, they �walk around the holy fire,� a typically Vedic rite still at the centre of the Hindu wedding. Welcomed by a tribe of fierce hunters on their way to Madurai, they witness a striking apparition of Durga, who is addressed equally as Lakshmi and Sarasvati�the three Shaktis of the Hindu trinity. There are numerous references to legends from the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the Puranas. After worshipping at two temples, one of Vishnu and the other of Shiva, the Chera king Shenguttuvan goes to the Himalayas in search of a stone for Kannagi�s idol, and bathes it in the Ganges�in fact, the waters of Ganga and those of Cauvery were said to be equally sacred. Similar examples could be given from the Manimekhalai�: even though it is a predominantly Buddhist work, it also mentions many Vedic and Puranic gods, and attributes the submergence of Puhar to the neglect of a festival to Indra.
Ancient slokas like the Vishnu Sahasranama refers to Lord Skanda.
‘Skandas Skandataro Guhano Vaayuvaahana:’
The mantra of Lord Gannesha refers to Ganesha as he elder brother of Muruga.
‘Skanda Poorvaja:
The worship of Skanda was considered as important and Adi Shankaracharya, while classifying the Vedic Gods and Worship into the Systems, Shanmathas,calls the worship of Muruga as Kaumaram.
The etymology is very interesting.
Kaumara means of Youth, from Kumara.
Here Kumara indicates the son, the son of the One who is eternal and Unborn, that is Shiva,
The word indicates that Kumara is young and never ages.
Beauty is associated with Youth.
Therefore the name Murugan in Tamil .
Murugan means ‘exquisite Beauty’.
It is possible that while denoting the Skanda The Tamils took into consideration of the word Kumara and had it traslated as Beauty, ‘Murugan’
Another fact is that, after Viswamitras sons were banished by Viswamitra to Dravida,which the earlier Santana Dharma considered, wrongly as
undeveloped,they found the Tamil Culture to be more developed if not on par with Sanatana Dharma in terms of Culture.
The Tamils had, designated Gods for each land mass, Muruga being assigned the land mass of Hilly Terrain(Kurinji).
This finds a reference in the early Tamil work Tholkappiyam and Agathiyam, about 5000 years old.
The word to designate Muruga was ‘Seyon;, The Son, a clear allusion to being the son of Shiva.
The word Muruga was a later attribute to this Seyon.
Hence the worship of Skanda, Muruga is as old as the Sanatana Dharma and Tamil Literature.
Tamils language is represented as the personification of Muruga.
The Moola mantra of Muruga , Sarvabhava’ is Shadakshra, six letters , half of Visnhu’s Dwadasa nama, Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya’ and one letter
more than the Panchakshara od Shiva, Namasivaya.
Hence the Mantra is a combination of protection and Knowledge.
At the Cosmic level, the Mantra and Yantra represent the Cyclic theory of time, enunciated in Hinduism.
This is proved by the Indus Scripts and Signs.
The six pointed hexagram stands for the six faced God Murukan and it expresses the structure of the ritual space in geometrical terms and regulates the yearly chronometry inherent in temple festivals.
The hexagram with the mantram “om saravanabava” inscribed in it serves as a yantram of the deity Murukan and when the mantram is recited, the yantram as a finite hologram of the infinite embodies the primordial sacrifice of prajapati who re-enacts the cosmic order to bring harmony into the world.
The God Murukan of six faces with twelve eyes, twelve arms regulates the sacred architecture with spiritual art and mythic imagery. The cock, which decorates the ceremonial flag of the deity Murukan also refers to the sun. The cock signals the sunrise with its “Kozhi Koovuthal” which refers to an auspicious beginning in the daily religious life of the Tamils of southern India.
The Six Pointed Hexagram: The Symbol of God Muruga.
This contains the ‘Va’, Vashatkaara of Viishnu, ‘Viswam Visnur vashat Kaaaro’ Vishnu Sahasranama.
‘Sa’ the Universal Brahman Attribute, Hamsa Soham.
‘Ba’ of Bhairava.
The symbolization of the six-pointed hexagram is a zodiacal representation with the astronomical intent (K.V.Ramakrishna Rao, 2002). The concept of the hexagon is linked to a circle and the circle is a polygon with infinite sides. Geometrically the six faces of Murukan parallels the hexagon and the geometry is related to arithmetic and numbers. All these concepts are related to the theory of squaring a circle and circling the square and may compose many mathematical functions and operations. The number six expresses the fullness of the cosmos. The six directions; North, South, East, West, up, and down are considered to be surrounded by the God’s six faces. 4.1
All the festivals that are celebrated for the God Murukan fall on full moon or new moon coinciding with the respective stars. This way the common people are made aware to keep in mind the importance of nakshatras, weekdays, fortnight, month, six months, year etc. in a systematic way by observing the festivities for Murukan from ancient times. The astronomical interpretation of this deity has a powerful association with Indian Tantras, Yantras, Mantras and the five elements (Ether, Wind, Fire, Water, Earth) and God Murukan permeates the sixth, the whole thus the six faces of the deity are represented. 4.2
The mantram “om saravanabava” is geometrically expressed in the hexagonal structure and is very important in the sacred temple rituals prepared for Murukan. The hexagram symbolizes the six pilgrimage centers of Murukan and the purpose of the pilgrimages to these temples work at several levels (Fred W. Clothey, 1983). 4.3
The Egoscape (The inward pilgrimage of an individual)
The Socioscape (The communal association & transformation of an individual)
The Ecoscape (The hills, the terrains, the rivers, the routes and the geographical association of the pilgrimage)
The Metascape (The metaphysical realization of an individual)
Sign No: 342, The Sky, read as ‘VAN’.
. Sign No: 8, The Lord of space and time, read as “MU”.
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