This blog aims at bringing out the past glory and history of India, Hinduism and its forgotten values and wisdom. This is not copyrighted so as to reach genuine seekers of these information. Its my prayer that only genuine seekers - and not vandals & plagiarists - come to this site.
The following news report on the findings of University of Helsinki that woman are becoming more beautiful from the time of their cavemen- life, whilemen are not(!?) sounds funny to me.
Women will always be women – beauty is a part of their constitution.
Thinking of it astrologically, even signs (the signs are categorized as odd and even alternating from Aries onwards) and signs ruled by Venus and Moon (Taurus, Libra and Cancer) and the lords of these signs getting associated with the birth lagna confer femininity. If both the lagna and moon sign happen to fall in these signs, the feminine looks will be complete. It is only but natural to expect most women born with these connections.
But if a man has both his lagna and the moon sign in these signs and feminine planets getting associated with these two, he will also look feminine and beautiful! It is better man remains not beautiful. Men are from Mars in astrology too. Jupiter, Mars and Sun signs are better for a man to be born in.
Thinking of this, I can not resist a talk on Rama’s looks!!
Rama’s lagna was Cancer – an even sign.
His moon sign also was Cancer – again the same even sign!!
Moon in Punarpoosam 4th padam shows that his lagna and moon were Vargotthama, strengthening the feminity conferred by the even sign.
But he had Jupiter, in exaltation in Cancer and getting Vargotthama!
Jupiter makes one tall, respectable looking and of good proportions.
Rama’s Samudrika lakshana is completely masculine which will be written in another post. (The masculine samudrika lakshana of Rama is described by Hanuman in Sundhara khandam). But the even sign connection to lagna and moon sign, with Jupiter and moon posited in it would have made him look – what we call a metro-sexual male!
Birth in Cancer must have given Rama a bulge in the belly! Rama must have been on regular fitness work-out. His samdrika lakshana shows that he didn’t have any extra flesh.
Jupiter in lagna and moon in the asterism of Jupiter (Punarpoosam) must have made him look like a tall and respectable Vedik with sharp features.
A gigantic and tall figure with all masculine features but with soft looks makes Rama admirable by men and adorable by women who look for the soft nature somewhere expressed in the looks of a man. This combination made him very humble and soft at places where he has to show such traits and adamant and angry wherever such manly prowess is needed to be exhibited.
In many places in Valmiki Ramayana, Rama’s face is described as a moon – cool and pleasant. His very name Rama means one who gives happiness. His name and looks are very pleasant. Nowhere in Valmiki Ramayana, do we come across his name as Ramachandra. But this name is popular as a name of Rama. (This name found in Padma purana). This is because Rama was pleasant to look at and to think about. This nature is a feminine attribute which came to be incorporated (astrologically) by association with even signs and Moon.
Coming to think ofKrishna, he too was born in all feminine sign – in Taurus, an even sign. The lagna and Moon sign were in the same sign and moon was in its own asterism (Rohini) making him to be called as ‘beautiful’. His interests in dance and arts forms are in tune with interests in beauty-related ones that those born in these signs usually get. You rarely recall a Martian anger or warring urge in Krishna.
The basic reason for the feminine sign connection to Rama and Krishna is the sattwic feelings that their figure and traits must develop in the minds of the devotee.
Compassion, love, mercy, caring etc are all feminine traits. Only these traits tame the rough and tough and bring them to sattwic path. World’s renowned figures of these qualities look a little feminine. World’s preachers of religious thought look soft with a feminine tinge. Be it a Buddha or a Jesus or a Vivekananda or Ramana maharishi, one can find such a nature in their looks.
If men are not evolving in beauty – something the research has found out – then it must be a cause of concern. It means that men continue to be rude and crude – they are not only Martian but Saturnine as well.
Latest research has revealed that evolution has made women more beautiful while men have remained the same
Dump those jars of creams and gels. As a woman you don't need them anymore. Evolution keeps you beautiful anyway -- so why worry?
A group of scientists at the University of Helsinki discovered that the woman of today is far more beautiful than her Stone Age counter- part. Over the years women have indeed become more beautiful. But alas -- the men have stayed unchanged and do tend to resemble their cavemen ancestors even today.
Women in Chennai are nevertheless thrilled with these findings. "Men have always been rough and tough in nature while women have been sweet and demure. There is a strong possibility that these qualities have evolved over the ages," says Sunita Jayakumar, a social scientist and consultant psychologist. Natasha Raj, a model, who believes that the word `beautiful' is something that is associated with women couldn't agree more. "You would- n't call a man beautiful, would you?" she asks "Beauty is something that is exclusively for women, no matter how hard we try to break that stereotype.
A woman gets noticed for her looks and a man for his strength," she explains.
The scientists who carried out this study also revealed that the chances of good-looking women having good-looking kids were higher than those who were plainer looking. Beautiful women also tend to have daughters born to them the study said, which is also a part of the evolution cycle.
Looking at the practical side of things Dr Satish Sambamurthi, a consultant dermatologist consultant dermatologist believes, "These days women are very conscious of the way they look and they are also initiated into this process very early. At a very tender age they start spending time on how they look and this does have an impact on how they look in the long run."
Photographer Dreeamcast Karthik echoes a similar viewpoint and explains that the fact women are able to multi-task also works in their favour, "Yes, I completely agree with the finding that women are getting prettier and this is not just restricted to the upper class of the society. I've noticed that women across all strata of society invest a lot in terms of time and effort to look beautiful."
The following report says that tall people seem to do much better in life than others – though there are exceptions.
Reading this, I get reminded of the height of Rama – 96 inches (4 cubits) – as told by Hanuman in Sundhara khanda.
People were taller in those days. It used to be said that as Time progresses and Dharma declines, man also will become shorter. Man will have to climb a ladder to pluck the Brinjal.
May be this is a philosophical explanation for lack of Dharma. Dharma is signified by the planet Jupiter. A person born with Jupiter significance / lagna will look tall, respectable and of good frame of body. If more and more people are adharmic, perhaps it will come along with indications of Jupiter in affliction in the horoscope which might as well be reflected in their stature – of looking short - not tall as one, with Jupiter connection to his lagna will look.
Speaking on tallness, this is an important issue in Vaastu sastra in deciding the height of residential houses.
Height of man is known as "Purusha Pramana"
Purusha pramana is based on 3 categories of height of persons –
the utthama pramana of men 6'9" taller,
the madhyama pramana of height 6' and
athama pramana of 5'3".
This means there were people of more than 6 feet tall in those days. Compared to that today the average height of Indians is less.
Purusha pramana was helpful in deciding the height of houses. The practice was to build the places of residence on the basis of the height of the owner of the place, if not, the height of his first wife or if not, the height of the eldest son. The reason is obvious.
Based on the height of the owner coming under any of these three categories, the hasta pramana was decided for measurement of the height and breadth of the house and the rooms.
Usually this height that goes in the name of 'hasta' is one fifth of the total height measured from the foot of the person to the tip of the right ring finger of his hand that is stretched upwards.
There are other units also to decide the pramana of hasta. But the widely used one was this. The Hasta pramaana is of 3 types, Utthama, madhyama or athama hasta pramana. There is slight difference between all these three in the descending order from Utthama to Athama. The difference is due to the 3 different height categories of man.
It is said that king Prithviraj Chauhan closely missed Ghori when he aimed his shot at him. The king was blind and was in captivity at that time. He was tipped by his confidante who told him the distance from him to Ghori and the height at which he can aim at Ghori. Prithiviraj was known for his prowess in shooting. It is said that he missed his target as his arrow whistled past just above the head of Ghori.
There is another version that the king killed him just by identifying the direction from which Ghori spoke. Similar instance is found in King Dasharatha's life where the king shot the arrow at Shravan mistaking the noise made when he took water from the pond, to the sound of a deer drinking water. Practice of Dhanur Veda made such precision shots possible and it was a continuing skill for 1000s of years in this land.
Coming to the topic, the question is how Prithvi Raj missed Ghori. Did he make a wrong calculation of the distance from the tips given to him? No, I don't think so.
Prithviraj had already seen Ghori in the first war where he defeated him. So when his friend mentioned the distance and height, he must have calculated the height of the building on the basis of the height of the Sultan thinking that it was built by him.
Since it is said that he missed the target, it means the arrow had flown above Ghori's head. That means the house was built on a pramana of a lesser height than Ghori's! One reason could be that it was not the own house/ palace of Ghori - it must have been someone else's house / palace occupied by Ghori after defeating the person.
That person must have been of the purusha pramana of the category lower to Ghori's.
Thinking from this angle, it becomes increasingly clear that most buildings and palaces of the Mughals were indeed the ones captured from previous rulers of Hindustan and re-christened.
This also shows that the science of civil engineering in India is very old and was highly utilitarian keeping in tune with the requirements of the people for whom the structures were built. The Purusha pramana rules of Vaastu are proof that people of tall stature lived in those days!
We associate height with power and confidence, but are taller people always more successful?
They're not nicer. They're not prettier. They're not anything else. But they've sort of gotten a halo in society at this point," says Arianne Cohen, author of The Tall Book, in response to a question put to her about tall people across the world. She should know -- she's 6-foot-3 herself and fairly successful.
But Arianne herself says society's love affair with height is more pronounced for men than women. It could perhaps have to do with the fact that perceptions of idealism in women are functions more of relative proportion than outright vertical advantage.
If you'll excuse the verbose anthropology, you'll realize the premise is simple. Taller men are always perceived to be more powerful, either as a result of physical prowess or intelligence. We're not saying it's true (no one is), just that many believe it's the case. Which is all that's needed to hand taller men an advantage.
Consider the findings of two recent studies.
An Australian study found that men who are 6-foot tall had annual incomes nearly AUS $1,000 dollars more than men who were two inches shorter.
Then there were four large US and UK studies led by Timothy Judge, a management professor at the University of Florida. Judge and his colleague concluded that someone who is seven inches taller -- for example, 6 feet versus 5 feet 5 inches -- would be expected to earn 5,525 dollars more per year.
While money isn't an absolute barometer of success, that's a debate for another day.
The question is -- why do we associate so much with height?
"It's a mix of awe and intimidation," says psychologist Praveen Jhunjhunwala,
"You see a tall person -- you either want to be them or want to see them fall. It's natural.
Plus, taller people are used to leading from a young age -- they are more easily picked for things in school like the sports teams or class representatives. It stands them in good stead all their lives."
But history is littered with great figures who were less than impressive in the height department. In fact, many would argue being short has worked to the advantage of many.
What is the matter with us? Why do we constantly take pride in beating our breasts and admitting to imaginary wrong-doings when there is no earthly reason for doing either? The disputed structure at Ayodhya issue has been discussed threadbare, ad infinitum to the point that the very mention of it is sufficient for a vomit. Some questions that need to be faced, but never have been, must now be raised, the disputed structure issue has a history of over a century and quarter and was first raised when the British were in power. The British ducked it. It wasn't in their interest to face it fair and square. The issue, however, needed to be resolved, one way or other. If Muslims had the grace and goodwill to concede a standing plea, their place in India and every Hindu heart would have been eternally etched.
It was General Musharraf who once said that Hindus and Muslims have to come to terms with the past. Conceding to Hindus their most emotive plea would have brought glory to Muslims as understanding and warm-hearted fellow citizens. That, they refused to do. And the consequences are all too well known. The issue let it be said, is more than the demolition of a mosque in disuse. It is a reflection of Islam's refusal to admit to its own guilt for which it has never been punished. Our secularists will immediately point out that the past is past and should not now be focused on. But the disputed structure is only a part—and a very small part at that—of the larger issue of Islamic crimes committed in India for centuries. These have to be boldly faced, if peace between the two communities is to be established in India.
One can forgive but why should one forget all the atrocities the succeeding Muslim rulers committed in India for which they have never paid? The evil that men do, as Shakespeare said, lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones. Almost from day one, Islam committed atrocities in India that must be fully detailed for the edification of its Indian followers today. It all began first in 712 AD when Mohammad Qasim from Iraq invaded India, and in the words of a historian "demolished temples, shattered sculptures, killed vast number of men—it took his soldiers three days to slaughter the inhabitants of the port city of Debal—and carried off their women and children to slavery".
Subsequently, under orders from the Iraqi ruler, Qasim's men massacred between 6000 and 16,000 men for good measure. What Ghazni Mohammad did was worse. In his book A New History of India, Stanley Wolpert writes that Ghazni Mohammad's Court Chronicler "claimed that 10,000 temples were destroyed in Kanauj alone". Mohammad's sacking of Somnath Temple is old story. The Shivalinga was smashed to pieces and these were then transported to Mecca, Medina and Baghdad to become objects to be trampled by people.
What Mohammad Ghori and his lieutenants did in the last quarter of the 12th century as did Jalaluddin Khilji in the 13th, in destroying temples and breaking idols is best left unsaid. Aurangzeb, obviously learnt much from these barbarians. Why are these stories recounted? That is to tell our liberal secularists and apologists that we have a tragic past, that that past continues to haunt Hindus often causing deep emotional pain. How can these memories be erased? Has anyone thought of that? How many masjids in India's long history have ever been demolished by Hindu rulers? Would the disputed structure have been demolished if only Muslim organisations had shown some sensitivity to Hindu feelings to understand and positively respond to their earnest pleas?
The earlier existence of a temple devoted to Sri Ram on the site where stood the disputed structure has been challenged. Heartless arguments have been adduced to prove that Hindus have no right to ask for the Babri site. The very existence of Sri Ram has been questioned more by Hindu secularists than by Muslims themselves. It is even possible to believe that Muslim organisations would have been willing to concede the disputed site to Hindus were it not for the vicious backing they received from secularists. And what, pray, would the Liberhan Report, submitted after 16 years of deliberation and at a cost of Rs nine crores, want us to do? Damn L K Advani? Kalyan Singh? P V Narasimha Rao? Would that erase the anger and frustration among Hindus caused by thoughtless secularists who want Hindus to forget the past? Is it mean to coerce Muslim votes?
We learn that in Saudi Arabia (which wouldn't allow a single non-Muslim centre of worship to be built on its soil) masjids are routinely demolished if they are in any way found to be redundant. In India we give a masjid long out of use and one which has a bad reputation, greater prominence than to a temple dedicated to divinity which had been sacked and the idol of the presiding deity disfigured. Haven't our secularists any sense of values? Muslim organisations have no hesitation in pronouncing a sense of grievance. Haven't Hindus any equal right to have a sense of grievance against the demolition of not one but literally thousands of temples in daily use? One British traveller from Surat to Delhi in the late 17th century has recorded that during his long journey he had not seen a single Hindu temple. India was not plagued by secularists then and if there were any, they would have been effectively silenced. What is wrong with Hindu psyche? The more our secularists damn Hinduism the more aggrieved do Muslims sound, which is a clever tactic. It is as if Hindus have demolished thousands of masjids and gotten away with the crime.
Even the disputed structure would not have been demolished but would have been respectfully dismantled if Muslims had shown some sensitivity to Hindu feelings.
But the Hindus want to show the world how guilt-conscious they are.
Hindu temples can be pulled down in Malayasia and not a word of protest would be lodged.
In Qaziristan the Taliban can levy a jazia (tax) of Rs 60 lakhs on non-Muslims with the threat that that they either pay or get killed. Many reportedly left their ancient homes.
Not a dog barked.
The saddest part of it all is that in all these years not a single Muslim intellectual in India has stood up to their co-religionists and had the courage and decency—let alone grace—to say that in the matter of the disputed structure Hindus may have a case that should be conceded with warmth and goodwill if only to make amends for that past, in howsoever small a measure.
As for the Liberhan Report its best place is in the stinking dustbin. Only a people sick and with no self-respect, will give it even a single, let alone a second, thought. Seeking the disputed site to build a temple to Sri Ram is not communalism, no matter what our secularists think. It is an assertion of self-respect and should be seen as such. Anything else is folly.
One of the intriguing issues of Ramayana is that it says that Rama ruled for 11,000 years. His father Dasaratha also was said to have lived for 60,000 years. Information like this makes the 'rational' one dismiss the very history of Rama.
There is nothing irrational or fictional about it if we know some basics of Time computation in olden days.
First of all, the basic life term for any man is 100 years and it is the wish of any blessing in Vedic parlance.
The blessings given by elders when one prostrates is of Vedic origin (of satya yuga). It is "Shatamaanam bhavathi shataayu: purusha:…" to invoke 100 years of life for the one so blessed. This blessing is repeated in several places in the Upanishads too.
When one performs the daily midday supplication (noon part of Sandhyavndana), the individual prays to the sun when he is in full bloom that he may be blessed to see him for a full life of nearly 100 years. ("PashyEma sharada: shatham… jIvEma sharada: shatham.. etc ) The prayer is for 100 years and this prayer also has its origin in Vedic yuga.
Brahma devan is said to live for 100 years in his time scale. Therefore 100 is the standard year duration for longevity. Since man is at a micro cosmic scale of the Cosmic god Brahma, and though man's life is shaped by the influence of each of the nine planets which runs into a total period of 120 years, this span is roughly around 100 years only.
When the maximum life span of man is expected to be 100 years, why did they say that Rama lived for 11,000 years? Did Rama live for so many years?
No. In Ramayana itself we come across a reference to a maximum life span of 100 years only.
In Sundhara khandam (sargam 34), on seeing that Hanuman has come to redeem her distress, Sita says, " yethi jivantha aanandham naram varshashathadhabhi." (If only a person were to live for a 100 years, he would sure have 'aanandham' sometime even after a 100 years.) Here 'if only a person lives for a 100 years 'make it clear that the average life span of a person in Threta yuga (Sita's times) was not in 1000s of years- but only to a maximum of 100 years!
If so, why the talk of life of 1000s of years?
This can be interpreted in two ways – one by the way of Time (Yuga) calculation used in those days and another the philosophical way.
The Yuga calculation:-
There are 10 types of calculation of time of which the Chatur yuga calculation is one.
In Jyothisha sastra, a text is identified by means of Time calculation used.
Any Siddhantic text will start from Kalpa. The author of a Siddhanta will have to mention the time of his text in the broader concept of Time starting from Kalpa. This is to say that if you happen to read a text referring to the time of writing counted from Kalpa, then know that what you are reading is a Siddhantic grantha.
Similarly any grantha on Tantra will have references to the Yuga in which it was written or about which (the Yuga), the principles are given. Aryabhateeyam is a Tantra grantha, because the author gives the time of writing counted from the beginning of the nearest Yuga, namely Kali yuga.
Similarly any Karana grantha will talk about time starting from the nearest Shaka (Vaikrama or Shalivahana).
It is all about the context in which the yugas are discussed.
Again the very term Yuga is used in various ways.
In any Vedic rirual, the term Yuga refers to the 5-year duration or 5-year Yugaand not the chatur yuga.
Each year of this Yuga is given a name as Samvatsara, Parivatsara, Idavatsara, Anuvatsara and Idvatsara. This was the basic classification used in daily life. At the same time the Maha yugas are also used in the context of worship to devas and pitrus. That is on galactic scale and measured in terms of planetary movement. The details of that are given in Siddhanta texts. The basis of that is the solar year.
However for religious purposes the year was reckoned from Uttarayana, the details of which are found in Rig Vedanga Jyothisha. Jupiter was the basis of that counting
12 rounds of 5 years (60 years) make one yuga in Jupiter cycle.
Each of the 5 years is known as a Yuga of Jupiter and 12 Yugas of Jupiter make 60 years named after Prabhava, Vibhava etc., but starting from Vijaya.
Thus we find two types of time-reckoning in the Vedic society in those days - one, solar year based Siddhantic time which incorporate Chatur Maha Yugas counted for a day of Brahma (Kalpa) and another, the Jupiter Yuga of 60 years whose basic unit is 5 year Yuga for religious austerities.
Today this system of 60 years is used for solar years. In absence of adherence to Vedic way of life we have given up 5 year Yuga of Jupiter cycle, but use the year names of the Jupiter cycle. We continue to use the two in any religious activity. We start from Siddhantic Kalpa and continue with the year name and Ayana (of 5 year Yuga) and the subsequent smaller divisions of time.
A basic feature of the 5 year yuga is that it is a twin - an ascending two and a half years and a descending two and a half years. This is enumerated on the basis of the meeting point of the Sun and the moon once they start from a same point. In two and a half years the Moon goes an extra month. So it is expunged as an Adhika masa by which the next month starts at the same point both in solar and lunar cycle.
The very word Yuga means twin. The 5 year duration is a Yuga because it has an ascending and descending phase of time as reckoned from the sun and the moon.
Even the Siddhantic Yuga is a twin. One may recall the sankalpa mantra stating 'Kali yuge Pratame Paade' which refers to the 1st paada of Kali yuga (called Utsarpini) which is the 1st half of Kali Yuga. So there are two padas in Kali Yuga. It must have been so for the other Yugas too (Krita, Treta and Dwapara)
In Jyothisha, even rasis are referred to as Yugma rasis. Yugma is derived from the word, Yuga which means two sided.
Anything two sided is a yuga. And time is perceived to be a twin - up and down, ascending and descending.
The basic unit of Time is a day. And a day has a day time and an opposite of it, namely night time.
Therefore the day and the night forms a Yuga - i.e., Ahoratra is a yuga.
The Ayanas (Uttarayana and Dakshinayana) also constitute a yuga.
In this context, there is a padhati "Ahoreva samvatsar" It means - the day-night (Ahoratra) form a year because the year also is a Yuga formed by 2 ayanas with Uttarayana as the day time and Dakshinayana as the night time.
Let me quote the authority for this from Mahabharata.
By the 13th day of the Exile period, Bheema told Yudhisthira that 13 days are equal to 13 years for one who is steadfast in his observance of vows of the Vedic life. Since Yudhishthira was leading such life he can be said to have completed 13 years. Mahabharata, Vana parva – section 52
O Bharata, it is, also said by those versed in morality that one day and night is, O great prince, equal unto a full year. The Veda text also, exalted one, is often heard, signifying that a year is equivalent to a day when passed in the observance of certain difficult vows. O thou of unfading glory, if the Vedas are an authority with thee, regard thou the period of a day and something more as the equivalent of thirteen years.
Every day a person is born anew with the sunrise. Coming to live to see the next sunrise is like having finished one year and starting another year. That is the import.
If we consider the most basic classification of Ahoreva samvatsar,
each day is a samvatsar or a year.
If we say that Rama ruled for 11,000 years, according to this calculation,
he had ruled for 31 years!! (11000 / 360 on the premise that the sun moves at the rate of 1 degree a day)
Look at Rama's life. From Sita's version in Sundhara kanda we know that Rama went on Vanavasa in his 25th year.
25+ 14 years in exile = 39.
He ascended the throne on his 39th year.
If he is to have ruled for 11,000 years, then according to Ahoreva samvatsar, it comes to 31 years.
Add 31 years to 39 when he ascended the throne.
That means he ruled till his 70th year!
This is how we have to interpret.
Rama was not alone in terms of 1000s of years of life, even the Pandyan King "Maakeerthi" (who presided over the Assembly where Tol Kappiayam was inaugurated) was praised as having ruled the kingdom for 24,000 years which means he was on throne for 66 to 67 years.
Rama's father Dasaratha was said to have lived for 60,000 years. This is just beyond any calculation, but this was told to express his old age. Rama was a late child and Dasaratha was very much older when Rama was ready for throne. A phenomenal number of age was given to Dasaratha to drive home the point that he was already old. If such age is to be taken in face value, then his wives also must have lived for tens of thousands of years, but nowhere it is told so.
Similarly all the three brothers of Rama were born around the same time and left the world around the same time. If it is true that Rama lived for 11,000 years then his brothers also must have lived for so long. But that is not being told anywhere.
Therefore we have to use our discriminatory sense of perception and interpretation while dealing with such intriguing references or passages, impossible to reason out . While interpreting the past we have to bear in mind the age of the earth and age of life for which we have Surya Siddhanta guidance. If we are to take the meaning as we know it on face value in our limited perception, then we will be in for wrong conclusions. Not only that, we will be also making this vast body of knowledge of Veadanta and Vedanga put into ridicule.
Philosophical way of calculation:-
In Ramayana, Narada tells Valmilki
"raamo raajyam upaasitvaa " - Rama rajyam for 11,000 years.
97. dasha+varSa+sahasraaNi= ten, years, thousand; dasa+varsha+sataani+ca= ten, years, hundred, also; raamaH= Rama; raajyam+upaasitvaa= kingdom, on reverencing; brahma+ lokam+gamishhyati= Brahma's abode, voyages.
"On reverencing the kingdom for ten thousand years plus another one thousand years, [i.e. for a total of eleven thousand years,] Rama voyages to the abode of Brahma... [1-1-97]
Comment: In rama raajyam upaasitvaa... the word used is upaasana is not ruling by sceptre but 'reverentially idolised the kingdom...' as one would regard or treat his personal god with reverence. Rama thus reverenced his kingdom as a devotee of his subjects and this is the concept of raama raajya.
The commentary above puts the entire issue in a different perspective!!
Raama established Raama rajyam for 10,000 + 1000 years after which He left for His Abode.
Raama rajyam stands for Raama's ideals in different spheres of life and governance. Even at the time of Vaali vadam it is said that since the entire earth was under Ikshvahu hold, Raama was bound to establish its dharma by slaying Vaali. It is well known that the entire land mass was not under Ikshvahu dynasty. This implies that the dharma, the ideals and the value systems which the dynasty stood for, were followed throughout the land mass. In that way, Rama Rajya dharma will live for 11,000 years.
It is often told that Raama's story will live as long as Himalayas and the Ganga will live. Rama Rajyam or Rama's memory will be there till Ganga flows. Perhaps Ganga will flow for 11,000 years after Rama's birth!! Today scientists accept that Ganga will vanish one day. We find reference to this in other olden texts too.
Rama-Rajya dharma will live as long as Ganga flows in this land.
The following is the news report on the animal behavior in a Zoo in Lucknow. The animals were huddled together during the eclipse and did not take food at that time.
It is easy to dismiss this as a reaction to sudden change in the heat and light. But yesterday's eclipse started at dawn and there is no way to attribute a reason to light as it was already cool and twilight-like. Such difference is noticeable in solar eclipses during midday but certainly not yesterday.
Animals are sensitive to something else in the environment that we are not aware of.
One behavior I have noticed is the regular coo of a lone bird everyday that I used to hear exactly at sunrise and sun set.
The exact sunrise and sunset are the agnihotra timings which I used to meticulously stick to for doing agnihotra. As though to tell me that the solar disc is rising or going down, the bird used to give a sound exactly at those times. I have not heard the sound at other times. In previous solar eclipses too, I have noticed the sound of it exactly at the time of beginning of the eclipse or at the moment the eclipse completely disappears. This time I heard the voice of this bird exactly at the time eclipse ended in my place.
I used to think that birds detect something at sunrise and sunset which is peculiar only to those times. It is because of this only Agnihotra is done exactly at those times. There is some change in radiation form the sun or there is something peculiar about sun rise and sunset. Even if the sky is overcast or raining, this change in radiation from the sun that happens at the moment its disc crosses up or crosses down does not fail to reach the earthlings. This has been noted in experiments on agnihotra where it is found out that the offer of rice in the agnihotra fire exactly at sunrise and sunset creates many oxides that strengthen the air and removes pollution.
A similar change in radiation must be occurring at the time of eclipse when the disc of the sun is hidden. This changed radiation is perhaps felt by the animals.
Solar eclipse: Zoo inmates mistake morning darkness for dusk
LUCKNOW:
The humans might have excitedly watched the solar eclipse early Wednesday morning
but zoo inmates went into a quiet mood mistaking the morning darkness for dusk.
"We had planned in advance to study the impact of eclipse on behaviour
of inmates", said Renu Singh, zoo director.
The zoo workers watched the behavior of birds, smaller and bigger animals all through the hours of eclipse, from 5.30 till 7.30 in the morning. All of them were found huddled together in groups and birds stopped eating, especially during the 20 minutes when light was almost cut down.
While the lion king, Prince had retreated to its den thinking it's time to go to sleep, white tiger, Aryan, in a pre-sleep composure, had some cool moments inside the water pond inside its enclosure. The peahen with her chicks had taken shelter inside bushes and deer chose to stay together.
Birds and giant squirrels sat in their boxes and there were many others like Chimpanzees which went inactive and `mahok' birds that live in `bamboo bushes' who started making sounds that they make during evening hours.
There were quite a few inmates that behaved normally unaffected by the eclipse like monkeys, zebras, giraffes and rhino. "They all returned to their normal behavior when the eclipse ended," said the director.
They Share Telltale Mutations With Modern-Day Indian Population, Reveals Genetic Research
July 23, 2009
Washington: Genetic research conducted by a team of Indian scientists has indicated that aborigines, who initially arrived in Australia via south Asia, may have originated from India.
The evidence was found by Dr Raghavendra Rao, who worked with a team of researchers from the Anthropological Survey of India, to find telltale mutations in modern-day Indian populations that are exclusively shared by Aborigines.
For the research, the team sequenced 966 complete mitochondrial DNA genomes from Indian 'relic populations'.
"Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother and so allows us to accurately trace ancestry. We found certain mutations in the DNA sequences of the Indian tribes we sampled that are specific to Australian Aborigines," said Rao.
This shared ancestry suggests that the Aborigine population migrated to Australia via the so-called "Southern Route".
The "Southern Route" dispersal of modern humans suggests movement of a group of hunter-gatherers from the Horn of Africa, across the mouth of the Red Sea into Arabia andsouthern Asia at least 50 thousand years ago. Subsequently, the modern human populations expanded rapidly along the coastlines of southern Asia, southeastern Asia and Indonesia to arrive in Australia at least 45 thousand years ago.
The genetic evidence of this dispersal from the work of Rao and his colleagues is supported by archeological evidence of human occupation in the Lake Mungo area of Australia dated to approximately the same time period. Discussing the implications of the research, Rao said, "Human evolution is usuallyunderstood in terms of millions of years. This direct DNA evidence indicates that the emergence of 'anatomically modern' humans in Africa and the spread of these humans to other parts of the world happened only fifty thousand or so years ago."
"In this respect, populations in the Indian subcontinent harbor DNA footprints of the earliest expansion out of Africa," he added. "Understanding human evolution helps us to understand the biological and cultural expressions of these people, with far reaching implications for human welfare," he added. ANI
Australian Aborigines Initially Arrived Via South Asia
ScienceDaily (July 21, 2009)— Genetic research indicates that Australian Aborigines initially arrived via south Asia. Researchers have found telltale mutations in modern-day Indian populations that are exclusively shared by Aborigines.
Dr Raghavendra Rao worked with a team of researchers from the Anthropological Survey of India to sequence 966 complete mitochondrial DNA genomes from Indian 'relic populations'. He said, "Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother and so allows us to accurately trace ancestry. We found certain mutations in the DNA sequences of the Indian tribes we sampled that are specific to Australian Aborigines. This shared ancestry suggests that the Aborigine population migrated to Australia via the so-called 'Southern Route'".
The 'Southern Route' dispersal of modern humans suggests movement of a group of hunter-gatherers from the Horn of Africa, across the mouth of the Red Sea into Arabia and southern Asia at least 50 thousand years ago. Subsequently, the modern human populations expanded rapidly along the coastlines of southern Asia, southeastern Asia and Indonesia to arrive in Australia at least 45 thousand years ago. The genetic evidence of this dispersal from the work of Rao and his colleagues is supported by archeological evidence of human occupation in the Lake Mungo area of Australia dated to approximately the same time period.
Discussing the implications of the research, Rao said, "Human evolution is usually understood in terms of millions of years. This direct DNA evidence indicates that the emergence of 'anatomically modern' humans in Africa and the spread of these humans to other parts of the world happened only fifty thousand or so years ago. In this respect, populations in the Indian subcontinent harbor DNA footprints of the earliest expansion out of Africa. Understanding human evolution helps us to understand the biological and cultural expressions of these people, with far reaching implications for human welfare."
Journal reference:
1.Satish Kumar, Rajasekhara REDDY Ravuri, Padmaja Koneru, B P Urade, B N Sarkar, A Chandrasekar and V R Rao.Reconstructing Indian-Australian phylogenetic link.BMC Evolutionary Biology, (in press) [link]http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcevolbiol/
An early dispersal of biologically and behaviorally modern humans from their African origins to Australia, by at least 45 thousand years via southern Asia has been suggested by studies based on morphology, archaeology and genetics. However, mtDNA lineages sampled so far from south Asia, eastern Asia and Australasia show non-overlapping distributions of haplogroups within pan Eurasian M and N macrohaplogroups. Likewise, support from the archaeology is still ambiguous.
Results
In our completely sequenced 966-mitochondrial genomes from 26 relic tribes of India, we have identified seven genomes, which share two synonymous polymorphisms with the M42 haplogroup, which is specific to Australian Aborigines.
Conclusions
Our results showing a shared mtDNA lineage between Indians and Australian Aborigines provides direct genetic evidence of an early colonization of Australia through south Asia, following the "southern route".
The following account by Mr Seshadri Ramachandran, an amateur astronomer cautions us that there may be some truth in the age old customs related to eclipses. The inter-planetary struggle is too real that we can not ignore the impact of the combined pull of Sun and the moon on the fluid contents of the world and of our own body.
He says that though not everyone may be affected by this disturbance, the total eclipse could cause hardships to many. "The polio vaccine is administered to all because we want to ensure that no child is afflicted with polio Fasting during the eclipse is similar to this," he said.
Another precaution is about pregnant ladies being kept off during the eclipse. The fetus is a fluid or semi-fluid mass in the initial months. No scientist has studied the impact of the eclipse on the fetus. It is also true that not all babies in womb were affected by eclipses. But we can not say the level of vulnerability of the fetus to a possible influence from an eclipse. No scientific studies have been done on any issue related eclipse pre-cautions. Such being the case, the scientific community can not give a clean chit right away.
One must know that there is no restriction to move out during the eclipse. Eclipse is the time people will go to the sea shores and rivers to pray to their ancestors. An account by an Englishman who was in India to witness the total Solar eclipse on 22-01-1898 (published in The London Times and reproduced in the NewYork Times dated 07-02-1898) reveals that Hindus were doing japa, chanting hymns and prayers at the time of eclipse. They were barred from taking bath in Back Bay in Bombay at that time due to the prohibition by the Plague committee. But elsewhere people congregated in shores to take bath. The use of Darbha grass to protect the food stuff is also mentioned by that Englishman.
The article in New York Times says, "There was general fasting, but not much alarm seemed to be felt. It is the impression of some of the Hindus that when there was no Mohammedan or British Raj in India, the solar eclipses occurred once in twelve years and that they are now more frequent on account of sins and misdeeds."
The article ends with a note that "The Nizam of Haidarabad has released fifty prisoners, each of whom received a present of money and cloths."
The scientific community is still in the process of analyzing an eclipse. But there is more behind the eclipse that what can be physically observed. A part of it was already discussed in the following post
It is a myth that venturing out in the open during an eclipse is harmful.
Hindu Thought does not say so. There is no harm to anyone in the open.
Eclipse is the time earth, moon and the sun come in direct alignment with another part of the Universe called Pithru loka (Constellation of Virgo) where the departed souls go and rest before being born again.
There is some influence from the eclipse which is stopped by the Darbha grass. The Darbha grass is found to be effective in stopping X-rays. The use of this grass on food items during an eclipse must therefore be intended to stop some radiation. The details of the effect of Darbha grass can be read here.
Before dismissing this as superstitious, it is desired that some scientist conducts some research on this and disproves it. The use of Darbha grass is limited only to decaying food substances. This goes with the recommendation of fasting to start well before the eclipse so that the stomach will be empty at the time of eclipse.
The scientific community can include these issues also and experiment them at the time of eclipses.
Even as non-believing scientists of the Tamil Nadu Science Forum are getting ready to `celebrate' the total solar eclipse of July 22 with free breakfast, an amateur astronomer has warned the general public about consuming food during the eclipse hours. Mr Seshadri Ramachandran, a professional builder with passion for astronomy, has said there were many scientific reasons for fasting observed by traditionalists during an eclipse.
"Solar eclipse occurs when the Moon comes between the Sun and Earth. There is a gravitational struggle between all planets and this gets intensified during an eclipse. This gravitational struggle makes enormous changes in ocean tides," Mr Ramachandran told Deccan Chronicle.
He pointed out that 75 percent of the earth is water. "Seventy-five percent of the human body is also water. The inter-planetary struggles get extended to the tectonic plates with the Moon making it more aggravated. This leads to the weakening of the digestive system of the human body," said Mr Ramachandran.
Though not everyone may be affected by this disturbance, the total eclipse could cause hardships to many. "The polio vaccine is administered to all because we want to ensure that no child is afflicted with polio Fasting during the eclipse is similar to this," he said.
Mr Ramachandran als claimed that natural disasters have occurred as fallout of eclipses in the past. "I was on a Full Moon da (December 26, 2004) that tsunami struck the India coast. The earthquake tha ravaged Kurile trench, nort Japan, on 26 September wa on a New Moon day. Simi e larly, it was on a New Moon o day (December 26, 2003) s that an earthquake occurred e at Bam in Iran which o claimed more than 30,000 . lives," said Mr Ramachandran.
He also said the 2001 o Gujarat earthquake in which - more than 20,000 died was t on a New Moon day. "We t should not belittle somey thing only because it finds a mention in the scriptures. n What we need is compret hensive research to establish h the links between these diss asters and the solar fea- tures," he said.
With the Aryan Invasion Theory debunked, the creation of Dravidan identity also stands questionable. There is no talk of Dravida in ancient Tamil lands. No Tamil king was known as a Dravida. Just as how the Aryan Invasion theory was an invention, the Dravidian theory (identity) was also an invention by the same authors who needed somebody to be 'dislodged' by the 'invading' Aryans. They did a very fantastic derivation from Dramila to Damila to Tamila in their bid to somehow locate a group in India to fit into their theory of Aryans, driving out some natives. The folly of these is that there was little grasp of the native culture of Tamils whose roots also are traced to a very distant past in the foot-steps of the same 'Aryan' culture. There is absolutely no trace of an identity as Dravida to the Tamils. A recent post on this issue in this blog can be read here.
The following article on the Continuing Vedic culture in Tamil lands by drawing inputs form Sangam texts makes a worthy reading. However I wish to point out that the mention of Dravidan to Tamils must be re-analyzed in that otherwise superb article, in the wake of the fall of Aryan Invasion theory. There was no 'coming together' of Aryan and Dravidan cultures as mentioned in that article. There was one Culture of Sanatana Dharma that permeated the entire land from Himalayas to Kumari which was spread to thousands miles in the south off the present day Kanyakumari with Then-Madurai s its capital.
When Rama walked on this land, the Tamils were also there ruled by the Pandyan kings in the land that was in Deep South.
It is known from the copper plates recovered from Sinnamanur that there existed a Pandyan king who defeated the ten-hooded Ravana!!
The Sanskrit portion of the bigger Sinnamanur plates begins with a verse about a kingwho subdued the ocean. From him were descended the kings known as Pandyas (v. 2) 'who engraved their edicts on the Himalaya mountain' and whose family-priest was the sage Agastya (v. 3). One of the Pandya kings is said to have occupied the throne of Indra (v. 4) and another to have shared it with that god, and still another, to have caused the Ten-Headed (i.e., Ravana of Lanka) to sue for peace (v. 5). One was a conqueror of the epic hero Arjuna (v. 7) Verse 8 refers to a king who cut off his own head in order to protect that of his master and also to a certain Sundara-Pandya who had mastered all the sciences. Many kings of this family had performed Vedic sacrifices Rajasuya and Asvamedha (v. 9).
These Sinnamanur inscriptions were written in the reign of Pandyan Rajasimha, the grandson of Sree maran srivallbhan alias Parachakra kolahalan, who was the contemporary of Periazhwar. Rajasimhan was the contemporary of Chola king Parantaka I who reigned at the commencement of 10th century AD. So these inscriptions were written at that time.
The two kings mentioned in that portion (where reference to conquest over Ravana is mentioned) can be identified. One was Ugra Pandyan and the other was Kadum kOn from whose name the genealogy is mentioned in the inscriptions.
Ugra pandyan came in the lineage of Meenakshi and Somasundareswar in Then Madurai. He stopped the surging ocean for which he came to celebrated as "kadal vadimbalam nindra Pandyan'. We can locate this incident in nearly 5 other texts, most importantly in Thiruvilayaadal puranam and Silappadhikararam.
We don't have the name of the Pandyan king who overpowered Ravana. There is no mention of this in Sangam texts too, whereas there is frequent mention of Ugra Pandyan. The reason is not difficult to trace.
Pandyans belonged to Lunar race whose Guiding God was Shiva. Usually the devotees of Shiva used to respect other devotes of Shiva with very high reverence. Both the Pandyans and Ravana were well known Shiva devotees.
There is a lees chance of enmity with a devotee of Shiva (Ravana), except in an extraordinary situation when the Pandyans had faced threat from him.
Since Ravana was a devotee of Shiva, the Shaivite Pandyan who conquered him, would not have gloated about that. This can be said with a good measure of conviction because we come across many shaivite kings, devotees of Shiva and nayanmaars who would not harm or fight with a fellow devotee of Shiva.
That is perhaps why the victory over Ravana was not highlighted by later kings.
What is needed to be noted in our context is that a Tamil king existed – a Tamil dynasty existed even as early as Rama's times! Can anyone say that this Tamil King was a Dravida??
Moreover, the Pandyan dynasty coming form Ugra Pandyan, the son of Meenakshi and Sundareshwarar itself has is origin in the God of the Himalayan Aryan (Shiva). So it is ridiculous to even relate this term Dravida to Tamils.
The same story of common Aryan origin is there for the Cholas too.
This is known from the copper plates unearthed from Thiruvaalankaadu.
The Cholas belonged to the Ikshvaku dynasty of Rama. They were the descendants of the Sibi who came in the lineage of younger sibling of the dynasty. Rama belonged the lineage that continued from the eldest son in the lineage. In Rama's tradition, the eldest son only ascended the throne. This is emphasized by Bharatha when he pleaded Rama to accept the throne after he finished the Vana vaasam. The younger brothers were given rulership of other regions and they continued their reign in their names. Sibi came in the lineage of a sibling.
Until the time of Mandhatha, the Cholas and Rama shared the same ancestry. It diverged after Mandhatha.
From the Thiruvalankaadu copper plates we come to know the Cholan lineage like this:
Mandhatha
Muchukunda
Valabha
Prithulaksha
Parthivachudamani
Dirghabahu
Chandrajit
Sankriti
Panchapa
Satyavrata
Rudrajit
Sibi
Marutta
Dushyanta
Bharata
Cholavarman (Founder of Chola dynasty)
Thus the Cholans also qualify as Aryana and not as Dravidas.
The land and language they developed was Tamil only.
The common ancestry of these two main kingdoms (Pandyan and Cholan) with the Aryans reveals the same cultural and grammatical origins to Tamils also.
It is time the scholars and researchers come out of their Dravidan mindset and look at Tamil's history as it deserves to be.
-jayasree
*******************
Vedic continuum in Hindusthan
Sangam times are from ca.300 BCE to 300 CE, when the earliest extant works of Sangam literature). [Kamil Veith Zvelebil, Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature, pp12; K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, A History of South India, OUP (1955) pp 105]
The following notes include excerpts from a remarkable article which appeared in Adyar Library Bulletin (1983). These clearly indicate that Vedic culture in India dates back to very ancient times all over Hindusthan, from Gandhara to Kanchipuram. This geographic spread of Vedic culture is matched by the spread of punch-marked coins from ca. 6th century BCE, all over Hindusthan, from Gandhara to Karur (Tiruchi).
Kazanas (2009) has shown that Rigveda predates the Sarasvati-Sindhu culture.
Vedic culture in Sangam times
There is a temple for Devi Sarasvati in a place called Basara (Vya_sapura) in Adilabad District of Andhra Pradesh, located on the banks of the GodavariRiver. The sthala pura_n.a states that the Devi was installed by Vya_sa by taking three mus.t.is(handfuls) of sand from the river bed— an extraordinary affirmation indeed of the integrat link of Sarasvati as devi and Sarasvati as river. The appended maps indicate the patterns of ancient settlements right from the foothills of the Himalayas (Ropar) to the Gulf of Khambat (Lothal) and on the Arabian SeaCoast (Prabhas Patan or Somnath and Dwa_raka). It is also significant that Sangam literature of the Tamils notes the claim of the ancient Chera kings that they were the 42nd generation descendants from the rulers of Dwaraka (Tuvarai) and the sage Agastya is revered as the ancient Tamil Muni and the author of the earliest grammatical work in Tamil. Sangam literature is replete with references to the support provided to the growth of Vedic Culture in the Tamil-speaking areas. An important article on the antiquity of relation between Tamil and Sanskrit is: Sharma, K.V. 1983, Spread of Vedic culture in ancient South India, Adyar Library Bulletin 47:1-1.
"Among the interesting facts that emerge from a study of the progressive spread of vedic culture from the North-West to the other parts of India, is its infusion, with noticeable intensity, in the extreme south of India where, unlike in other parts, a well-developed Dravidian culture was already in vogue… Tolka_ppiyamwhich is the earliest available work of the sangam classics, is a technical text in 1610 aphorisms, divided into three sections, dealing respectively, with phonetics, grammar and poetics…
The other available sangam works are three sets of collected poems, being, pattu-ppa_t.t.u (Ten idylls), et.t.u-ttokai (Eight collections) and patineki_r..kan.akku (eighteen secondary texts), which last appears to pertain to the late period of the saμgam age. The ten poems are: tirumuruka_r.r.uppat.ai, porun.ara_r.r.u-ppat.ai,cir.upa_n.a_r.r.uppat.ai, perumpa_n.a_r.r.uppat.ai, mullaippa_t.t.u, maturaikka_n~ci, net.unelva_t.ai, kuriñcippa_t.t.u, pat.t.inappa_lai and malaipat.ukat.a_m. All the above idylls are compositions of individual poets, and, except for the first, which is devotional and possibly, pertains to late sangam age, are centred round the royal courts of the Cera, Cola and Pa_n.d.ya kings, depicting the contemporary elite scholarly society and youthful life. The second category consists of Eight collections:nar.r.in.ai, kur.untokai, ainkur.unu_r.u, patir.r.ujppattu,paripa_t.al, kali-ttokai, akana_n-u_r.u and pur.ana_n-u_r.u.
All these collections are highly poetic and self-contained stray verses of different poets put together in consideration of their contents. The third category consists of eighteen miscellaneous texts, some of them being collections of stray verses of different poets and some composed by individual authors. They are: tirukkur.al., na_lat.iya_r, par..amor..i, tirikat.ukam, na_n-man.ikkat.ikai, cir.upañcamu_lam, ela_ti, a_ca_rako_vai, mutumor..ikka_ ñci, kalavar..i-na_r.patu, initu-na_r.patu, tin.aima_lainu_r.r.aimpatu, aintin.ai-y-er..upatu, kainnilai, aintin.ai-yanpatu, tin.aimor..i-y-aimpatu and ka_r.-na_r.patu. The verses in these works also refer to social customs and local sovereigns. The above works picture a well-knit and well-developed society having a distinct identity of its own.
The frequent mention, in sangam poems, of the Cera, Cola and Pa_n.d.ya kings as the munificent patrons of the poets… and the archaeological evidence provided by 76 rock inscriptions in Tamil-Bra_hmi script which corrobate the contents of the sangam works, in 26 sites in Tamilnadu (Mahadevan, I., Tamil Bra_hmi inscriptions of the Sangam age, Proc. Second International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies, I, Madras, 1971, pp. 73-106) help to fix the date of the classical sangam classics in their present form to between 100 B.C. and 250 A.D… reference to the Pa_n.d.yan kingdom by Megasthenes, Greek ambassador to the court of Candragupta Maurya (c. 324-300 B.C.?) are also in point. On these and allied grounds, the sangam period of Tamil literature might be taken to have extended from about the 5th century B.C. to the 3rd century A.D… It is highly interesting that sangam literature is replete with references to the vedas and different facets of vedic literature and culture, pointing to considerable appreciation, and literary, linguistic and cultural fusion of vedic-sanskrit culture of the north with the social and religious pattern of life in south India when the sangam classics were in the making…
The vedas and their preservers, the bra_hmans, are frequently referred to with reverence (Pur.ana_n u_r.u 6, 15 and 166; Maturaikka_ñci 468; tirukat.ukam 70, na_n-man.ikkat.ikai 89, initu-na_r.patu 8). The vedic mantra is stated as the exalted expressions of great sages (Tolka_ppiyam, Porul. 166, 176). While the great God S'iva is referred as the source of the four vedas (Pur.a. 166), it is added that the twice-born (bra_hman) learnt the four vedas and the six veda_ngas in the course of 48 years (Tiru-muruka_r.r.uppat.ai, 179-82). The vedas were not written down but were handed down by word of mouth from teacher to pupil (Kur-untokai 156), and so was called kel.vi(lit. what is heard, šruti)(Patir.r.ippattu 64.4-5; 70.18-19; 74, 1-2;Pur.a. 361. 3-4). The bra_hmans realized God through the Vedas (Paripa_t.al 9. 12-13) and recited loftily in vedic schools (Maturaikka_ñci 468- 76; 656)… the danger to the world if the bra_hman discontinued the study of the veda is stressed intirukkur.al. 560. If the sangam classics are any criteria, the knowledge and practice of vedic sacrifices were very much in vogue in early south India. The sacrifices were performed by bra_hmans strictly according to the injunctions of the vedic mantras (tirumuruka_r.r.uppat.ai94-96; kalittokai 36). The three sacred fires (ga_rhapatya, a_havani_ya and daks.ina_gni) were fed at dawn and dusk by bràhmans in order to propitiate the gods (Kalittokai 119l Pur.a. 2; 99; 122; Kur.iñcippa_t.t.u 225).Paripa_t.al 2. 60-70 stipulates, in line with vedic sacrificial texts, that each sacrifice had a specific presiding deity, that pas'us (sacrificial animals) were required for the sacrifice and that the sacrificial fire rose to a great height. The vedic practice of placing a tortoise at the bottom of the sacrificial pit is referred to in Akana_n-u_r.u 361…
Patir.r.uppattu 64 and 70 glorify the Cera king Celvakkat.unkovar..iya_tan- who propitiated the gods through a sacrifice performed by learned vedic scholars and distributed profuse wealth amongst them. Another Cera king, Perum-ceral Irumpor.ai is indicated in Patir.r.uppattu 74 to have performed the Putraka_mes.t.hi_ sacrifice for the birth of his son il.amceralirumpor.ai. The Cola ruler Peru-nar.kil.l.i was renowned as Ra_jasu_yam ve_t.t.a co_r..an- for his having performed the ra_jasa_ya sacrifice; another Cola ruler Nar.kil.l.i, too, was celebrated as a sacrificer (Pur.a. 363; 400). The Cola kings were also considered to have descended from the north Indian king S'ibi the munificent of Maha_bha_rata fame (Pur.a. 39; 43). The patronage accorded to vedic studies and sacrifices is illustrated also by the descriptive mention, in Pur.a. 166, of a great vedic scholar Vin.n.anta_yan- of the Kaun.d.inya-gotra who lived at Pu_ñja_r.r.u_r in the Co_r..a realm under royal patronage. It is stated that Vin.n.anta_yan- had mastered the four vedas and six veda_ngas, denounced non-vedic schools, and performed the seven pa_kayajñas, seven Soma-yajñas and seven havir-yajñas as prescribed in vedic texts. The Pa_n.d.yan kings equalled the Colas in the promotion of Vedic studies and rituals. One of the greatest of Pa_n.d.ya rulers, Mudukut.umi Peruvar..uti is described to have carefully collected the sacrificial materials prescribed in vedic and dharmašàstra texts and performed several sacrifices and also set up sacrificial posts where the sacrifices were performed (Pur.a. 2; 15). Maturaikka_ñci (759- 63) mentions him with the appellation pal-s'a_lai (pal-ya_ga-s'a_lai of later Ve_l.vikkud.i and other inscriptions), 'one who set up several sacrificial halls'. The Pa_n.d.ya rulers prided themselves as to have descended from the Pa_n.d.avas, the heroes of Maha_bha_rata (Pur.a. 3; 58; Akana_n-u_r.u 70; 342)…
God Brahmà is mentioned to have arisen, in the beginning of creation, with four faces, from the lotus navel of God Vis.n.u (Paripa_t.al8.3; Kalittokai 2; Perumpa_n.a_r.r.uppat.ai402-04;Tirumuruka_r.r.uppat.ai164-65; Iniyavaina_rpatu 1). It is also stated that Brahma_ had the swan as vehicle (Innà-nàrpatu 1). Vis.n.u is profusely referred to. He is the lord of the Mullai region (Tol. Akattin.ai 5) and encompasses all the Trinity (Paripa_t.al13.37). He is blue-eyed (Pur.a. 174), lotus-eyed (Paripa_t.al15.49), yellow-clothed (Paripa_t.al 13.1-2), holds the conch and the discus in his two hands and bears goddess Laks.mì on his breast (Mullaippa_t.t.u 1-3; Perumpa_n. 29-30; Kali. 104; 105; 145), was born under the asterism Tiru-o_n.am (Maturai. 591), and Garud.a-bannered (Pur.a. 56.6; Paripa_t.al 13.4). Of Vis.n.uite episodes are mentioned his measuring the earth in three steps (Kali. 124.1), protecting his devotee Prahla_da by killing his father (Pari. 4. 12-21) and destroying the demon Kes'in (Kali. 103.53-55). S'iva has been one of the most popular vedic-pura_n.ic gods of the South. According to Akana_n-u_r.u 360.6, S'iva and Vis.n.u are the greatest gods. He is three-eyed (Pur.a.6.18; Kali. 2.4), wears a crescent moon on his forehead (Pur.a.91.5; Kali. 103.15), and holds the axe as weapon (Aka. 220.5;Pur.a. 56.2). He bears river Ganga_ in his locks (Kali. 38.1; 150.9) and is blue-necked (Pur.a. 91.6; Kali. 142). He is born under the asterism a_tirai (Skt. àrdra) (Kali. 150.20), has the bull for his vehicle (Paripa_t.al 8.2) and is seated under the banyan tree (Aka. 181). Once, while sitting in Kaila_sa with Uma_ (Pa_rvati), his consort (Pari. 5.27-28; Par..amor..i 124), Ra_van.a, the ra_ks.asa king shook the Kaila_sa and S'iva pressed the mountain down with his toe, crushing Ra_van.a and making him cry for mercy (Kali. 38). When the demon Tripura infested the gods, S'iva shot through the enemy cities with a single arrow and saved the gods (Kali. 2; Pur.a. 55; Paripa_t.al 5. 22-28).Pur.ana_n –u_r.u (6. 16-17) refers also to S'iva temples in the land and devotees walking round the temple in worship. God Skanda finds very prominent mention in saμgam classics, but as coalesced with the local deity Murukan-, with most of the pura_n.ic details of his birth and exploits against demons incorporated into the local tradition (Paripa_t.al 5. 26-70;Tirumuruka_r.r.uppat.ai, the whole work). Mention is also made of Indra. (Balara_ma) is mentioned as the elder brother of Lord Kr.s.n.a, as fair in colour, wearing blue clothes, having the palmyra tree as his emblem and holding the ;lough as his weapon, all in line with the pura_n.as (Paripa_t.al 2. 20-23; Pur.a. 56. 3-4; 58.14; Kali. 104, 7-8). Tolka_ppiyam (Akattin.ai iyal 5) divides the entire Tamil country into five, namely, Mullai (jungle) with Vis.n.u as its presiding deity, Kur.iñji (hilly) with Murukan- as deity, Marutam (plains: cf. marusthali_ Skt.) with Indra as deity, Neytal (seashore) with Varun.a as deity and Pa_lai (wasteland) with Kor.r.avai (Durga_) as deity…
The sangam works are replete with references to the four castes into which the society was divided, namely, bra_hman.a, ks.atriya, vais'ya, and su_dra… bra_hman antan.a primarily concerned with books (Tol. Mara. 71), the ks.atriya (a-ras'a, ra_ja) with the administration (Tol. Mara.78) and s'u_dra with cultivation (Tol. Mara. 81)… It is also stated that marriage before the sacred fire was prescribed only for the first three castes; but the author adds that the custom was adopted by the fourth caste also in due course (Tol. Kar.piyal 3)… one cannot fail to identify in sangam poetry the solid substratum of the distinct style, vocabulary and versification, on the one hand, and the equally distinct subject-matter, social setting and cultural traits, on the other, both of the Tamil genius and of vedic poetry. As far as the grammar of Dravidian is concerned, a detailed analytical study of Old Tamil as represented in Tolka_ppiyam, with the vedic s'iks.a_s and pra_tis'a_khyas, has shown that, 'Tolka_ppiyan-a_r clearly realized that Tamil was not related to Sanskrit either morphologically or genealogically… that he deftly exploited the ideas contained in the earlier grammatical literature, particularly in those works which dealt with vedic etymology, without doing the least violence to the genius of the Tamil language'. (Sastri, P.S.S., History of Grammatical Theories in Tamil and their relation to the Grammatical literature in Sanskrit, Madras, 1934, p. 231)…
It would be clear from the foregoing that during the sangam age there had already been intensive infusion of vedic culture in south India… Both the cultures coexisted, the additions often affecting only the upper layers of society… For novel names, concepts and ideas, the Sanskrit names were used as such, with minor changes to suit the Tamil alphabet (e.g. akin-i for agni, vaicikan- for vais'ya, veta for veda, or translated (e.g. pa_pa_n- for dars'aka, ke_l.vi for s'ruti). When, however, the concept already existed, in some form or other, the same word was used with extended sense (e.g. ve_l.vi for ya_ga; ma_l or ma_yan- for Vis.n.u). Sometimes both the new vedic and extant Tamil words were used (e.g. ti_ for agni)… It is, however, important to note that the coming together of the two cultures, vedic and Dravidian, was smooth, non-aggressive and appreciative, as vouched for by the unobtrusive but pervasive presence of vedicism in the sangam works. The advent of vedic culture into South India was, thus, a case of supplementation and not supplantation…
It is a moot question as to when vedic culture first began to have its impact on dravidian culture which already existed in south India… the age of this spread (of vedic culture) has to be much earlier than the times of the Ra_ma_yan.a and Maha_bha_rata, both of which speak of vedic sages and vedic practices prevailing in the sub-continent.
Literary and other traditions preserved both in north and south India attest to the part played by sage Agastya and Paras'ura_ma in carrying vedic culture to the south. On the basis of analytical studies of these traditions the identification of geographical situations and a survey of the large number of Agastya temples in the Tamil country, G.S. Ghurye points to the firm establishment of the Agastya cult in South India by the early centuries before the Christian era (Ghurye, G.S., Indian acculturation: Agastya and Skanda, Bombay, Popular Prakashan, 1977)… the considerable linguistic assimilation, in dravidian, of material of a pre-classical Sanskrit nature, it would be necessary to date the north-south acculturation in India to much earlier times."
