Disclaimer: I
hereby declare that there is no chauvinistic intention of promoting Tamil,
which happens to be my mother tongue, in this series. The intention is to bring
to the notice of readers, the presence of Tamil alongside Sanskrit in the
Indian Subcontinent for many thousands of years. A deeper analysis might give
us leads on why a fused Tamil and Sanskrit presence can be seen from India to
Ireland to Ice land and from Polynesia to the Incas.
The series:
Part
6: Southern Madurai (தென்
மதுரை) of 1st Tamil
Sangam was submerged at the time of Rama’s exile.
The key to ancient history of India is in
unravelling the flood-legends of Tamil lands that hosted the first two Sangams.
Entire habitations were lost to the seas as per the revelations of Nakkeeranār, in his commentary to “Iṟaiyanār Agapporuḷ” that was analysed in an
assembly, probably the last session of the 3rd Sangam, as the patron
of that assembly was the last Pandyan king of the 3rd Sangam, namely
Ugra Peruvaɻuthi. Nakkeeranār belonged to
the 3rd Sangam - a fact mentioned by Nakkeeranār himself in that
commentary (1).
This lends credibility to the information he has given on the duration of each
Sangam and their location.
The first loss was that of the former capital city “Southern Madurai” that served as a venue for the 1st
Sangam assembly. The 1st Sangam started around 9990 BCE and ended
around 5550 BCE (refer
Part 1). The survivors headed by the Pandyan king managed to set up a new
capital city at “Kavātam” (which was also lost
to the seas 3500 years ago). This place, “Kavātam” finds a mention in Valmiki
Ramayana (refer
Part 6). The emergence of this place as the Pandyan capital had happened
sometime between the 11th and 13th year of Rama’s exile
thereby indicating that the deluge at Southern Madurai had happened within those
three years.
Past deluges in the Indian Ocean.
The Indian Ocean habitat was the most viable
location for support of mankind even during the Last Glacial Maximum. The sea
level was lower by more than 120 meters at that time. The regions of Indonesian
archipelago, Mascarene
Plateau and Kerguelen
plateau were raised land structures. South India had an extended coastline,
more on the west, south and southeast connected with Sri Lanka. Most of these regions
were in tropics and were warmer enough to support human habitation.
Research shows
that sudden rise in the sea level started after deglaciation of the West Antarctic
ice sheet that followed the melting of Arctic ice. This has happened between
14,000 to 15,000 years ago and continued until 7000 years ago when the current
sea level was reached. The above mentioned habitats at the Indian Ocean had
also faced and continue to face sudden and large scale inundations due to the seismically
sensitive Sunda and Java Trenches. The first ever research on tsunami imprint –
the only one of its kind – done in a sea cave off Banda
Aceh showed a surprising discovery of 11 successive tsunami-hits between
7900 and 2900 years ago. (Refer
ScienceDaily). This is almost the same period within which the first two Sangam
capitals faced submergences (the 3rd and the last Sangam capital was
Madurai of the present times).
Sea floods reported in Southern Madurai (தென் மதுரை).
From Nakkeeranār’s commentary we deduce that the 1st
Sangam assembly started around the year 9990 BCE (approximately 12000 years
ago). It means that the habitation had come into being much before that time. Southern
Madurai, the capital city that hosted the 1st Sangam had faced
repeated sea floods, in the beginning (12,000 BP) in tune with the first floods
of that period. They are listed as follows based on the narrative of Tiruvilaiyādal Puranam.
(1) The first ever reference to a kind of surging
waters is seen after Meenakshi’s marriage. Seven
seas converged in her location, says the description (2). From the description it is
deduced that there was no sea near Southern Madurai. Meenakshi’s mother ‘Kanchana
Mala’ wanted to have sacred bath in a sea. To fulfil her wish, the Pandyan
king, Lord Shiva caused not just one but 7 seas to
congregate on the eastern side of Southern Madurai. (3)
The seven seas were identified by 7 different
coloured waters that converged near Southern Madurai. The date is around 12,000
years ago and corresponds to a sea level rise from 120 to 60 meters than it is
now. The appearance of sea near Southern Madurai with the water appearing in 7
colours could mean that the sea had advanced towards Southern Madurai within a
short time by carrying waters from different regions that converged at a
location in the Indian Ocean.
The converged waters reaching east of Southern
Madurai could refer to the sudden melt-downs in the eastern part of the globe –
from regions of China and Indonesian archipelago coming through different path
ways and reaching south Indian Ocean. The surges from Pacific Ocean also could
not be ruled out. The earliest reference to eastern sector of the globe needs
to be researched as currently the focus is on sea- rises in Atlantic Ocean.
(2) The 2nd reference comes in the time
of Ugra Kumara Pandya, the son of Meenakshi.
This Pandya is recognised as ‘Kumara’ (4) or Muruga. The sea water surged upto knee-level in one
version (5)
and stopped at his feet in other versions (6). The limited impact of the sudden surge
of the sea waves was attributed to the javelin thrown by Kumara at the sea. In
reality this must have been the first sea flood caused
by deglaciation in the region of Southern Madurai. It was not deadly but
did cause a substantial rise in the sea level.
(3) This event is shortly followed by a sudden
appearance of rain clouds, attributed to Indra. Its impact also was minimised
by Kumara by means of his Chakrayudha, according to Tiruvilaiyādal puranam (7).
(4) This was followed by another incident of sea-flood
making an appearance. This looked deadly and seemed capable of wiping out
Southern Madurai. But it receded in no time. This coincided with the appearance
of dark clouds which gave rise to the legend that Lord Shiva saved Southern
Madurai by sucking the flood waters in the guise of clouds (8).
Tiruvilaiyādal Puranam makes a significant statement that this event made the people realise that Shiva was indeed the God (9).
The by-products of these events are the revelations
about how Indra and Varuna, the supposed-to-be Vedic
Gods were indigenously present concepts of the Tamil speaking people of
those times. The unitary culture indicated by this will be discussed in another
context.
(5) In the next four millennia, Southern Madurai did
not experience any threat from the sea. It was only around the time of 5550 BCE,
a sea-flood struck the city causing it to disappear under water.
Inference from
the above are
(1) Southern Madurai had experienced sudden sea-level rises due to deglaciation of the poles,
particularly the southern pole about 12,000 years ago.
The water level rose up but not to dangerous levels as to inundate the land.
(2) The first ever rainfall
season had started around the same time. Initially cloud formations were
there but regular rainfall pattern started a little later.
(3) Absence of report of sea floods for the next 4
millennia shows that the initial ones experienced during Kumara’s times 12,000
years ago were caused by deglaciation.
(4) The complete submergence happening 7500 years
ago could be due to tsunami caused by reasons such as seismicity or volcanic
eruptions. This period coincides with the start of the tsunami season in the
Indonesian archipelago that left imprints in Banda Aceh. Southern Madurai must have been lying in the direct line of
tsunami waves.
(5) The absence of a deadly threat from the sea
until then – for 4 millennia – could not be attributed to the absence of
tsunami-causing features – in the absence of any research for that period. There might have happened tsunamis in that
period, but in the directions that could hardly have any impact on Southern
Madurai. If Southern Madurai was located on a safe region – say, a kind of
tsunami-shadow region or a promontory, it could have escaped a major calamity.
A comparative location is Tiruchendur,
the famous abode of Lord Muruga which was not affected by the Tsunami of 2004.
This place experienced receding waters but no subsequent rise of waves.
The scientific explanation for this phenomenon at
Tiruchendur is that it is located on a promontory. A promontory is a cape-like
structure jutting out into the sea. The places on the promontory lying away
from the direction of the tsunami waves experience an agitation in the sea
coast but no phenomenal rise in the waves. The stretch of the coastal line from
Tirunelveli to Pudukkottai covering Tuticorin and Ramanathapuram is studded
with a series of promontories. This has helped in minimising the impact of
Tsunami 2004 in these regions. The location of Sri Lanka on the path of tsunami
waves also served as a barrier.
Promontories pointed out by arrow marks.
By 5550 BCE (the approximate time of end of 1st
Sangam) Southern Madurai had sunk into the sea. That was the time (7000 yrs BP)
global sea level reached the current level. Tsunami imprints found in Banda
Aceh correspond to the period of complete loss of Southern Madurai into the
sea.
Kavātam finding mention in Valmiki Ramayana and
Agastya moving to Kaveri kunda for his penance – both
happening towards the end of Rama’s exile increase the probability of one or
more tsunamis being witnessed in the Indian Ocean even before Rama completed
his exile and returned home.
A corresponding proof for this comes from the maps
of Graham Hancock. Between 10,600 BP and 8,900
BP the shallow region of the Gulf of Mannar has slowly seen a rise in the sea
level. This is ascertained from the thinning of the land-connection between
India and Sri Lanka. The global sea-level increase could have caused this rise.
Within a millennium that followed, the sea level has
greatly increased drowning the naturally formed land bridge between India and
Sri Lanka. The beginning of tsunami season in the Indian Ocean could have
contributed to this increase in a comparatively short time.
The upper time limit was 7700 BP which was close to
the beginning of the tsunami season that impacted Banda Aceh. The first breach
had happened then as per this map. In the next 800 years that followed, the sea
level has increased submerging the land connection between the two countries.
Ramayana had happened sometime within this period.
It is also possible to theorise that Rama’s bridge
was built soon after the complete breach of this land connection had happened,
presumably caused by a tsunami. This observation is based on the enigma of how Surpanakha, Mareecha and others from Lanka were easily
commuting between India and Lanka while Rama found it difficult to cross the
sea. Only Ravana had Pushpaka vimana taking him wherever he wanted, but
others didn’t seem to have such luxuries. Assuming that the naturally formed
land connection was there in parts before Rama reached the shore to cross over
to Lanka, it is possible to say that others crossed with less difficulty.
But when Rama came to the sea shore, it was water
all around. Rama could have opted to use catamarans instead of labouring to
make a bridge. For the amount of trees pulled down and stacked into forming the
bridge, the Vanaras could have as well built simple catamarans and crossed the
sea with less effort. That they didn’t find it viable could only mean that the
sea was rough and at the same time not deep enough. The sea-floor topography
must have been rough and shallow and not supportive of travel by boats or
catamarans. If only the breach at the land bridge had happened close to the time
of their crossing over, Rama could have opted for raising the land bridge.
The description in Valmiki Ramayana
supports the idea that a tsunami hit again when Rama was standing at the sea
shore angry at the Ocean God for not giving place to cross the ocean. This
tsunami was seen to have been caused by a volcanic explosion somewhere in
Indonesia or by a magma blow-out in central Indian Ocean.
The relevant verses of Valmiki Ramayana will be
discussed in the next article.
References:
(1) The author Nakkeeranār gives the background of
his commentary in his explanation to the first verse of Iṟaiyanār Agapporuḷ as
this:
The Pandyan king invites the learned to write
commentary for Iṟaiyanār Agapporuḷ. Nakkeeranār wanted the king to identify a learned person to judge the commentaries to choose the best. In his reply the
king, Ugra Peruvazhuthi recalls Nakkeeranār’s contribution to the corpus of
Sangam literature as one among the 49 poets of the entire the 3rd
Sangam period. This shows that Nakkeeranār, who authored the commentary for Iṟaiyanār
Agapporuḷ was the Sangam poet who dared to question Lord Shiva appearing to
defend his poem given to Dharumi. That poem is found in a Sangam compilation
called Kurum thogai.
(2) Tiruvilaiyādal Puranam: Yezhu kadal azhiattha
patalam. ஏழு
கடல்
அழைத்த
படலம்.
(3) Tiruvilaiyādal Puranam: Yezhu kadal azhiattha
patalam. ஏழு
கடல்
அழைத்த
படலம்.
Verse
887:
தேவி திரு மொழி கேட்டுத் தென்னவராய் நிலம்
புரக்கும்
காவி திகழ் மணி கண்டர் கடல் ஒன்றோ எழு கடலும்
கூவி வர அழைத்தும் என உன்னினார் குணபால் ஓர்
வாவி இடை எழுவேறு வண்ணமொடும் வருவன ஆல்.
(4) ‘குமரவேள்
உக்கிரனெனப்
பேர்
கொண்டதும்’
Maduraik kalambagam - verse 92
(5) Tiruvilaiyādal Puranam by Paranjothi
Munivar verse 1046:
கடல் சுவற
வேல்
விட்ட
படலம்.
"கணைக்
காலின்
மட்டது
ஆனதே"
(6) Tiruvilaiyādal Puranam by Tiruvālavāyudaiyār : 21-6,
Silappadhkrama 17-20, Nalavenba, Villiputthur
Bharatham.
(7) Tiruvilaiyādal Puranam , Indran mudi mel valai
erintha patalam. இந்திரன்
முடி
மேல்
வளை
எறிந்த
படலம்
(8) Tiruvilaiyādal Puranam வருணன்
விட்ட
கடலை
வற்றச்
செய்த
படலம்.
(9) Tiruvilaiyādal Puranam by Paranjothiyar: Verse 1305
நிவப்புற
வெழுந்த
நான்கு மேகமு நிமிர்ந்து
வாய்விட்
டுவர்ப்புறு கடலை வாரி யுறிஞ்சின வுறிஞ்ச லோடுஞ்
சிவப்பெருங் கடவுள் யார்க்குந் தேவெனத் தெளிந்தோ ரேழு
பவப்பெரும் பௌவம் போலப் பசையற வறந்த தன்றே.
டுவர்ப்புறு கடலை வாரி யுறிஞ்சின வுறிஞ்ச லோடுஞ்
சிவப்பெருங் கடவுள் யார்க்குந் தேவெனத் தெளிந்தோ ரேழு
பவப்பெரும் பௌவம் போலப் பசையற வறந்த தன்றே.
