Showing posts with label Tamil Conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tamil Conference. Show all posts

Friday, November 8, 2019

Thiruvalluvar was a Hindu who lived 7500 years ago (My video in Tamil)

In the midst of the raging controversy in the main stream and social media over the religious identity of Thiruvalluvar and Thirukkural, it is time to take a deep look at the available evidence to deduce the same. Though I have written many blogs in the past on this particular issue, this time I have brought out a video to analyse these issues in the light of the verses of Thiruvalluva Maalai, a compilation of verses of many Sangam poets on Thiruvalluvar and Thirukkural.

Thiruvalluva Maalai was released in the last Assembly of the last (3rd) Sangam headed by the Pandyan King Ugra Peruvazhuthi. Majority of the 53 verses of this compilation speak of Thirukkural as equal to Vedas, talking about the 4 Purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha) and as an exposition of  the six 'samayam' which refer to Shaivam, Vaishnavam etc, but certainly not the Abrahamic religions. Some of the verses also give solid clues on the location of Thiruvalluvar and the king ruling at his time.

Those verses point out to Thiruvalluvar's time at the end of the 1st Sangam Age when Then- Madurai (southern Madurai) was lost to the seas. Subsequently he moved to Mayilai (Mylapore) in present day Chennai that was established by the Pandyan king. Thirukkural must have been completed at this place. But in the prevailing commotion caused by the deluge and the setting up of a new capital (Kavatam) Thirukkural could not find the light of the day at any Sangam Assembly. More details in my video which begin with revealing the Hindu identity of Thiruvalluvar.



The video contains an important denouncement of the faulty interpretation of Andal's verse "Thee-k-kuralai" (தீக்குறளைச் சென்றோதோம்) as referring to demeaning of Thirukkural by Andal.
What she referred to was "Kuralai" which by itself is an independent word meaning "talking ill of others".



I have presented my deductions based on solid and valid verses of Sangam poets to bring out the truth. Let Truth Alone prevail!


Related posts:

Thiruvalluvar wore sacred thread.

Was Thiruvalluvar a Christian? Karunanidhi in the fore again.

He is not IYAN Thiruvalluvan, he is ARYAN Thiruvalluvan

திருக்குறள் என்னும் அறிவன் நூல்

Saturday, January 26, 2019

Vedic view of Uttarayana (winter solstice), equinox (Vishu) and 'fall' of star Abhijit (Vega)- a critique of Dr Raj Vedam's article.


Update on December 8, 2019

Check out my videos describing the Vedic view of to and fro oscillation of the equinoxes within 54 degrees and the polar shifts within 54 degree arc of the sky.



Understanding equinoxes the Vedic way



Identifying the northern pole stars in the Vedic concept of 54 degree oscillation. 

The most vexatious and the least understood idea of ‘precession’ of equinoxes had a re-run of the same kind in an article (reproduced below)## that I recently read. Behind the attractive title of when Makar Sankaranti was first celebrated, the reader is offered  three synchronies, (1) coincidence of Uttarayana (winter solstice) with Makar Sankaranti, (2) Makar Sankaranti coinciding with Til harvest and (3) the current date of Makar Sankaranti coinciding with the date of Uttarayana during the period of Nilaknatha Somayaji in 1500s.

With due respects to the author of these synchronies, let me state that none of these do matter in understanding Uttarayana or Makar Sankaranti and the article offers no justification to the question in the title, “When did we first celebrate Makar Sankaranti?” Without attempting to answer this question which is historical in nature, attempts of the author to find its synchronies using modern software could only confound mis-information. The answers do not lie in the astronomy software but in understanding the domain knowledge of what our ancient rishis watched in the sky and for what they used that knowledge.

To give a sample idea of what this domain knowledge was like, a verse in Brihad Samhita says (Ch 3- 4) that if the sun commences its northward movement (Uttarayana) before reaching Makara (Capricorn) it would bring evil on the west and south. Similarly if it turns towards south (Dakshinayana) before it reaches Kataka (Cancer), it would cause harm to east and north. What this conveys is that it was well within the knowledge of the rishis that the movement (ayana) is not constant and cannot synchronise with Makara or Kataka at all times. It must have taken not just a few hundred but thousands of years of observation of the movement of the Ayanas (of the sun) and the terrestrial events related to the movement. 

Today Uttarayana starts before the sun reaches Makara – the same condition mentioned in Brihad samhita. Interestingly no text speaks about Uttarayana after it slipped south of Makara that is in Dhanus (Sagittarius) which had happened more than 1500 years ago. The last time we hear about the conjunction of Makar Sankaranti and Uttarayana is from Varahamihira. After that the next reference – plenty of them are there - comes in the inscriptions of1000 years before present. Interestingly they refer to “Uttarayana Sankaranti” and the dates concur with Makara Sankaranti only and not the actual date of Uttarayana (sun turning towards north after it reaches the southernmost point). That means Uttarayana to the south of Makara was never recognised for rituals and instead it was combined with Makara Sankaranti – on the date the sun enters Makara.

It is here the problem of non-synchronous synchrony between the two has been taken up by modern researchers who think that we are wrong in having “Uttarayana Sankaranti”. They insist that Uttarayana must be recognised at the current location of northward movement and adjust the dates of the festivals accordingly.

But the fact is that tropical solstice or Equinox do not determine the festivals or rituals of the Vedic society. Only the sun and moon as Panchānga factors are reckoned for fixing the dates of festivals. Today vernal equinox starts at 6 degrees of Pisces and modern reformers want us to start Aries at that point. This is nothing but lack of domain knowledge of Vedic astronomy – for, the month of Chaitra (Aries)  is determined by the full moon happening in Chitra star, but it does not happen so when the sign of Aries starts with the Sun in 6th degree of Pisces. Vedic astronomy synchronises stars, sun and the moon for identifying “time” for any ritual. In the very beginning of Rig Jyothisha, it is said that knowledge of all these is to know the effect of Time. This part –that is, effect-related- to- celestial entities – is what makes Vedic astronomy different from modern astronomy.

Another pet theory of modernists is that seasons will change with precession, whereas ground reality is that the rainy season of Ramayana had not changed even now. The reason is that sidereal position of the sun is always kept intact whatever the precession may be. The purpose of Vedic astronomy being identification of Time for rituals, constant course correction is being done with stars as reference points. Due to this reason, rainy season always starts in Ashada month and summer always peaks when the sun passes through Krittika.


Fall of Abhijit (Vega in the constellation of Lyra).

While on the topic of Krittika, a major mis-conception must be exposed on the so-called ‘fall’ of the star Abhijit. The article under discussion refers to Abhijit as a pole star and a fallen star quoting secondary sources. If only the primary source was analysed, the author would have known that the ‘fall’ of Abhijit is not actually a fall in the literary sense of the term but removal from the zodiac – in which case, the vacancy was filled by Krittika!

This means that the star Krittika (Pleiades) was not at all considered as part of the 27 stars of the zodiac at one time. From the events described in Vana Parva of Mahabharata (ch 227 to 229), it is known that Rohini was in the lead (equinox) once when Vishaka was a full star and not divided between two signs as it is now between Libra and Scorpio. At that time a huge fire (called Adbhuda) had ravaged the lands and some re-design or re-organisation of the zodiac was done as a result. Since events were connected with the transit of sun, the fire at Rohini was a mismatch. So Krittika, a star group very much close-by (for naked eye observation) was included with its deity identified as Agni.

Around the same time, it was noticed that Abhijit which was reckoned at a place where Makara begins today (90 degrees to the left of Rohini – with Rohini as the point of Vishu or equinox) had slipped southward. That being the point of Uttarayana, and with Uttarayana no longer happening in Abhijit, it was thought fit to revamp the zodiac with Abhijit expunged from the star-group and substituted by Krittika in between Bharani and Rohini. In naked eye observation they are seen to be cramped within a short span of space – giving credence to the story that Krittika was added afterwards. That was the time Skanda alias Muruga was around according to the version in Mahabharata.  He was very valorous and so was deified with a mythological spin of six women, who happened to be the wives of six of the seven rishis of the Sapta rishi Mandala (Ursa Major).

Here also an interesting astronomical truth is encapsulated in Mahabharata. They ancient rishis had identified a companion for each of the seven stars of the Sapta rishi mandala but had found that six of them had changed position with only Arundhati retaining the same location with reference to the star identified as her husband, Vashishta. To give a mythological tinge to the deification of Skanda, the rishis had framed a story that the six wives have turned into the six Krittika women who nursed Skanda. All these events – the Adbhuda fire, the slip down of the northern movement of the sun to the south of Abhijit, replacement of Abhijit with Krittika and change in the position of six companion stars – had been noticed during the same period leading to a re-vamp of the zodiac.

Skanda was repeatedly referred to as having taken up the face of the goat in the narration in Mahabharata – a reference to Mesha becoming the first sign of the zodiac. In this set- up the maximum precession or progression had happened within 27 degrees on either side of the zero degree Aries which we celebrate as New Year or Vishu. This Vishu regressed upto 24 degrees as of today, but it doesn’t matter, it is going to swing back in forward motion soon – that is the Vedic wisdom we gather from the ancient texts.

To quote a source, Vayu Purana speaks about a ‘veethi’ (street) concept (Ch 50- 130). It tells about a northern street called Naga veethi and a southern street called Ajaveethi. It says 
when the sun rises in the constellations Mula, Purvashada and Uttrashada it is called Ajaveethi. When the sun rises during the rise of the three stars after Abhijit, it is called Nagaveethi.”

After Abhijit, comes Shravana, Dhanishta and Satabhishak. The verse is a clear indication of northern movement (Uttarayana ) of sun limited to the extent of Mula only. The three stars from Mula occurring south of Makara, it was given the name, Southern street (where Uttarayana happens as it is happening today). After crossing Makara – where Abhijit was once located, the northern movement of the ayana could go only upto Satabhishak after which the movement would be reversed. This part of the movement was known as Northern street.

This is something unthinkable for the modern researchers who are pushing the ayana and equinox relentlessly around the zodiac. In reality the axial precession to the extent of less than 3 degrees (between 22.1 to 24.5 degrees as per current research) can have the effect of a rocking chair or a Tanjore doll, yes, the famous swaying doll of Tanjore!


The Tanjore doll (above) can sway back and forth but would never topple. A society that sees everything from a cosmic and spiritual perspective can be expected to have devised a play thing in a concept which is very easy to understand. 

The simple proof of how precession works is in the latitudinal angle of tropic of cancer and Capricorn. It will always be the same as the degree of tilt of the axis. Presently the axial tilt is 23.44 degrees. That is the maximum limit of both the tropics. The sun reaches only upto the extent of 23.44 degrees in the north and in the south of equator. With the tilt changing from 22.1 to 24.5 degrees, that is the range within which the two ayanas can travel. This view is expressed in terms Veethi concept with sidereal reference in Vayu Purana.

The maximum extent that the sun can travel on both sides of the equator can be upto Mula 3 degrees in the south and Satabhishak in the north. Accordingly tropic of Sagittarius will mark the northern turn of the sun from southern hemisphere (Uttarayana).  It will be tropic of Gemini in the northern hemisphere marking the southward turn in Dakshinayana. Beyond these two limits the sun can never be seen in the backdrop of the stars of other signs. This oscillation is comparable to the swaying motion of the Tanjore doll.


But why the researchers had thought that equinox and ayanas would do a full round? Perhaps they are inspired by the lunar orbit with reference to earth’s orbit in which case, the point of intersection of the two keeps moving around the zodiac (known as nodes or Rahu and Ketu). That is for an observer on the earth. But earth’s relationship with the sun is not the same. The earth is orbiting the sun – and is not at the centre of the orbit. To put it in simpler terms, in the case of moon orbiting the earth, the moon’s orbit intersects the earth’s orbit. The gradual movement of the point of intersection is noticeable from the earth which makes a full round in 18.5 years.

This is not the same with reference to the sun that is being orbited by the earth. Suppose we are in the location of the sun, and watch the earth move around us, in the same way we watch the moon move around the earth, we can observe the orbit of the earth (ecliptic) cutting the path of the sun at gradually moving different points. But we are circling the sun like how moon is circling the earth. Our observation is not like how we see the moon from the earth. But it is like how a being on moon will be seeing the earth while moon is making circles around the earth. With less than 3 degree variation in the wobble of the tilted earth, the sun will be seen moving across the sky, with the far away stars in the back drop, within a limited span of space. The following diagram shows how it would look.


(For illustrative purpose only, not true to angles)

The above picture shows the maximum shift of the spring equinox caused by the maximum oscillation of the axial tilt of the earth. The shift is between Pisces and Aries only. Beyond this the equinox cannot move. In the past it went upto Rohini, a star in Taurus in the current design of the zodiac. The ‘fall of Abhijit’ and the substitution of Krittika to complete the zodiac had caused the equinoctial shift to move upto Krittika, that has taken the original span of the star Rohini (each star span is 13 degrees and 20 minutes where 60 minutes make one degree)

In the opposite of the ecliptic, the way the autumnal equinox shifts between Libra and Virgo with the median at zero degree Libra is shown in the diagram below. For those in the southern hemisphere, the equinox will be seen to move within 27 degrees on either side of zero degree of Libra.


In these two diagrams, two extreme positions of the wobble are shown as two earths. The location of the sun in the back drop of stars perceived as Equinox, cannot go beyond a certain limit – here shown as 27 degrees on either side of beginning point of Aries and of Libra – which is as per Vedic Thought. The poles as well as the equinox make a restricted movement. As such Uttarayana (Dakshinayana too) is an oscillating phenomenon and cannot be synchronised with Makar Sankaranti. Nor can it be stretched across the zodiac with claims that months and seasons will change with that movement.

Before ending, let me respond to the three synchronies mentioned in the article under critique.

(1) Coincidence of Uttarayana with Makar Sankaranti:

This can happen only when Uttarayana is crossing zero degree Capricorn or the 270th degree of the zodiac that starts with Aries at zero degrees. Whenever Uttarayana started before the sun reached Makara, Vedic society had not recognised it as the starting point. It had always maintained Makara Sankramana (entry) as Uttarayana. When Uttarayana had occurred after the sun reached Makara, then only Uttarayana was recognised, whatever be its position. That is what we are seeing in Rig Jyothisha. One should remember that Makara Sankaranti was conspicuously absent in those times. That is because Makara Sankaranti was happening in Dakshinayana at those times. With importance given to the 270th degree (which is 90 degree to the left of Equinox in fixed zodiac) when Abhijit was seen not to be the star of Uttarayana, a re-design of the zodiac was done, after expunging Abhijit from the zodiac. Detailed explanation can be read in the last chapter of my book "Myth of The Epoch of Arundhati of Nilesh Nilkanth Oak".


(2) Makar Sankaranti coinciding with Til harvest:

There is no proof for this whereas the available inscriptional evidence shows that harvest was over in Aippasi- Karthigai and in Panguni- Chitthirai. There is evidence of payment of “Karthigau Kaasu” at the end of rainy season and “Chitthirai Kaasu” after the end of winter crops. Read my earlier article on how Pongal was a recent development and not a replacement for Makar Sankaranti in Tamil lands.  


(3) The current date of Makar Sankaranti coinciding with the date of Uttarayana during the period of Nilaknatha Somayaji in 1500s:

The author had written,

“The final synchrony we examine is to ask the question, when did Makar Sankranti last coincide with Jan 13th/14th? By direct simulation on planetarium software, we find this date to be around 1500s CE. This period is startlingly, the exact period of the famous Kerala astronomer, Nilakantha Somayaji (1444-1544), author of Tantrasangrama, who would have been aware of the length of the tropical year and the effect of Precession from works of Aryabhata, Bhaskara II as well as Surya Siddhanta, and might have computed the date accordingly. This date was probably left untouched since.”

The author first tries to match the Gregorian date of present day Makar Sankaranti with the date of Uttarayana when it last coincided with the same Gregorian date. This is nothing but absurd as Gregorian calendar does not track the star path as Vedic astronomy (it is astrology only but modernists refuse to use that term). As explained earlier, Uttarayana and Makar Sankaranti are not the same and our sages did not bother to synchronise them. The synchronisation is done like a play by modernists with the help of astronomy software.

Next the author says that Uttarayana was kept track of until then (Nilakantha’s time) but not corrected thereafter. I wish he along with all those modern chronologists of his ilk understand the fact that Uttaryana and every other time keeping was done with reference to the stars in the backdrop of the sun and not in a fixed position in the zodiac when the earth comes to the same point in its orbit around the sun. Therefore it is irrational to synchronise the current date of Makar Sankaranti with Uttarayana in the past.

In fact the Gregorian calendar came into use after the time of Nilakantha. It is on record of Madras Journal of Literature and Science (1833-34) that Makar Sankaranti occurred on 11th January in sync with the equinoctial position in fixed zodiac on 11th April in the year 1834. (This is the Tamil New Year or Vishu). Around the time the Gregorian calendar was introduced, the sidereal New Year (zero degree Aries) started on 11th April and Makar Sankaranti on 11th January. The years before that would see the backward movement of the calendar date with reference to Vishu and Makar Sankaranti. 100 years from now Vishu will occur on 15th / 16th April and Makar Sankaranti on 15th / 16th January. It makes no sense to synchronise Gregorian date with sidereal date.

Finally let me attempt to answer the question raised by the author in the title “When did we first celebrate Makar sankaranti?” That goes to the time before the ‘fall’ of Abhijit – a time when Skanda, a hero of Tamil texts lived. Until then Uttarayana and Makar Sankaranti had coincided. Once they started noticing the ‘fall’ of Abhijit and Uttarayana happening after 270th degree of the zodiac, they had thought of making corrections. It was then a massive fire had occurred when the equinox was in Rohini. This was unacceptable as Rohini was thought to be ruled by creator Brahma. Therefore Krittika was introduced in the place of Rohini and Rohini’s span was pushed forward. By how many degrees this could have happened would be discussed in another article.

By excluding Abhijit from the zodiac the rishis had revealed their mind – that the sun going south of Makara is inauspicious but they can wait for its return to Naga Veethi. However their love for Abhijit made them name the mid day muhurtha after Abhijit.  

It would do well to the retention of ancient wisdom of Vedic rishis, if modern astronomy software based researchers stop spreading their mis-construed ideas as truth to gullible yet eager readers. 

                           ******************* END********************


## From


When Did We First Celebrate Makar Sankranti?


 - Jan 13, 2017, 3:20 pm

The widespread celebration of the Makar Sankranti festival and its many regional variations hint at great antiquity. In this article, we will take a journey through time, weaving together history, astronomy, calendars, seasons, agriculture and common customs, to find connections and understand the antiquity of the festival, and as an outcome, we will examine three different synchronisms for Makar Sankranti.

We first discuss points of astronomical significance, to appreciate the antiquity of the festival.

1. As the Earth rotates on its 23.5 degree tilted axis from west to east, it would appear that celestial bodies that rise in the eastern horizon set in the western horizon, except for the stars closer to the celestial North (South) Pole that would appear to circle it.

2. Earth’s annual revolution around the Sun while tilted at 23.5 degrees gives the phenomenon of seasons, due to the changing amounts of sunlight in each hemisphere, in each quarter segment of the revolution.

3. The visible stars are so distant from our solar system that they appear to be fixed with respect to the Earth’s revolution. As the Earth makes progress in its revolution each day, it would appear that the familiar constellations also change in the sky. Thus the constellations that appear in the night sky in a given month will repeat in a year’s time (ignoring the slow effect of precession, discussed in point 7). The situation is analogous to looking outside a train window on a circular track – the same scenery will appear at the same point on the circular track.

4. Due to the Earth’s tilt at 23.5 degrees, from an Earth-bound observation point, it would appear that the sunrise is offset by a small amount daily, and reaches a southernmost point – the Winter Solstice, and reverses course, and reaches a northernmost point, the Summer Solstice. Ancient Indians recognized the six-month southern journey of the Sun as Dakshinayana, and the 6-month northern journey as the auspicious Uttarayana. The epic Mahabharata, recounts Bhishma who could control the time of his death, and lay on a bed of arrows, waiting for the start of Uttarayana, for more than 92 days (Nilesh Nilakanth Oak, When Did the Mahabharata War Happen?), hinting ancient observance of the Winter solstice occurrence.

5. Indian astronomical work divided the sky into twenty-seven Nakshatras that each occupies 13 and 1/3 degree segments, approximately the distance traveled by the Moon in a 24 hour period against the fixed stars. Each Nakshatra was identified by the principal stars in that segment of the sky. The Nakshatra model forms part of the earliest corpus of Indian works on astronomy, dating to the Vedic era.

6. In addition to the twenty-seven Nakshatras, ancient Indians also divided the sky into 12 equal parts of thirty degrees each, called the Rashis. While there have been some Western assertions that ancient Indians borrowed the Rashi model from Babylon, Subhash Kak shows otherwise in his book, Astronomical Code of the Rgveda, about the Vedic origin of the Rashis, evolving from the twelve Adityas. See fig.1.


The twelve Rashis shown on the ceiling of the 12th century Airavatesvara temple in Darasuram, Tamil Nadu.

7. Due to the gravitational effects of Sun and Moon (and to a lesser extent, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn), the Earth wobbles on its axis, and completes a non-uniform cycle in about 25,771 years, referred to as Precession of Equinox. Due to this wobble, the celestial North Pole (and South Pole) appears to change over time, and the Rashis appear to drift slowly over the years. More than 2500 years ago, ancient Indians had observed and measured the wobble at a degree for every 100 years. 

This translates to a measure of 36,000 years, a figure repeated by Hipparchus around 150 BCE. One of the best estimates of Precession was made by Bhaskara II of Ujjain in the 12th century, to 25,461 years, and not improved upon till modern times. It is very interesting that ancient Indians had noted a time when Abhijit (the star Vega) was once the pole-star, and also a time when it was no longer the pole-star. Abhijit was at the Celestial North Pole approximately 14,000 years ago. Around 7000 years ago, it would have appeared to have “fallen” in the sky, as noted by Dr. P.V.Vartak (in Scientific Dating of Ramayana and the Vedas), calling out a reference to a passage in the Mahabharata.
We now define Makar Sankranti as the date when from an Earth-bound observation point, the Sun enters the Makar Rashi, also called Capricorn.


Ancient Indians noted the Winter Solstice as the start of the auspicious Uttarayana. At some point in the past, Uttarayana coincided with Makar Sankranti, and constitutes our first point of synchrony. We can determine the time period when the two coincided by considering the effects of Precession. Prior to that, it is instructive to note how ancient Indians and Europeans recorded the passage of time.
Subhash Kak notes that even before Vedanga Jyotish, ancient Indians’ 27-Nakshatra and 12 Rashi system used a luni-solar calendar where every 5 years, an additional month called Adhika Masa was added, synchronizing the lunar and solar years. Ancient Indians also estimated the tropical year, defined as the period when the Sun enters the same seasonal point – say, a solstice point.

Aryabhata and Bhaskara II had estimated the tropical year at 365 days, 6 hours, 12 minutes, and 30 seconds, the same figure as estimated in the ancient Indian text, Surya Siddhanta. The modern figure for the tropical year is approximately 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds.

In the Western system, Julius Caesar instituted the Julian calendar in 46 BCE, dividing the year of 365 days to 12 months, and adding a day every 4th year, thus averaging to 365 days, 6 hours - a figure less accurate than the Surya Siddhanta. Due to this approximation, this calendar accumulated errors over the years, causing a “slip” in the dates of the equinoxes and solstices. The modern Gregorian calendar introduced in 1582, introduced a correction, where if a year is integer-divisible by 4, it is considered a leap year, except for those centurial years that are integer-divisible by 100, and with further overruling exception to those centurial years that are integer-divisible by 400, which were considered as leap years. With the modern Gregorian calendar, the equinoxes and solstices occur on approximately the same date each year, and considering Precession, has an error of about 1 day every 7700 years.

Considering the first synchrony, the Winter solstice today coincides with the Dhanus Sankranti – one Rashi away from Makar. This slip has happened due to the Precession noted earlier.


Position of the Sun in relation to the Rashis on Winter solstice, Dec 21st, 2016. Because of Precession, it is a Dhanus Sankranti, rather than a Makar Sankranti.

Assuming a uniform Precession rate of 25,771 years for a full circle of 360 degrees, each degree is about 71.5861 years. Rounding the figures and noting that each Rashi occupies 30 degrees, we multiply 72 by 30 to get 2160 – the approximate number of years in the past, when due to Precession, Makar Sankranti would have coincided with the Winter Solstice, approximately in 143 BCE. By simulation in planetarium software, we find that anywhere from 400 BCE to the opening centuries of the Common Era, the Winter solstice date would have coincided with the Sun rising approximately in Makar Rashi. Based on synchrony of the solstice with Makar Sankranti, we propose the festival to have been celebrated since 400 BCE. See figs. 3 and 4.


Position of the Sun in relation to the Rashis on Winter solstice, Dec 25th, 400 BCE. Notice that the Sun rise is in Makar Rashi, making it a Makar Sankranti.


Notice the position of the Sun at 7AM on Jan 14th, 2017, and how 7 days later, it is at the Makar Rashi. Considering Precession, 505 years ago, Makar Sankranti would have been on Jan 14th – exactly the time of Kerala Astronomer, Nilakantha Somayaji, 1512 CE.

Our second dating of the antiquity of the Makar Sankranti festival is by considering the synchrony of Makar Sankranti with the Til/Sesame/Gingelly crop harvest. We notice an India-wide common aspect of celebrating Makar Sankranti – the widespread use of til in traditional sweet preparation. Til is a drought-resistant rabi crop in India, planted currently around mid-November and harvested in April, before the monsoons, taking about 90 to 120 days to grow. Paleo-botanical records suggest an antiquity of at least 3000 BCE for the multi-crop cultivation of til in Rakhigarhi sites and a few centuries later for domestic rice, and trade with Mesopotamia and Egypt in til in 2000 BCE. Up to the medieval period, Indian farmers encoded agricultural wisdom with references to nakshatras to help time their planting and reaping activities. It is fascinating to investigate a period of time when Makar Sankranti coincided with the harvest of the til crop, say in southern India, and was therefore used in celebratory sweet preparation.

Contrary to popular thought, the seasons do not change with Precession. The Milankovitch cycles predict long-term climate changes due to Precession, Obliquity and Tilt cycles of the Earth, but these do not impact the periodical seasons (might make seasons more or less severe, though!). However, if we peg our measurement of time to a Nakshatra/Rashi, that observation can change over time due to Precession. Thus an observation that “rainy season starts in Ashada Masa” can change over time due to Precession.

Our clue is that traditionally, Makar Sankranti is considered as a harvest festival. In Tamil Nadu, there are two planting seasons for Til – Thai Pattam (Jan/Feb) and Adi Pattam (July/August). Considering a 4-month growing period, the Adi Pattam crop harvest would coincide with December. Thus again, the date of about 400 BCE synchronizing the Winter solstice, Til harvest, and Makar Sankranti makes sense.

The final synchrony we examine is to ask the question, when did Makar Sankranti last coincide with Jan 13th/14th? By direct simulation on planetarium software, we find this date to be around 1500s CE. This period is startlingly, the exact period of the famous Kerala astronomer, Nilakantha Somayaji (1444-1544), author of Tantrasangrama, who would have been aware of the length of the tropical year and the effect of Precession from works of Aryabhata, Bhaskara II as well as Surya Siddhanta, and might have computed the date accordingly. This date was probably left untouched since. See figure 4.

We have examined three synchronies regarding Makar Sankranti. The first, based on synchrony with the Winter Solstice gives a date of about 400 BCE. The second, based on a synchrony of til harvest in Tamil Nadu with Makar Sankranti also suggests 400 BCE. The third, based on a synchrony with the tropical calendar, gives a date of 1500s CE.

As we celebrate Makar Sankranti, we should also celebrate the strong traditions of astronomy and mathematics, indelibly tied with the shared experience of the nation, over thousands of years.



Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Valmiki of Ramayana knew Tamil! (Spoken language of ancient India - part 1)

This series posted so far: 




Disclaimer: I hereby declare that there is no chauvinistic intention of promoting Tamil, which happens to be my mother tongue, in the series of articles beginning with the present one. 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. 

Foreword

The linguistic studies of the past two centuries had led us to believe that there existed a language division in India as Dravidian and Indo European. But anyone with some knowledge of Tamil Sangam texts and an exposure to Valmiki Ramayana and Mahabharata, would say that this is wrong. For many thousands of years there existed only two languages in India, a human tongue, called as Manushya Bhasha in Valmiki Ramayana and a divine tongue, the Deva bhasha. Though there is no doubt about what was known as Deva bhasha, not much research was done on what was known as Manushya Bhasha. That Manushya Bhasha must have been a language spoken in South India (because Hanuman knew that), in North India (because Sita knew that) and even in Srilanka because that is where Hanuman and Sita spoke, part of which could have been overheard by the guards of Sita. 

My continuing association with the three (Olden Tamil texts, Ramayana of Valimki and Mahabharata) led me to deduce that Tamil was spoken as the Manushya Bhasha throughout the length and breadth of the Indian sub continent. While refined Tamil was spoken in core Tamil lands where the Sangam assemblies were held, a form of proto Tamil (that existed before Tamil was refined with Grammar) continued to be present in the rest of India. In course of time this proto Tamil fused with Sanskrit and gave rise to other languages of India.  In this series, I would be placing on record the proofs for all these. Let me begin with Valmiki. It is everybody's knowledge that Valmiki wrote the Ramayana in Sanskrit. What many do not know is that Valmiki knew Tamil also and had authored some Tamil works! 

The present article brings them out. The original was written in Tamil in 2011. It can be read here: http://thamizhan-thiravidana.blogspot.in/2011/08/65.html (வால்மீகியும்தமிழும்.

 My sincere thanks to Mr TG Saranathan (Former chief of Telecom, Tamilnadu Circle) for translating this article from Tamil.

**********

VALMIKI AND TAMIL


Tolkappiyam [tolkAppiyam] is considered as the oldest Tamil grammar available in Tamil literature. It states that Tamil language was taught as three types: Primary, Intermediary and Secondary.  In his interpreation, Naccinārkkiniyar, an early commentator for Tolkappiyam, says that the First category or the Primary education was the study of Tamil poetic works of Iraiyanar (Lord Shiva), Agastya, Markandeya, Valmiki, Gautama and the likes. This is a thought provoking statement.

("தமிழ்ச் செய்யுட் கண்ணும் இறையனாரும்,  
அகத்தியனாரும்,  
மார்க்கண்டேயனாரும்,
வான்மீகனாரும்,  
கவுதமனாரும் போலார் செய்தன தலை".)

We know Valmiki as the famous Author of Srimad Ramayanam. But here, if we think that studying that epic Ramayanam of Valmiki, is the Primary learning, then it is  not so! The words "Tamil poetic works of Valmiki" clearly indicate that Valmiki had composed poems in Tamil.

When we search for works of Valmiki in Tamil, we find that  the 358th poem in Purananuru is by Valmiki [Factually it is mentioned as Vanmiki. But in Tamil letters 'l' and 'n' are interchangeable] . In writing the history of the poets of Purananuru, Dr.U.V.Swaminatha Iyer, considered as Grand father of Tamil, records that a Poet named Valmiki lived during the 1st Sangam period. But due to non-availability of supporting data, he concluded that this Valmiki and Ramayana Valmiki were different.
But the name Valmiki came into being due to a specific reason. Valmiki's original name was Ratnakar (Prachedas) Since because he was covered by an ant- hill from which he emerged, he gained the name Valmiki. Due to the specific causative nature of this name, it is not possible that two different persons could have got the name, Valmiki. One may say that there is a community in Andhra Pradesh, with Valmiki as family title. But this name was adopted only a few hundred years ago.

There is no indication of existence of two Valmikis, one in Sanskrit and another in Tamil literature. But the fact remains that the name Valmiki exists in Tamil works. Naccinārkkiniyar says that people studied the Tamil works of Valmiki. 

Searching for the Tamil works of Valmiki, there is one in the Sangam literature of Purananuru. There is another as a collection of Tamil poems attributed to Valmiki Siddhar, under the name Valmiki Sixteen (vAlmIkan padhinARu). Yet another composition bearing his name is  Srimad Ramayanam is in Sanskrit.

If we examine all these three works it is evident that the same Valmiki has rendered all of them. 
In all these three works, a common theme is found. That theme is - Sri or Lakshmi, also referred to as Mother, who incarnated as Sita.



Valmiki Ramayanam starts with the words 'mA nishAdha' and the word 'mA' denotes Mother according to scholars.

The Siddha work, 'Valmiki Sixteen' also emphasizes worshiping Mother and importance Vedas. ('தாயாரைப் பூசித்து வேதம் ஓது')This is different from other Siddhas' works. The Purananuru verse also speaks about the glory of Sri, the Mother.

Since we find Mother who is identified as Lakshmi or Sri as the main theme in all these three works, we can conclude that the same person - Valmiki- has authored all of them. Let us analyse the verses of Valmiki to understand this. 

Purananooru:  358th verse

It is a seven line poem found by Dr U.V.Swaminatha Iyer in the old palm leaf compilations of Puranauru. It bears the poet's name as "Vaanmeekiyaar" or VaanmIkaiyaar" in different palm leaves. Both are the Tamilsed forms of Vaalmiki. As a mark of respect, a suffix "aar" is added to the name. Therefore Valmiki +aar = Valmikiyaar in Tamil. The verse is as follows:

"பரிதி சூழ்ந்த விப்பயன்கேழு மாநிலம்
ஒரு பகல் எழுவர் எய்தியற்றே
வையமும் தவமும் தூக்கிற்றவக்துக்
கையவி யனைத்து மாற்றா தாகலிர்
கைவிட்டனரே காதலர் அதனால்
விட்டோரை விடாள் திருவே
விடாதோர் இவள் விடப்பட்டோரே "

Meaning in Tamil

இந்த உலகம் எல்லாப்பக்கங்களிலும் சூரியனால் சூழப்பட்டுஅதாவது அதன் ஒளியால் சூழப்பட்டுஅந்த சூரியன் பொருட்டு கொடுக்கப்படும் அவிப்பயனையும் பெற்றுஒரு பகலில் ஏழு பேர்களால் (ஏழு ஓரைகள்அடையப்படுகிறதுஅப்படிப்பட்ட இந்த உலகத்தின் பொருட்டு கிடைக்கின்ற பயனையும்தவத்தின் பயனையும்ஒரு தராசில் எடை பார்த்தால்உலக இன்பத்தால் கிடைக்கும் பயன்ஒரு வெண்சிறுகடுகளவும் இருக்காதுஅதனால் காதலர்கள் (காதலர் = வீடு பேறு விரும்புவோர்). உலக இன்பத்தைக் கைவிட்டனர்அப்படி விட்டவர்களை திரு என்னும் லக்ஷ்மியானவள் கைவிட மாட்டாள்ஆனால் உலக இன்பங்களை விடாதவர்களை லக்ஷ்மியானவள் கை விட்டு விடுவாள்.

In the Tamil grammar rules for poetry, this verse has been classified under the main heading "Householder's dharma" (Gruhastha dharma) and the sub heading of a diametrically opposite theme of "Asceticism" (Sanyasa Dharma)! The meaning of this verse explains this strange combination. It is as follows:

 "This World surrounded on all sides by the brilliance of Sun, accepts the offerings made to the Sun (god) and attains benefits with the efforts of Seven persons (horas) in the day. If we judiciously compare such benefits attained by this World  and the benefits of penance, the benefits got by the World would be trivial. Therefore, lovers (desirous of Eternal bliss or Moksham) would forego Worldly pleasures. Such people are never deserted by Sri (Lakshmi). But those who are after Worldly pleasures, would be deserted by Her"

Normally, we assume that Sri or Lakshmi is responsible for our Worldly wealth. She bestows the wealth. In this verse Valmiki makes a subtle distinction between whether we should seek Sri / Lakshmi Herself or her gift of wealth. He gives a solution too that we should select the former. If we are after Her – and not after the wealth that she gives, we would not be deserted by Her. In this he gives a subtle Vaishnavite idea that She is the prime facilitator for Moksha or Liberation. It is because of Her blessings, one is blessed to attain salvation granted by Vishnu (or Rama if we take the events of Ramayana into consideration. The glory of Sri or Sita is the foremost theme of Ramayana. This work was indeed named as "sIthAyA charitam mahat" by Valmiki. He did not coin the name Ramayana.). The poem conveys that if we are after mere wealth, Sri or  Lakshmi would desert us; but if we pursue Eternal bliss and forego the material wealth, Sri Lakshmi will never desert us. Such persons graced by Her, would attain siddhi or unusual skills, mind control and Eternal bliss or Moksham.

As if to continue with this theme, the Valmiki Sixteen also conveys the same concept.
The theme in the 16 verses of the Valmiki Sixteen is different from the themes of all other works of other Siddhas. All others praise lord Shiva as the Ultimate God who blesses one with Moksha. But Valmiki differs from them. In the very first verse of Valmiki Sixteen, he says that Shiv Shakti emerged from Vishnu, the Consort of Sri / Lakshmi

'சிவசக்தி திருமாலின் ரூபமாகும்.
வருமுருவே சிவசக்தி வடிவமாகும்'

This concept is radically different from the concept of other Siddhas. This is conceded by the poet Valmiki himself in subsequent verses. He mentions in the 11th verse that seeing his concept to be different, other Siddhas complained to Lord Shiva. Poet Valmiki says further, that Shiva was angry with those Siddhas only. His theme (of Vishnu being the Primary force from which Shiva- Shakthi emerged) conveyed in these poems were regarded as the key (to understand all poems of all other Siddhas.

சிவசிவா பதினெண்பேர் பாடற் கெல்லாம்
    
திறவுகோல் வால்மீகன் பதினாறாகும்: 
சிவம்பெத்த சித்தரேல்லா மென்னூல் பார்த்துச்
    
சிவனோடே கோள் சொன்னார் சினந்தான் நாதன்:
அவமாகிப் போகாமல் சிவனுத் தார
    
அருளினால் திறந்து சொன்னேன் உலகுக்காக:
நவமான நவக்கிரகம் தன்னுளேயே
    
நாக்கு வாய் செவி மூக்கு மத்திக்கப்பால். (11)

நாக்கு வாய் செவி மூக்கு மத்திக் கப்பால்
    
நடுவீதி குய்ய முதல் உச்சி தொட்டுத்
தாக்குவாய் அங்கென்ற அதிலே முட்டுத்
   
தாயாரைப் பூசித்து வேதம் ஓது: (12)

While the other Siddhas preached to forsake Vedas, this poet Valmiki preached that people must to chant Vedas. In addition he says that Vedas should be pursued after worshiping Divine Mother.
One might argue that this Mother is the Shakti in Shiv-Shakti. But this poet and also other Siddhas have regarded Shiv-Shakti as Father- Mother as being together - Parents - as a single entity. 

No siddha  has preached to worship Mother alone. In fact Siddhas have glorified Ardhanareeswara - half male-half female- image of Shiva, as a singular entity. Moreover the  Siddhas have indicated Shakti separately as Shakti and not the way Poet Valmiki had done.

Poet Valmiki's concept is found in Vedas also. There is a verse in Sri Sooktham  in Rig Veda which says that it is far better to get Sri rather than getting Her gift of wealth. The verse of Purananooru and Valmiki Sixteen follow this Vedic concept. 

Valmiki while writing Ramayana describes it as 'sIthAyA charitam mahat' (the Great History of Sita). In the final days of Sita in this World, Valmiki gave Her parental protection and remained devoted to Her. The affection he had for Sita was very great. Therefore, we are tempted, after observing the glory of Mother in the Tamil works, to believe that Valmiki of Ramayana had rendered the Tamil poems too.

In Tamilnadu, there are two places connected with Valmiki:  Ettikkudi and Tiruvanmiyur(Chennai).
Thiruvanmiyur is the place where Valmiki had worshiped Lord Shiva as Marundeeshwara. (Shiva who is Himself the medicine that cures) 



 In the Sthala Purana (temple history) of Marundeeswara temple in Tiruvanmiyur, Valmiki's history is narrated. This is same as the history of Valmiki who wrote Ramayana. In reality, Valmiki was the son of a sage and his original name was Prachetas. As a boy he was lost in the forest and a hunter brought him up. While he grew up as a hunter and thief, an incident made him to renounce family life and to practice meditation. As he was in penance, he remained motionless, for many years, and was covered by anthill of white ants. White ants are called valmeekam in Sanskrit. Thus he got the name Valmiki. This narration of Valmiki's history is found in the temple records.

Since Valmiki worshiped Marundeeswara of this temple, the place is known as Thiru Vanmi(ki) oor or Tiruvanmiyur. 

(Image of Valmiki worshiped in this temple)

Another place in Tamilnadu having the memory of Valmiki is Ettikkudi.  Valmiki attained Samadhi in Ettikkudi, near Nagappattinam. This is mentioned in the books on Siddhas. A plant by name Etti (nux vomica) grew in plenty in this place, due to which this place got the name Ettikkudi. It is now called Ettukkudi. Here in the temple for Subramanya, there is a sannidhi for Valmiki.


One of the Siddha in his poem confirms that Valmiki attained samadhi here, in Ettukudi. Not only that, he also affirms that the same Valmiki of Ramayana fame, wrote Tamil poems also.

In his book 'Bogar Seven Thousand' (Bogar 7000), Siddha Bogar in the verse 5834 confirms that Valmiki, who wrote Ramayana, was the same author of Valmiki Sixteen. In the next verse 5835, he says that Valmiki was a great Tamil poet and lived for more than 700 years through his mystic powers. He also says that Valmiki did not enter into Samadhi state to leave his mortal coils. He also gives his birth details. He was born to a 'Kuratthi' woman (hill tribe) in the month of Purattasi (Bhadrapada), in the 4th pada of star Anusha  (Anuradha). (1) 


Bogar

A curious connection between Bogar and Valmiki is that they both are associated with medicine. While Valmiki worshiped Shiva as 'Lord of Medicine', Bogar was known for having created the image of Lord Muruga of Palani from medicinal herbs.  The Siddhas in general are said to have conquered diseases through their expert knowledge of herbal medicine. 

Siddha Bogar has categorically stated that the Valmiki associated with Tamilnadu was the one who wrote Ramayana in Sanskrit.

Valmiki lived during the days of Sri Rama, that is about 7000 years ago. (Rama's birth date.)
 That was the time when First Tamil sangam  was prevailing in Thennan Deasm [It means "Country of the Southerner". The ancient Pandyan Kingdom was called so. Readers must take note that it was not known as 'Kumari Kandam'. This name does not exist in any of the sangam texts or olden commentaries. ]. Dr.U.V.Swaminatha Iyer mentions that Valmiki, the author of the Puranauru verse lived in the First Tamil Sangam and it fits with Ramayana age. (Refer the article given at the end of this post on time periods of Tamil Sangam)

Valmiki who lived on the banks of Sarayu and Ganges rivers, had come to South India and had participated in the Sangam traditions in South Madurai (not the present Madurai). How is this possible? From Nacchinarkkiniyar's commentary (given at the beginning of this article) it is known that Valmiki had contributed more to Tamil which were learned by the students as Primary education (Primary in the sense of Foremost or Top most). All those are not available with us today. What we have from Sangam works is the only poem on Sri found in Purananuru. That poem also looks 
different from later sangam poems in its theme and glorification of Sri. It is rare to come across a specific God by name in Purananuru. But this poem by Valmiki mentions – among all the Gods and Goddesses – the name of Sri as Thiru! This shows that this poem comes from an era which we are not familiar with. It also shows that he had attended the first Sangam to inaugurate this verse. 

The question however remains how Valmiki came to know Tamil.   

There are two possible explanations. One was that Tamil was widely spoken all over India in those days.  Another was that people of those days who desired to participate in Tamil Sangam learnt Tamil.
Let me explain the second possibility first. The Sangam assembly was described in Tamil texts as a place where compositions in Tamil were listened by Lord Shiva (Iraiyanar)  Himself. People think that Sangam is a Sanskrit word by which the Tamil Literary assembly was known. No it is not so. The famous Purana of Tamil called Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam which narrates the divine plays of Lord Shiva in the Pandyan country, describes the Sangam assemblies. It says that Shiva was keen on lending his ear adorned with ornament made of shell (shanku) to listen to the beautiful compositions in Tamil. The poet feels gratified because Shiva Himself had listened to his verse through his ear having the shanku ornament (Sangu-th- thOdu in Tamil). That sangu-th thOdu lent its name to Sangam – the literary assembly of Sangam.  The Sangu-th-thOdu of Shiva was the gift for the poet.

{  2138.   விடைக் கடவுள் பின்னின்று வீணை இடத் தோள் கிடத்திப்
புடைத்து நரம்பு எறிந்து மிடற்று ஒலி போக்கிப் பொலம் கொன்றைச்
சடைக் கடவுள் செவி வழிபோய் அருள் பைங் கூழ் தலை எடுப்பத்
தொடைத் தமிழின் இசைப் பாணிச் சுவை அமுத மடை திறந்து.


2143.       பாடுவார் இருவர்க்கு அன்று பரிசிலாக் கொடுத்த சங்கத்
தோடுவார் செவியில் ஊட்டும் தொண்டு கண்டு இதன் மேல் நின்று
பாடுவாய் உனக்கே இந்தப் பலகை }



A person deeply devoted to Lord Shiva, would have considered it as a lifetime achievement to participate in Tamil Sangam, even if he were residing in a remote corner of India in those days. He would have learnt Tamil just to participate in the Sangam. For this reason, Tamil would have been learnt far and wide all over Bharat.

To support this claim, we can show some instances from Sangam texts themselves. There was an Aryan King (Arya arasan) by name Brahma Datta, who was taught Tamil by poet Kapilar (of Tamil sangam fame) (Kurum thogai – verse 184). He composed one long compilation called Kurinjik kali to teach him Tamil! Why should a king of Aryavartha learn Tamil unless learning it was a prestigious one in those days, or learning to compose verses by oneself was considered as an achievement? Kapila's period is roughly 2000 years ago. There is inscriptional evidence to show this. 
There are instances of other persons from North India in whose names, Sangam poems are there. We will discuss them in another article. 

The most important dignitary to have participated in the Sangam assembly was Lord Krishna, the King of Dwarka! This is written by Nakkeeranar in his commentary on Iraiyanar Kalaviyal.  Krishna participated in the Second Tamil Sangam as a Presiding dignitaryThere is no evidence to show that Sri Krishna premiered any poetic works in that Sangam. But he had listened to other Tamil poets. That would be pertinent only if Sri Krishna also was well versed in Tamil.
Tamil was continuously enriched by compositions by commoners and sages as well. Valmiki's name is associated with highest level of education of Tamil literature. 

Along with him, the names of Markandeya, Gautama and Agastya have been mentioned by Naccinārkkiniyar. Agastya, the leader among Siddhas, refined Tamil (proto-Tamil) with grammar. Most of the Siddhas have conversed in Tamil and had created Tamil poems. Patanjali and Markandeya appear in the list of Siddhas knowing Tamil. The commonality among all Siddhas is that all of them were devotees of Shiva. In those times Shiva was glorified as the Lord of the South and had helped in the development of Tamil.

So it is probable that all Shiva devotees congregated in Thennan's country and sang in praise of Lord Shiva in Tamil. They had also conversed with local people in Tamil. The poems of Siddhas are too many and quite a few of them are attributed to well known North Indian sages. One cannot simply ignore them as compositions by others done in the name of those sages. The most popular sage of Ramayana times, who guided Rama at two crucial times in his life – during his sojourn in the forest and during the war with Ravana – was sage Agastya whose name is associated with Tamil as one who developed Tamil grammar. He was a well known sage of the Siddha group in Tamil lands. So it is not correct to say that the Tamil compositions of Siddhas were written by someone else. 

Learning Tamil for the sake of composing verses to be inaugurated in the Sangam assembly could thus be one reason for the presence of Tamil in different parts of India in those days. Another possibility is that Tamil was the spoken language of the common people all over India. From the explanations above, we deduce that Valmiki had known and spoken Tamil. That gives rise to the probability that many others would have known or spoken Tamil like him during his times (Ramayana times). If it was spoken by almost all the people across the entire country, then it is qualified as Mansuhya Bhasha. 

Unless some such common language was available, one could not have expected Sita born in Mithila in Nepal and lived in the Kosala Kingdom in the Ganges valley to have spoken with the female-demons in Srilanka in deep South, in their language, when she was in captivity. And, unless a common language was there, Hanuman living in the forests of Kishkinda in Southern India, could not have understood the threats and contents of the words spoken by Rakshasis to Sita. Hanuman decided to speak to Sita in the language of humans, the Manushya Bhasha, so as to instill confidence in her. That shows that a common language was spoken all over India as early as 7000 years ago (Ramayana times). We will see the clues for Tamil as the Manushya Bhasha of that time in the next article.

(To be continued)

  ************************
Reference:-

On time period of Ramayana and Tamil Sangam.
From
Contrary to what people think, Ramayana did not happen lakhs of years ago. It happened in a traceable past – that too at a time when the old Tamil kingdom of Pandyans was flourishing in the South. There is a mention of the location of Kavatapuram, the capital city of the Pandyas in Valmiki Ramayana, and a corroboratory reference to Ravana is also found in the Sinnamanur copper plates of the Pandyans.

When Sita was abducted by Ravana, Pandyan kingdom was thriving in the south. While giving instructions to Hanuman and other vanaras on how to proceed to the southern direction, Sugreeva narrated the places that they would encounter en route. In that context he said that after crossing the river Kaveri, Agastya's abode and then river Tamraparani, they would reach the Kavatam of Pandyasकवाटम् पाण्ड्यानाम् – Valmiki Ramayana, chapter 41 -19). Thereafter they would reach the southern oceans, said Sugreeva. From there they could reach Ravana's Lanka from Mahendra hills!

This Kavatam was the capital of Pandyans during the 2nd sangam period, It was submerged in the 3rd deluge that happened 3500 years ago. Today we could see only the Mahendra hills whose extension into the Indian ocean had gone under water. This extension was the Kumari hills of the Sangam period.

From the narration of Valmiki Ramayana, we come to know that Pandyans were ruling from Kavatam while Ravana was ruling Lanka.

As a cross reference we do have information available in the Sinnamanur copper plates of the Pandyan kings. While tracing the genealogy of Pandyans, these inscriptions make a specific reference to an earlier Pandyan (name not mentioned ) to have made Ravana buy peace (refer verse 5 in this link: - http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/south_indian_inscriptions/volume_3/copper_plates_at_tirukkalar.html )

This is written both in the Sanskrit portion and the Tamil portion of the inscriptions. In Sanskrit it is written "Dasaanan sandheepa rakshakaara". In Tamil the same is written as "dasavathanan saarbaaka sandhu seithum". There was geographic proximity between the Pandyans and Ravana. The Pandyans had some skirmishes with him and at some time, they had the ten-headed Ravana buy truce with them or had negotiated with Ravana for some reason. The reason is not known and the exact event is not known, but the very mention of some interaction with Ravana goes to show that Ravana was not a mythological character, nor a Ramayana a fiction. It also shows that Ramayana happened in a decipherable past and not lakhs of years ago.

The Tamil texts also give the duration of time periods of the 3 Sangam periods. According to "Irayanaar Kalaviyal urai" written 2000 years ago, the first sangam went on for 4,440 years with Southern Madurai (Then-Madurai) as its epicentre. After a deluge the capital was shifted to Kavaatam where the 2nd sangam went on for 3,700 years. It was in this period Ramayana had happened, as per the above references of Valmiki Ramayana and Sinnamaur inscriptions. This location was also lost in the deluge after which the 3nd sangam was shifted the present day Madurai. It lasted for 1,850 years with Ugra Peruvazhuthi as its last patron king. Adding all the years we get 9,990 years as the total duration of Tamil sangam period.

This figure was not a mythical figure. It was not written as a matter of fiction. The writer of this figure, Nakkeeranar was not a liar but belonged to the category of poets who had no reason to twist the facts or write a history out of imagination. These figures concur well with deluges of the past that started after the end of Ice Age some 13,000 years ago.

This figure also concurs with a cross reference from a Sangam text and an inscription of the Cholas. The last patron of the 3nd Sangam has been mentioned as Pandyan King Ugra Peruvazhuthi. There is a verse on this king and his contemporary king of the Cholas namely Peru Narkilli, written by the famous poetess Auvaiyaar in Pura Nanuru, a famous Sangam text (verse no 367). This Peru Narkilli is mentioned in the Cholan copper plates of Thiruvalangadu (verse 41 http://www.whatisindia.com/inscriptions/south_indian_inscriptions/volume_3/no_205b_aditya_ii_karikala.html )
The famous  Cholan king Karikal Cholan came after this king as per the records of the Thiruvalangadu plates. Karikalan's time was before the period of Silappadhikaram (1st century CE). By this it is inferred that Peru Narkilli and his contemporary Ugra Peru vazuthi must have lived before 1st century CE or at the turn of the Common Era. This puts the end of 3rd sangam at approximately 2000 years BP.
Now adding up the years of the 3 Sangam periods to this last year of the last sangam at 2000 years BP, we arrive at the following years.
3rd Sangam started around 1850 BC.
2nd Sangam started around 5550 BC
1st Sangam started around 9990 BC.

For our purpose of locating the period of Ramayana, it must have happened after 5550 BC when Kavatam was the capital of Pandyan kings. 
This coincides with a research article by Prof Pushkar Bhatnagar based on the astronomy-inputs of Ramayana that puts the date of birth of Ramayana at 5114 BC!
(http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.in/2010/10/ramas-birth-date.html ) Therefore I request the readers to understand that Ramayana was very much an historical event that happened around 7000 years ago when Tamil sangam was thriving under the patronage of Pandyan kings.
There is also a cross reference available from Kalidasa's Raghu vamsam wherein he says that a Pandyan king attended the Swayamvar (self—choice) of Rama's grand mother Indumathi! She chose Aja, Rama's grand father as her groom. By all this it must be understood that we must not allow any more talk of Ramayana being a myth. Ramayana happened in reality. It happened 7000 years ago.


(1) From Bogar 7000.

5834.
போற்றுவார் பூதலத்தார் எல்லாருந்தான் பொங்கமுடன் இன்னமொரு மார்க்கஞ்சொல்வேன்
தேற்றமுடன் வால்மீகர் என்றசித்து தெளிவான மார்க்கமது சொல்வேன்பாரீர்
மாற்றமயம் நீங்கியல்லோ வையகத்தில் வளமையுடன் வெகுகால மிருந்தசித்து
ஆற்றலுடன் வால்மீகர் ராமாயணத்தை அவனிதனில் மாந்தருக்கு செய்திட்டாரே.

5835.

செய்ததொரு வால்மீகர் வயதேதென்றால் செப்பமுடன் எழுநூற்றுச் சொச்சமப்பா
துய்யதமிழ் பண்டிதனாங் கல்விவானாம் தூய்தான வகப்பேரு கொண்டசித்து
பையவே சமாதிமுகஞ் சென்றதில்லை பாங்குடனே காயாதி கொண்டுதானும்
வெய்யவே நெடுங்கால மிருந்தசித்து வேதாந்த வால்மீகர் தானுமாமே.

5836.

தானான வையகத்து மாந்தர்க்கெல்லாம் தகமையுள்ள வால்மீகர் சரிகைதன்னை
கோனான குருவான வால்மீகர்தானும் குவலயத்தில் பேர்கொண்ட ஞானசித்து
தேனான வைதீக சாத்திரங்கள் தெளிவுடனே கட்டிவைத்த ஞானசித்து
பானான பராசரிஷிக் கொப்பதான பாங்கான யடியென்று செப்பலாமே



5924.
என்னவே யின்னமொரு வயணஞ்சொல்வேன் எழிலான எந்தனது புத்திவானே
துன்னவே வால்மீகர் பிறந்தநேர்மை துப்புரவாய் அவருடைய வண்மைசொல்வேன்
மன்னவனுக் கொப்பான வால்மீகர்தானும் மகத்தான லோகமதில் பெரியசித்து
சொன்னதொரு புரட்டாசி திங்களப்பா சொற்பெரிய அனுஷமது நாலாங்காலே

5925.

காலான வால்மீகர் வேடனப்பா கன்னியாள் பெற்றதொரு குறத்திமைந்தன்
கோலான மராமரா உபதேசங்கள் கொற்றவனார் பெற்றதொரு சித்துமாச்சு
பாலான மாண்பருக்கு ஞானகாண்டம் பகுத்தறிய வால்மீகர் சரிதையப்பா
மாலான வவர்பெருமை யாருக்குண்டு மகத்தான ரிஷிகளுக் கில்லைதானே