GLIMCES OF EARLY HISTORY OF THAMIZHS

                                 (Nakkeeran)

The genesis of the Thamizh language and the Thamizh people is steeped in mystery. According to one popular myth, God Murugan himself taught the language to Sage Agasthiyar many centuries before Christ. Shorn of the fiction, there is little doubt that the Thamizh language is one among the four oldest living languages in the world today.

The Thamizh language, one of the principal Dravidians languages, is now spoken in almost all continents across the oceans.

There are about sixty million Thamizhs around the world today. More than 90% of them are in Thamizh Nadu, India. Three million Thamizhs are in Thamizh Eelam  (North and East of Sri Lanka) and the rest are found in Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, Mauritius, Pondichcheri, Europe, South Africa, North America etc. In North America alone there is a thriving population of over 250,000 thousand people who speak the language.

The word `Thamizh' denotes ‘inimai’(sweetness) and the Thamizh language is often referred to as `MuthThamizh'(three-fold Thamizh) denoting its triple aspects of Iyal (Literature), Isai (Music) and Nadagam (Dance and Drama). The Thamzh language itself is described by scholars as “Uyar Thanith Cemmozhi” meaning “Highly refined classical language”. Thamizh Poets and Saiva Saints of hoary past have lavished praise on Thamizh by using tens of adjectives.  Centhamizh, Painthmizh, Inpaththamizh, Vannathamizh, Ezhilaarthamizh are some of such adjectives used.

The land where the Thamizhs lived was called Thamizh Nadu or Thamizhakam. Tholhappiyam (BC 6th Century) and Cilappathikaram (AD 2nd Century) defined its boundaries as composed of Vinthiya mountains in North, Kumari in the South and the oceans to the East and West.

 Ptolemy, the Greek astronomer who lived in the 2nd Century AD denoted Thamizhakam as “Damarice”.

It is widely believed the Deccan plateau, one of the most ancient geological formations in the world, once constituted part of the lost continent of Lemuria. But this continent extending into the Indian Ocean disappeared by sinking into the ocean.  

Cankam Thamizh literature refers to a region called Navalanthivu, south of the Deccan plateau, as the original abode of the Thamizhs which formed part of the lost Lemuria continent. Cilapathikaram (2nd century AD) refers to the deluge that engulfed the river Pahruli and the mountain Kumari and shifting of the capital of Pandiyan Kingdom to the present Mathurai City to the North.

A poem in Purapporul Vennpamalai refers to the antiquity of one Thamizh family (‘pazhmkudy’) of valour, whose ancestors came into existence when the world was formed of rocks but before the formation of soil.  Devoid of the poetic exaggeration, the fact still remains that the Thamizhs, like the language they spoke, were indeed an ancient race.

In the opinion of Jules Block, Thamizhs can boast of an antique and original culture several centuries old.   Rev.G.U. Pope says that Thamizh civilization is perhaps the oldest in India.

The absence of a well-chronicled history of the Thamizhs, Thamizhnadu and Thamizh language has been amply compensated by the wealth of information contained in Tholhappiyam and Kadai Cankam works.

The oldest work in Thamizh now available is a grammar book belonging to 6th century BC called Tholhappiyam. The exact period of Tholhappiyam is not known and is differently dated by scholars. In the prefatory poem, Tholhappier, its author, is referred to as one thoroughly versed in Ainthiram. Since Ainthiram is deemed to be pre- Paaniniyan, and Paanini is generally assigned to BC 4th-5th century, it can be inferred that Tholhappiyar must have composed his work at least before 500BC.

Tholhappiyam is a treatise on grammar comprising 1,610 sutras. It is a master -treatise that not only meticulously defines the subtle structure of the Thamizh alphabet and prose, but also gives a wealth of information about the political, social and economic life of the ancient Thamizh people.  In this respect Tholhappiyam differs from traditional grammatical works in other languages by dealing in addition to alphabet (ezhuthu), and prose (sol) about wealth (porul).

Since literature always precedes grammar, there must have existed a large body of Thamizh literature and Thamizh before Tholhappiyam and this literature since lost to elements must have been of far greater antiquity.

Tholhappiyar himself quotes authority for his treatise by referring to earlier authors and grammarians as many as 260 times in Tholhappiyam.

Tholhappiyam divides lands into four natural regions, each with its deities, people, seasons, fauna and flora. This four-fold classification comprises the Kurinji (hillocks), Mullai (pastoral), Marutham (agriculture), and Neithal (littoral). The literary works faithfully reflected all these aspects of nature and Thamizh people loved and lived in complete harmony with Nature.

Rev. G.U. Pope who took pride in describing himself as the student of Centhamizh commenting on the classical literature found in Thamizh says:

The ancient grammatical works existing in Tamil and its wonderful metrical system proves its assiduous cultivation for ages. An elaborate scientific series of metres such as Tamil glories is adapted to every style and theme of composition is the growth of centuries. Classical Tamil bears every mark of slow and natural evolution (G.U. Pope- Thamilar Charithtram-Swami Gnanapragasar).

            Prof.T.P. Meenakshisunderam writing about Tholhappiyam says:

Tholhappiyam is a book on phonology, grammar and poetics. Therefore, it implies the prior existence of Thamizh literature. There is a distinction made therein between literary language and colloquial or non-literary language- ceyyul and valakku, thus implying certain literary conventions not only in grammatical forms but also in literary forms and subject matter…”

            He adds –

“Cankam poetry is unique as group poetry par excellence. It has a personality of its own representing the group mind and the group personality of the Cankam age. Taken as a whole it satisfied all the requirements of great poetry…..The folk songs and the proverbs of an age, with their authors unknowns, form a unity, as the very expression of the national personality and the language.”

            These remind us of the towering gopuram of Tanjore expressing the aspiring spiritual height of the Chola age, though it is not the handiwork of any one sculptor but the work of a group of artists, each giving expression in rock to a vision of his own. It is therefore necessary to realise the importance of this conception of Cankam literature as a Thogai or anthology or group poetry which lies at the very root of the theory of Cankam poetry.” (The Theory of Poetry in Tholhappiyam, Collected Papers, Annamalainagar, 1961).

Professor A.L. Basham in Wonder that was India comments on some other aspects of early Thamizh literature:

“Very early Tamils developed the passion for classification which is noticeable in many aspects of ancient Indian learning. Poetry was divided into two Main groups: ‘internal  (aham) and ‘external” (puram). A unique feature of Tamil poetry is the initial rhyme or assonance. This does not appear in the earliest Tamil literature but by the end of the Sangam period it was quite regular. The first syllable or syllables of each couplet must rhyme. This initial assonance, in some poems continued through four or more lines, is never to be found in the poetry of Sanskrit languages, or as far as we know, in that of any other language. Its effect, a little strange at first, rapidly becomes pleasant to the reader, and to the Tamil it is as enjoyable as the end rhyme of Western poetry.”     

Thamizhs have embodied three fundamental values, namely Aram (ethics), Porul (wealth, economics, statecraft etc), and Kamam (love) in the pursuit of happiness. This three-fold cherished value maketh the full man according to Thamizh philosophers.

Three great dynasties called the Pandiyar, Cholar and Cherar ruled the South (Thenpulam), East (Kunapulam) and West (Kudapulam) of the country in that order. To the three great dynasties and their Kingdoms must be added a fourth – the Pallavars. The Pallavars ruled North (Vadapulam) from the 3rd Century AD to 9th Century AD. Today Chera Nadu has become Keralam, and parts of Pandiya and Chola Nadu have been incorporated into Andhra and Karnataka respectively.

Pandiya Kings reportedly inaugurated Thamizh literary academies called Cankam or Kazhagam and were centred in the city of Madurai. The literary works belonging to the first and the second Cankams have been lost to the elements, except Tholhappiyam.

Only the eight anthologies or short lyrics (Edduththokai), ten long poems (Paththuppaddu) and eighteen books (Pathinenkeezhkanakku) of the last Cankam have miraculously survived. These works popularly called Canka Ilakkiyam (Academic Literature) gives us a glimpse of the pristine splendour of the Thamizh language and the intellectual heights of the Thamizhs who lived between 500 BC. and 200 AD.

            The eight collections consist of –

1.  Natrinai                                            5.   Paripadal

2.  Kurunthogai                                     6.   Kaliththogai

3.  Aingurunuru                                    7.   Ahanaanuuru

4.  Pathitruppaththu                              8.  Puranaanuuru

Of these the first three, the sixth and the seventh collections deal with love-themes technically known as “Aham”. Such love aspects called ‘thinai’ (genres) have been classified into five divisions to coincide with the five geographical units into which land was divided. The first ‘Kurinji’ or pre-marital love (coodal), ‘Marutham’ or post- marital love (oodal), ‘Mullai’ or the patient suffering (iruththal) of the wife (during her lord’s separation due to war, education, business etc) in eager expectancy of his return, ‘Neithal’ or the lamentations of the lovers (irankal) in separation and finally ‘Paalai’ or pangs of love (pirithal) both the wife and her lord during separation.

The fourth and the eighth have for the subjects opposite of  ‘aham’ and technically called ‘puram’, which includes heroism in war (veeram or perumitham), philanthropy (Aram), justice (Aram), education (kalvi) etc. The fifth series Paripadal deals with both aham and puram simultaneously.

  Paththuppaddu  (‘Ten Idylls’) like Edduththokai is also a collection of long poems compiled long after they were written. The first is Thiru Murugatru-p-padai authored by Nakkeerar. The second is Poru-na-nartrup-padai written by Mudattam ak-kanniyar and the hero of the poem is the famous Chola King Karikal-peruvalavan. Poet Nallur Naththanar and Uruththirak-kannanar authored the third and fourth poem called Ciru-panatrupp-padai and Perum-panatrup-padai respectively. The fifth poem was written by Perum-chiththiranar and knows as Malaipadu-kadam.  The next three series dealing with aham are the Kurinjip-paddu, Mullai-paaddu and Paddinappalai. The authors were Kapilar, Nap-poothanar and Uruthirang-kannanar in that order. The next two viz. the ninth and the tenth called Nedunalvaadai and Mathurai-kaangi authored by Nakkeerar and Mankudi-Maruthananr respectively.

It should be mentioned here that all these poems were written by different poets and at different periods spanning several centuries before and after Christ, but compiled much later. In most cases the names of poets who compiled the works and the kings in whose rule the works were adopted are available.

In all there were over 500 poets who have contributed to the Cankam literature. Some only a single poem of a few lines, while others like Nakkeerar two long poems to his credit.

A favourite poetic device is “Ullurai” (Metonymy) – a figure of speech consisting of the descriptions of one thing used to evoke that of another with which it is associated. Thus, the natural scene implicitly evokes the human scene. For example bees gathering honey out of the kurunchi flowers evokes lovers union.

The Thamizhs of the Cankam period were surprisingly very secular in thought and outlook. Only literary works in praise of Aham (love) and Puram (valour, charity, education etc.) were considered as Ilakkiyam (Literature). Because they are secular, they are free from the complex mythical allusions and literacy conceits found in Greek and Roman literature of the same period. Poems on love and valour display great freshness and vigour unparalleled even in modern times.

Even work like Thiru-Murugattup-padai  (The first poem under the category Paththup-paaddu) composed by Nakkeerar in praise of Lord Muruga is devoid of the type of exaggerated mythology associated with Him in later works, specially the Puranas.

However, the Cankam works do reveal the cultural and religious influence of Aryans who migrated to India over a long period beginning from 1000 BC. There are detail descriptions of yaaga performances in Puram 166 and reference to Vedic gods in Puram 16, 23 and Pathitrup-paththu (example 11).

Influence of Buddhism and Jainism too is evident in Cankam works and the majority of the Cankam poets belonged to Jainism and Buddhism faiths.  Names of poets such as Illambohthiyar, Theradan, Siru-ven-theriyar, Saththanar are self-evident of such poets’ adopted faith.

Some of the later works belonging to the post-Cankam period were exclusively devoted to either Buddhism or Jainism. Manimekalai Kaappiyam (2nd century BC) by Seeththalai-Saaththanar is mainly a Buddhist religious work.  Tenets of Jainism can be found in Cilappathikaram authored by Ilanko Adikal a contemporary of Saaththanar.  Jeevaga-Sinthaamani written by Thiruththakka-Thevar at a later period is exclusively a Jainist religious work.

Perhaps this write-up will not be complete without taking a snapshot of the beauty, grace, richness, high thinking and everlasting ideals of at least a poem or two from the Cankam literature.

The type of societal system and values that were advocated by the learned Tamils can be seen from the poem by Piciraanthaiyar in Puranaanuuru 191.

'ahz;L gythf eiuapy MFjy;

rhd;NwhH gyH ahd; thOk; CNu'           (GwehDhW -191)            
 

"My answer to your question “How is it that your hair has not greyed even though you are so old in age?” would be: “I have a wife who possess character and conduct and children who are all learned. Persons working with me understand what I think and act accordingly. The King will protect the citizens from any wrong. In my town there are a number of learned men. Therefore, even though I am aged, my hair has not greyed.”

This poem amply demonstrates the fact that education is not the prerogative of one ‘caste’ or community, but was available to all both men and women. The King not only protects his subjects from external threat and wrong deeds of others, but he himself never commits any wrong or injustice.

Following is another poem by Perugnciththiranaar, a distinguish poet, in poem 163 of Puranaanuuru.

 epd;eae;J ciw eHf;Fk; ePeae;J ciweHf;Fk;

 jpUe;JNty; Ffzd; ey;fpatsNd.           (GwehDhW -163)

“Here is the wealth given to me by the chieftain Kukanan. Please give this to those with whom you would like to move, to those who long to move with you, to your relatives, and to those who ask you for help due to their poverty. As a matter of fact you may happily give to anybody without even consulting me and you may not retain anything hoping to live well with this wealth.”

Sharing of wealth with others and giving of wealth to the needy has been the cornerstone of the whole purpose of living. This lofty ideal finds expression in poems and epics times without number.  Thiruvalluvar echoes this ideal of giving in Kural 231 in  Chapter (24) on Pugazh (Fame):

<jy; ,irgl tho;jy;> mJ my;yJ

Cjpak; ,y;iy thOk; capHf;F.             (Fws; 231)

They gather fame those who freely give

The greatest gain for all that live.

Auvaiyar, the famous Thamizh poetess paraphrased this concept in just two words- <jy; mwk; ( Giving is charity).  At the same time she admonishes the act of begging in these words: Vw;gJ ,fo;r;rp (To accept alms is beneath dignity).

 Thiruvalluvar too condemns begging and eulogise the act of giving in this immortal words-

 "ey;yhW vdpDk; nfhsy; jPJ NkYyfk;

 ,y;nydpDk; <jNy ed;W"               (Fws; - 222)

“Even if heaven is offered, begging is evil. Even if heaven is denied it is better to give. ”

The beginning of the 2nd century saw the Thamizhs' fondness for love and valour giving way to Aram (ethics). Great emphasis was placed on the virtues of righteousness, good conduct and exemplary individual behaviour. Uttering untruth, stealing, consumption of alcohol, meat eating and lust were considered cardinal sins mainly due to the influence of Jainism and Buddhism.  

The Thirukkural (“Thiru” in this context means sacred in Thamizh -it is a common prefix given to persons and places of honour and significance and  “Kural” means couplet), magnum opus of poet Thiruvalluvar, reflected this change in thought and philosophy. It is a work on ethics dealing with the three broad fundamental objectives of life, namely, Aram (virtue), Porul (government and society) and Kaamam (love). It is further divided into 133 Chapters, each Chapter consisting of 10 Kurals (two half lines). Every conceivable thought on ethics, wealth and love has been covered in this single work.  This has led to the conjecture that Thirukkural must have been the joint-work of several poets and not just one. It is probably the distillation of knowledge and values accumulated over several millenniums.

Thirukkural has remained as a bacon light to almost all Thamizh poets who came after him. There is hardly a poet who has not quoted verses from Kural in their works. Not surprisingly Thirukkural came to be described reverently as Thamizh Vetham and its author as Thiruvalluva Nayanaar (Saint).  

Prof. S.Vaiyapuripillai comments in his well regarded ‘History of Tamil Language and Literature’:

"Never before, nor since, did words of such profound wisdom issue forth from any sage in Tamil land….. Manu had features that were peculiar to his own time and to the times of his redactors. His society was god-ordained, hierarchic in its structure and unalterably fixed by the Karmic influence. It denied equality between man and man, in the eye of the law. Kautiliya was more a politician than statesman. He found in his great work room for state-craft motivated by an unquenching thirst for conquest … He would consider humane considerations a weakness. Vatsyayana devoted himself in his Kaamasuutra to a treatment of carnal pleasure in all its ramifications and he had no eyes for the ennobling aspect of love that is one of the most fundamental urges in human nature.

Valluvar, the Tamil sage excels each one of these ancients in his respective sphere. He makes humanity and love the cementing force of society, and considerations of birth are of no account to him. His political wisdom is characterised by a breadth of vision at once noble and elevating. The sexual love, which he depicts with inimitable grace and delicacy, is idealistic, even if it be schematic and mannered. Its romance is ethereal and carries us to an atmosphere where purity of emotion, freshness and beauty reign supreme. No wonder his great work took by storm the learned Academicians of Madurai as tradition have it. …

The utter simplicity of his language,  his crystal clear utterances, precise and forceful, his brevity, his choice of diction, no less his inwardness, his learning, culture and wisdom, his catholicity and eclecticism, his gentle humour and wholesome counsel have made him an object of veneration for all time and his book is considered the Veda of the Tamils. The genius of the Tamil race has flowered to perfection in this great author … The influence which his work, since its publication exercised over the mind, life and literature of the Tamils is phenomenal."  

The well-known thinker and philosopher Dr. Albert Switcher paid the highest tribute to Thirukkural. In his book “Indian thought and Development, he said, “ There hardly exists in the literature of the world a collection of maxims in which we find so much lofty wisdom.”

Next to Thirukkural must be placed the epic Cilapathikaram written by Ilanko Adikal for its sweetness, grace and dramatics.  The claim that the Thamizh language tastes like honey would have sounded somewhat hollow if not for this great epic by Ilango Adikal. Bharathiyar described Cilapathikaram as one that steals your heart!

Czech Professor Dr. Kamil Zvelebil wrote:

"The following works of art and literature are among the most remarkable contributions of the  Tamil creative genius to the world’s cultural treasures and should be familiar to the whole world and admired and beloved by all in the same way as the poems of Homer, the dramas of  Shakespeare, the pictures of Rembrandt, the cathedrals of France and the sculptures of   Greece..... the epical poem Cilappathikaram, which by its 'baroque splendour', and by the charm and magic of its lyrical parts belongs to the epic masterpieces of the world....." (Tamil   Contribution to World Civilisation - Czech Professor Dr. Kamil Zvelebil in Tamil Culture - Vol. V,    No. 4. October, 1956)  

Cilapathikaram, the story of Jewelled Anklets, is rooted in the ordinary lives of the early Tamils of the Chera, Chola and Pandiya Kingdoms in the first century AD and is regarded by many as the national epic of the Tamil people. Professor A.L. Basham writing in ' The Wonder that was India"‘ comments that Cilapathikaram has '' a grim force and splendour unparalleled elsewhere in Indian literature - it is imbued with both the veracity of the early Tamils and their stern respect for justice, and incidentally, it throws light on early Tamil political ideas.''

Ilango Adikal wields his mighty pen to the maximum dramatic effect in the climax scene in this story. Kannaki the heroine and the dutiful wife of Kovalan was heart-broken and seized with anger at the senseless killing of her beloved husband and miscarriage of justice by the King.   Convinced of the innocence of her husband to the charge of stealing the Queen’s anklet she decides to ask for justice and argue her case before the very King who ordered the dastardly execution of Kovalan. Her sorrow turned into boiling rage, which knew no bounds and erupted like a volcano.

                             "Then the red-rayed sun folded his fiery arms

Fire engulfs and destroys the City of Madurai through her curse. The patron goddess of the city finally interceded with Kannaki, and she agreed to withdraw her curse, and the fire abated. Weak with loss of blood from her self-amputated breast, Kannaki trekked, without pause, both day and night along the Vaikai river and struggled to the outside of the royal city of Vanji, where after a few days she dies, and is received into Heaven to join Kovalan.  Meanwhile the news of her death spread throughout the Tamil Land. She was deified, temples were raised and festivals held in her honour, and she became the patron goddess of wifely loyalty and chastity.''

 V.K.Narayana Menon has this to say:

 ''... Words and music have a special relationship, particularly in vocal music. Words affect the melodic line, even the rhythmic structures. The inflections of a language leave their imprint on the melody and rhythm, on style and   phrasing. ... I doubt if there is any literature, poetry or prose, which describes musical theory and practice with such skill, in language so clear, meaningful, and communicative, as passages in the Cilappathikaram, written about 1700 years ago and of such relevance even today.''  

The next phase was the Bhakti (Devotional) movement, popularly termed Saivaism (a synthesis of worship of Siva and the Vedic religion of the Aryans), which became the predominant religion of the Thamizhs. Saiva Nayanmars (Saints) sang thousands of devotional hymns in Thamizh in praise of the One Supreme Being.  The concept of love between man and woman during the Cankam period was transformed into the union of Aanma (Human Soul) with Pathi (Divine).

The revival of Saivaism resulted in the construction of magnificent stone temples of unsurpassed architectural marvels and beauty. These edifices were not mere `titanic masses' but reflected the majesty of human endeavour and creativeness.  Temples became the seat of not only worship, but also the learning of the fine arts of music, dance and drama. Art, paintings and sculpture flourished and statutes of Nadarajah (Dance of Siva representing the Rhythmic Play as the Source of All Movement within the Cosmos) cast in bronze was a brilliant synthesis of science, religion and art. The impact of the Dravidian architecture could be seen in the numerous Buddhist and Hindu temples scattered through out Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, and Burma.

South Indian classical music and the celebrated classical dance Bharatha Naatyam are distinct contributions to the world’s fine arts and culture by the Thamizhs.

The Thamizh Kings established diplomatic relations with Rome and Athens as far back as the first century AD. There was active trade in rice, spices, pearls, black pepper, textiles, elephants horses etc between Thamizh Nadu and the Roman and Greek empires.

The Thamizhs from Thamizh Eelam (North and East of Ceylon) who are now in Canada fled their country of birth to escape political oppression and cultural genocide. They now constitute the bulk of the Thamizh Diaspora all over the world. 

Subramaniya Bharathi (1882-1921) was a revolutionary and popular Thamizh poet of the twentieth century.  He laid the foundation for the revival of Thamizh nationalism. In one his poems he made a passionate appeal to the Thamizhs to spread the melodious Thamizh language all over the world. By a twist of fate and a combination of fortitude circumstances the poet's dream has now come true. 

The following philosophical words of the Thamizh poet Kanniyan Poongkunran who lived in the second century BC proclaim the universality of the all-pervading love towards humanity of all ages and of all countries irrespective of colour or creed.