The Hindu nature of Thirukkural

by Rishi Sun Jun 30, 2013 8:04 pm

http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.com/2012/03/were-brahmins-bad-sequel-to.html

Karunanidhi used to enthrall his audience with love stories of Attanaththi and Adhi mandhi – a narration of which is available from Silappadhikaram and its ancient commentaries. ( He would glorify the anger of Kannagi in having challenged the King and setting fire to Madurai. But he had cunningly hidden scores of other information such as the ones given above and infact brain washed the people with opposite views on these issues all these years. He has done selective use of Tamil texts to keep the people in the dark on a variety of issues because knowledge of them would expose the lies that he and his cronies have been telling all these years.

The prominent examples are Tholkaappiyam and Thirukkural. These two are the highly revered texts by the Tamils. But an average Tamilian does not know that that the authors of these two works had Sanskrit names. Tholkappiyar, the author of the famous Grammar work, Tholkaappiyam was a Brahmin by name Thrinadhoomagni born in Bhrigu's lineage. Nacchinaarkkiniyar, the commentator of Tholkaappiyam was also a Brahmin born in Bharadwaja Gotra. No one knows Thiruvalluvar's original name. But a verse written by the 12th century commentator Neminathar suggests Thiruvaluvar's name as "Maathaanubhangi" (9). There is an opinion that this name referred to his wife. Whatever it may be, the fact is that Maathanubhangi is a Sanskrit name, meaning 'the one who goes behind or in the steps of mother'.

Thirukkural was classified by Thiruvalluvar into the 3 parts with the Tamil equivalents of Dharma, Arththa and Kaama – the Purusharthas of Hinduism. The individual chapters are given the name "Adhikaaram" which is a Sanskrit word for authority or governing-rule. There are 2 types of Adhikaara, Nirapeksha and Yathochitha. The former is absolute authority similar to the authority of a king whereas the latter happens by itself by virtue of its propriety. Thirukkural wields Yathochitha adhikaaram by making the reader understand the dos and don'ts of life and act accordingly. This shows that Thiruvalluvar has named the chapters as Adhikaaram by the nature of the preaching he is making. Similarly Kovalan- Kannagi's life history has been named by its author as "Silappadhikaaram" – the Adhikaaram of Silambu, the anklet. The anklet forms the centre of the story, for it is because of that Kovalan was killed.

Thinking of how an anklet wields Adhikaara, we are taken into a research mode into olden Sangam texts. From the Sangam texts, it is known that young girls used wear anklets until they got married. It was a kind of indication that they were under the control or care of parents. This reminds us of the Manu's dictum of the state of women in 3 stages – under the care of parents, then husband and then her son. Just before the marriage, this anklet was removed in a ceremony called as "Silambu Kazhi nObu" (10). This seemed to be peculiar to Tamil's culture and not found in other parts of the country.

When Kovalan almost became a pauper and needed money to start a business, Kannagi gave him the anklet to be sold to raise money. The anklet which was supposed to signify protection and care, became the very cause of death of Kovalan and suffering for her and ultimately became the nemesis for the people of Madurai . A symbol of protection became a cause of destruction. The story around the anklet brings to the memory of people the various instances in the life of Kovalan and Kannagi on what could have been done and what could have been averted thereby wielding an Adhikaaram on so many virtues and lessons of life. The fact that this term has been chosen by Tamil's two most respected authors show that Sanskrit was never disregarded by the Tamils of yore. These two works also are best examples of Hindu way of life and Dharma. But how many Tamils know this? Karunanidhi and his men never allowed the commoner to know them, and they publicized their version of these books tinged with their Dravidian ideologies.

A commentary to Thirukkural widely read and popular among the people until Dravidian chauvinists came up, was the one by the 10th century author 'Parimelazagar'. It shows how the entire book of Thirukkural is a Hindu Dharma sastra. But Dravidian chauvinists dismiss this commentary because Parimelazhagar was a Brahmin and the commentary explains Thirukkural as Hindu sastra written in Tamil. Karunanidhi and his men cannot deny the Hindu nature of Thirukkural, so they are ready to project the author, Thiruvalluvar in any other identity but not as a Hindu. For them Thiruvalluvar could be a Jain or even a Christian, though the image of Thiruvalluvar dated around 14th or 15th century, unearthed in Mylapore in Chennai showed him wearing the sacred thread of the Hindus. (11)

The common man in Tamilnadu does not know all this so because he can have access to only the information and commentaries written by the Dravidian writers with their own version soaked in Aryan invasion, Sanskrit dominance and Brahmin hegemony. Fortunately with increasing access to internet, people are able to have access to the old Tamil texts and know for themselves the truth behind his anti- Brahmin, anti- Hindu and atheistic insinuations. Nevertheless he and his men continue to write canards as before, but no one is reading them. That is why he is calling people to patronize such magazines. In the process he wants to 'remind' people of the 'atrocities' of Brahmins.

(to be continued)

References:-

(1) Silappadhikaram – 1-53

(2) Silappadhikaram – chapter 11

(3) Silappadhikaram – chapter 23

(4) Silappadhikaram – chapter 23 "அருமறை மருங்கின் ஐந்தினும், எட்டினும் வருமுறை எழுத்தின் மந்திரம் இரண்டும்", (lines, 128 & 129)

(5) Silappadhikaram – Chapter 23 (lines 193 to 198)

"வியத்தகு மறையோன் விளம்பினான் ஆதலின்

வஞ்சம் பெயர்க்கும் மந்திரத்தால் இவ்

ஐஞ்சிலோதியை அறிகுவன் யானெனக்

கோவலன் நாவிற் கூறிய மந்திரம்

பாய்கலைப் பாவை மந்திரமாதலின்

வனசாரிணியான் மயக்கம் செய்தோன்"

(6) " வடிவேல் எறிந்த வான்பகை பொறாது

பஹ்றுளி ஆற்றுடன் பன்மலை அடுக்கத்துக்

குமரிக் கோடும் கொடுங்கடல் கொள்ள"

(7) "Nava durgaam Maha kaaLeem Brahma Vishnu Shivaathmikaam" an ancient Lakshmi Sthothra rendered by Lord Shiva.

( Silappadhikaram – Chapter 21- lines 10 to 15 and "Poompukar Charukkam" in Pattinaththu-p- Pilliayar Puraanam.

(9) "உப்பக்க நோக்கி உபகேசி தோள்மணந்தான்

உத்தர மதுரைக்கு அச்சென்ப- இப்பக்கம்

மாதானுபங்கி மறுவில்புலச் செந்நாப்

போதார் புனல் கூடல் அச்சு" (நேமிநாதர்.)

(10) Aingurunooru 311 & Kurumthogai -7.

"நும்மனைச் சிலம்பு கழீ இயரினும், எம்மனை வதுவை நன் மணம் கழிகெனச் சொல்லினெவனோ." (ஐங்குறு நூறு)

(11) http://www.varalaaru.com/Default.asp?articleid=539

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The Hindu nature of Thirukkural

The Hindu nature of Thirukkural