There is no doubt that every ancient society had a religious belief system. It appears the common Saivam in Tamil society has not only influenced religious practices but also played a crucial role in shaping language, arts, and culture. Regardless of our religious beliefs, it has become evident that there is an intertwined bond between the development of Tamil and Saivam. Which means the well preserved Saiva texts gives us another resource to better understanding life, thoughts and wisdom held by ancient Tamils.
As one the oldest surviving languages, Tamil holds a rich history spanning thousands of years encompassing language, arts, and sciences within its culture. These focal points and its antiquity give a sense of pride praising our language as Tamil Thai.
However, just like how uyir (soul) and mei (body) are needed for a life to function, the history of our language is incomplete without accepting the many religious contributions to the Tamil identity and way of life.
Tamilarkal take pride in Tamil as the oldest living language, likewise Saivam and Vaishnavam are key pillars to Tamil identity and culture. What we call Hinduism today was a colonizer label imposed to denote all indigenous religions in India, including Saivam and Vaishnavam. For a long time in Tamilakam, the key schools of thought were Shaivism and Vaishnavam, which were the devoted worship of Shiva and Vishnu respectively. It should be noted that the Shaivism practiced in areas ruled by Tamilakam is distinct compared to Shaivism in Northern India. The Tamil form, as explained in Shaiva Siddhantham, is greatly unique and has grown alongside the Tamil language. In modern times, it’s extremely rare to find another language and religion that have developed so closely together. The ancient language and religion hold a close relationship spanning millennia, in which they came together in literature, the arts, and daily life. Separating one from another puts a massive block in understanding the Tamil way of life.
References to what we call Hinduism today, emerge from the Tholkaapiyam all the way to Sekilar’s Periyapuranam in the 12th century. Religious practices in Tamil culture aimed to improve our lives while devotion aimed to explore our inner conscience at a deeper level. The extent of these can be found in ancient Tamil texts as below. We can see this concept in the way we usually regard God in Tamil, கடவுள் (kadavul). கட means to surpass or transcend and உள் means self or consciousness. The extent of this goes beyond words and can be found in ancient Tamil texts, such as the Tholkaapiyam.
The Tholkaapiyam (the oldest surviving Tamil text describing grammar and way of life) describes the deities of the 5 thinais (ecological landscape zones) in this paatu (song):
மாயோன் மேய காடுறை யுலகமும்
சேயோன் மேய மைவரை உலகமும்
வேந்தன் மேய தீம்புனல் உலகமும்
வருணன் மேய பெருமணல் உலகமும்
முல்லை குறிஞ்சி மருதம் நெய்தலெனச்
சொல்லிய முறையாற் சொல்லவும் படுமே
Tholkaapiyam Akathinaiyal 5
Translation:
The forests of Maayon, the lands that border the clouds (hills) of Seyon, the sweet watery (fertile) lands of Vendhan, and the seaside lands of Varunan are referred to as mullai, kurinchi, marutham, and neithal respectively.
These deities are referred to by their old Tamil names. However, to us, we refer to them differently. Maayon, the chief land deity, can be referred to as Kannan. Seyon, the god that resides on hills, is referred to as Murugan. Vendhan, the god of Marutham, is referred to as Indra. Varunan and Varuna (water god).
மறம் கடைக்கூட்டிய குடிநிலை*,
சிறந்த கொற்றவை நிலையும் அத்திணைப் புறனே
Tholkaapiyam Purathinaiyal 4
Praising of the warrior clans and praising of Kottravai are of the land adjacent to kurinchi
Kotravai is the Tamil goddess of victory, now known as Durga. Lands adjacent to kurinchi is the paalai (desert) region.
These sets of lines show us Tamil people worshiped deities that were connected to their lifestyles and their environment much like we celebrate Thai Pongal with Harvests and Aadi Matham festivals coinciding with the monsoon seasons. The indication of this in Tholkaapiyam shows us how ingrained it has been for millenia.
In the Kalaviyal subchapter of Tholkaapiyam, song 89 references to the 4 Vedas, called Marai in this text. This name implies that the meaning of the vedas is hidden knowledge, as maraipathu means to hide.
Silapathikaram, one of the famous Aimperungkaapiyangal (5 epic texts) in Tamil is a treasure trove of religious practices from the time. Though there are disputes as to whether Kovalan and Kannagi (the main characters of the story) were practicing as Jains or Hindus, their wedding happened as per vedic traditions as we see from this paatu below:
நித்திலம்பும் பந்தர்க்கீழ் வான ஊர் மதியம் சாக்காடு அணைய
வானத்துச் சாலி ஒரு மீன் தகையாளைக் கோவலன் மா மது பார்ப்பான் மறைவழிக் காட்டிடத் தீவலம் செய்வது காண்பார் நோன்பு என்னை
Silapathikaram, Pukar Kaandam 49- 53
Translation: In a wedding stage decorated with pearls and flowers, with the moon in the (Rohini) star system, What a sight it is to see, elders witnessing Kovalan taking the hand of the maiden like the Arundathi star (maiden in this case is Kannagi) circumambulating the sacred fire following vedic traditions.
This stanza describes how their wedding stage was open under the moonlit sky. On this stage, they followed the ancient Vedic tradition of circulating a sacred fire. Furthermore, there are overall references in the story to Indira Vizha, the Festival of Indira, and the worship of Kannan. The pain of Kannagi’s separation from Kovalan is compared to Ram and Sita’s separation in the Ramayanam. One paatu describes the famous Srirangam temple as below:
ஆயிரம் விரித்தெழு தலையுடை அருந்திறற்
பாயற் பள்ளி பலர்தொழு தேத்த விரிதிரைக்
காவிரி வியன்பெருந் துருத்தித் திருவமர்
மார்பன் கிடந்த வண்ணமும்
Silapathikaram, Mathurai Kaandam, Kaaduan kathai, Lines 35-40
Translation: Sleeping on a bed having a thousand heads spread out, worshiped and praised by many, on an islet surrounded by Kaveri with billowing waves, is the lying posture of the one who holds Lakshmi in his chest
These lines refer to the main deity at SriRangam, Ranganathar, the reclining form of Vishnu on the 1000 headed serpent AdiSheshan. The temple is located on an islet in the Kaveri River. This presence of this stanza shows us how ancient this temple is but also how revered it was in the time of Silapathikaram. Moreover, the reference of the vedas in these texts show how long they have been present in the Tamil way of life.
In addition, the texts of Aathi Soodi and Kondrai Vendhan by Auvaiyar are considered neethi nools, which are books of morality. These both start with a kadavul vazhthu (praise to god) to Sivan and Pillayar (Ganesh) respectively, as seen below.
ஆத்தி சூடி அமர்ந்த தேவனை
ஏத்தி ஏத்தித் தொழுவோம் யாமே
We praise the God who wears the Aathi (Bauhinia racemosa) flower in his hair
கொன்றை வேந்தன் செல்வன் அடியிணை
என்றும் ஏத்தி தொழுவோம் யாமே
We praise the son of the Lord who wears the Kondrai (Cassia fistula) flower
The inclusion of a kadavull vaazhthu in a non-devotional texts further indicates how important a small dedication to god was to them
The final text we’ll look at is the Thirukural, by Thiruvalluvar, an ancient book of wisdom. This is widely praised as a secular text, however there also seems to be debate of having some religious and cultural influences found in some lines.
In the first chapter, Kadavul Vaazhthu, Kural 10 shows a reference to the piravi kadal (sea of birth). This is a common concept in modern day dharmic religions, such as Hinduism and Jainism.
குறள் 10: பிறவிப் பெருங்கடல் நீந்துவர் நீந்தார்
இறைவன் அடிசேரா தார்.
None can swim the great sea of births but those who are united to the feet of God
There is another interesting reference to a Shaiva tradition in the chapter Ilvazhkai (Domestic Life), seen below.
குறள் 43: தென்புலத்தார் தெய்வம் விருந்தொக்கல் தானென்றாங்கு
ஐம்புலத்தாறு ஓம்பல் தலை.
The chief (duty of the householder) is to preserve the five-fold rule (of conduct) towards the manes, the Gods, his guests, his relations and himself
In this kural, Thiruvalluvar uses the word தென்புலத்தார் (thenpulathaar) to refer to ancestors. When breaking down the word, we see தென் (then) meaning south and புலத்தார் (pulathaar) meaning inhabitants. So, when literally translated, thenpulathaar means inhabitants of the south. We might wonder why Thiruvalluvar used this word to describe ancestors, but that answer is found in Saivam. When living descendants perform thivasam or give tharpanam, rituals to respect the dead, to their deceased ancestors, they would face south and point their thumb in that direction when performing the rituals as they believed that is where the deceased resided. This concept is not found in other cultures, making it unique to Saivam. We see through these 2 kurals that while Thirukural is applicable to people regardless of religion, there are some contextual parts which originate from Hindu practices.
We can see from these multiple literary examples that the concepts of Saivam are ingrained and intertwined in the culture and day to day life of Tamils and that they are hard to try and separate.
Tamil bakthi ilakkiyam has its own rich collection of texts contributed by the 12 Aazhvars in Vaishnavam and the 63 Naaynmars in Saivam and other poets including Kambar, Nakeerar, Nambiyaandar Nambi etc. This is another treasure trove to discover how Tamils considered their relationship with Kadavul, what their religious philosophy was and the knowledge they contained.
Today religion has been used as a weapon and a means to divide people. As our current generation seeks to better understand our Tamil roots, perhaps looking at religious works is also essential to understanding the cultural, historical and philosophical views of our Tamil ancestors.
There is no doubt within any ancient society just like today there are varying opinions and thought processes, but as a generation coming out of centuries of oppression looking for answers exposing ourselves to all view-points is essential to our learning journeys.
To learn more be sure to attend our community call on September 28 where we explore excerpts from ancient Saiva Tamil texts, preserved by King Raja Raja Chozhan that share scientific, historical and philosophical insights on the knowledge known to our ancestors.
Through these literary examples, we will see that the concepts of Saivam are integrated into ancient Tamil culture and question and discuss their meanings, and impact on the Tamil way of life.
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