Dating of Sangam texts

[N. Ganesan]

I just wrote this to Dr. Herman Tieken, The Netherlands as a reply to his view of Sangam texts' dates in CTamil list. Some will be interested.

I will also share a poem by Tamil professor, renowned poet and Sahitya Akademi winner, Erode Tamilanban on Tieken's views on Sangam texts'

dates. Prof. Tamilanban sent this poem when he wrote it 2 years ago.  ~N. Ganesan

On Tue, Mar 8, 2016 at 12:41 AM, Tieken, H.J.H. <H.J.H....@hum.leidenuniv.nl> wrote:

Dear Iraamaki,

as to the date of Cankam Tamil, you might have noted that even Eva Wilden in her latest book (Manuscript, Print and Memory. Relics of the Cankam in Tamilnadu. Berlin 2014) is moving into the direction I have indicated in my 2001 publication Kavya in South India and several later articles. On  p. 7 Eva Wilden writes:

The coincidence between the start of the literary tradition and the beginning of the Christian era must be regarded as a mere "date of convenience". To this day no hard facts establishing a connection between the inner, literary and the outer, historical sequence have been convincingly show to exist. Nothing that is of relevance to the following argument can be regarded as securely dated before the Pantiya inscriptions of the 9th century."

This is a convoluted way of saying what I have been saying for almost 15 years now. But note that my Kavya in South India is not in the bibliography. I seem to be her Angstgegner. In the remainder of the book, however, Eva Wilden proceeds as usual, starting with the Kuruntokai in the 1st-3rd century, etc. 

Given the fact that archaeological findings that Brahmi script is found on many pottery shards in Kodumanal, Kongunadu etc., at least a century before Ashoka's reign in North India and have been securely dated several times scientifically, Sangam texts - some portion of it will predate 1st century CE. They may go back at least to 3rd century BCE. In my view, Eva Wilden refers to that when she says: "The coincidence between the start of the literary tradition and the beginning of the Christian era must be regarded as a mere "date of convenience". There is no literature in India that can be firmly placed on a time frame than Sangam texts. It begins about 3rd century BCE when the Brahmi gets adapted to writing on hero stones. Prof. K. Rajan's team found "aakOL puucal" kalveTTu.

The transition from Orality to Literacy in Sangam texts does not happen after Pallava period, and Sangam era Chera kings' names are recorded in Tamil Brahmi inscriptions (Pukazhuur on Kaveri riverbanks). Dr. R. Krishnamurthy has found coins of Peruvazhuti with Tamil Brahmi inscription that he dates to 3rd century BCE. Another fact that Peruvazhuti coins are very ancient is the worship of the Crocodile in rivers shown on them, with horse in ashvamedha sacrifice on the obverse.  This is the Varuna worship from Vedic literature and VeLir-s continuing it, but gets forgotten/changed in the CE centuries. We see huge Anthropomorphic Axe sculptures representing VaruNa that are at least 2500 years old in south India. See my article in Tamil: http://www.vallamai.com/?p=49442

Gudimallam Lingam represents VaruNa standing on Makara yaksha & not Shiva. Gudimallam linga has been documented as a 3rd century BCE art (I. Kartikeya Sharma, Gudimallam). And, VaruNa tree in Sanskrit refers to Maavilingai tree after which Ovi chieftains' capital is named (Oymaa NalliyakkODan in Sangam texts) - the first instance of the word, Linga hidden in place name in Sangam texts. In Pallava period the Linga worship (originally for VaruNa in Sangam times of 3rd century BCE) changes completely towards Siva. My paper on this early Linga worship (Gudimallam), its connection with VaruNa, and depictions of VaruNa in Early Sangam coins of Pandyas, Cheras, Malayamans and Atiyamans is getting published in the Proceedings of 16th World Sanskrit Conference, Bangkok, Thailand (held in 2015).

The beginning of Sangam texts coincides with introduction of Writing in Tamizakam (i.e. 4-3rd centuries BCE). Recently, Prof. K. Rajan has published scientific dating of on Brahmi beginnings in Tamil country in a book. It was released by Dr. Rakesh Tiwari, Director, ASI. Its title is: Early Writing System: From Graffiti to Brahmi, published in 2015.

N. Ganesan

Attachment: Prof. K. Rajan's 2015 book cover.

Best, Herman

Herman Tieken

Stationsweg 58

2515 BP Den Haag

The Netherlands

00 31 (0)70 2208127

website: hermantieken.com

My 16th WSC paper, that is published in its Proceedings: 

                  Indus Crocodile Religion as seen in the Iron Age Tamil Nadu

                                             Dr. Nagamanickam Ganesan

                                                              Houston, Texas, USA

 

Abstract:  This article is about some aspects of Indian religion in the Post-Harappan period providing a link to the Indus Valley Civilization seen in its Bronze Age seals. The meaning of the anthropomorphic axes found in the Indo-Gangetic doab plains of the Second Millennium BC as a ritual symbol of a Makara (crocodile) god will be presented. The characteristic fish sign pointing to the Dravidian language spoken by the elite Harappans has long been explored from the days of Fr. H. Heras, SJ. However, the importance of crocodiles in IVC culture is recently coming to light (A. Parpola, 2011). When this Crocodile cult disappears and gets forgotten in North India, it appears as large monolithic sculptures in the megalithic South. An interpretation of the Tamil Brahmi inscription at Tirupparaṅkuṉṟam, near the ancient Pandyan capital Madurai, discovered by History department, Pondicherry University will be offered as mentioning the crocodile god and his spouse. The Aśvamedha sacrifice on the banks of a Water Tank was performed for a crocodile as evidenced in Pāndyan Peruvaḻuti and Chera coins. Graffiti symbols from Sāṇūr and Sūlūr as linguistic sign for the crocodile deity, and the crocodile couple in Adichanallur burial urn (500 BCE) along with the battle-axe bearing great god in Sangam poetry will be used to illustrate the prevalence of the crocodile based religion until the Early Sangam period. The first stone sculpture made in south India at such places as Mottur, Udaiyarnatham, - monumental in size, over ten feet tall -, in the Iron Age will be linked to the earlier metallic Anthropomorphic Axes in the Yamuna-Gangetic doab, found in many Post-Harappan Ochre Colored Pottery sites of North India. This article will include etymology of Dravidian names such as Viṭaṅkar, Nakar, Ghaṛiāl, Makara, Karā for the three species of Indian crocodiles. Finally, an interpretation of Gudimallam Viṭaṅkar (Liṅgam) as Varuṇa, rather than as Śiva assumed by earlier scholars like A. K. Coomaraswamy, is offered. In the subsequent Pallava period, development of Tantric Śaivism includes the tantric term Viṭaṅkar applied more broadly for the forms of Śiva like naked Bhikṣāṭana and Somāskanda.