On achcham, madam, naaNam and payirppu
Sundara Pandian
madam, naaNam, payirppu and say a few words on what they
mean.
acham, madam, naaNam and payirppu are considered as the
four feminine qualities in the Tamil tradition. This tradi-
tion dates back to the Sangam period of Tamil culture and
when addressing the word `payirppu', Tamil grammar books say
`makatooukkvuNaNnaankinonRu' meaning `one of the four fem-
inine qualities'. `MakaLir' means `women' in Tamil and ac-
ham, madam, naaNam, payirppu are to be taken as the four
principal qualities of women in the Tamil tradition. Some
readers have tried to incorporate `karpu'[ chastity] as one
among these four principal feminine qualities. I like to
point out that these four feminine qualities applies to all
women - girls, monks, etc., and not necessarily to married
women. As one would see, `kaRpu' is implicitly contained in
`payirppu' when it is applied to married women or virgins.
Also, the word `kaRpu' is essentially conjuncted with mar-
ried women of good chastity. Tamil culture respects KaNNagi
as `kaRpukkarasi' but it views MaNimEgalai who becomes a
Buddhist monk when she is young itself as a monk only,
though she is of very high chastity. These words may be ir-
relevant to some readers, but I like to remind them that
`varaivin makaLir'[ prostitutes ] also held a position in
the ancinet Tamil culture and that they are no exception to
the four feminine qualities in the subject. Silappathikaaram
talks about these `varaivin makaLir' in its first two parts
. It is my opinion that acham, madam, naaNam and payirppu
applied to all women in the ancient Tamil culture and not
just to chaste women.
Regarding one poster which commented that women of
`payirppu' can't travel in a crowded Pallavan bus, I request
the author to wake up from our male-dominant society. Not
all traditions are followed to the letter and we are not
living in the Sangam period when these four feminine quali-
ties were put forth. We are living in `Bharati yugam' and we
witness many changes in our society - women education, one
among them. Bharati writes in one of his poems,
Ettaiyum peNkaL thoduvathu theemaiyen
Renni yirundhavar maayndhuvittaar
VeettukkuLLE peNNaip poottivaippO menRa
Vindhai manidhar thalai kunindhaar
We see male chauvinism in the Sangam period itself. Au-
vaiyaar of Sangam period says in his/her `aaththichchoodi',
"thaiyal sol kELeL."
[ Don't listen to women.]
[ Some Tamil scholars like T.M.C.Raghunadhan believe that
Auvaiyaar of Sangam period is the pseudonym of a male poet.
However, the Auvaiyaar, the court poet of Adhiyaman is be-
lievedly a female poet. There are two Auvaiyaars in Tamil
literature! ] Bharathi changed this line to
"thaiyalai uyarvu sei"
[ Respect women.]
in his new "aaththichcoodi". Also worth mentioning is
Bharathi's view regarding the much talked chastity of women.
Our Tamil poet says,
kaRpu nilaiyenRu sollavan dhaariru
katchikkumakthu podhuvil vaippOm
[ People talk on women's chastity. Let us keep
it common to both sides- men and women. ]
A question that one might ask is what about those women
in the ancient days who didn't have the four feminine quali-
ties in the subject. How did the society regard them? I
refer to the Kamba Ramayana to consider this question. The
scene is Rama and his younger brother Lakshmana walking with
the rishi Viswamitra in the forest. They are encountered by
a demon Thaadakai, a woman, on their way. The rishi orders
the young prince Rama to kill the demon, but the prince re-
fuses saying that he can't kill her as she is a woman. Then
the rishi explains Rama that she is not a woman (!) and as
such, the prince is not committing evil by killing her. Also
we see the `asura' woman SurppaNagai taking the form of a
beautiful woman in a later part of the same epic to attract
Rama. Kamba describes her walk towards Rama in a verse of
beautiful `sandham', the popular one beginning `panchiyoLir
vinchukuLir..'. This verse posted first by Kathiravan Krish-
namurthy has been already discussed in the net and I just
like to point out that SurppaNagai exhibits the four femine
qualities in the subject outwardly to Rama, though she is
evil in her heart. Kamba concludes the verse reminding us
that she is a `vanchamakaL' , an evil woman.
Having said that I like to say a few words on what do the
four words in subject mean, as the four feminine qualities
in Tamil tradition. All these are Tamil words and they are
not derived from any Sanskrit word to my knowledge.
1.achcham : A common meaning for `achcham' is `fear'. Tamil
poet Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram writes on one of his
movie-songs,
"achcham enbathu madamiyadaa
anchaamai dhraavidar udamaiyadaa.."
Here he means `fear' when he uses the word `achcham' in
his song.
Can we take `fear' as the first feminine quality addressed
in the Sangam culture? I like to refer to the Tamil epic
Silappathikaaram and consider the}i case of KaNNagi who is
respected as `KaRpukkarasi'[ the queen of chastity ]. When
she gets to know that her husband is executed by the Pandi-
yan king for a crime he did not commit, she becomes very
furious and she walks to the court of Pandyan king with a
boiling anger for the injustice committed her - the execu-
tion of her beloved husband. She has no fear at all in ad-
dressing either the gate-keeper of the king's court or in
talking with the Pandya king. I can't take the word `achc-
ham' meaning `fear' as a feminine quality. It means some-
thing else and for that we have to consider other meaings of
the Tamil word `achcham'. One of the meanings of `achcham'
is the tree `agaththi'. This tree is marked with its thin-
ness. It is easy to cut these trees. Actually,`thinness' is
yet another meaning for `achcham'. From this meaning, we
deduce that `achcham' means `gentleness' as the first fem-
inine quality.
2. naaNam : `naaNam' means `shyness', `delicacy' or
`modesty'. We take `shyness' as the second feminine quality.
To quote a Tamil song with this word in usage, we have the
KaNNadasan's song in `aayiraththil oruvan',
"naaNamO ? innum naaNamO ?
indha jaadai naadagam enna ?.."
3. madam : A common meaning for `madam' is `monastery'. It
should be obvious that this meaning can't be taken as the
third feminine quality. So we look for other meanings of the
Tamil word `madam'. An another meaning for `madam' is `ig-
norance'. This meaning, `ignorance', is the third feminine
quality . That `madam' was considered as a feminine quality
indicates the primitiveness of the Sangam culture.
4. payirppu : This word is not in usage and I don't know of
any common meaning of this Tamil word. This word really
means `a state of uneasiness at the sight or hearing any-
thing offensive - abhorrent feelings'. We take this to mean
`delicacy' or `high chastity' or `shrinking from what is
mean or vile' as the fourth feminine quality.
Thanks for reading,
- Sundara Pandian.
[ s...@cec1.WUSTL.edu ]
Shiva Shivakumar
> Regarding one poster which commented that women of
>`payirppu' can't travel in a crowded Pallavan bus, I request
>the author to wake up from our male-dominant society. Not
>all traditions are followed to the letter and we are not
>living in the Sangam period when these four feminine quali-
>ties were put forth. We are living in `Bharati yugam' and we
>witness many changes in our society - women education, one
>among them. Bharati writes in one of his poems,
Sorry about that. Like Gazni mohammad, I was trying my hand at
being funny. Wish me better luck next time.
Thanks for the informative article.
Jagadisan Shivakumar
Raghu B
>quality . That `madam' was considered as a feminine quality
A lot of stuff deleted........
>indicates the primitiveness of the Sangam culture.
> 4. payirppu : This word is not in usage and I don't know of
>any common meaning of this Tamil word. This word really
>means `a state of uneasiness at the sight or hearing any-
>thing offensive - abhorrent feelings'. We take this to mean
>`delicacy' or `high chastity' or `shrinking from what is
>mean or vile' as the fourth feminine quality.
> Thanks for reading,
> - Sundara Pandian.
> [ s...@cec1.WUSTL.edu ]
Has "payirppu" got anything to do with
an excitement. In the sense, an excitement over hearing new things or
passing on a feel of excitement. Sharing news or spreading
news. I find this quality in most of the modern women. May be.
I hope I am not mistaken. Correct me if I am wrong.
"Achcham" basically refers to indecisiveness. I doubt whether
in olden days Women were given authority to take decisions. It refers
to the lack of courageness or boldness to take decisions. No one
could blame them because they were trained so by men.
"Naanam" . Of course everyone knows that is "shyness".
It could be to strangers or to elders. It is basically out of respect
or out of excitement.
I can never completely agree calling "madami" as complete
"ignorance.". You can find from olden literature, that great kings
consult their wife too before taking major decisions. They would
consult each and every step they take on major political crisis.
In most of the court hearings , the Queen sits next to king.
And one can say that most of his decisions are influenced by
her.
Expecting your comments on this.
Sundara Pandian
>In <921009232...@cec1.wustl.edu> s...@cec1.wustl.edu (Sundara Pandian) writes:
>>quality . That `madam' was considered as a feminine quality
>
> A lot of stuff deleted........
>
>>indicates the primitiveness of the Sangam culture.
>
>> 4. payirppu : This word is not in usage and I don't know of
>>any common meaning of this Tamil word. This word really
>>means `a state of uneasiness at the sight or hearing any-
>>thing offensive - abhorrent feelings'. We take this to mean
>>`delicacy' or `high chastity' or `shrinking from what is
>>mean or vile' as the fourth feminine quality.
>
>> Thanks for reading,
>> - Sundara Pandian.
>> [ s...@cec1.WUSTL.edu ]
> Has "payirppu" got anything to do with
>an excitement. In the sense, an excitement over hearing new things or
>passing on a feel of excitement. Sharing news or spreading
>news. I find this quality in most of the modern women. May be.
>I hope I am not mistaken. Correct me if I am wrong.
First, I like to point out that `excitement' is common to
both sexes. Not only the modern women, the modern men also get
excited over hearing new things. ( I am assuming that by `modern'
women, you are referring to women of this century. )
Coming to your question, the answer is no. Payirppu doesn't
really mean a state of excitement. In the dictionary by V.Viswanadha
Pillai that I consulted for my last article, the author gives the
meanings delicacy, modesty , shrinking from what is mean or vile
for the word `payirppu' as a feminine quality. I agree with the
author in his meanings.
>
> "Achcham" basically refers to indecisiveness. I doubt whether
>in olden days Women were given authority to take decisions. It refers
>to the lack of courageness or boldness to take decisions. No one
>could blame them because they were trained so by men.
`Indecisivenes' is not one of the meanings of the word `achcham',
though `fear', `dread',`thinness' are some of its meanings. Since
I did not agree with the meaning `fear' as a feminine quality, I
have chosen to take `gentleness' as the meaning of `achcham' as a
feminine quality. I don't see how `indecisiveness' follows from the
word `achcham'. However, the postings which gave `fear' as the
meaning for `achcham' were not in error as `fear' is the common and
direct meaning of `achcham'.
>
> "Naanam" . Of course everyone knows that is "shyness".
>It could be to strangers or to elders.
Did you read the movie song `naaNamO? innum naaNamO?' that I
quoted in my last article? NaaNam or shyness is not just due to
strangers or elders(?) , but mostly due to lover or thalaivan.
(Puratchi) Thalaivar asks (puratchi) thalaivi in the `aayiraththil
oruvan' song why she feels shy, not as a stranger or an elder but
as a thalaivan to thalaivi.
>It is basically out of respect
>or out of excitement.
It could be due to love as well.
>
> I can never completely agree calling "madami" as complete
>"ignorance.".
Think about it. The word `madamai' means `ignorance'. How is this
word derived ?
madamai = madam + ai .
This meaning of `madamai' supports the meaning `ignorance' I gave in
my last article for `madam'.
> You can find from olden literature, that great kings
>consult their wife too before taking major decisions.
Any reference to which ancient Tamil works ?
> They would
>consult each and every step they take on major political crisis.
I don't agree with you. The queens did not play any role in major
political crisis. I suspect that your comment is based on Kalki's
novels like `Ponniyin selvan' in which book Chembiyan Maadevi,
Kundavi play a role in political crisis. This book by Kalki is a
fiction and not all he wrote could be taken as history. Moreover,
Kalki has not written any book on Sangam culture. Thinking about,
I have not read any historical novel on Sangam culture. Unless you
give me some reference to any ancient Tamil work where women played
a role in major political crisis, I can't accept your claim.
Now, I give some reference to the status of women in Sangam culture.
In my last article, I quoted from `aaththichchoodi', an ancient
Tamil MORAL work [in Sangam period], which says,
"thaiyal sol kELEl." [ Don't listen to women. ]
The much acclaimed Sangam work `ThirukkuRaL' has one chapter
`peN vazhichchERal.' [ Being led by women.] In this chapter, which
falls under the essentials of the state, ThiruvaLLuvar writes,
"aRavinaiyum aanRa poruLum piRavinaiyum
peNEval saivaarkaN il." [ kuRaL # 909 ]
[ No virtuous deeds or wealth or joy reside,
With those who by their wife's commands, abide.]
"manaivizhaivaar maaNpayan eydhaar vinaivizhaivaar
vENdaap poruLum adhu." [ kuRaL # 901 ]
[ Who long for love of wife, achieve no noble gain ;
Those on action bent, such things disdain. ]
>In most of the court hearings , the Queen sits next to king.
This is true. I find this in `Silappathikaaram' for instance.
>And one can say that most of his decisions are influenced by
>her.
How? The queen could be a silent witness too. If you read the
Madurai KaaNdam in `Silappathikaaram', you will find that the
queen does not do the talking when KaNNagi, a woman, complains
that an injustice has been committed to her. It is the king,
who does all the talking. He dies atonce, when he realises that
he has given a wrong verdict executing Kovalan. And the queen
dies also, seeing that her husband has passed away. I have not
read any Sangam work, where the queen has influenced the king's
jurisdiction or played a role in a political crisis.
>
> Expecting your comments on this.
I have given my comments in this article.
S.Pandian
s...@cec1.wustl.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Appadurai V.
It certainly means "aRindhum aRiyaadhadhu pOl iruththal"
I can't remember any references off-hand. I will see what I can get on this
subject.
Raghu B
>Madam is NOT ignorance.
Ennanga,
OrEdiyaa ippadi mattam thattareengalE. Arindhum ariyamalum
Therinthum theriyamalum naan seydha thavarai manniththarulveeraga
ellaraiyum mandi yida vachchuduvingaa polirukku.
I agree to the fact that Madamai is not complete ignorance.
But the meaning you have said is not right too. One will try to
denounce women like this. I hope honorable lady members of the
net will respond right to the above statement by Appadurai.
- Unmai virumbi,
Raghu, B
-----------------------------------------------------------------
" I hate those who hate Tamil"
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Appadurai V.
> I agree to the fact that Madamai is not complete ignorance.
>But the meaning you have said is not right too. One will try to
>denounce women like this. I hope honorable lady members of the
>net will respond right to the above statement by Appadurai.
>
> - Unmai virumbi,
> Raghu, B
Well, I never expected flames for that posting. I never intended any "
mattam thattudhal" on my posting. I was only expressing my confidence over
my views on what "madam" meant.
As I said, I am not able to immediately recollect appropriate references to
support my views.
"aRindhum aRiyaadhadhu pOl iruththal" is not bad quality. What it means is
a strategic way of thinking, which in my opinion will be useful to "aadavar"
as well. It is not even fiegning ignorance. Its subtler than that. (how
confusing can I get ?!)
It means that women with tons of "madam" in them , usually know when to
remain silent and when not to. (This is not demeaning at all!)
(should i flame here .. nah...)
Kathiravan Krishnamurthi
>Madam is NOT ignorance.
Even in the so called feminist world here women do possess some
of these qualities. These qualities are just feminine nothing wrong
about them. madam is not madamai-stupidity. pEthamai-is ignorance.
madam is feigning ignorance.
I witnessed a marriage, the only one I attended in India. My
cousin felt so shy that my aunt had to convince him to hold the
bride's hand. Some men do have those qualities although they
are considered masculine.
Ragarding "kaRpu" it should be common to both the genders. There
is no "kaNNagi" equivalent male in Tamizh culture. No wonder
"kaNNagi" is considered an "aNangu"-godess.
regards,
kathiravan
Appadurai V.
>After an all masculin discussion of the qualities of a women in
>ancient Indian society,
>perhaps the masculin qualities, of
>matti, madayan, moodan, muttaaL, pEdhai, milEchchan
>could now be discussed.
>KS
Not a bad idea.
Starter: what (who) is milEchchan ?
kuvalai
madam - not too many friends, limited good meaningful friendship
naanam - integrity or being fair in all aspects (in one of Rajaji's books)
payirpu - this could be the practiced hard as nature/habit adakam
As we can see, all of this apply to men as well and to all types of roles.
palan...@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/ilovecoimbatore/posts/380977928650977
4 Kunas of Girl(s) => Girls MUST read this :) know the meaning..
இவன் புதியவன்
31 August 2012 ·
Friends! 4 Kunas of Girl(s) - Its MISTERIOUS to found on them now-a-days. Coz, many of them DONT KNOW what are these ?!! Funny. Atleast MEN knew about it, please explain to your Girl/WIFE. About these atleast once in your whole lifetime ;-)
Acham (Fear / Timidity):
---------------------------
Acham does not mean the sense of emotion when one feels during fear rather it means being alert taking into consideration the fear of strangers, unrelated men, offending others and others.
Nanam (Coyness / Shy):
-----------------------------
Coyness in intimate settings, shyness which is the shyness which women possess.
Madam (Innocence):
------------------------
Innocence, as few say does not mean stupidity, but completely believing the man who marries her. This do not only apply to women, but also do apply for men.
Payirpu (Aversion):
----------------------
Aversion towards other men. This does not mean that you should not talk with other men.
