A thread on some of the important Durga Vigrahas from the archives, on the auspicious occasion of #DurgaAshtami

One of the oldest Durga from Pallava era, from Singavaram. Here Goddess is seem with the Prayoga Chakra. Durga from Varaha Mandapa, Mamallapuram. A devotee performing Navakandam on the right side of the Goddess. This is one of the common features found in many of the medieval Durga panels.

You can also notice two Vahanas of Durga, Lion & Deer on both sides.

As usual, the 'historian' is back with an article in Print with the usual incorrect facts, half truths and the known Chola hate. Here are some of the 'gems' from the article.

"In the hill’s vast history, it’s relatively recent—around the 9th-10th centuries CE—that it became sacred to Vishnu as Venkateswara"

The sanctity of the holy Hill as an abode of Vishnu is there since the Sangam period of Tamil Nadu. Texts such as Tolkappiyam, Silappadiharam have praised the deity of Mahavishnu in Tirumala Hills since the beginning of common era. Azhwars right from 6th Century have sung in praise of Tirupati Perumal in many verses. So it is ameturish to say that the shrine became 'sacred around 9-10th century. "From the 11th century, the Cholas unleashed conquests across southern India and lavished Tamil temples with captured war loot"

Amazing to say the least. What is the proof that Cholas lavished temples with 'war loot'. Even before their great wars, Cholas along with the other Kings in the region have patronized many times. The entire temple building activity of Cholas were ushered when they were a small kingdom. Historians need to get their facts right.

Ganapathi’s of Tamil Kings. The Pandya Parataka Nedunjadaiyan Ganapathi from Kudumiyanmalai !

#VinayagarChathurthi Pallava Mahendravarman Ganapathi from Vallam !

அடிப்படை எதுவும் தெரியாமல் எழுதுவது எப்படின்னு இவங்க கிட்டத்தான் “கற்றுக்கொள்ளவேண்டும்”. முருகன் எப்போதுமே வேதக்கடவுள் தான். சங்க இலக்கியமான திருமுருகாற்றுப்படை சொல்வதென்ன ?

“மந்திர விதியின் மரபுளி வழாஅ
அந்தணர் வேள்வி ஓர்க்கும்மே; ஒரு முகம்”

வேத மந்திரங்களின் மாறாமல் அந்தணர்கள் தரும் வேள்வியை முருகனின் ஒரு முகம் ஏற்குமாம்.

அது மட்டுமா

“ஆறு எழுத்து அடக்கிய அரு மறைக் கேள்வி
நா இயல் மருங்கில் நவிலப் பாடி”

வேத மந்திரங்களை ஓதியே முருகனை வழிபடுகிறார்களாம். இன்னொரு சங்க நூலான பரிபாடல் சொல்வது

“அறு முகத்து ஆறு இரு தோளால் வென்றி
நறு மலர் வள்ளிப் பூ நயந்தோயே!
இரு பிறப்பு, இரு பெயர், ஈர நெஞ்சத்து,
ஒரு பெயர், அந்தணர் அறன் அமர்ந்தோயே”

வள்ளியை மணம் புரிந்த முருகன் அந்தணரின் அறத்தில் அமர்ந்திருக்கிறானாம். அடுத்து ஆறுபடை வீடுகளைப் பற்றி இஷ்டத்துக்கு அடித்து விடுகிறார் கட்டுரையாசிரியர். முதன்முதலில் ஆறு படை வீடுகளைப் பற்றிச் சொல்வதே சங்க இலக்கியமான திருமுருகாற்றுப்படைதான். திருப்பரங்குன்றம், திருச்செந்தூர், திருஆவினன்குடியான பழனி, திருஏராகமான சுவாமிமலை, குன்றுதோறாடல், பழமுதிர்ச்சோலை என்று வரிசைப்படுத்துபவர் சங்கப்புலவரான நக்கீரர்

Janmashtami wishes to all ! May Krishna bless us all !!

A thread on some of the exquisite panels of Krishna from TN

Dahi Handi from Thirukkurungudi

“உறியை முற்றத்து உருட்டி  நின்றாடுவார்
நறுநெய் பால்தயிர் நன்றாகத் தூவுவார்” Krishna dancing with Pot from Arimeya Vinnagaram

குட வல கோவல காவல !

Saw this quote in FB, posted by one of the known handles and hence there is no room to doubt that this is a fake one. It is indeed surprising that a ‘professor’ from a reputed university, especially in Tamil Chair, has made such an incorrect statement. It even raises doubts in terms of how much Sangam literature he knows.

Let us look at how Sangam texts describes Aryans.

“ஆரியர் பொன் படு நெடு வரை புரையும்” says Agananooru 398. This means Ariyars are those who lived near Himalayas whose icy glaciers shine like Gold. This fits into the definition of inhabitants of Aryavarta, who were called as Ariyars by Tamil poets. Another Sangam text Pathitrupathu says ‘ஆரியர் துவன்றிய பேரிசை இமயம்’, that Aryas lived near the Himalaya. The Sangam text “Kurinji Pattu” was sung to inform the Arya King Brahadatta about the process of marriage in Tamilagam. There are many such ‘Kings’ from Arya Varta mentioned by Tamil literature

Today is the birthday of the Chola emperor Rajendra Chola. A thread with some snippets about the great king :

The fact that Rajendra was born in Adi Thiruvathirai (Ardra Nakshatra) was inscribed by him in Thiruvarur temple. He was named as Madhurantaka and took the name of Rajendra during Coronation. At an young age, he was put into duty against Western Chalukyas and he had a name ‘Panchavan Marayan’. Rajaraja made him as the Co regent in the year 1012 and post Rajaraja’s death, he became the full fledged King His expeditions to north India for fetching the Ganga water & which gave him the name Gangai Kondan and his naval expedition to South East Asia are well known. He also lead the navy towards Maldives and Lakshadives and won them too.

He defeated the Sinhala king in Lanka and brought the entire island under his control. He was the one who brought back the Pandya Crown and ‘Rathna Malai’ from Lanka. He coronated his son at Madurai with these and gave him the name ‘Sundara Chola Pandiyan’.

Here is the path taken by Chola army during the Ganges expedition

One of the most abused subjects (especially of D stocks) is the granting of Brahmadeya / Chaturvedi Mangalam to Brahmins by Cholas. Cholas were called names because of these grants. The fact is such grants have been in vogue since Sangam times and Pandyas & Cheras were the forerunners for granting the Brahmadeyas. These grants were twisted as if they were given free and the Brahmins enjoyed the privilege without paying any tax. There is also another fake theory that only Brahmins lived in Brahmadeyas. Is this true? What is the way Brahmadeyas are structured. Let us analyse this using one of the large Bramadeyas given by Cholas which was documented in Karandai copper plates (1020 CE). Karandai plates mention about creating a Chaturvedi Mangalam called as Tribhuvanamadevi Chaturvedi Mangalam by combining 51 villages and the land was given to 1080 brahmins. This means an average of 21 brahmins get the land in a village where approximately some thousand people live.

The total land measured like this, which belongs to the government (அரசன் அனுபவித்துக் கொள்ளத்தக்கனவாகிய) is 3135 Veli +. Of this, 619 Veli was subtracted as they belong to common land like temples, centre of the village etc. Only the remaining land of 2516 Veli is split and given to 1080 brahmins, approx 2 Veli per person. The revenue from this land will be approximately 100 Kalam Paddy per year. Compare this with the income of those who worked in Thanjavur Brihadeeswarar temple. They range from 200 Kalam - 500 Kalam.

Today is the day of this historic Jambudiva declaration.

During the first week of June 1801, Marudhu Pandyas & Oomaithurai were fighting against British by opening multiple battle fronts around Kalayarkovil. Looking at the magnitude of the operations, Colonel Agnew asked for reinforcement from Chennai as he was certain that Marudhus were planning a major offensive sooner

While waiting for them, he issued a proclamation on June 12, 1801 worded with strict warnings & the usual ploy of divide and rule. He blamed Chinna Marudhu of giving protection of ‘company’s rebels’ & trying to usurp Sivaganga from the lawful heirs. He asked ‘Vellai Marudhu’- Periya Marudhu to hand over his brother immediately. He threatened ‘dreadful punishment’ of the natives if his orders are not complied with. Unfazed, Chinna Marudha issued a counter proclamation. This was the first of its kind in the war for Indian Independence.

The proclamation was pasted in the walls of Trichy fort & in the Srirangam temple on 16th June 1801. Addressed to the people of Jambu Dwipa,Marudhu was scathing in his attack towards British. The proclamation was a remarkable document woven with data & ideals.

While many are speaking about the increase in the spiritual tourism at Kanyakumari after PMs visit, it must also be noted that the temple has some very important inscriptions which are critical from the TN history perspective.

Some of the pillars, six to be precise in the Mani Mandapa houses a very important inscription which helped researchers to deduce the Chola genealogy and some of the historical events in Chola dynasty. The six pillars have 444 lines engraved in them of which 419 are in Sanskrit written in Grantha lipi, describing the Chola lineage right from Surya/Manu, Sangam period Cholas to later Cholas. The inscription belongs to Vira Rajendra Chola who ruled between 1063-70.

Our beloved PM Shri @narendramodi ji will be meditating for three days at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, Kanyakumari. The memorial has lot of history behind it & faced many hurdles when it was built. Let us look at the background and the struggles it has to encounter. During one of his countrywide yatras, Swami Vivekanada met Raja of Ramanathapuram, Shri Bhaskara Sethupathi at Madurai.

Bhaskara Sethupathi lost his parents at an early age and was brought up under the tutelage of British. Despite that he grew as a staunch Sanatani and did lot of work for the Hindu cause (which can be a separate thread). Due to this, he got an invite to participate in Parliment of World’s Religions at Chicago. He came to Madurai to meet the collector regarding that. Meanwhile, he got introduced to Vivekananda by his friend Justice Subramaniya Iyer.

After interacting with Vivekananda, Sethupathi felt Swami is the right person to attend the conference at Chicago and requested him to do so. Vivekananda informed him that he will decide about it at the end of his Yatra and left for Kanyakumari.

On the eve of Narasimha Jayanthi, here is some of the ancient Narasimhas from various parts of Bharath

Standing Narasimha from the Udayagiri caves, belonging to the Gupta period (4th century) and one of the oldest Narasimhas in the rock cut temple. Narasimha from Gupta period (6th century). As if HE is waiting for Hiranya to break open the pillar

தமிழர்களின் திருமண முறை

தமிழர்களின் திருமண முறைகளைப் பற்றி வழக்கம்போல பல்வேறு விதமான திரிபுகள், அதிலும் தாலியைப் பற்றி ஏதோ வடக்கிலிருந்து வந்தது என்றெல்லாம் சொல்கிறார்கள். நம் நாட்டில் இது போன்ற சடங்குகளைப் பொருத்தவரை பல முறைகள் அவரவர் சம்பிரதாயப்படி இருந்தாலும், அவற்றின் அடிப்படை ஒன்றுதான் என்பதே உண்மை. சங்க இலக்கியங்கள் திருமணம் பற்றிச் சொல்வதென்ன?

திருமணத்திற்கு நாள் குறிப்பதற்கு முன் இப்போது போலவே ஜோதிடம் பார்த்து நாள் குறித்தனர்.

கோள் கால் நீங்கிய கொடு வெண் திங்கள்
கேடு இல் விழுப் புகழ் நாள் தலைவந்தென (அகம் 86)

நல்ல கோள்கள் சேர்ந்திருக்கவேண்டும், வளர்பிறையாக இருக்கவேண்டும், ரோகிணி நட்சத்திரம் மிகவும் நல்ல நாளாகக் கருதப்பட்டது

திங்கட் சகடம் மண்டிய துகள் தீர் கூட்டத்து
கடி நகர் புனைந்து, கடவுட் பேணி (அகம் 136)

அந்த நாளில் மணப்பந்தல் வைத்து கடவுளை வணங்கி திருமணம் நடத்தப்பட்டதாம். திருமணத்திற்கு முன்னால் பரிசம் கொடுப்பது மணமகனின் வழக்கம்.

நலம்சால் விழுப் பொருள் கலம் நிறை கொடுப்பினும்
பெறல் அருங் குரையள் ஆயின், அறம் தெரிந்து (அகம் 280)

எவ்வளவு பொருளைப் பரிசமாகக் கொடுத்தாலும் இவளை அடைய முடியுமா என்கிறானாம் ஒருவன். கன்யாசுல்கம் என்ற இந்த வழக்கம் அண்மைக்காலம் வரை நம் நாட்டின் எல்லாப் பகுதிகளிலிரும் இருந்தது என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

திருமணத்திற்கு முன் நிச்சயதார்த்தம் நடத்தி அதை முறைப்படி அறிவிக்கும் நிகழ்வும் பண்டைக்காலத்தில் இருந்தது.

நனை விளை நறவின் தேறல் மாந்தி,
புனை வினை நல் இல் தரு மணல் குவைஇ,
''பொம்மல் ஓதி எம் மகள் மணன்'' என,
வதுவை அயர்ந்தனர் நமரே (அகம் 221)

என்று மண அறிவுப்புச் செய்தமையை தோழி ஒருவள் கூறுகிறாள். வதுவை என்றால் திருமணம்.

Muthu Vijaya Raghunatha Sethupathi was a great devotee of Ramanatha swami like the other Sethupathi Kings. He had donated Rs.18680 worth silver Swing and a beautiful Chariot to Rameswaram temple. But the Dharmic nature of the King came out in a strange incident.

He had two daughters Sivakami Nachiyar & Rajalakshmi Nachiyar. Both of them were so close that they wanted to marry their ‘Murai Maman’, Dhantapani Thevar. Sethupathi agreed and both got married to Dhantapani. He also appointed his son-in-law as ‘in charge’ of Rameswaram. Those days, boats used to ferry Yatris from Mandapam in the mainland to Rameswaram. This was done as free of service as Ramanathapuram samasthanam operated them. But someone gave a weird idea to Dhantapani Thevar. They asked him levying a small fee of 25 paise per person and it can be used for the temple expenses. Thevar agreed to this but he didn’t inform Sethupathi. So Boats have started charging a fee to ferry the Yatris

The Sri Vimana of the Thanjavur temple is designed with some fundamental agamic principles and is unique in many aspects. Keeping aside the false ‘prides’ of one stone 80 tonne, shadow not falling on ground etc. let us look at some of the key aspects of the design of the Vimana.

The Vimana sits on 30 Sq.m Athishtana with the Sanctum at the bottom. The inside of Vimana is hollow. If somone draws a straight line from the centre of Shivalinga at the top, all the way up, it will end in the centre of the Kalasa atop the Shikara. That is the kind of engineering skill the Chola Shilpis had. The Vimana raises like a Pyramid from the square base but also ends in a square top. Then there is Kirivam, Shikara & Kalasa atop. The total height is 60 m from the ground. There are 13 Avaranas (stories) in the Vimana which has some beautiful scuptures. At the bottom of the Vimana, there is another wall adjustant to main wall and there is a circumambulatory passage in between these two. This is called as Santharam, which is about six feet wide. At the first level, these two walls are joined by another passage. In this, the Vigrahas of Rudramurthy is seen on South, Nruthamurthy is seen on the West and Manonmani is seen on the North. Here is where one can see the Chola and Nayakar period Murals.

கச்சத்தீவைப் பற்றிய தெளிவான விவரங்களோடு இந்தக் கட்டுரையை TOI நாளிதழ் வெளியிட்டிருக்கிறது. ராமநாதபுரம் சமஸ்தானத்திற்குச் சொந்தமான இந்தத் தீவு ஏன் காங்கிரஸ் அரசாங்கத்தால் இலங்கைக்கு வழங்கப்பட்டது என்பது புரியாத புதிர். சொல்லப்போனால் தலைமன்னார் வரைக்குமான பகுதி ராமநாதபுரம் சமஸ்தானத்திற்குச் சொந்தமானது என்பதைக் கூத்தன் சேதுபதியின் செப்பேடு சொல்கிறது. மேலும் 1885ம் ஆண்டு முத்துச்சாமி பிள்ளை என்பவர் கச்சத்தீவு முதலிய தீவுகளை ராமநாதபுரம் சமஸ்தானத்திலிருந்து குத்தகை எடுத்தது ஆவணப்படுத்தப்பட்டிருக்கிறது.

Koneswaram temple at Trikonamalai (Trincomalee), Sri Lanka is one of the very ancient temples in this region. But it has a very sad history behind it. Why ? Read on

Like many ancient temples, Koneswaram was also renovated / rebuilt by many kings. It was a descendant of Manu Neethi Chola, Kulakottan who extensively renovated the temple around 5th century. Saint Sambandar sings about the sthalam during 6th century :

குரைகடல் ஓதம் நித்திலங் கொழிக்குங் கோணமா மலையமர்ந் தாரே Subsequently Pallavas and Cholas did lot of renovations to the temple. There is an inscription of Rajaraja Chola in the temple. Pandyas also made lots of grants to the temple & there is Pandya insignia, Irattai Kayal, in the temple. Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan gold plated the Vimana like he did in the temples of Tamilagam. The temple complex was a huge one and housed three shrines. But all changed when the European powers landed here

Thiruvarur temple Chariot, Azhither is unique in many aspects. This is the only chariot which is based on 'Vesara' type architecture. Further, differing from the normal hexagonal or circular peetam, this has five side bars per side totalling 20 sidebars.

While the festival has been celebrated from ancient times, the first recorded details about the Ther comes during the time of Saint Appar (7th century) who sings 'Azhither Vithaganai Yan Kandathu Aroore' - I saw the God in Azhither at Thiruvaroor. Hence it is considered as Appar presides over the entire festival which happens during the month of Panguni (Meena Masam). Thyagaraja, the form of Shiva who took the Halahala poison during the Samudra Manthan, is the presiding deity here. He will get into the chariot today (Pushya Nakshatra) in the night and the festival happens on Aslesha Nakshatra that is tomorrow

Of the various forms of Shiva, 64 of them are considered significant & auspicious, which are described in detail in our scriptures & silpasastras. On this auspicious occasion of Mahashivaratri, here are few of the forms of Shiva.

The Mahasadasiva swaroopa is one where Shiva has 25 faces and 50 hands. Per Skanda Purana, this is the form of Shiva in which he appears in Kailaya for protecting all the living beings.

#Shivaratri Uma Sahita Murthy, where Shiva is with Umadevi. This is a picture from Kodumbalur

Swami Shanmuga from Tiruchendur. Why is the Vigraha like this ? There is a history behind it. During the time of Thirumalai Nayakar (1649) who was ruling Madurai, the European powers of Dutch & Portuguese were fighting for a foothold here. Portuguese had a base in Tuticorin, Dutch landed in nearby Tiruchendur & a battle took place between them. After it was won by Dutch, they occupied Tiruchendur temple & made it as their base. Now this has completely put the temple in disarray. The devotees complained to Thirumalai Nayak who had asked the Dutch forces to leave, but they refused. Nayakar sent a small army to remove them from the temple. In that conflict, few Dutch soldiers lost their lives. With no compensation provided by Nayakar for their losses, the Dutch looted the temple and ran with the Shanmuga & Nataraja vigrahas thinking that they were made up of Gold.

Vedic rituals, specifically the important Yajnas like Ashwamedha, Rajasuya etc. were part of the lives of Tamilagam & Tamil Kings since ancient times. Here are some examples of the Yajnas performed by the Tamil Kings.

Pandya "Pal Yaga Salai" Muthukudumi Peruvazhuthi who lived during the Sangam period (3-4th Century BCE) is credited with performing more than thousand Yajnas. Hence the prefix 'Pal Yaga Salai' - one who had many Yaga Salas, is added to his name. The Velvikkudi Copper grants eulogise him as

"கொல்யானை பலவோட்டிக் கூடா மன்னர் குழாம் தவிர்த்த பல்யாக முதுகுடுமிப் பெருவழுதி"

"With his army consisting of numerous elephants, Palyaga Muthukudumi Peruvazhuthi defeated number of kings"

He performed Ashwamedha Yajna (Parivelvi in Tamil) among the others. To commemorate this, he had minted coins which has Horse, altar & fish. The name Peruvazhuthi is inscribed in the coins.

(Pic : Peruvazhuthi Nanayangal by R. Krishnamoorthi) Karikala Chola, another sangam period Chola king has performed the 'Athirathram' Yajna per Vedic scriptures in a Yajnasala made with circular layers, in a Eagle shaped altar

பருதி யுருவிற் பல்படைப் புரிசை எருவை நுகர்ச்சி யூப நெடுந்தூண் வேத வேள்வித் தொழின்முடித் ததூஉம்

says Purananooru.