Agastya in the Tamil Land

Home , Agastya, Atri, Jamadagni, Lanka, Vyasa (title)

AGASTYA IN THE T AMIL LAND

IV A RA A PIL L A I B . A K N . , . § J

i T m l U n iv rs it of M a dr a s . Re a de r n a i , e y

U NIVE RSITY OF M A DRA S .

F or i n e l s. 6 d Pr ice Rupee One] [ g .

PA G E . S ection.

i Int oduc ti on . . r

U niversality of th e Agastya t radit ion in the Tamil — — count ry it s r ise f r om Bgvédic Times Agast ya ' — not included among th e s dpafi J Agastya

and th e Star Canopus .

’ 1 A ast a s bi h . 1 . g y rt — Incr edible myths about h is bi r th his divine parent

age .

ii ar ier M th s . i . E l y

T r l r r o r and th e l t r r o h e ea ie g up , A yan a e g up , D r avidian— Par allelism between these gr oups A ryan sour ce of t h e D r avidian myths —At tempt — t o D ravidianise th e Agastya myth F anciful der ivat i on of t h e name Agastya f rom A kath i

s ot r t Aga tya n a D avidian Sain . i i R ﬂ ct ns . v . e e o

’ —f - Contac t wi th natur e-myths A gastya s cursing pr oclivi ty- Per sons wh o have suffer ed from h i s

mu s— h is t t l r M uru a th e se u e age unde Siva , g , and

S un43od .

H s E od t t S o v . i us o h e u h x t .

Three st rata of t radit i ons : ( 1 ) h is residen ce near — N ii sik mar r ies Lop ﬁmud r a and meets Rama

l r (2 h i s r c at M alakfi a E t whi e he e , ) esiden e t , as — of B fidfimi Dest ruc t ion of Vfitfip i and I lvala

t k l c r 3 h i s r c at Poth i il a es p a e he e , ( ) esiden e y — i n th e Péndya count ry his founding th e ﬁr st

8802 09 iv CO NT ENT S

ct A Se ion . P GE Tamil Academy and wr it ing th e ﬁr st Tami l G r ammar — T wo mor e st r at a of legends (4) h i s

o l 5 h i s t r l t o visi ts t o Ind nesian Is ands , ( ) ave s — Siam and Cambodia h is mar ry i ng Y asomati - addi t i onal legends by lat er Pur e mi c wr i ter s

’ Agastya s attempt t o plant Ar yan r eligious r ites — in t h e South h igh vener at ion in whi ch ’ — A gastya s name i s held Tamil race adop ting l h im as their spi r itua guide .

i A aiseme n of radi ion . v . p pr t T t

— r t o t r l c r o of t or i t T adi i n , na u a ba kg und his y is a ’ means of unders tandi ng some aspe c t s of man s spi r itual evolut i on— necessi ty of s cient iﬁc sifting

of t r t o — scie ntiﬁc t m r m t od and adi i ns e pe , e h sympatheti c imaginat i on ne cessar y for such sift i ng— Tradi t i ons t o be t rustwor thy should b e fr ee fr om inter nal in consistenc ies and c ont r ad ic t i ons and should c laim unb r oken continui ty

m f r with t h e t i e o it s o igin .

n i d on V“ A t quity of Tra iti .

N ot ear lier than when t h e A r yans c r ossed th e — Vindh yas Tide of A ryan migr at i on along th e — c our se of th e G anges i t s south- wester ly c our se — t o O r issa Refer enc e i n th e A it ar éya Br ahmana t o cer tain D asyu t r ibes on t h e outskir ts of th e ’ Vi ndh as— D r B h and a ka on y . r r Panini s want of

o l of o t — B e r ar s th e ol t kn w edge S u h India , des Ar yan p r ovin ce i n th e South— Agastya mar r ying

L o amud r a t r of t h e n of e r r p , daugh e Ki g B a T t mo y o f th e ama n — t mon of es i n ‘ R ya a Tes i y

Kte sias f Kn i - o d os and M egasth e nesf wan t of — r efer en ce t o th e South i n thei r wor ks Ki tyi ’ yana s imper fec t knowledge of th e South ’ Patan al l s r r c th e t j efe en e t o Sou h . Sect ion . PA GE .

m l count A a in th e a i . viii . ga sty T ry

’ P t olemy s r eferen ce t o B e tt igo and his silen ce — about A gastya Tamil Classi cal L i ter atur e h as — ’ no r eference t o Agastya N acch i n ar kkiniyar s attempt to int roduce th e Agastya legend i nt o

’ — ~ M a d ur a z é dﬁc/z z H i s inter pretat i on examined

' — l 5 - 8 and r eje cted P a r z pdda a late Sangam w or k . 1 1

— x A ast a a di ion its ost - classical i . g y T r t p o i in r g . — A ryans and D ravidians thei r dist inc t ive nati onal — char acter isti cs Pr e - A r yan S outh India c ompar a — tiv ely f r ee f rom M yths M ythi c lor e most ly

r m th e r imp or ted f o no th .

A as a adi ion — its ost ainistic x . g ty Tr t p J o i in r g .

Buddhist Tr adi ti on assoc iates Poth iyil with

' ‘ Avaloki t e svara— A gastya t radi t i on late r— Due t o

r l o c m t 2 1 - 26 e igi us s his s hen pr evalent .

x i Pre dis os c us s for th e cc t . p mg a e a e p

a nce of t h A a t a adi ion e g s y t r t .

T h ree i n number (i) A ppeal t o th e sense of r acial

t T h e c r c t r a nd r l o digni y , (ii) high ha a e e igi us

c t t of th e rl r m T h e san i y ea y B ah ans , (iii)

c c f th m 3 de aden e o e Ta i ls . 26 2

di i n t R xi l . A ast a a on i h e ama ana g y Tr t y .

I r r e c onc ilable r efer enc es t o A gastya i n th e — Ramayana Agas tya t r adi ti on r ises after t h e 4th

- c t r A . D en u y . 32 34

iii A di o . as a a i n and T ol k i x g ty T r t app yam .

N o r efer ence to A gast ya i n T olkap p iyam— none

b Panam ar anar and A tanko asﬁ n t wo ot r y p tt , he

t of A ast a - s udents g y . 34 36 Vi CONT E NT S

S é etio n . ’ x i . s efk v A ga t y a s w s .

’ Sangam Tradit ion and Agastya-é A gastya s mi scel — laﬁediis Wr itin gs i n Tamil t hei r Spur i ous — character H i s G rammar A gatt iya m The — mode r n charac ter of i t s S ii t ra s c r it i cism of thei r

t l and c o e t s - s y e nt n . 36 43

A a s a S u a s and T olk xv . a i m g t y t r pp ya .

Agastya S ﬁ t r a s later than T olkap p iyam— The

t r r t t o of m l t o l an d ipa i e divisi n Ta i in Iya , Isai ,

N at akam l t r cl s c t o . , a a e a siﬁ a i n

S ut as— a la fo e A as a e . xvi . g ty r t r rg ry

Agas tya S ii tras composed by different auth ors at

- different t imes . 45 47

x n A ast a adi ion i n la e T amil v . g y Tr t t r L it tu e e ra r .

' t a rom P a nm r u a al a m P a r a or u w nbd S anz s f p d , pp l

' ’ - m l a i A a or u w a kka m D zvdka m m ot . 47 48 d , g pp l l , , qu ed

i A ast a adi ion in amil Pu anic xvii . g y Tr t T r i t L t e r a ure . — Refer enc es to eight Pur i nas Thei r test imony — ort l for t or c r o l t of w h ess , his i pu p ses Fau iness using induct ive methods i n r espect of t hei r

48- 5 0 mater ials .

h e osis of A as a o . xix . A p t g ty Constr uc tion of a temple in honour of A gas tyaﬂ — Allian ce of Agas tya cult wi th Saivism A gastya cult in t h e Indonesian Islands and Cambodia Fr esh r ecrudes cence of myths i n peninsular

5 0- 5 4 India .

In insi c im obabili i s xx . t r p r t e . Cr it i cal E xaminat i on of t h e Agas t ya legends— Five reasons t o r eject them as hist or i cally unwor thy f c o ac eptance . CONTENTS vii

’ on I AGE . Secti . — a t a a historica individua . xxi . A g s y l l

N ational migrations due not t o single individuals — but to soc ial forces aryanisation of different par ts of South I ndia cannot be ascr ibed to a — single per i od of time difference of social condi ti ons in different localities necessitates our

r one t f r th wo 57-6 1 assuming mo e than Agas ya o e r k . xx u A a st a— A semi -h ist or ic e sona e . g y p r g .

’ Agastya s plac e in A ryan hist or y i n Nor th India H is t ranslat ion t o t h e South br ist les wi th b ist or i

cal diﬁi cul tie s .

i ast a— an a ll e o c al ch a a i A i c e . xx i . g y g r r t r

A gastya legend taken as typifying th e ar yanisat ion

of South India .

l si n Conc u o . xxi v .

Agast ya legend viewed fr om a st r ict D ravidian

o t of V 6 3-6 4 p in . iew

M A G A ST Y A IN T H E T A MFE LA ND 1

a 3 0 s . c s a s

N O t r aditi on is so widesp r ead through out the length and br eadth of the Tamil c ountry as that

I nt rod uct i on . concern ing sage Agast y a and his nume r o e x l o m - n s . m o us p Of al l the ythic , se i hist ric and

o r o of A 1 a n wh o r hist ric pe s nages the y annals , have ﬁgu ed i n o o o or S uth I ndian H ist ry , Agastya has ccupied the f e m ost place a nd secured the la rgest h omage of the cultured

m m r om r of a nd the asses alike . H e eets us f the ve y sta rt

o om o r of r m of Aryan H ist ry , being a c p se ce tai n hy ns the R V of é ed a. S m t o e arliest the V das , the g till he see s h n ot mo o ave been i ncluded a ngst t he seven h ly sages, t h e d a ti s or r o o of m i p , t he p genit rs the hu an race .

T G o m B h arad wa a Viéwamitra m hese were ta a, j , , Ja a

d Vasis t h a a . E ra agni , , K syapa an d Atri ven later Pu nas ,

a Vi s / m h m l ike the d and the e , w ich have a pl iﬁed the l ist of the p r i mitive sages by including B h r gu an d

B o o r . aksa , have nly quietly passed Agastya ve This c ircumstance may lend s ome col our of supp ort to the d oubt whether Agastya is n ot after all the sage of a o o m m l ater day . H wever that be , p sterity has ade a p le a mends for this omissi on by r aising h im t o a stil l h igher p ositi on and assigning h im a pl ace among tl e S o tars . The Star Can pus, which sheds its bri lliance in t h e o r to o o r S uthe n heavens , is believed be n ne the t han

r m - o of the auste e Sage Agastya, the se i divine benefact r m wh o o o the hu an race, has been thus h n ured by a grateful

o p sterity . Q [ A GA ST YA I N T H E T A MIL LA ND

It is no wonder t hat this fam ous ﬁgu r e sh oul d hav e bec ome the centre of multifar i ous

H i s b i rt h . m o o yth ic accreti ns . H is advent int or r o o this w ld, equally with h is t anslati n t th e starry h eavens, fal ls beyond h uman belief an d even concepti on

H e o Ka l a fa a Ka l a éi su ta Ku mbh a on i is kn wn as j , , y ,

' Ku mbh dsm bh a wa G h a t od bh a va ot- or r om th e ﬂ , (the p b n ), f fact that he was b or n fr om the seed of M itra r eceived and

r o or r o me p eserved in a p t . The st y uns that once up n a ti both M it r a an d Va r una had a s or t of l ove c ontest in res ‘ p ect of the heavenly damsel Ur vasi and that they c oul d n ot do m o h a o r anythi ng re t n dep siting their fe tile seed ,

one ot o . m a i n a p a nd the ther i n the sea I n ti e , Agasty

o om ot Vasist h a one of d was b rn fr the p an d , the repute

r si h i r om S a ta s s . om p , started l ife f the sea Fr thi s divine parentage Agastya is called als o Maitr a - Varuni a nd

O u rvasi a ar e o of y . There variati ns this story i n late r o n o r o t o o m traditi ns ; but it serves pu p se rec unt t he here .

’ o om o r t One fact is plain en ugh fr Agastya s bi g aphy , tha to ordinary mortals h is bi r th is as myste r i ous as h is tr ans

om of r m r lati on to a star . Fr the trend the p i itive A yan m to r th e r r on e o ind evel in supe natu al , sh uld be inclined o t o of m to be cauti us , t he extent even scept ic is , in seek i ng to r each a nucleus of t r uth in an ove rgr owth of

to o o n e m a a o materials legen dary the c re . Stil l y be ll w ed the c onsolati o n that even afte r d is c ou nting t h e value of the miracul ous and mythi ca l chaff i n the l ife of thi s

h ma m o a of m n sage , t ere y yet re ai n certain s l id gr ins hu a hist ory which c ould be ga r nered i nt o the hist oric store of

r H ow far m th e a ncient A y ans . an d in what anner t hat can be effected with out d oi ng vi olence to the demands m m o m o m to of n or al hu a n reas n re ains a pr b le this day . The myths that have gathered r ound this Aryan sage

f o two r o r all i nt b ad classes , t he ea lier

E arl i e r M yt h s. so- E o o and the later . His called x dus t A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL L A ND 3 th e South from A r yavar ta serves to d ivide the incident s

o D r r o of m om int the Aryan and the avi dian g up yths . Fr

o of w of or o i s the p int vie the h ist i cal i nvestigat r, there

r r o fo r o n m ha dly any g und distinctive ch ice betwee the . B oth run on para llel l ines and are steeped in the mi r a

r o r o c ul ou s th ugh and th ugh . The H i malaya mountain of the n or thern myth is replaced by the P oth iyil of th e

’ S outh ; Agastya s compos iti on of many R g Vedic hymn s an d medical w or ks i n S a mscr it is answe r ed by his n u me rous mystic and medical treatises in Tamil ; his effort in

’ br i nging down the G anges with the c onsent of Siva (vzd e Kasi Kandam) ﬁ nds an ech o in his getting T amrap ar n i from Siva a nd h is bargaining with G od G anesa for Kav éri ; his seat in Benar es seems to be replaced by h is

o B ad i mi o D aksina a m e ab de in , kn wn as K si ; his arriag

L O amu d ra of Vid ar bh a h as with p , the daughter a King,

o of a er r als a paral lel in his wedding K v i, the daughte of y e o o o th e King Ka ra ; and , taking int c nsiderati n

f om r mo curses , wh ich had issued r h is spiritual a ury

or h is of T olka i ar ow n in the n th , curse pp y , his student , sh ows unmist akably h ow the dwa r f sage— for on ac c ount of h i s dimi nutive size he was kn own as Ka m

’ m u m o— to ol d th e als kept true his habits , i n far

o r m i su fﬁ c ie n t to away S uth . Th is pa allelis s establ ish that the southern myths ar e la rgely mere ech oes of th e n orthern and may be presumed to have been d u e eithe r to a pure Aryan s ource in th e S outh or to a D ravidian origi n b orrowing its motif and wh ole inspira

ma r o om . ti n fr the Aryan I ncidenta l ly, it y be inte esting t o refer to some recent attempts to make out of this far famed Aryan protagonist an indigen ous saint of blue

D oo o r wh o e ravidian bl d . The fanciful the rize s, hav

to d o absen ce ' of been led this , have been driven , in the

o r o to o t o o o — a r l s ber g unds, i nv ke their ai d Phi l l gy f ai

A ka i to o . o a or tt a reed lean up n They c nnect Ag stya, y n 4 A GA ST YA I N T H E T A M IL LA ND

m A ka tti i n Ta il, with tree and elab or ate for t he occasi on a fable that the Saint being a physician himself was very fond o f A ka tti and had it planted r ound his

r m r fi m he itage . He e we nd yth opposi n g myth and the

of r mor r en ds natu al justice e than satisﬁed . But , apa t

r om o o for o o n f any dialectical vict ry, the questi n us t c s ider is whether Agastya c ould be made to clai m a

r D ravidian parentage . If Agastya we e a D ravidian by

one m r birth, ight justiﬁably ask what necessity the e was in the S outherne r to dupl icate the inc idents which had

of h is o r om M befallen the l ife n rthe n c peer . ere accident can scarcely be supposed t o explain away so many points of c ontact as we fi nd in the l ife - hist ory of t his interesting c ouple .

m o o u s Taking the yths as a wh le, a few p ints strike

as o of m o w rthy enti n here . Naturally

R efl e ct i ons. enough the name of this ant ique ﬁgure has been i ntertwined to a large extent with nature - myths f mo om o to o the re test a ntiquity . H is c ing d wn the S outh to equal ise the Southern H emisphere with the

N o t of v r hern in the tilted scale the hea en ly balance , his suppressi on of the Vindhya m ountains and his drinki ng up the ocean dry may be con nected with certain as t r onomic al and geol ogica l phen omena (of which we no o at om as m have kn wledge present), c ing cataclys s o nce in a wa y t o distu r b the othe r wise un iform fl ow of

natural events ; Setting these aside , we ﬁnd that by far the gr eater numbe r of the mi racul ous incidents which ﬁll

f o n his life fal l under the class of cu r ses o unerring p te cy . I ndeed so free was he wit h h is curses an d s o deep - r ooted was the instinct of cursing in h im that one might be

a r x l l nce tempted to d ub h im the Cursing Saint p e ce e . H e was born a dwarf and what he lacked in statu r e he seems t o h ave mor e than made up by his acqu isiti on of extraor

r n r o m d i nary powers b o de ring o the mi acul us . H is te per A GA ST YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND 5 was at n o time balanced and under the sl ightest pr ovoca ti on w ould rush int o an i r ate mood of destructive p r oclivi

t . r a Ur va si G h r taci M ad i anan d ai T ataka y In d , Nahusa , , . y , ,

a Kr au ﬁ ca M an iman d a L o amu d ra h olka Sun d , , , p , and T p

i ar to on e or a o r p y had al l pay heavy penalties, way n the , for o o hi m be n eﬁ c ent moo too m t o pr v king . A d he see s have had ; but very r ar ely c ould the saint be p r evai led

‘ o to o or up n d le out his benedicti ons to t his sinful w ld . It ma to o r o m as y be charitable supp se that a ef r ing saint, o ur to m sage was reputed have been , ust have been under specia l necessities at that remote per i od to whip a wicked w or ld i nto s ome sor t of acceptable moral order .

oo o o o on e wh o A g d deal , h wever , c uld be f rgiven in had bec ome the centre of l ight and l eading by sitti ng at the

of G od m — i M u r u a - G od feet h i self S va, g , the Sun , al l had a hand in his inst r ucti on and training— an d i mbibing

o for o r kn wledge the guidance f e ring humanity . H is very mediati on between G od an d Man may be urged as a ground for measuring h im by a standa r d othe r than

o m o f r mor w hat we ad pt i n the judg ent ordina y tals . Let

o or r al ne his activities in N the n India, the events which mark h is progress towa r ds the S outh have an interest al l

own for of o or their the student S uth I ndia n H ist y .

to r H ence these deserve be studied i n g eater detail . G e ogr aph ical ly h is exodus t o the Pen insular India o n divides itself int three disti ct strata . 3 1 3 8 t ° The earl iest ﬁnds h im l odged i n the 511 8 3533 A ast asrama m or of g y , a few iles n th

a n Pa fi cav a i on or r o r N sik, the a cient t , the n the n b rde s of D and akaran a o m of L O amu d r a the y F rest . H is arriage p ,

’ the daughter of t he Vid arb h a King and R ama s ﬁ r st inte r

h im r o r m view w ith take place he e . The sec nd st atu

M a l akuta r m of begins with his residen ce at , t h ee iles east Badami (t he ancient Vé tap ip ur a ) other wise kn own as

D aksinakasi D r of om , in the Kaladgi ist ict the B bay 6 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND

m m r Presidency . We ust re ember that this new esi dence is ab out three hundred miles d own s outh h i a o fr om s N sik A srama of the ﬁrst peri d .

’ Agastya s eating up Vatap i and his dest ructi on of Il val a (kn own a lso as Vilva la) m ay be referr ed to

this peri od of h is s oj ourn in the S outh . The third

r m of o r o h i m Poth i il o st atu st ries gathe s r und at y , kn wn

a o one of o mo omo or ls as Malaya , the s uthern st pr nt ies

” f o r W o G a . the Western hats, in the P ndya c unt y ith such a residence i n the very centre of the foremost Tamil

N a of o is o tu th se days , he credited with having f unded

r m m r o r be the ﬁ st Ta i l Acade y and havi ng p esided ve it , sides writing an E xtensive Tami l G rammar and su nd ry

o o on m m m m . ther w rks edicine , ysticis , and even agic

r o o o n ot h im r T aditi n , h wever , d es leave he e i n hi s o m om o m s uthern ost h e , ab ut eight hundred iles away

om a A r m T wo mo of fr his N sik s a a . re strata legends

a In o ar e added by maki ng h im cros s the se s . the f urth o h im o ep ch , we ﬁnd landed in the I nd n esian Islands i n

E to B ar h inad v i a the ast , where he is said have visited p

or o D vi a r a D vi a . r too (B ne ), Kusa p , and Va ba p He e he appea rs to have taken up his ab ode in the M aha

D v i s a Malaya H il l in Malaya p . The ﬁfth and last st ge is reached wh en he is made to cross over to the main m m o . was l an d and enter Sia and Ca b dia It here , at the

of - n o to end his ever lengthen i g j urn ey eastwards , he had

' m r r o Y asomati m a y a l cal beauty , by na e , and leave by her a royal pr ogeny a mong wh om King Y asov ar ma was f a n outstanding per s onage . Leaving out o account the e o of r - o r m of xpl its his t ans Indian t u , which happily any h is I ndian fol l owers in the mai nland are unaware of to

t o r r of o to his day, the the laye s traditi n , wh ich cling h is a m on o one chieve ents the I ndian s il , have al l been laid o ver an other in the c ourse of a few centu r ies and have

T o m e t hus grown int o a vast p ile by themselves . ak A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND 7

‘ ’ t C o f o or o o Pau r an ic his n usi n w se c nf unded , the later wr iter s also have spun all s or ts of amazi ng tales of m yster y and imaginati on r ound this A ryan sage with out an eye t o smooth away inconsistencies and escape c on t rad ictions o ma o . Pr bably they y have th ught t hat the sage was too gr eat a man t o si n k under the weight of t hei r l egendar y l or e 1 A s a ﬁrst step in the so -cal led Aryan isati on of

D aksin a ath a o r r r p (S ut he n India) and Fu the I ndia , th e n orthern t raditi on which has gather ed r ou n d his her m D and akaran a a itage near y gives us a va lu ble clue .

‘ ’ b c l t o n m t I . If y ivi iza i n o e eans h e p ossessi on of a b o of l t r t r r l o and lo o t oo o t n dy i e a u e , e igi n phi s phy , as is f e

o b c r t r t t t r c o l b d ne y e ain Sansk i is s , hen D avidian India u d e

t r l o of r . on t h e ot r th e t r m u y sp ken as a yanised If , he hand , e s i t o l r m c mor t n t r l t igniﬁed , as sh u d , ve y u h e ha hese ve y a e ’ c c om l m t as for t c m c o t r ol of t r b a p ish en s , ins an e an s n Na u e y w r es t ing fr om i t not only th e necessi t ies b ut th e c omfor ts and c onveniences of life by a well- developed and well- or der ed s t m of r t i n lmo t r r t m t of m r t ys e a s a s eve y depa en hu an pu sui , ’ a nd t h e c onsequen t amelior ati on of man s est ate both in h is individual an d c or p or at e exis ten ce i n soc iet y by all t h e devi ces a t h i s comm an d b all t e f or t h e i s c l of t and y h e f s apab e , hen mor e t han thr ee - four ths of t h e b elongings of th e pr esent - d ay life must go t o t h e c r edi t of an indige nous c ivilizat i on t h e T for i n D r avidian h as inhe r i ted fr om h i s an cest or s . ake t c two of t h e r m r t of l A r c lt ur and A r c h it e c s an e , p i e a s ife , g i u e t r W ll of th e u e . he r e is t h e A r yanisat i on i n t hem P T 0 Speak sti

A r t o of r n i n t h e x t r m l l m t yanisa i n D avidia India, e e e y i i ed

i s t o lo t h e r t t or c l r c t an d r o n sense , se igh his i a pe spe ive g wi g even unfai r t o t h e substantial cont r ibut i on s of t h e D r avidian s t o t h e t oc of t h n t - d ut d l o E s k e prese ay So h I n ian c ivi izat i n . ven i n t h e l of l t t r r l o and lo o no t t of ﬁe d e e s , e igi n phi s phy , s uden hist ory will b e inc lined t o disc ount t h e char ac t er ist i c shar e of t h e r lt o i t ma n ot c om r i n t t o r D avidians , a h ugh y pa e quan i y fav u

l t f A r o a b y wi th hat o t h e yan nati n . 8 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL L A ND

r r m r mo m As at p esent , even at that ea ly ti e, secula ve ents , of o o o of o r ma t which c l nisati n c unt ies y be taken as a ype ,

’ went in the wake of missi onar y enter pr ise and Agastya s

r to r r o r i amo th e t ying plant the A yan eligi us tes , ngst

r of o o o or al ien t ibes the S uth , n ly furnished the pp tun ity for the later expansi on of the A ryans int o the S outhe r n r o o n ot r o h im egi n . It w ul d be t ue t say that Agastya

was o o ai m o f far - r self c nsci us, the ti e , the each ing consequences of h is acts pu r sued for othe r pu r p oses than

o o N t h e man wh o land ccupati n . evert heless , being ﬁrst had pi oneer ed t he race int o a new count ry of un measu red

o o r om to be oo on p tentiality, he sh uld natu ally c e l ked up

or of r om as a benefact h is race , dese ving their highest h age

o r o or n o f an d w rsh ip . The e is abs lutely l ittle di ﬁculty from the Ar yan point of view in explai ning away the high

' r o m vene ati n in wh ich Agastya s na e is still held . But the real problem begins o nly when we try to appr oach

r om D o the subj ect f the ravidian side . I t is inc nceivable h ow a wh ole r ace c ould be b rought round to exto l a for eign leade r of me n as th e type of perfecti on in

r om h im as r lea n ing, wisd , and saintl iness and accept thei

own o r or r spiritual ve l d and guide . He e , at any rate , we ﬁnd the ext r aordinary phen omen on of al most the

m of o t a entire Ta il race the present day enthr n ing Agas y ,

R si r mo om of an Aryan , i n a ank l ittle re ved fr that divinity and paying h im h omage as to one of their ow n

I on a for t o . s o e m kith and kin it p ssible, y ask , a race exhibit such utter lack of race - c onsci ousness as is here ? displayed It m ay be d oubted whether the attempt to make a D ravidian ou t of th e A ryan sage has n ot been

o V to G o o r r d ne with a iew cut the rdian kn t , he e p esent

H owev er mu c h - o o ma l r ed . race c nsci usness y feel f atte

r or o o o n o ed by th is da ing feat , it is a f eg ne c nclusi n that sch o lar of any standing w ill be found t o stake his r epu

- o tation on the acceptance of this new tangled the ry .

I O A GA ST YA I N T H E T A MIL LA ND

to se e r mo m or has ﬁ st , whether they satisfy the st i p tant

r e - r of r o a nd p equisite , absence inte nal i nc nsistencies o r o o m c nt adicti ns and sec ndly, whether they can clai an r o o m o un b ken c ntinuity with the re te past . Let us see h ow the Agastya t r aditi on far es judged as it sh ould be m by these funda ental tests . H owever ancient this traditi o n h as been made to oo m t l k l ike in later ti es , cer ainly it A nt i qui t y of T r a o o t o o of d i t i on . cann t be anteri r the f unding the ea r l iest settlement of the Aryans

o m o for o m bey nd the Vindhya untains, which a l ng ti e oo st d as an i mpenetrab le bar r ier i n their way to the South . The n or th - eastern and s outh - wes ter n ends o f thi s chain of mountains we r e kn own to the inhabitants of A r yavart a as

Par i atr a m r o of y , because they a ked the b undary their vd tr ci or r of o m o of ange c m unicati n . The tide Aryan

M r o mm o r ig ati n wh ich was thus ste ed in , t wa ds the

o l o on r r o o o r s uth , f wed in an easte ly di ecti n al ng the c u se of G r o of a the anges up to its ve y m uth i n the Bay Beng l .

r on m to o r fl o or r a Late , it see s have ve wed in this c ne t king a south - westerly c ou r se as far as U tkala— the modern

R a a to th e Orissa . eference is made in A it réya Br hmana Sage ViSwamitra having c on demn ed by a cur se the p r oge n y of ﬁfty of h is s m s t o l ive on the b order s of the Aryan “ m w A P u n r as settle ent an d these ere the ndhras, d ,

S abar as Pu l ind a s M ut ibas of , , a n d an d the descendants ” Vi Swami ra r m o or o of D as u l t fo ed a large pr p ti n the y s .

l A ita é a r a 1 8 . r m . y B h ana , VII , ’ f M l l o i n 334— 335 of h i s c . r o M ax l r c o c . P f . u e s n usi n pp

’ H z r r r r fo y of A nn e) ” S a nskr i t L i /e a t u e . A t a ll event s t h e T ai t t i ri ya A ryanyak a r epr esent s t h e l t t r i n th e lo m t of th e c r l o an d a es pe i od deve p en Vedi e igi n ,

- sh ows a st r ong admixtur e of post vedi c ideas and names . T h e same applies also t o sever al par t s of t h e T ai ttir i ya Br ah m n th e l t r t of c o not lo t o T ait ti r i bu t a a , as pa whi h d es be ng , is A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND 1 1

These tribes are referred to in the late r epics an d th e Puranas as occupying the country to the Sou th of the Vi nd h as om o y , begin ning fr a little t the n or th of the m outh of the G odavari in the ea st to the mouth of N m a of the ar ad in t he west . But this kn owledge a few t r ibes to the South -east of the Vi ndhya r ange on t h e part of the author of the A itar eya Brah mana hymn o not o for m F . or a o on d es c unt uch , P nini , wh se date 1 m o o of D r R G B h an d arkar the st l iberal calculati n . . . i s to 700 . C . m m o f taken be B , akes enti n i n his Sutras o

’ Kosa l a Kar usa Kal irr a Kacca , Avanti , , , and g as the far th e st o o D r B h an d ar k r r . a c untries in the S uth . w ites “ Supposing that the n on - occu r rence of the name of any

’ c ountry farthe r s outh in Panin i s work is due to his n ot h o m oo to aving kn wn it , a circu stance , which l king the many n ames of places in the N or th that he gives appear s

r o o c o o o h is m p bable , the c n lusi n f l l ws that in ti e the Ar yans were c onﬁned to the n orth of the Vindhya but

a cr t o h t h e m M n t o om t h e n n of s ibed Kat a , sa e u i wh begin i g t h e r an aka t r l r ar e om A y y is said o have been evea ed . The e s e tr aces whi ch w ould lead t o t h e supposi t i on that th e T ait t i r i ya

t r t c l r l in t h e o t of n and Veda had been s udied pa i u a y S u h I dia , even among people whi ch ar e st ill c onsider ed as un- A r yan i n t h e B r ii h ma a of th e Vé I n th T ai t tir i a Ar an n Rg da . e y yaka differ ent r eadi ngs ar e ment i oned whi ch a r e no l onger as cr ibed t o differ ent Sakhas but t o c er tain c ount r ies i n th e Sout h of

l t o of t h e D rii vid as r and K r a . India , ike h se , A ndh as a n takas This fac t by it self would thr ow some doubt on th e ant iqui t y and genuineness of th e c lass of Vedi c wr i t ings a t least i n that for m ” in c n ow whi h we p ossess them.

1 . F or t nc D r W r H o n of th e Y l ins a e , . ashbu n pki s a e C r . H e U niver si ty t r ies t o ascr ibe Panini t o t h e 3r d c entu y B . wr i tes B ut no evidence h as ye t been br ought forwar d t o show c onclusively that Panini lived befor e th e 3r d centur y ”

B C . 7 716 G r ea t E ic o I nd i a . 391 . Vide p f , p 1 2 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL L A ND did n ot pr oceed or c ommunicate with the n orthern - m ost

o o of E o n ot r o a r p rti n the astern C ast , by c ssing th t ange , ” o a n o r 1 but by av iding it by taking easterly c u se . Thus then Agastya pie r cing the Vindhya in his c ol o n ising expediti on to the S outh cann ot be d ated

r r a 00 r r ea lie th n 7 B . C . Taking next the efe en ces m to Vid ar bh a B er ar s o E th e ade , the , in b th the pics,

R ama B h a nd arkar s a ar D r . yana an d the Mah bh ata , give ou t as h is c onside r ed O pin i o n that th is State was th e o 2 H e ldest Aryan p r ovince i n the southe r n country . d oes not te l l u s whether it was founded by the Aryan s w h o came fr om the E ast or by the fol l owers of Agastya wh r m a o r o Vi n a ro m N o . cut ac ss the d h y s f the th It y,

ow m r om r o h ever, be presu ed f the t aditi n that Agastya gave the gi r l L op amu d r a to a king of Vid ar b h a to be brought up by h im and afte rwa rds claimed her for h is

om om m b e wife , that that kingd must have existed s eti e

’ for e Agastya s ente r ing int o a ma r ital al liance wit h one of E o two its K ings . ven supp sing that the epics began

r o 00 B C - a n d are o r thei existence at ab ut 5 . . there sch la s wh o b r ing d own the dates of the c ompositi on of these E pics much l ower— the Kingd om of Vi d ar b h a must have started int o existen ce s ometime between 700 and 500

’

. r o m of B C . And in this i nte val als Agastya s eeting the

Vid ar bh a n ot far King must be placed . We shal l be

' wrong then if we date the begin ning of Agastya s c ol on i

r om 6 00 on o r o t . . sing ca eer s ewh ere ab u B C If, the the

to r m of o r hand, we give weight the a gu ents sch la s that

1 C0 ( 2. r o t il l B . these ce leb ated epi c s have been underg ing mater ial additi ons i n successive r ecensi on s — and in fact the force of these argu ments cann ot be l ightly set aside t we may have to revise the date to a s il l l ower level .

’ 1 2- 1 3 1 D r B h and ar kar s E a r l H i sf r D a m n . . . . y o y of , pp

’ H r 7 2 D r B h and ar kar s E a r l i t o o D ecca n . . . . y s y f , p A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND 1 3

6 00 r r o Thus B . C . is a fai ly ea ly en ugh date . It was a b out this peri od that the he r o of the R amayana met A m a P Agastya , in his sra near N sik, the ancient a ﬁ ca

i T h e o to o of Vid ar bh a vat . c untry the s uth , the site of

mod r a a r m r t he e n Mah r st a , was then an i penet able for est kn own as D an dakaranyam i nfested by ﬁe r ce animals a nd 1 o wild tribes . If, h wever, a higher antiquity i s clai med for to m m the epics , we have si ply leave the aside as i ncapable of being brought int o relati onship with the h ist orical i ncidents of A ryan i mmigr ati on into South

o r ma India . H wever unse viceable these epics y be for

o o o o of o or r r chr n l gical purp ses a p sitive hist ic cha acte , an unexpected l ight is thrown up on th is tract of ti me by the

. o to two early G reek writers . I shal l refer n ly of the

s of m Kte sias o f Kn id os M e asth e n es o earl ie t the , and g , b th of 4 h of r the t century B . C . The I ndia these write s was

V n a on ly India n orth of the i d h y s . Had they received

o m o o o r any inf r ati n ab ut the s uthern peninsula , ce tainly they would have i ncl ud ed it in their other wise elab orate

o N ot o m r o acc unts . n ly this , the i p essi n they seem to have formed is that from Patalé a t the mouth of the I ndus in the W est to G ange at the mouth of the G anges in the E ast ther e ran an al most straight c oast - l ine washed

o r o on by the S uthe n Ocean . This ign rance the par t of

r Kte sias m a a t he early write s , i nclud ing , y h ve been due to vari ous reas ons and need n ot c oncern us he r e but when we ﬁn d it pervading the writing of so careful a

M e asth e n s wh o o r of writer as g e , l ived at the c u t Patali putra and had at his c ommand all the s ources of i nfor ma

1 C om r t t th e o r t o of c l t wr i . pa e wi h his bse va i ns su h a e ‘ ’ t er s as th e author of th e Per iplus of t h e E r ythr ean Sea an d th e Chi nese Tr aveller s of th e 5 th an d t h e 7 th Centur ies after

C r r r t o t h e t r m f c l t of t t n b l h ist . They efe ex e e di ﬁ u y ge i g y and t o in S . India . I 4 A GA ST YA I N T H E T A M IL LA ND

o m om ti n available at the ti e , his issi on of South I ndia om o bec es truly signiﬁcant . It c uld be ascribed t o n o o r r o t one t he eas n than the paten , that pen insular I ndia was then an unkn own regi on in the N orth and hence th e s ources M egasth e nes must have tapped for h is acc ount could n ot have furnished h im w ith any inf ormati on re o E ’ garding the S uth . ven Katyaya n a s reference to

a o Vartika P ndya, and C la in his mar ks only the ﬁrst faint glimmerings of an i mperfect acquaintance with o o 350 w . o S uth India ab ut B C . hich br adens subsequently o o om m o 1 50 . C me int clear kn wledge s eti e ab ut B . , the ti of Pata ﬁ al i j . Thus t hen the testi mony of Sanskrit Literature and the ea rly G r eek writer s places bey ond a

o o o 400 wa mos d ubt that S uthern In dia ab ut B . C . s al t a ter m i nco n i ta to o ] g t he N rt hern Aryans . Viewed in this

1 co c l o i s mor t c l ch b t h e . This n usi n e han in ed y ﬁnding

A M ll i H r S n kr i L i t er a t ur e: A . c o n h i s i st o a s t o . o of P r f . a d ne y f 8 9 pp . . T h e H ist ory of A nc ient Indian L i ter atur e naturally falls

w m r o T h r t i th c t o t o . e s e c in ain pe i ds ﬁ s Vedi , whi h beginning l l t o r a s C . t i n it s t t per haps as ea y B . ex ends a es phase

00 C n r e 2 . I t h e o m r l of t h e c A e th about B . f e ha f Vedi g char ac ter of i t s l i t er atur e was c r eat ive an d poe t i cal while t h e cent r e of cultur e lay i n t h e t e r r i tor y of th e Indus and i t s t r t r th e mo r i n th e l t t r l L t r t r ibu a ies , de n Punjab ; a e ha f , i e a u e was t ol o c ll c l t i n m t t r and r o c in or m he gi a y spe u a ive a e p sai f , while th e cent r e of intelle c tual life h ad shifted t o t h e valley of

G i n t h e c o r of t h e c A e r th e anges . Thus u se Vedi g A yan

o h ad o r r t h e ol of H t ro r t h e c ivilizat i n ve sp ead wh e indus an p p e , vast t rac t ext ending fr om t h e mouths of t h e Indus t o t hose of G o on th e or t b th e H m l and on t h e anges , b unded N h y i a ayas ,

th T h e co r o con t h e South by e Vindhya r ange . se nd pe i d cur r ent with th e ﬁn al off- shoot s of Vedi c L i teratur e and c losi ng d h e M h a ma n co r . t with t h e a m a nquest afte A . D is Sans

r o t r c t l . I n c r ta o t o t h e kr i t pe i d s i y speaking a e in sense , wing c ont inued l iter ar y use of Sansk r i t mainly for t h e composi ti on A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND 1 5 l i ght the ver y detail ed an d el ab or ate r efer ences to th e South that we ﬁnd i n th e tw o epics should be ta ken as no r o o thing better than subsequent inte p lat i ns .

r r N ext, let us see whethe the e is anything i n th e late r G r eek w r ite r s or Tamil Classical A gast a i n t h e y t r r om o Li e atu e, c ing ab ut the ﬁ rst two T ami l Count r y . r r centu ies afte Christ . There is abso l ute ly n othing ab out this sage in any of the w r itings w e

n ow for o r o have taken up c nside ati n . Ptolemy makes 1 m o of B e tti o Poth i a i r of Poth i il enti n g , the g , a va iant y , on w o o to r but passes ith ut any allusi n the esident sage . H is silence is st r iking and suggestive if c onside r ed with the silence of the Tamil Classical Lite ratu r e taken as a w o h le . z E Pa r i d a l o r xcept p d , which bel ngs ve y likely to th e

or r D n ot sixth the seventh centu y A . . , a single wor k is the r e a mong the Sangam wor ks— works sh or n of c ou rse of the legenda r y embellishments of later c ommentators which makes any menti on di rec t o r in di r ect o r gives u s

m o r m o to of Il' l l S any clue by na e i plicati n the l ife sage,

r I n his w or ks o r even his ve y existence . Pa ttuppd ttu

of comm t r t r o ma be r r c om n o n en a ies , his pe i d y ega ded as i g d w t o th e r t d a r t co oc r m c ult r p esen y . Du ing his se nd ep h B ah an u e was int r oduced and over spr ead t h e Souther n p or t i on of th e ” kk n h e o t c ont inent c alled th e D e h a or t S u h .

1 Vi d e . . Appendix I 2 b t h e t l and t m t of t h e o m c on . Judged y s y e sen i en s p e s t aine d i n t or c r t c l ll c o t for it s his w k , few i i s , I be ieve , wi n end

T e o o c ommo mo t m l c ol r s high ant iquity . h pini n is n a ngs Ta i s h a that t his late pr oduc t i on was inc luded i n t h e Sangam c ollee t ion of w r it ings t o d o duty for t h e missing genuine Par ip adals

a a anaswami r . A . L . r om M r . . r of old . . R S N y Aiya , B B , f 37 2 c l c lc l t o t . D . t h e c er tai n ast ronomi a a u a i ns , sugges s A , as

t of th e com o t o of t o m . Vid e Ch e nt ami l pr obable da e p si i n his P e , 4 38 . V ol . 1 9, p . 1 6 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL L A ND

(The Ten I dylls) n o p oet has r efe r r ed to Agastya o r his of m ra N or civilising activity in behalf the Ta il ce . is there any r efe r ence to Poth iyil as the seat of Agastya in

f m o r N o o or the very hea rt o the Ta il c unt y . d ubt the w d

u fl éi Poth i il o r Ti r u mu r i i d r r i i a a i (Q rrgh ) y ccu s in g pp t ,

’ ofth e m m ommo i kkci ii ci . M a tu r a , etc , but i n all it eans a c n

P a r i d t l l of m . a a place eeting Likewise , excepting p as

i h o of or om o E tt utoka i r eady stated , n ne the w ks c p sing

o o r r to (The E ight C llecti ns) is the e any eference Agastya . I n places whe r e the P oth iyil hill is menti oned in

’ P u r a n d zz riru (aid e st anzas 2 and 1 2 8) or i n N a rri zt a i (aid e

’ 9 m o n ot r r s tanza 37 ) Agastya s na e d es appea . I n ce tain t exts a c on necti on between the hill and the Pandya Ki ng

r o b o o r a nd n ot the sage is all that is b ught a ut. It is w thy

f o o o h ow N ac c h i arkkin i a r o n te i n this c n necti n n y , a mm or r to o r late c o entat , t ies p pula ise the Agastya cult by t wisting a few li nes of verse in M a d i l r a i kkd i i ci from thei r

o o r m r mo most bvi us and natu al eaning, and the eby al st

r to t r a re manufactu ing a reference the sage Agas ya . H e e t h e l ines

“ - G eiirsur a i Qu wrfi ru a r i s 36 7 s b 1. ' y M c9 5 n ' fi ' Gi g/y ezir gog l J L Q L: r szir sar rr G row ’ a ren a r 4354 3 Qu n ifid ? G ri e /s — . w a or é 5 rr 9 j e 5905 g p g g @ .

I ts r o o o ! W a r- r t anslati n is as f ll ws Oh like P ince,

l or of o r o d the hill res unding with wate falls, and kn wn as ’ o r re - m o of the S uthe n King (by p e inence) and , in p int

r o row o o unapp achable p ess , standing sec n d nly to that

r m a ncient p i al Being (S iva) himself . The adj ectival ' f r O ezv m a i fo Ou ru nl u; ma o p h ase s r y als be taken as qualifying

’ G e nerir gcg s d ajmr and inte r p r eted as the god wh o subdued

b m Y m o of o . r m y his ight a a , the L rd the S uth The te i M u tu katav u l (505 7.5 ; a l e r is he r ein used to distinguish Siva

a or mar o n m M u r u so . fro g Ku a , the y uthful deity , his ‘ ’ N ac c h inarkkiniyar makes M utu kat avu l den ote Agastya ‘ ’ a n d T h e ava R a a m o o. nn n, van , and i p rts int the lines the

' ‘ 1 8 A G A S I Y A IN T H E T A M IL L A ND

‘ all of m om o e r r inu t arresting . On e an d the c p s thei ve ses te r unc onsci ousn ess of the existence (if the S a iii t o r h is

o o o o for o expl its . The nly p ssible explanati n this phen men on of general silence is that at that time there did not

oi on was exist even a scrap the Agastya traditi , I t all a manufactu re of later days an d any attempt to l ook for it in the pages of these early recor ds must tu rn out f ruit

. o r r th e less Thus , ab ut the ea ly centu ies after Christ , seed of the A gastya t ra d iti on had n ot yet been sown i n th e

m r Ta il land . F om t he f oll owing three l in es of a stanza of o E n issér i M u d amos i ar Pu r a n d n il r u one P et y ( , can on ly conclude that the Poth iyil ha d n ot then secu r ed

’ a o o to r the austere ss ciati ns due Agastya s saintly p esence . ? a qy qz. ru ng /u) m y p ai gb G u nﬁ re a m a oir (gm/Q aur a )

6 699 5 69 wei rami g ﬁg a G a m 6 1 1969; N atu rally the questi on wil l arise that myths being the coi nage of the ea r l iest ti mes why A gast y a t r ad i t i on the Tami l c ountry al one shoul d Show s f l m ‘

i r r o . a o gi ogm a eve se pr cess A ny s tisfact ry answer to this legiti mate que r y force s on us the necessity of glancing a little at the racial characteristics of the D ravidians an d the A r vans taken as not o a whole . I trust I shal l be wr ng i n call ing the A ryans predominantly a nati on of thinke rs and th e

r r o of o N o D ravidian s cha acte istical ly a nati n d ers . t that the Aryans had not gr eat m e n of acti on amongst them n or

me n of o r the D ravidians great th ught in their anks . But

r of o of two the fo te the nati nal cha racter the races , taken

m one o o o . in the lu p , lay i n th ught and the the r in act i n Although the speculative and p ractical ten dencies of a ma n l ie mixed up beyond the p ossibility of a deﬁnite

1 t r m cl c l r o i n t s r r r t o . The e assi a pe i d used hi pap e efe s

th e r o t o c t h e t t n am or are cr pe i d whi h ex an Sa g w ks as ibed ,

e t h e r l c tur of t h e C r t E ra. i . ., few ea y en ies h is ian A GA ST YA I N T H E T A MIL LA ND 1 9

r on om mo t o of i nd iv i sepa ati , yet fr al s all the bi graphies d ua l me n we lea rn that for on e i n dividual wh o shows a balanced mental make - up there are hu ndred others in whom eithe r the speculative or the p r actical tendencies a m mo o r s sse rt the selves i n a re less deci ive way . Thi s

r r r o r o i ndividual cha acteristic uns th ugh the ace als . The a ncient histo ry of the D ravidians glean ed fr om thei r earliest r ecords an d thei r later l ives an d achievements lea d us to infe r th at they we r e from the begin n ing a highly p ractical race which had given itself over to sus tain e d o r acti n i n many fi elds of p actical pursuit . They se em to have h ad n o special aptitude for pure theor izing

e t o m a n d in any di r c i n . They were never drea ers builders of an d castles in the air . They were ea rnestly intensely a i o pr ctical and the p ragmat c success , which had c r wned

r r omm o thei activities in Agricultu e, C erce , War and P li

o v f o n o of tics , c uld hardly ha e av u red anythi g sav uring o o o of o 1 the retic d ubt and speculati n . The fabric civilisati n

m on e o that they thus built up is indeed a assive , th ugh it may n ot Show to any great extent the glitt er of certai n

com m r wh o m m t cultural ac plish ents . The A yans ca e a ids them from the N or th were h owever cast in a differen t mo e om of r t o uld . Their r stlessness fr the dawn thei his ry ed o o o m to lean t wards speculati n . I t w uld be a istake supp ose that the ten dency to speculate and theo riz e devel oped i n them per sa l tu m at t h e time of the Up a

i h ad R m to n s s. i e c n o The g V di hy s, th ugh addressed n ume r ous deities o r fo rces of N ature for meeting th e

of r for s o every day wants an d necessities the ace, i n h rt h el ping it in the vari ous practi c al con ce rns in thi s o m m m of r w rld, bear arks, it ust be ad itted, a peculia m o ou s theoretic strain in th eir co p sers . Its assi du c a r e i n gett ing by rote those hymns and handing them down to the remotest p osterity and its unfailing

1 Vz rl e . . Appendix II 20 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND pe r fo rmance of the r ites an d r ituals laid dow n i n the sacred b ooks a re ce r ta inly n ot the ways which will appeal to the ha r d matte r -of- fact man wedded to the p ractical o of o c ncerns life . If such a pe ple could be called p ra cti

r r a man ne r n r o e not to cal , they we e p actical in e ti ely n v l , 1 . or of o r say unique, i n the hist y nati ns . Such a ace addict

to r o or r o r ed pu e th ught and the izing, in thei s uthe n

r - to m r r wande ing , had eet wi th a ace enti ely alien in mo of o r it to des th ught and life . He e had ben d an intensely p r act ical race to its ow n stan da r d of perfect

o or i to h ow civilizati n adapt tself the new type . An d c ould even this adaptati on be effected N ot ce rtainly by meeting the D ravidians in their ow n g round and achieving gr eate r success therein — an alte r native they could

of of so - sca r cely even think , in the case well equipped a

nati on as the Tamils wh o could g i ve them p oints i n all . of w as o r r A rts peace an d wa r. There an the and a su er

m D r way of approach . With all his achieve ents the avi

. n ot o o dian was str ng i n speculati n . That was the

’ was o of Achilles heel , which readily caught h ld by the

o a n d ‘th e i r of inc ming Aryans grip it was in deed tight . W hatever be the achievements of the p r actica l man in any fi of to b ow o o eld activity , he has d wn his head bef re

o or or fo r kn wledge an d the y what passed such, which

m to r o m r ca e in handy ati nal ize and even illu i nate p actice .

I T his is what I h er ing says about th e A r yans i n h i s ” t r t or T 126 E ol u t i n il e A r a n pr o o ly g w k v o of t y s , f und . in e es in 6 2 p . .

l o ot th e c r c t r of t h e o l I t This a s den es ha a e pe p e . was a — people wi thout t h e least p r ac t i cal apt i tude t h e diamet r i c al o l t t l ll O pposite of t h e R mans . H igh y gif ed in e lec tua y they

r t ir t t a nd t o t t o t h e r - or l — t o c tu ned he as es h ugh s inne w d Spee h ,

r l o t r and i n l t r t m l o t r t r lt t o e igion , p e y a e i es a s wi h g ea esu s ‘ philosophy— without feeling th e ne cessi ty of applying t hei r

o l t o t h e m l or t o of t r t r l co t o kn w edge a e i a i n hei ex e na ndi i ns . A GA ST YA‘ I N T H E T A M IL ‘LA ND 2 1

‘ ’ The adage the wor ld is ruled by thoug ht appea r s to have been mor e th a n veriﬁed i n t he matter of the ~ D r av idian a

o r n ‘ m of Aryan c nta ct and the p ese t day ixed civil izatio n .

v S outhe r n India is the r esult oi a h e alth y z ble nd (If. the two m m of m n atur b r ou h t i nto funda ental ele ents hu an e , g the c ommon stock by tw o d ifferent r aces . . It will now be clea r why the ea r liest history of the D ravidians sh ou l d bear ve r y l ittle tr ace of any myth o poetic tendencies whic h lie at the b ottom of all myths in gene ral “ Pre - Arya n S outhe r n I ndia was c ompa r atively free from myths and with . t h e advent of the Arr yan s in the ‘ — * ou — h H i n d u s a n d u a i ns a vast mass of S th , Buddhists j , m ore to m . o S r ythic l began ake its way int the land . ta ting f ro m the secta r ian c ont rove r sies a n d schisms of the

r o r ou o i n » o va i us eligi s facti ns S uth India, the H indu , the

' “ ’ a i ii d S a Va ish navite j and the Bu dhist, the ivite , the , an d

L i n a e t m s u b - o of the g y , and the any divisi ns these , the m m i n fe w ‘c e ntu rie s to o o ythic rill see s, a , have sw llen int a for midable tor rent and lite ra lly subme rged the lan d in

“ the Pu ranic peri od . whi c h c omes ve ry cl ose to o u r own m ti es .

M r Ve nka a wh o r It was the late . yy , I think, d ew the attenti on of sch olars to the existence of A gast y a t r ad i t i on a Buddhis t t raditi on that A v aloki tés t f f ami s ' r B was géfr gfz va a, a uddhist Sage residing in ” “ I n Pod alaga o r Poth iyil mountain .

r o o m farth e i n an d o fact, that t aditi n g es uch tha this h lds that Agastya owed to Aval okitesva ra his in itiati on into

o r om o o a kn wledge as will be seen f the f ll wing stanza , p

’ ir a m r o o of Vi m sé l z a m p ea r ing in the d (Int ducti n) y , a

r m r Tamil g am atical wok .

' ’ réz a n air were; w a f w ir fi s d qg u (g ge d : a fi fi g fi a

’ ‘ l d? it / 21 17 5 5 G L iqtb qQJ m lé s bd iu g ran d a {f (5 6 3 ’ f a ea-11 9 m Qw afi l bs g ci rGDg air rfioir oSlan bt fl y (s g cg p J ’ ' ’ «fi ll- Lnu mi uil a air G wré ficmp G aJ . { r g gb fi e 2 2 A G A ST YA IN T H E T A MI L LA ND

I n settling the rival claims of Agastya an d A v aloki

' tésva ra for pri or ity i n the occupatio n of the Poth iyil mou ntain and composing the ﬁrst g r ammar of the Tamil

L of r anguage, we are thrown into the ve ry thick the el i gions wa rfa r e which raged i n the Tamil l an d just after a

r o E ra om few centuries f m the dawn of the Ch ristian . Fr a r n of m r of r e r o eadi g the Ta il Literatu e the ea l iest p i d , it i s not possible to sa y that one sect even befo r e an other

se t foo T ami a a m o had t i n l g . Quite pr bably the Bud d h ists an d the jains may have p receded the H indu Aryan s in their arrival in the Tamil land in the fi r st two centu r ies e r a E l f o r b prec ding the Ch isti n ra . The picture a f ded y

e l m owe is of the ar y Ta il Literature, h ver, that a few

a m or o o e l o s Br h ans, th d x and h retic , eading is lated l ive

kt tion an d ﬁ rst feeli ng their wa y amongst a n a lien p Op u . In stanza 1 66 of P ur a nd n am the Poet A vii r M ula mkil ar

' praises one Pii ﬁ ch ar r i i r Parp p an Kaun iyan Vinnantayag for o m - one a a not e m s perf r ing the twenty y g s, b ing i led

i r s there n by the false preachings of the heretical secta ie . E vidently the poet seems to have had the Buddhist and th e ja ina S ra ma ns in his mind as the commentator h im

m e a re th e l ines self ak s it plain . H ere

1 n . This supposi ti on receives some supp or t fr om th e J ai t r t o and t h e S r l ol n c r t o l as adi i ns avana Be g a I s ip i ns , pub ished

' ol f t z r /z r or t V ume II o h e E p g a p i a Ca na t ika of t h e M ys e Sta e .

b 6 9 . u m ca n tr l t o C ul ar a If y A . D B ddhis ave hina , Penins Indi d own t o t h e Sout h ma y i n all likelihood have be en r eac hed by that t ime by t h e z ealous missi onar ies of t hese refor ming

c t t r t o as t t i t o b th e M or I nsc r i se s . Jaina adi i ns es if ed y ys e p ’ t ions make it c lear that on acc ount of a Twelve Y ear s

' f m in N or t S r ut aké va li B h ad r abﬁh u an em t a ine h India , , inen

mo and h i s c l t h e mo r c C r t led Jain nk , dis ip e , na h hand agup a, a

r om r n large c ompany of Jaina monks to th e Sout h . F S ava a Belgola t hey seem t o have sent a pa r ty under one Vi sﬁkﬁc h ar ya

o C n h e an c o t r t th e hola a d t P dya un ies . A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND 23

g amma; gog mair m Qu e u ' ° ua afmC rni ﬂ s ebe nubwmi' s t_.

' Qwui wair air Qu rrib iqm my

’ G u mi rQqrg frg Qs rrsrfQ

g a ng e d) fuﬁl U QQJ /ﬂ i LD 6 t Q @ .

so m t o - th e i n c omin of I f this is , the atte pt ante date g t h e H in du A rya n to the exclusi on of the heretic can hardly fi n d any supp ort from the ea r liest st r atu m of

T m o to \Ve to r om a il Li terature kn wn us . have i nfe fr the ci r cumstances of that ea r ly ti me that the A r yans fi r st c ame int o the land neither as c ol onis ts n or as guests b ut a s missi ona r ies to propagate thei r diffe r ent r eligi ons an d

r o r m r . t eligi us practices Si nce the B ah ans , unlike hei

O on a nd a no t at pp ents the Buddhists the j ins , were all

o one ma o o r p r pagandistic , y reas nably h l d that the he etics had preceded them in the South to spread the l ight of the new faith in c ountr ies fa r beyond the confi nes of the A ryan

s m W o r of i ettle ents . h eve be the ﬁ rst batch the A y an

mm wh o a m to o r to i igrants c e the S uth , they appea have b een quickly foll owed by othe r s of a different religi ons r o m 1 pe suasi n . But they were very few in nu ber and hence c ould not have engage d themselves i n any r eligi ous

c o on r N or o ntest a la ge scale . were the s cial and

' political c onditi o ns of the Ta mil c ou ntr v at th a t time favourabl e for carrying on any s ort of r el igi ous p rO p a

an d ism M v n ar or m ér g . The Tamil ﬁ é d Triu virs (the Ch a, o a om o the Ch la and the P ndya Kings), fr ab ut a century

r r r r on a o pe haps ea l ie than the Ch isti an era , e ntered p licy of aggrandisement an d were e ngaged in wiping ou t the

T h e Brahmans of th e South India appear i n those d ays t o have c onsisted of a number of is olated c ommuni ties t hat wer e set tled i n separate par ts of th e count r y and that wer e ” ’ i ot r — t ol m G eo m M o [mi nt ndependent each of th e he . P e y s g y f ’ nd S M cr ind le s r l t o . a outb em A si a ( c T ans a i n , p A GA ST YA IN T HE T A MIL LAND

" c ommunal chieftaincies th en existing an d addingthei r ‘ o to ow n omn T a mi a am h was territ ries their d i i ons . l g t en actually studded with a large number of vi ll age c omm u

’ n ities r r v e s a m or unde their especti e l der , he d en chiefs

‘ ' called K il ar s and of tribes or c onger ie s of su Ch commu n ities ruled over by their ki ngs kn own as Véli r s or Kos

’ e r Thes petty chieftaincies and kingships we e, in the

of r or o ou t of c our : e th ee f ur centuries, swept existence and this i nvolved inc essant fi ghting and i ntermi nable

m m r r o for ays among the any Ta il ule s c ncerned . Such a pe r i od could sca r c ely have been propiti ous for a ny rel i giou s w or k a mong the pe ople ;

o vo r o o o a M re fa u able c nditi ns , h wever, ensued l ter on by th e cons olidati on of the Tami l monarchi es and by of o o d o o the stabil ity the s cial c n iti ns it gave rise t . The schismatic wa r fa re of the N ort h was then waged w ith r e d oubled fury in the dista nt S outh an d thence it spr ea d also

' n ia n l slan d s E r O i to the I n d o e s in the aste n cean . It s but

' i n o o rt h od ox a n d natu ral that this ﬁght , b th pa rties , the the m r o to y o r r e s heretical , ust have es rted ever weap n in thei

' p e c tiv e a r mouri es for gaining a victor y ove r thei r O pp o ‘ u om for OIitic al ow r w o ne ts. Apa rt fr the bid p p e , h ich b th e to m rom o r had b en trying ake f the beginning , the sch la s

' too of the wa r ri ng sects appea r to have fed the mind of

o t o r of m m r as o r the pe ple wi h all s ts yths and i acles , an the

' o m to o of m p werful eans secure the supp rt the asses . Of the many expedients res o rted to c on ciliate the Tam il

' o o to em o r to t h e ol p pulati n and win th ve H indu f d , the Agastya t raditi on was one and it se rved its pu r p ose a d mi r

m o r r to or of ably indeed . The Ta il pe ple we e t eated st ies

o o r mor r s cial , religi us and spi itual kinship with the e ad an oe d H indu A ryans of the N orth and we r e thus b r ought over to view th e Jai na an d the Buddhistic secta r ies of y as abs olutely beyond the pale H in du orth odox . The Tamil kings too we r e raised unde r p r iestly auspices

26 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND

o th e m r o o c nciliate the kings an d asses alike p ved, al n g o of o o with ther causes l ike the advent the religi us dev tees ,

N a a mars A a o m of the y n and the lv rs, a p werful eans stamping ou tth e Jaina and Buddhistic heterodoxy f rom the

m o r of few Ta il land i n the c u se the next centuries .

mo of r o a f r t e A ng such devices a late religi us w r a e , h a r o a o to one . Agasty t aditi n , as al re dy bse rved , appea rs be

ma be t r i o l not But it y still asked .why tha t ad tion c u d be given its face value an d taken for on e of the authentic r - o of D r n r r ace l re the avidia s themselves. The e is ha dly a ny a pri or i necessity to dismi ss such a suppositi on as a f unentert inable . Still the ab solute silence o the enti r e Tamil Lite rature of the ea r liest peri od precludes us f rom

o o or a o c nsidering it even as a reas nable hist i c l hyp thesi s. The most potent cause which appea rs to have p re di sposed the pe ople to a eady a cc e P r e d i S p a 8 i n g p . r cause s for t h e tance of th i s fo re 1gn t rad i t i on was i ts

to of a or appeal the sense r cial dignity,

t i on r f om vanity pe haps, r which few races of o to r o r antiquity are f un d be f ee . If a sense f acial supe r i ority is seen to pe r sist even to this day among many

o on e w n ot o w ro o enl ightened pe ple, ill g ng in p siting its

o o m n existence in th se byg ne ti es . At the begin ni g , the m o not o of of syste atizati n , if the creati n , the language a peopl e by some D ivine agency o r semi - divine sage must have evoked f r om them the g r eatest admirati o n and r e mo r ow r o i n esp ct . And all the e p e ful sh uld be the fluence of that doct r ine when it puts their ow n language i n a positi on of c o- or dinate auth ority and odou r of sanc

u of N o r r tity with the divine lang age the th , the Sansk it . Late r lite r ature is fi lled with allusi ons which exp r ess

r i o o m of m to unfeigned g atif cati n at the enn ble ent Ta il, on r of é stand a par with the sac ed language the V das . He r e are a few stanzas culled at rand om f r om some leading wor ks A GA ST YA I N T H E ‘ T A MIL L A ND 27

i t ap p cdl l tsrrair wanlp lqLorr 6 57 g a in g “) (g cg r @

“ ‘ ’ ‘ 9 5 155 11 93 597 g mfiwasné Qrfiwra fl

— r o ét a a ﬁ (S mu ai £5 5 i n a r .

W E G u n bfl tfi /S e mfi w ® rr® G er/5 rll ij u wsér Q y i , j § p t bb Qgfi fi wn ” ’ ’ J té a rié Qa a fl G tu an' G wezir fl Q MGVQJ U' tu n a fi ttBa Q a r / fi p g r

G m a) a m .

- 6:57m m j p w sér u nmade6793 Q wé a om G w@ oir

' ' é r air air w ut um a fias f fi l l- QM gél g w up p Q ui ov G sv g fi

’ ag a 9 1 57 t Owrr lé cla r nasQ uJ 695 6 57 95 17 63) r g , 9 éé ﬁ " w «i a 6 1 /arr si rCB t wg nl nd? 9 6 51 15 G regg g Cy .

— a93a t mt mb nw ﬁi £5 t q m .

fi w L a bél anuJ u u nm srfié g wg fip g afi we b Qa fi

- Qfi fl L Ifl-{GIDI—tu Qfi alT QLOITWG D lU tqts Q uaeomé G e ne?

' P F @ W &@ w a fltqmt g p mi Oa nebC svﬁm/t) u na Qr avﬁa r

’ ’ " a g a w m r é fi sfir G u m w tu J G r a m fi filmr r i a fl g g e gfi r .

' ' a mw g wmi (gop ybg na : tfltu ev

QJ mIJ LDLJ

’ ‘Qg Qwr tfiqtb w gfifi u ®j fi fl ff GDevfiG ai /éfi (fi cwg u r fiqd)

a t tL fé e u ncor we r Qwair a fléi Qg ‘ﬂ / , tﬁ@ @ p gy

a il G wrr t J QU GZV / tﬁ m a tu omG u tr g ‘ﬂ qIQ Q p yb g t .

ma n o fl air/5 9 a i rrtu rrair w ofi u p e g fi , fi g bb (g y “ G are-om!

’ uS m aui tb G u n n l n é m p p ma a d s). aﬂ ev s g Qa tb tu i) Q u ﬁG m 28 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LAND

l - wm p s g év G i a nni /ti e u nm g wiiemj g tbG Q t sér cr rﬁwfcwr

’ M egan Hm mfifimé G fi fi fl éJ

' Q mua anbe .

i i ‘ oevfl/sg tzii all / J —Lbl - IS LEJ G u wm r , g era 65 { g

’ ’ man e r) u m a wa m a r G amir ( g p c oy@ ga " w h e ez e” Areas G H QODM

O ' QC D. G eor O tﬁ w G u n ( G J g g j m a )

G amma; fi g Qu rrtbé g sér p ai ‘ a ép g mair S towe} J UAQBW a ilfi ti gfg ‘ J /cgfém é - Qs trm m fifim

fi é a fi y é a é G ar/55 15? wa ilfinfl é: g fi w , gfl

Og d m w dv

ﬁ si r amnu a .

r c o m mo from r These ext a ts, th ugh ade stly late o r auth s . give us a valuable clue fo r cor rectl y a r r iving a t the motives that must have swayed the Tamil pe ople i n r of the eady acceptance the Agastya legend . An othe r p r edisposing cause might be d raw n from the high cha racte r and r eligi ou s sanctity of the fe w ea r ly B ra h

ma n t r in m r r a of r a r set le s the Ta il land . The a iv l the A y ns he e

i m s or r c ou rse of t o y u t, in the dina y events , have aken place nl

r ar a r A an d Ka r n a aka o r afte the Mah st a , ndhra t c unt ies a r o b y n r o o had been fai ly ccupied them . This pe et ati n int

t wo or r o r of T a mi a a m ma r r the last b de c unt ies l g y equi e , o w S o m 0 . t o to r r r o 3 . at the l west, th ee centu ies f 5 B C the fi rst o r the sec on d centu r y befo r e Ch r ist may reason ably be fi xed as the ter mi n us a qu o beyond w hich the

r n mm r o n A ya i ig ati on i nto T a milaga m c uld ot be pushed . That the H in du A r yans wh o set foot in the Tamil

' r ‘ land a little l ater hailed f rom these b or d e r c ou n tr ie s r e

e iv o O ne c e s some suppo rt f r om two subsequent traditi ns . ‘ of this with h im eighteen fami i , of ki n s Véli rs an A r uv ala rs fr om T uva r a ati th e lies g , d p , A G A ST YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND 29

mo D war atsamu d ra m or dern i n the Mys e State , and the 1 other to Parasu r ama peopling Kérala with c ol onists

i r a T h e from the banks of the G odava ri and the K ishn . Tr a va ncor e S ta te M a n u a l in page 2 1 3 r efe r s to the latter “ tra diti on th us The new land was n ot ﬁt for habitati on

m a the settling down had n ot been c o pleted . The qu king did n ot so a Pa rasu rama r cease, the Pur na says hence sp inkled s ome gol d dust and buried coins an d thus f or med a t rea

- of su re t rove which sto pped the quaking the land . H e pr epa red a g reat yagam (Sac r iﬁce) at Va r kala for the same

r r Para éu rama r o o o of pu r pose . The eafte b ught c l nies

r m r om or om of r a B ah ins f the n th , fr the banks the K ishn , t e G o a i N r m a a r i rom r h d var , the a ad , the K ve an d f Madu a, Mysor e and M ahar astr a an d from many othe r places an d

o Ke rala m r m o o o r pe pled . The B ah in c l nists s b ought ” to a m r r m bel onged eight gotr s o families . P esu ably this

r a is a ve y late traditi on . Still we m y infer that what oc cu r r ed i n K erala has had its anal ogue in the Tamil land to 2 of r r o o of the east the ghats . Large and la ger c l nies the A r yan immigrants must have c ome i nto the c ountry f rom

I M L o is of o o t t th c ram r . e h n m t . gan pini n ha Vedi B a s us have ar r i vad at M alabar i n th e ear ly par t of t h e 8th Cent ur y A D m . . and not r l r an d t t t m t c o r om t he , ea ie ha hey us have e f c o t of t h e T l t as u u coun r y .

2 n o l t l o t m h . Is i t t a i t e cur i us tha ident i cal ethods ave been adopted by t h e Ar yan immigr ants or thei r immediate deseen t i n l r ot i n th e E t C o t and i n th e dan s , Peninsu a India b h as as W est ? Agastya was b r ought int o th e T amil c ount r y on th e E ast ' ' C o t and P ar asu W t r s as r ﬁma was plant ed on th e est . Jus as Pa a u r ama cr eated t h e whole K e ral am fr om ou t of th e bed of th e r and c m i t s r t l r o r t or h i s A abian Sea be a e vi ua p p ie , E aster n c ompani on seems t o have got th e whole Tamil count r y fr om G od Sk anda at T i r uv e nkat am an d handed it over t o h i s

Si sh a t h e a d Par a sur ama r t n . A h d t y , ﬁ s P ya king gain as a o people h i s new c duntr yby br inging down fami lies of r oyalty and

commo lt r om t h e of t h e G o r i and th e r n na y f banks dava K ish a , 30 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A M IL L A ND

o o a a i r r the watershed f the Krishna an d the G d v r ive s , the Maharastra and the Ka r nataka in the West and of

A E r th e the ndhra i n the ast . The pictu re p esented by

o of m r via P u a n d a u A ka ea rliest b dy Ta il Literatu e , , r y r ,

' u d t ' u P a ttu tu o to o m c on wz , /d t etc . , nly ten ds c nﬁ r the e l o o r r m r s usi n the wise arrived at he e . A few Brah an p iest seem to have taken up thei r abode he r e an d there and assI S ted the kings and C hieftains in the p erf ormance of

a an d o o o r y gas ther religi us rites . Th ugh they we e very few m er in nu b , they had acquired by their learning , peaceful character and by their l ife of self - denial an d high aspi ring spirituality an unbounded influence with th e fo o o f om ru le rs and the ruled alike . The ll owing qu tati ns r

' ‘ Pu r a ndmt z u will establish beyond d oubt the sanctity that had already begu n to hedge round the B ra hma n of o 1 teachers th se days .

A t h ad t o t 1 8 m l of V él i r s A ruval ar s gas ya ake fa i ies kings , and

T uvar a a t D warasa ud T l fr om p i ( m ram) . h e par a lelism is not ye t

E as th e W t C ended . ven es oas t owes it s very r udiment s of c l l f t o Par asur am a a t h ad l o t o r or m ivi ized i e , Ag s ya a s pe f his c ivilizing wor k by sys temat izing t h e Tamil L angu age and found i ng th e fir st Academy whence all cultur e fl owed for t h e benefi t

r o t r t r l o r for of lat e r gene at i ns . Af e hei ab u s t h e spr ead of

o l an d c l t r Par asurama is t o ta kn w edge u u e , said have be ken l t o th e M ah énd ra H ll i n Or s and s t l h imse f i i sa , Aga ya, ikewise , t o t h e Pot h i il mo t of t had t o r et ir e y un h e Sout h . Jus t as ‘ P ar asur ama w h o ﬁ r st r ec laimed Sﬁ r p ar a ka c ount ry about Bombay i n t h e N or th was late r on shift ed t o t h e South t o r e

l m Kér a a A t t o t M alakﬁ a r c i n c ai l , gas ya had Qui his t esiden e ,

r c o t r and t h is rt r i n th e P t il t h e Kana ese un y , ake up qua e s o h iy n t h e r t of t h e m l c o tr i n t h T mount i hea Ta i un y e South . h e

r c r om t cl o r ll l m of t r t o i s o infe en e f his se pa a e is adi i ns bvious . / M r . . E . Par it c r i n A nci ent [ h a ta n I . F g , his “

n . 6 2 wr t as ollow : r n T r ad i t i o , p , i es f s The e have bee br oadly ‘ t r cl mo r m th r o o t H i spe aking, h ee asses a ng B ah ins ugh u Indian s

or vi a 1 T h e s c t c ot an d t c r the si or t y , , ( ) a e i dev ee ea he , r t h e A GAST YA IN TH E T A M I L LA ND 3 1

‘ ’ ‘ l kh éré Ou t iiésar Oe efii eufi a o/56 Q p é cg i g , l ’ — ‘ 9 Karikil fl l . ord i ibcziip (30695796 7 Qnéfi aifié Qiu $6 1! 6 : " « 3 — r e e rase nitrous wfi3 6 m 9I N e ima i a . a g , s @ tt y

m anure; smut 9 45 m ou trag e — ' 34 : A l attii r kkilar .

' 1596 e @ m @ @ Or euewrtb ’ ” — i 4 T ama alkannan ar . u rrti tji u rni G mrw m Oe ui tu ew , 3 p p

r s w r ma This high e pect, hich the ea ly Brah n priests w on o , naturally ripened in a few centuries int a blind b elief on the pa rt of the T amilians in all the myths and legends which the i ngenuity of the p r iestly o r der could c oin for success i n a l ifekan d - death g r apple w ith the heretics .

m 2 r t and t h e r t l of o l and uni ( ) p ies spi i ua guide Kings , n b es

e o l and 3 t h e m t r of t t o l Of c r and t o p p e ( ) inis e S a e , R ya ﬁ e h se wh o ollo l r T h f wed secu a employments . e ﬁrst was th e Br ah man a r ex cel l ence t h e t th e co th e r t n d p , Sain se nd p ies a th e p r e c ept or ; and t h e t hi rd th e semi - secular Br ahman an d somet imes

oll I n th e m l co t r e r wh y a layman . Ta i un y th ea liest Br ahman sett ler s as testiﬁed t o by li ter atur e seem t o have belonged t o t h e c o c l m t o M r P r i e r b . a t . E c t A t se nd ass en i ned y g x ep gas ya , Tamil land cannot boast of a single A ryan Rishi as having h ad

i s r t t s or r L c l i r h he mi age within i b de s . iving se uded n thei

or t r m t a and cut off r om th e c r r t of c l r l f es he i ges , f u en se u a ife ,

r m o T h e l t r m l those A yan Rishis did not co e t o th e S uth . a e Ta i

P ur ﬁnic r t r for t r own r o h ad t o r t r w i e s , hei pu p ses , d aw hei

r i r Rishis fr om th e N aimisa and other fo est s n No th India . T his t otal absence of th e A ryan Rishi or h is her mi tage i n th e ’ Tamil land r ender s Agas tya s c onnec t i on wi th th e South highly

r o l m t c l e ol t r c t o ch o n ot ﬁt i n p b e a i a , b ing a s i a y ex ep i n whi d es ol r mm r t o with hist or i c condi t i ons and chr on ogy . A yan i ig a i n int o th e Tami l land i n any consider able scale having begun i n

e o t - C r t c t r th t t m t t o m or t t r th P s h is ian en u ies , e a e p i p he ein a Rishi belonging t o t h e Pre - Chr istian per i od i s nothing less t han

r o m a c ude anachr nis . 3 2 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND

An d a thi r d p r edis p osing cause arises f rom the decadence wh ich the Tamilia ns fell int o afte r attain ing the elements of a mate r ial civilizati on so clea r ly r e flected in what is admittedly the cl assmal po r ti on of Tamil

' r o of r o Lite ature . A peri d ep se, as in the case of othe r nati ohs ol o of one of , f l wed in the wake c onst r uctive and c r eative activity a n d the nati onal mind thenappea r s to have

o or o r . re too ew r m fallen int a t p H e , as els he e , i dle inds fell a p r ey to supe r stiti on— for a se r i ous active l ife and supe rstiti on neve r go togethe r— an d when thi s supe rstiti on

o e o m . r o ente red int all iance with r ligi n , hu an natu e c uld m n ot but succu b .

The myste ry of the r eligi on of N d y ma r a i ; the fou r

r m of o r o sealed a cana , and the iracles dev tees and eligi us

r rs as m of o m ow r a p eache will, a atter c urse , ake a p e ful p p eal to the masses whose minds have al r ea dy grown vacant

of s fﬁ by a l ife ene rvating ea e and i nactivity . I t is di cult to imagine h ow the successor s of the ea r ly Tamilians wh o had achieved such w on derful success in many of the a rts o f civilized l ife at so ea r ly an age c ould have all owed t hemselves to be t hus h o pelessly b ound by the myth ol ogic

o of r m m r of w c bwebs a late ti e . The yste y this ill vanish ‘ the momen we realise that hu man natu re— even the best

— c an no wa o - ro It cultivated i n y be devel ped all und . s

r on e r o o r st ength i n di ecti n spells weakness in an the . Th is is the N emesis that alway s dogs the footsteps of

one m s a every specialist . If he is great in ﬁeld . he u t p y

r r the pe nalty by his weakness in an othe . The p actical

m om or of Ta il intellect, when it had acc plished its w k

m r a o f ﬂ building up a ate ial civiliz ti n and elt i tself agged, was only too r eady to receive its spi r itual pabulum and

r r f or mythol ogic luxu ies f om th e A ryans o the N th .

N ot only is the Agastya traditi on A st t d m on 1 n m ea r f: The a l ate e the Ta il land , its l iest

“ 11 8 ° refe r ence i n the R amaya na of valm iki

’ ‘ 3 4 A G A S I Y A IN T H E T A MIL L A ND

r 1 o n o wa to r for late , d es in y enable us a gue a high anti

u i for r o amil a am qty this t aditi n in T g . Taking al ong w 1th this the c omplete silence of th e Tamil class i cal literatu r e spr ead ab out the ﬁrst three cen tu r ie s of E r a o o e the Christian , the c nclusi n app ars h ighly

ro o r r e p bable that the f u th , ﬁfth and sixth centu i s after

r m r r r Ch ist, wh ich a k the keenest st uggle with the he etical

m ma o r o sects in the Ta il Land, y als have been the pe i d when the ﬁ rst seeds of the Agastya t r aditi on were s own in

o . H o w r o r i s m of D r the S uth enti ely inc r ect the su r ise . Caldwell w h o clai med for the t r aditi on an antiquity goi ng

0 r r 0 . r no o to 7 o . back B . C needs the ef e fu the r eluc idati n C onceding fo r the present that the A gast y a T r ad i t i on o w h o om o o r i and T oik app i p ets c p sed the w ks wh ch

am. y are genera lly kn own as S angam Lite r ature may have omitted to make menti on of A gastya for o o of ow n l re vari us reas ns their , still we sha l be p cluded from making such a concessi on in the case of

T olka i a r h is or of pp y , leading disci ple , an d the auth the

ﬁ rst and for emost G ramma r of the Tamil Language . It

i r o to o r i s qu te eas nable expect that at least he , c nside ing his relati onship with the sa ge and by the special fact of his comp osing a gr ammar to compete with the monu

f h i r o a us om i n mental work o s maste , sh uld h ve given s e o o f ormati on regardi n g h is reputed predecess r . H as he d ne anyt hing of t he ki n d N ot a l in e i s there i n al l that ex tent of his gr eat g rammar which may be c onstrued ev em 2 o . r o os as an indirect r eference t the Sage T a diti n , wh e

s or th e 1 F or n t c D r . W r H o i n h i , . i s an e , ashbu ne pkins w k

4 D D . as t e l t t t . G r ea t E pi c of I nd i a ﬁxes C A . h a es da e

2 I t t r t t N ac h ch i nar kki ni ar t r r t cer taint . is ue ha y in e p e s

' ' ir u G m T M o t e a s e t c . sii t ra s of T ol kappz a m ending i n , Q , , wh se

m l c t o t ot fer ence i s n ot at all spec iﬁc as a r efer en c e by i p i a i n ’ m t od of t r r t t h e u t or r . B ut th e cor r c t Agastya, a h s gu u e e h in e p e

- i s t o b e r . i ng these indeﬁni te stat ements of Tollrap p iyar d awn A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA N D 35

or o r m o r n o o r igi n th ugh late e ains bscu e, is d ubt esp onsible for creating twelve disciples wh o had to sit at the feet of

f r r w r 1 T ra Agastya or thei lea ning . They e e ( ) i nadh fi mak kini a l i a s T olkappiyar (2 ) Ch emp ﬁt ch éy (3) Atankotta ' \ c an (4) T u raliri kan (S Vaiyapp ikan (6 ) Vaypp iyan (7) P ana mp aran (8) Kalar amb an (9) A v i nayan

1 0 Kakka i a i n i a 1 1 a atta vamanan ( ) p t y n ( ) N gr n and . om me S ikan i r o S eti s t is seen inte p lated i n t he l ist .

or of o Panam ara ar one of It is w thy n te that p n , the c o students wh o studied with T olkap p iyar at the Agastya

m i s om o o Acade y , credited with c p sing an intr duct or y

’ a for h i s m o Tolkd i a m st nza ate s w rk tp y . Here a refe

is m to A tankott ac a o - m f rence ade n, an ther class ate o ' s o to T olka i ar s o theirs , and al pp y pr ﬁciency in the A in d r a

oo of S r G mm r too Sch l ansk it ra a . H ere , Agastya has been o E passed ver in studied silence . ven assuming that T ol ’ kap piyar s relati onship with Agastya was a tr ifl e strained as Traditi on assures u s— there is n ot the slightest groun d why Panampar anar sh oul d forget h is guru in this r ecom m e nd ator N ot o th e r y stanza . n ly has sage been seve ely left out o to to Pa am a a r i n the c ld, but add insult inj ury n p r na m o e of co- A tanko taca akes an th r their students, t n, pre side over the assembly wh ich had gathered to hear the ex

’ positi on of T olkapp iyar s great work and set on it i ts seal of

o r n of appr oval . Is it c nceivab le that these th ee stude ts Agastya woul d have behaved so in dec orously as they seem to o o e r have d ne, if they had actually ackn wledg d the g eat sage as their pr eceptor ? The c onduct of this student triumvi r ate is explicab le only on the assumpti on that n on e of them h a d anything to d o W i th Agastya and might b e rom c r t ot r sfi t r as of t t t or c c o t or d f e ain he ha au h whi h n ain w . ’ - 6 2551 m fi sm firi Q mi s w g ma6 6 76 57 10 ings like £ fi gy a p , n ’ -I 6 0T U Qwa Qa 67 6 5T J cfl ti QQ Q U . 6 7 g , t g /‘ Q QQ

E xplic i t ly and quite decisively these r efer only t o previ ous

c la gr ammar ians i n general and not t o Agastya in par t i u r . 36 A GA ST YA I N T H E T A MIL LA ND

supposed to have been even ign or ant of. his v ery exi stence

a m . rv o t the ti e The pe ersity, which und ubtedly seems to

t o o m r r cling their c nduct in this atte , is enti ely due to our

to o on m l for h trying f ist the a ater day legend , w ich they

r to o If o r c ould ha dly be called acc un t . , h weve , we dis m iss the Agastya legend as a piece oi ch r on ol og i cal ir

‘ r o of T olka i ar Pana m ara ar el evancy, the c nduct pp y , p n a n A t ankot tacan m r r d assu es quite a natu al characte . Traditi on credits Agastya with i A y a 8 founding the ﬁ r st Sangam and p r esiding o o ver it . H e is als represented as hav ‘ i n om o G mm of m g c p sed the ﬁrst ra ar the Ta i l Language .

a m o as too in The S nga traditi n , it stands, is deﬁnite and

- etherial to be made the subj ect matter of . any historical i nvest igat i on ; for it d o e s n ot affor d us anywh er e any foot o o om to N h ld , any s l id veriﬁable fact , fr which start . early the wh ole b ody of it hangs in cl oudland and few wi ll be disp osed to tamper with that beautiful aerial st ructure with

o o io o a prosaic c nfr ntat n with facts and hist ric l deduct i on s. Scie ntiﬁc criticism must feel a little n onplussed when vast peri ods of ge o l ogica l time are all owed to step int o

’ f o o N or d o t he l imited ﬁeld o a n ati n s l iterary hist ry .

’ t he later N oachian D eluge and M an n s fl oo d offer us a

o on 1 S o a a m o . s urer ground t plant urselves , the S ng

l W c u M r L . . i ri t t l a Regarding su h de ges . K ng w es hus ' o i s or B a b l o u a u R el i i on a nd M t/wl o i n page 1 2 1 f h w k y i g y gy. I n t h e t r t o of m r ce c t t r i n r o r t adi i n any a s , s a e ed va i us pa s r t o be o t or r m ff r nt of th e wo ld is f und a s y , unde any di e e ' t m r t o of r t ﬂ oo or l for ms and wi h any va ia i ns , a g ea d de uge c i n orm r t m t and l as t th e l i n wh i h f e i es inunda ed aid w e , and l t T h e l t o t t c t r t o r r whi ch they dwe . exp ana i n ha su h adi i ns efe t o a univer sal deluge whi ch t ook pla ce in th e ear ly ages of th e r l i s n ow r ll r r as m l s m c as wo d , gene a y ega ded inad issib e , ina u h ’ ther e is n o tr ace of such a c at as tr ophe i n th e ea r th s geologi c al M or o r c c h as o t t i n th e r s t f or mat ion . e ve S ien e sh wn ha p e en physical condit i on of t h e wor ld such a universal deluge would l ” b e impossib e . A G A S T vA IN T H E T A MIL L A ND 37

o ma r for r 1 questi n y be left undistu bed the p esent .

’ om o o of r m G r mm Agastya s c p siti n the ﬁ st Ta il a ar, o er on foo h wev , stands a different ti ng . It O pens for us

v of o h o r o or an a e nue appr ac ; Th ugh he e als , acc ding to

o m or o r o of traditi n , the aj p ti n his work is said to have

o m of far - m om r fallen int the aws a distant ti e, still s e st ay Sutras of his have e scaped that fate and c ome down

to . T o us hese , then , sh ul d give us some interesting m r for o r m r r of ate ials j udging, h weve i pe fectly, the na tu e

’ Agastya s extensive g r a mma r of twelve th ousand Sutras

I . I t or t of ot i n t h co c t o t t n o c m is w hy n e , is nne i n , ha ha pi on of t h e Sangam h as ye t c ome forwar d t o ser i ously r efute any of th e arguments c ontained i n t h e sear c h ing c r i t ic ism of h e t r s a r t c T t t m t t i i r n th e t . e la e P of . S e h g Sas i o subje h a e p

f r w o l u t l t ro . m ll o th e . h o a e P f P Sunda a Pi ai , ingeni us y p

or r th e t c t h e t o m tt of t t t h e f wa d bes defen e ques i n ad i ed , ha Sangam p oets t hough belonging t o var i ous t imes and places we r e br ought t ogether i n a gr oup be cause in t h e hist or i cal per s

e c t i ve of t n t o t r t t r t o t o t r p a dis a p s e i y hey appea ed hang ge he ,

r ll th e w ol c N o o t i t o t c is ea y giving away h e ase . d ub , is a p e i way Of defending t h e Sangam b ut t h e h ist or i c authent i c i ty of t h e lat t e r must be built upon mor e s olid mater ials than ﬁgura t v l S O t h e r m r i i r t l . S esh a r t l i e anguage a gu ents of P of . g Sas i s i

l t l T h e m t m r o t t th e t t of h o d h e ﬁe d . is aken i p essi n ha an iqui y Tamil L i te ratur e h as t o b e sur r ender ed i n th e absence of a Sangam t o supp or t it fr om behind h as been at th e r oot

f t t r t o c r ll r r t an d o his adi i n being a efu y p ese ved , ended

w T h e r l t T m l or made t o pe r sist even n o . ea ies a i w ks t h e Sangam li ter ature— have undoubted int r insi c mer i t s of thei r own an d car r y wi th them thei r own cr edentials for th e r t l c f e r - d a m l g a efu a ceptan ce o th p esent y Ta i ian . I n stead of est ablishing thei r ant iquity on these int r insi c h istor i c

r o as t can r ll d o om ar e i n g unds , I hink we ve y we , s e engaged pr opping i t up on such ext r insi c and almost legendar y data as

S an a I n m r l th e t r ms . it i s c t o l t ro h ee g y view , e ain y sp i ing a s ng

b u c r m t olo c ase y nne essa y y h gizing . 8 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND and of the gr ai n and temper of sch olarship that charac ter i se d o its auth r .

’ Before we pr oceed to value th e fragme nts of Agastya s G r ammar which have been handed d own by the Tamil omm or o o n ot c entat s and c llected by a recent edit r, it wil l be out of place to glance i ncidentally at the huge body of miscel lane ous wr itings which has since been ascr ibed to h im . They range over a wide ﬁel d from Medici n e and Mysticism to Magic and Witchcraft1 and be ar el oquent tes timony to thei r auth or having been an unabashed char la

y tan . The reputed s stemati ser of the Tamil Language c ould scarcely have descended so l ow as to produce such se nseless and d ismal d r ivel as the extant Agastya litera t r h as o no m or u e , which abs lutely thing i n either atter

o o omm o is f rm t c end it t o a cultured s ciety . This what i S astriar Profess or M ah amah O pad h y aya S . Kupp uswa m , f V l of A . ro o to o o . M . , says in the i nt ducti n Part I I I I the D escr iptive Catal ogue of the Oriental Manuscripts

L m of or A h atti ar ibrary , Madras The na e Agastya y i n Tami l h as to be special ly mentioned as the most proliﬁc

r on m Y o am of write these subjects (Alche y , Medicine, g

t h e S id d h ar s . W h o A ast i ar is to om so m ) this g y . wh any n ot m o o . o w rks are attributed , cann t be stated He d es see t o m - o A asti ar wh o be the sa e as the wel l k n wn g y , is said to have systematized the Tamil Language and wrote t h e

m G mm r o o b v First Ta il ra ar . I n al l p babil ity w rks written

1 T h e C l f n M u r t . ata ogue o t h e M adr as O r ie tal an s c ip s

L r i a r n all t l of o t 96 A t or . M ib a y gives , , de ai s ab u gas ya w ks y b e this col le c t i on just t ouch es only t h e f r inge of a body of l t r t r ot e ll r t h e c r o r o t i e a u e n y t fu y explo ed . If ave n us p fundi y O f that author could gush f or th i n such number s as “ ' u r mJ u r m ae ﬁﬁ év a wai t}: s a tin—{ L}

u nraG asr air m w eﬁ weglé) 675 6 5v G a m a c ould even t h e most c ons c ient i ous b ook -c ollector eve r think O f running th e wh ole quar r y t o ear th ? A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND 39 d ifferent persons at differ ent peri ods of time seem to have been attributed to A h attiyar to invest them with dign ity m of and antiquity, but the language used in any these works is ve r y commonplace and betrays them in their ” t o o r om o o 0 a rue c l u as later c p siti ns . T call the langu ge of this trashy col lecti on— for liter atur e is too digniﬁed

’ a name to be used for it c om monplace i s t o e r r on t h e of mo a o me -a i of side der ti n . Let extract few l nes

f f r verse or the j udgment o the reade .

QJ QQq ir Q / G er reii g t G p air a ﬁw rrulté (Br ay;

- Q g s é ea RQ eu g amm a 6 5) ? p ,5 n

’ 5 &fimo fl a r m amgé Qa m tu r gri e ve) ’ tsv® f19 f 7fi G U fl fl a lw G er/raiv G m cér p § r p g n efi éj — s ta $£mft 5 a m g $£ufii l ’ QQ J Gtfl uJ /m é g efi necwfi Gla xo/79 Q SL ITG fi

(Ra g wee d qj ﬁ uflggév ar t eri es s ac/5

— 11 fl H l ata§ £ui tf a au g trm 5 553535 1 g fl ég @ 5 £§ m ’ 6 9 m ®ut air fi m Qw evevmb fn /é ei rCfim 5 § p j fi fl r (g a flg fi L O Oi gfiag 5 6965 66 3611 5558m

a béltu trsw 3 16 a i ii /ref er ” g i mp /Tu) a cg eGlfi sb a m entree? a i G ‘ G tb e gfr ofl G u r a fléfi fl ame Oe rrair gp

° s ava g aerr ﬁi u ao95 @ ai G a mi n g /7 11 ;

’ o rﬁ u rr a ﬂé ocw (airb a 7 & éy g g p g/ 6

“ i) mentor ed? maubasﬁsrre g agged ; G a inin g /t G a g a w mi a wa ﬁfg rr rflri e ga te»

' G a d g rrg mt G asrrOai asrﬁg Qs dra il aflcér ﬂ

- : - Br 67 d ig s G a t ri g s /Hag G amm a .9 n ’ - G amm wr J uli /5 5 63.5 0 fF G tu . a ,

’ — e t& éi £lu i afififl tfl ® t§ 5 fl 5fl wfi U 55al

Is this c ommonplace language or the language o of puny minds absolutely dev id learning , culture , and ‘ 40 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A M I L LA ND

? ' moral elevati on T h e P r ofe ssor is again a little ca uti ou s and hesitat ing t o d r aw t h ec oncl u sion that the wh ole l ot

a m of o r f t be rs the i press the p pula mint o . quite recen m ti es . Suc h l ines as l ai Q IT BT i r tu U QDG G ' g Q ﬂ Z GKPGNQ- r;

wa gig rrcor {Ha ﬁ wcwg w QJ ITé g Chari sma: — e ta> 55£lui 5mm9£

’ a fifi O a dmufifi g rras tb GTQPLDLSJOID (g alsg @ aas tb

occurring in some of the works t hemselves give the lie direct to their e ver having been written by the sage m m o hi self . But why waste ti e in expl ring the back al leys and slums of Tamil Literature ? l n ret rac ing his steps to the grammatical 3 13t of

r r ma r Agastya, the eade y expect that pe haps i n these the

r r eputed sage might be seen at his best . But I fea blank

m r h im r a r fe w o m s o . disapp int ent u t g eet he e ls Fi st , a specimens of the Sutras o f this far- famed originat or of the

r a o of E u fi r fi rst Tami l G amm r . H is de finiti ns l ttu ( ep j g )

o Owr ﬂ Kft i a ea ar e m to M l i ( g ) and gp ( r ) i llu inating the last d egr e e a n d we feel that w ith out his critical guidanc e in a regi on so r ec ondite we w ould be left in the lurch for

r eve .

’ LJ @ 6 6\ NT Qw rsur L} Ou tu riG’u t tb , e i a m .

’ ' ’ 7 v r G ra /36 Qw p i r ai G wa flw fi Qwrr ltu mb. y , e fi p g e eé

f ° a n y u ®§ ﬂ svtr6v

Then he gives the lead to future grammari ans h ow sh ould d istinguish between the sexes of letters “ ' ’ g ﬂ svrrouw u r ge; Qa ta é tQu a br u a gywrrtb

' ’ $ 14,5 6 p Omah a; wa l t u a r LJ u QDG ta

42 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND

89 w é ' 3 1 . w a u) L i ssa /i 5 9 5 151 a w ﬂ wrw é

' ' ag g év a w ev sv e l ewr Qu n L Qe e sv é fi q cg g . 139 . W QLM Q ufle r rr Qu e Qwrrl ) S ffl n lfi g Cé 6 6m ®wrr 67 aem rr s wi m m w Q ? l . 5 , bé /g ié n b

’ 141 é a c . g fi fi a s g m k e ww d fi fl g s mb u ns p u: ’ G w rr f bélfs rezir s ér G p e rbéhu ej

142 . F é afl s g i m /1s G mifi wrr Qwszir u fi éj p e gfl . ’ 143 . J E QLM uJ G ar GoT rié 6 ” Lb w fi @ .

144. Gr evew ma el ufhu mv ﬂ 6 tb f mgy é g U ﬁ .

r 145 . u ns rb bu a ué a ba wé G ﬂ w w DU G Lb g , g i , g g .

148. (D ain /is w e é Qg ﬂ Qweﬁr 695 51 1 5 w Q m 4 .

149. rié a é e m }: fi m s wmh Q g g fifi W .

' ’ 163 . a w air a il Q uJ uJ nb Lfldrfiaré G a g fi g .

r e ) Q fi G ol / m a lwai m p a. s ing m bé g / p fi y f ’ ’ 7 G QJ Q a flm rb zr r l 6 5 r aG mair masr u a s G u u mg .5 .

" l G r l e/ Qty g auze/ga (m ggQ; G I M UJ J 6 2795 5917 l g mb G av /13421 6 2910 Qw sér p m ‘ (2113 1 03e ﬁmb 1 4 5 g ésg ,

It is har dly d oubtful whether the auth or or auth or s of such miscellanea had any clear n oti ons of the func o o of m o c on ti n and Sc pe G ra mar and Le xicol gy . The c eptions of these t wo disciplines are so h opelessly mixed

r o o of th e up in these . Next , the styl e and ph ase l gy Sutras have ne i the r si mplicity nor ancientness about m o o m o o the . B th p int un istakably t the very latest peri d

r o f r m o o r i n the g wth o g ammatical ter in l gy . I n the thi d m o i o om place , the atte pt t squeeze the classif cati n and n en c lat u re of the Sansk r it G ramma r ians int o the facts of an a or lien language is on ly too patent through out . The auth of Tolkd i a m of r r o h a d pp y , in sp ite his Sansk it e uditi n , at least the s ound instinct of a b or n grammarian to respect

‘ 1 c l r l r r r t o Pﬁnin i t m t be . This ea y efe ing , Agas ya us

' l d t H w c o l th e Védic c onsidered as having ive af e r h im . o u d Bg A gastya c ome after Panini A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND 43 the linguistic phen omena of a f oreign t ongue an d to car e ful ly avoid tamperi n g w ith their pecul iar ities in h is classi c al mm a r - o f . s r o o gra ar L te day sch lar , in thei admirati n an m to m o o S skrit, see have been engaged i n i p rting wh le sa le the c oncepti ons and ter mi n ol ogy ofthe Sanskrit G ram mar ians in the form of stray sutras comp osed for the n once an d fathering them on the great saint Agastya with a view to secure for their producti ons an authority more

ol m a ncient and compell ing than what bel ongs to T kdppiya . I n the light of the exuberance of this orth od ox Tamil

h oth esI S of Tolkd i Literature, the yp pp A a 1 m o of w 331123325 ya being the w rk an early jaina “ m auth or can scarcely be l ightly brush l e d ffi o of om to aside The di culty , h wever, c ing any

1 T h T adh fi . e ident ificat i on of T olkfip p iyar wi th rn fi m g u i th e son of amad a ni t h e Vé d i c si i s t o l t r , J g , B , due a a e t r adi t i on and is absolutely indefensible on hist or i c al gr ounds . T o T l k assign o dppiya m t o t h e four th centur y A . D . is indeed a r easonable wor king hypothesis and t his r e ceives ex t raneous l s uppor t from t h e fac t s of Tamil L i t e rary development a so . If

o r t h e Védi c si amad a ni t h e th r of P ar asur ama h weve , B , J g , fa e a nd of T nadh ii mﬁ ni m or t t o th e t or of t or r g , is i p ed in s y his w k , t h e W hole ends i n a ch r onologi c al dislocat i on of no or dinar y

t am d a e kind . Tha J a gni lived t owar ds th e close of t h e Krt a A g f i s t h o t e mm u n M r . e h r i nas . t r co c l o view Pu Su ing up hei n si s ,

. E . Par it e r r t i n a 3 15 of h i s A nci ent I nd i an H i st or i F g w i es , p ge ca l T r ad i t i on thus A c cor ding t o that r e c koning Viswamit ra a nd h i s o t om th e r l c A e m t o s ns (wi h wh began ea Vedi g , as en i n ed above) lived t owar ds t h e c lose of th e Krt a A ge and so also ” amad a ni e t c T h e l t f D r ll ar e J g . fol owing observa ions o r . Bu ne apposit e i n this conne c t ion I t i s possible t o show hist or i cal ly h ow th e Br ahman gr adually supplant ed th e old B uddh is t

c l t o of th e l t h e r l t t or c l c l Jaina ivi iza i n Peninsu a, ea ies his i a ivi i z ati on of whi ch ther e i s any r e cor d i n that par t of India and t h e fac t that th e Vedas of t h e South ar e t h e same as those of t h e Nor th pr oves conc lusively that this was done at a t ime when t h e Br ahmanas and t h e S fi t r as h ad been defin i tely r educed t o 44 A GA S T YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND defin ite conclusi on on that questi on ar ises fr om the fact that the the ol ogical c onceptions and c osmogon ic legen ds of”the Jai nas sh ow a fa mily l ikeness to th ose of the orthod ox H in dus excep t in a few abstract d oct r inal o 1 p ints . Th ere is r eas on for believing that the Agastya m int was opened and kept going for somet ime s olely . to br ing d own the auth ori ty of Tolkdppiya m and bel ittle i m or ts . o i i p tance Viewed in its h ist r cal setting , Agastya traditi on appear s as l ittle else than an orth od ox counter ‘ to Tolkd i a m blast pp y . But the superi or merits of that o o n ot oo its w rk c uld thus be extinguished. It st d groun d and even at this distan ce of time wh il e a number of r mm o m g a atical w rks have i n the interi succeede d it, its broadly - la id f ounda ti ons have not been touched nor th e

of r classic bril liance its superstructure su passed . Thus thei r p resent form or at al l even ts not befo r e t h e Chr is t ian

” ’ a —E i em n S /z nn P l r — 2 l i n /z 1 1 1 . E r . e l s o our a a a e a . f og p y, pp

r i n 6 6 of h is or A nr z cni I n d i a o E . o P f . J . Raps n page w k says They (t h e Jains) have also played a notable par t i n t h e c l t o of o t r r t h e r l l t r r lo ivi iza i n S u he n India , whe e ea y i e a y deve p m n t of t h e r and m l L i n r t e Kana ese Ta i anguages was due , a g ea l f ” m r t o t h e o r o mo . easu e , ab u s Jain nks T his may b e als o due t o t h e wonde r ful assimilat ive c c t of t h e H l o w c h as al r c t o apa i y indu Re igi n , hi h ways e eived in i t s o om a l oc t r m t t t o i t s t o l o b s ien d ines , ad i ed in pan he n a ien g ds and t h r own open t h e doors of i t s hagi ology t o alien r eligi ous

T h e o f t h e t o t t and t h e t c r . m o ea he s ad issi n Buddha , s u es mo t or m l o o t of r h m m to t h e H s f idab e pp nen B a anis , in indu ci r c le of A vat ar s is alone sufﬁ c ient t o es tabl ish th e gr eat c at h o

f T h e r m r l t r t of t r l o i s li c i ty o H induism. e a kab e s eng h his e igi n no doubt par tly due t o this . That t h e same tendency was powerfully a t wor k i n t h e

x o n t T h e ollo obse r heter odo sec t s t o need ot be doub ed . f wing

M c n t A m t l t o l or c t o t h e vat i on of r Vin e . S i h app ies wi h d ub e f e Jaina sec t T h e newe r for m of Buddhism h ad much i n common wi th older H induism an d th e r elat ion i s so cl ose t h at eve n an exper t often feels a difﬁ c u lt y i n de c idi ng t o whic h A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND 45 there is ample j ustiﬁcati on for c o ncluding that the Agastya 1 tradition is decidedly poster i or to the ear ly Jaina per i od of m m b e r to Ta il Literature, and ust asc ibed the age which

om o o of Tolkd i a m o succeeded the c p siti n pp y . An ther gr ound of impr o babil ity of the so- cal led A ga slya m being r o to Tolkd i a m ma o to ante i r pp y y als be adverted here . If

o r mm r A a st a m . h ad tr eate d of th the riginal g a a , g y , really e

of m via I a l I ca i a n N d i a ka m three kinds Ta i l , , y , , d , there ‘ was hardly any reas on for T ol kappiyar to omit the treat

d j a ka m i n r o too ment of [m i and N his geat w rk . He w ould have foll owed his pr edecessor and gi ven his gr am ' m ar - om at resent an all c prehensiveness wh ich , p , it lacks . to d o so was m to H is failure due si ply the“ fact that the

i o of m o I a l I ca i a n tripart ite classif cati n Ta il int y , d I d i ka m n ot i n m t . was r o N a did exist his ti e . int duced only at a late r stage of the growth of the Tamil La nguage

m A a st a m or of i o and sta ps g y as a w k that per d . The time a nd ci r cums tances of the origin of Agastya

u n o r S tras, less than thei language and A gast y a S ut r as i m o w rl l F o , o A L at er r gery . p rt are such as warrant nly one o l o o m of c nc usi n , that the wh le ass

m a - o — not of o r omm d the is a b re faced f rgery , c u se, c itte by a single writer at a smgl e per i od of time but the r esul t of diffe rent authors at diverse times c ontributi ng their shar e t o o r m n t n the pile , wh se sund y frag e s challe ge

t l l b e — E a r / H i st or sys em a par t i cu ar image shou d assigned . y y

I nd 3 1 9 of i a , p . .

’ C m l A t i n t e m o c t . m h h par e a so M r . Vin en S i s views sa e w or k r e t h e absor pt ion of for eign element s int o t h e H indu

oc t i n 340 341 and t h e c of m S ie y , given pages and de ay Buddhis 382 i n i n . India, p .

’ e f T i r u nanasamb andh a an d T i r unavu kka 1 . T h e ag o

‘ ’ - r o t th e n o t e 7th c n t r A . D . m . asu , ab u begi ning f h e u y ay be taken as , th e dividing li ne which mar ks th e ear lier an d th e later peri ods of t h e Jain H ist ory i n T ami'l agam 46 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND attenti on to- day and create a problem in th e linguistic an d

or of m for o o l iterary hist y Ta il s luti n . That th is is n ot m ere idle the or izing will come h ome to the r eader if h e h a s the patience to scrutinize a little the language of the f oll owing Agastya Sutr as extracted from the c ommentar ies of N a ina - c c rkkiniyar on j i va lza Ci n td ma n i and of A tivark

’ ku nallar on Ci l a a ti kci r a m pp .

1 . e rr/5 5; a tb 6 99 05 & ﬁg e 5 .. i

’ ” ubé p al car w a wav (g gu g j fi fifi m . “ 2 6 7 6 1 6106 3 tfl ' . 09 a fl g fl g w‘g Qfi nm fl " qrg a l m m a wair e ar g j g j fi g .

3 53 5 17 11 5 G mrr é G irli /ru b . 1 ﬁ gp e

’ 2 3 — 5 556 5 5 5530 a nrra G w iﬂ é c ﬁ p gb

a rr/5 5 4 3 Qmair aocD /é tb u m cl wair ri , ﬂ ; Qp gy g ép rr ' a s ﬁQe i Qu még

I s it unfair to suppose that th ese late commenta o w h o o u o t rs , qu te such s tras with ut letting us kn ow m o whence they drew the , sh uld have real ly intend ed that th ey sh ould be taken for Agastya Sutras ? If r ea l o o Agastya were the auth r , why sh u ld he have refer red to hi msel f at al l and that also in the th ird pers on

r one fi nd ffi t o Su ely, will it di cult ascribe such vanity , as

’ u r e- o to S of sai n this lang age p supp ses , a age Agastya s tli m o of ness and e inence . The nly way then explaining away what to us l ooks l ike effr ontery is to c onclude that these are not the genuine writings of Agastya but only f orgeries perpet rated by the late r devotees of r to u the Agastya cult . The eference these S tras in the c ommentaries d oes in n o way establish their

t h e o d ar e authenticity . On ther han , they rendered o o i o of m of d ubly suspici us, f rst by the suppressi n the na es th eir auth ors and secondly by the absence of the original Agastya Sutras on wh ich these later ones might be suppo o sa se d t o have been based . H ence this ﬂ at m and j et sa m of Agastya Literature d eserves only to be stored away i n A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND 47 a special n iche reser ved for l ite r a r y f or geries until the i r authenticity is vouched fo r by extr ane ous evidence of an o o inc ntr vertible kind . ‘ m m o m o E n ow Hu an in d l ves the arvell us . ven not o o it has clean utgr wn that habit . A gast y a T r ad i t i on When once the Agastya Traditi o n i n L at e r T m was m o planted i n th e Ta il s il , it burst

o a n o - a o int ra k an d ver bundant gr wth . The foll owi ng qu otati ons from cer tain later Tamil wor ks

a out will be r this .

Pa nn ir upa i a l a m has the foll owing i n its d i r a m

mi d e aflwsérs afar rrsv f t. QI a 7 é g Q n @ , g , i fl fi nd/a rr 5 696 5767535 5 fi td bbé cga mé <5 a wn@@ 9 & 6n QJ ITUDQLD In Li u évqa bb

. %@ LJ Q u cgamo g /asgffi iu G m air g ub Gm fiw Gagg ing ’ Q u n é fi é 45 m qm ng u qm ééfi g ni g ,

' r £7 11 G rr a mj l wair [s eimiiana 4 n e eu d .

T h e d i r a m of P u z'appor u l Venpd M d l a i c ontains

’ l 7 wsérszrfiw Qp LDLS aiT a mCfigp ri (36 1 6631 A } OM c -m uflg é fi gri ef/mi) goa fia mair

' msér u rr p mana g iﬁ } w e y aw n/5 5 ( p { g g ,

r ri G rr mnj Al m a g sér so g é; Q j fi j e év . Th e d i r a m of A kappor u l Vi la kka m runs 5 10 W mrev air will ow ? ' ’ meum aw a flswwG q i G mefimg a flfi (EU /Tri g }

' g g é m wdw QG G IEVQ /fi uflsws fizhg

i m u i /5 eni a l. eug a ﬁ e n 5 g ; gg , Qg ép w eﬁr p air u rr a i p p ui? (m ni /ég

‘ . qswaui u eir GUHQ5Q IQ5L L eav e: @ @ iu " a rr liu r Og r w u d ai . T h e D i vdka r a m has th e fol lowing

G u é G i g /nib 5 16 6 535 w g ﬁ m mj g q QM ﬁ m e é Qy m wtqiii é Q uJ 48 A GA ST YA I N T H E T A M IL L A ND

(gra mm a r) u p i bqeur ib 6 1 6 9a cbu ? b f n é iu t bu ba ﬁiu y ﬁ ,

These r efer ences ar e en ough t o establish h ow th e Agastya traditi on fi r s t began i n the upper stratum of Tamil Lite r ature bef or e trickling d own t o its l owe r or the

r v p opula le el .

s t o m Leaving the e , if we turn Ta il Pu r ani c L iter a ‘ ﬁ h of r m ture sti ll late ti es , the Agastya A ast a T r ad i ti On g y legend wil l be found to have gr own in i n T ami l Pu r a o h i 111 0 L i t e r at ur e extent a nd elab rateness , w ch the earl ier writers c ould ha r dly have even i om o of a i magined . The f rst pr ulgat rs the Pur nas i n

m o r t he Ta il land bei ng P ets , the cha acters and inc i dents of N or th Indian Traditi onswe r e i mported b odi ly

o o s om i nt their w rk and handled with a freed . which the

of o o os i maginative childre n P etry al ne p sess . Kanta

ur anam a Kacikan tam b T ir ukku r r ala ur anai n c p ( ), ( ), pp ( ) , v nkatatta l a ur anam d T ir un e l v l itta l a u r ana m T ir u é pp ( ), é p p c Ku ta ntai u ra nam M a ilai uranam Ve ( ), p p (f), y pp (g), ta 1 iy a u r anam h to m o on l a fe w r an pp ( ), enti n y , have each s omething to say ab out the saint an d his miraculous pe r for

y of a o is e man e es . The arra the Pur n ic battal i n ind ed o m o o t remend us, but its ar s are l aded with nly blank

ma o o m of cartridges . It y envel p itself in vast v lu es s moke an d rattle but for hitting at one fact of histor y om o o it has n ot the means . Still s e pe ple feel a s rt

a vi d e i a wd u g w i b. 1 . ( ) , g/ j ﬁ

‘ ' m f f é s i b (b) n ae g .

’ G ai s ir w r fl wwm g é asm b (c) g fi e g s efi rfi j g g .

a w m a i mii a ué iu riu ib (d ) g i j ﬁ rr si g a.) e p g l j ﬁ .

a si rfi é a i b (e) éfi fi é e g . 1 98 (f) p . . ‘ a ga (g) Qu rrfi wwrr w aa i é N d l- é 5 ® é J Lb

’ w m nm ca n é S Lb (h ) w é wé J aﬁ .

50 A GA ST YA - I N T H E T A MI L L A ND

diffe r ent in essentials fr om that which guides certain i n v e stigator s in their w or k of constructi ng h istO Iy with th e f ra o m of m d help o the Pu nic p ets . The atte pts these re in

r o o of U r f L a a o f o d . us o the vene able Pr fess rs the n ive sity g , wh o were engaged in gr i m ear nest in ext racting sunbea ms from cucumbers .

W hen Agastya passed from the h ands of the Poets

to of m s the care the asses , his saintlines M t h e w “ ° f came to be i mmediately surr ounded agast y a .

o of o » with a hal divinity. I n al l c un

r m o o o h as oh ara c t ies and at al l ti es , gr up psych l gy been te r ise d by on e featu re— its tendency to occupy ext r eme s 1 m m r o either way . Hen ce , easured j udg ents , app eciati n

m n ot of e o m m of with in li its, are the p ple . They ust ake

the pers ons brought to their bar eithe r a god or a devil . N r t r fo o atu ally , he e re , the p pular Agastya was raised at o nce to the r ank of a divi nity and their worshi pful h om

ﬂ o o h im e ~ A age wed t wards i n an unceasing str a m .

m too o A astisvaram was r h is te ple , kn wn as g , aised i n ‘ h on our and it stan ds to this day some fou r or fi ve miles

' ‘ th e o of omo o m h as to n rth Cape C rin . Th ugh this te ple

no w o m o e m ra fallen int n eglect , it ust have at n ti e att ct

” ed a large c oncourse of votari es and been an i mp ortant

“ I t th e l c of t h c o s r t o l . is a k e ndit ions ne ces a y collec t ive r esolut i on and voli t i on that r ender s a Cr owd s o fi c kle

' and so i nconsistent so capable of passi ng f r om one ext r eme of

o t o ot r of h r r t o t th e man om i t lor acti n an he , u ying dea h wh g i

a e ar ier mo t r of t r n r om . ﬁe d at n l m , p g g b t c r , , en u ni f sava e u he y

’ nd t r l ol c tu — W ll M c D ou ll t o tender a ea fu s i i de . i iam ga s G r oup ’ 45 th ac k of t e co t o c o M i nd . . e l h r t , p Just as ndi i ns ne essa y l t r ol t o l t o th e ﬁc kle ne ss of th e r o so l o col ec ive es u i n eads c wd , a s th e want of fac ili t ies for c ollec t ive delibe r at i on and judgment of th e populace p r e c hid e s th e appli cat i on of t h e ne cessar y cor rect ive and br ings about t h e ext remist character of p opular

r judgments i n gene al . A GA ST YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND 5 1

t A a i var place of pilgri mage . Tha g st s am may have once en o e of r o ri r o j yed its h yday p spe ty , is rendered p bable by the fact that the Taluq or revenue divisi on in wh ich it is located is even now kn own as Agasti svaram Taluq in

e 1 N ot o ravan c r . o r S uth T o nly th is , there are ce ta i n m of o c o munities in that part the c untry, the weaving

for wh o o th e ow n class instance , c nsider saint as their

ff h im r e u l ar d o tribal deity an d o er g aily w rship . An oth er rel igi ous cult als o later on seems to have

i m ingled itself with the Agastya . When the Sa vite r eli to gi on s phil osophers appeared and began spiritualize stil l more the rel igi ous c oncepti ons of the earlier N ayanmars

G od u i n S outh I ndia , they depicted as the spiritual gur wh o would present himself before devout and ripe s ouls f and fr ee them from the c oi ls o Karma and reb irth by T m . o best owing m ukti on the his special grace n th e of m o me one of th e p ar t Siva, the Supre e L rd , beca of th e i a a oo of c ai dinal d octrines Sa y Sid dh nta Sch l now a m the m r Phil os ophy, wh ich eve n cl i s largest nu be S m o i . a t of adh erents in S uth I nd a Th t aivis , at leas in

G u r u B h a ki i th e : its latest phase , emphasising as it di d as

i s of s ii itual f or emost virtue amongst t three types p devo o o on u d t i n , p werfully reacted the Agastya c lt and helpe , m o o s A n its spread amongst the asses g es with ut aying . f o e m n a c arya of th e type o Agastya, h v ring idway betwee man o a for D i vinity a n d , c uld very e sily be taken Siva . An d G uru or t he divine teacher hi mself . in fact no orth odo Saivite c ould afford to treat a religious guru x , w ith i ndiffere nt feel ings lest he sh ould ther eby l ose th e

of s i h o be o to h im chan ce alvat on , whic w uld v uchsafed

' I i r u A at ti an all i u 1 r I S il no as g y p , o t . T he e a v lage k wn ab T i r umaaikka u in th e an or two miles t o t h e south of f t , T j e Dis i ’ ed n c h r for t et h e i t is t oh avep rfor m p Home i . T Sa n said e e an e e e ‘ ’ " ‘ " i i pl c com wt n th e i t i ri er ar y of th e S x de ot ti me . T his a e es i hi ai a v ee i u d m t oned i none of h is h mns T rru ii anasambaii dh a and i s fo n en i y 5 2 A G A S T vA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND

( m r o m of h m by Siva h i self appea ing i n the f r a u an teach er,

m or o . o of at some ti e ther Thus, i n the identiﬁcati n the

G M urtta m o o Saint with S iva uru , br ught ab ut by the

' e of o o m o exigen ci s Saivite religi us devel p ent, the ap theosis i ae m of Agastya reaches its f n l i n the Ta il land .

’ o o G an ol ar Th e f ll wing details given in Mr . g y s ti cle i n the j our n a l of th e Myth i c S ociety th row a fresh l ight on an earl ier phase of the same r eligious tendency wor king d E itself out in the Malay islan s in the ast . I n java “ ” certain images called Siva G uru or Trisula i mages are foun d i n many places and ar e worshipped f wh o to a e as th ose o Agastya , is believed h ve b en o of m oun the ﬁrst missi nary Saivis in that c try . wa v h ow i n ma of T his, i n a , explains the inland I ndia Agastya cult received a fresh impetus by its al lianc e m with the Saiva revival is , especial ly during its later stages when its doctri n es an d ritua ls were elab or ated and c odi ﬁed by M eykanta T éva a nd th e other rel igi ous i of h r ph il os op h ers wh o foll owed h m. That all teac e s Agastya sh oul d be brought i n to c ollect an d arrange the T év ara hymns l ets in some l ight on the religi ous tenden

’ v t oo t a 5 m cies o f that t ime . I n the distant ja a , Agas y na e became i ntertwined with that of S iva or S iva G uru a nd

m o t of own Th e disill u assu meda sectar ian i p r ance its . si on i n the matt er of the people worshippi ng t he S iva

he m o f om u n G uru i mages as t Agas tya ca e , h wever, r an

o a t . D r . o th e e xpected, but auth ritat ive qu r er V gel , A o o to om o o a eminent D utch rchae l gist , wh the ph t gr phs

' of the S iva G uru images were sent for inspecti on and m to o o o t h e identiﬁca t ion , ca e the c rrect c nclusi n t hat l l of o t e or i n i mages , a which b re h Trisula the trident f n r os of a n ot o a a , their ha ds, we e th e S iv and Ag sty f wa From my own i nspecti on o the photos I s sa tisﬁed ’ D r o that all th e images were S iva s and that . V gel had i n the ma u er m th e given th e correct verdi ct tter F rt h , fro A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND 5 3

’ extract in page 5 5 of this paper from B erga i ne s S a nskr i t

I nscr i ti ons o Cli a m a p f p , it will be seen that Agastya j ourneyed to Camb odia to p re ach th e worsh ip of S iva

' a vara T e G l i ti gam kn own as S r i B h d re s . h Siva uru images

’ of j a va ar e als o kn own as B h at t zi r aka G uru images . Bha d re svar a of Camb odia and B h attar aka of java be ar a close ‘ resemblance an d may be variant forms of probably on e

< name ﬁt o is m r for r to . H wever, this a atte Sansk itists deci de Having been t hus deiﬁed Agastya h as c ome to

' e o r i v ke the g eatest venera ti on among the pe ople . Th s wave of piety led t o a fres h recrudescence of myt h s and miracles which have n ow l iteral ly buried the or igi nal “ ” r o n ot ﬁgu e ten th usa nd fath oms deep . O ne need o of m o om w nder at the fecundity the i agi nati n , fr the mo t o mo o on st cultivated the st ign rant , thus pil ing the devoted head of Agastya layer after layer of legends of

r r o o o mo eve y desc ipti n an d c l ur . Al st every century had its quota to add a nd if the mass of traditi on wi l l i n any manner supply a standard for determining th e peri od of its

o m o o ma gr wth and accu ulati n , at least a th usand years y fairly be al l owed for the Agastya cult for its devel opment

o m o s of o t its present di ensi n . Still i n t he ﬁeld psych

o of r o o of l gy a ace , we cann t abs lutely be sure the val i f m 1 G o o dity o such sur ises . When a e l gist calculates

* These wor ds ar e given t h e following meanings i n S i r M W ll ’ onier i iam s Di ct ionar y .

B h ad r é svar a ar ious t t or L i n of S a ues gas Siva . = B h a ar ak a t t c r and S mo tt Buddhis ea he s aiva nks .

1 o th e lor - m . Th ugh e di ension and quality of a t radit i on ma an of i t s a e i t n ot at a ll y give us idea g , is possible t o r each

c or r c t t r for i ts a e - t r m t o a e s anda d g de e ina i n . Judged ei ther l by quant i t y or qua i ty o f t h e mate r ials that have gather ed r ound ce r tain p opular her oes of r e cent dates handed down i n ll oe t r of t h e d a c as M ba ad p y y , su h ut tu B h atitan and M t r i r of l t r m t as a u ai V an a e y hs , Jai Singh and Khan Sahib 5 4 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND the age of a river by the successive layers o f its a l l uvial o o of h i o co n dep sit , he can p sitively be sure s gr un d and

' e lus i ons for he is only dealing with unvaryi ng physica l o n o o of m o f rces t hat have at p int ti e ceased w rking .

N ot so i i n r o of the present case , whe e the th ught and l ife

“ a o ar e » d ealt ma r of : nati n with . There y be centu ies stag n ati on to be succeeded by others of unusual pr oductivi ty a n d o r o a o of m pr g ess . The c nc tenati n circu stances which brings this ab out wil l defy the analysis of even the most a om or Y et r s cc pl ished hist ian . with al l these unce tai ntie which affect the later stages in the devel opment of the

u r i o o to Agastya c lt, the t ad ti n itself, acc rding the testi mo of r m o ny the early l iteratu e exa ined , cann t be taken D 5 A . beh in d the th Ce ntury .

Viewing the Agastya traditi on as a whole from its incepti on t o its most recent devel op I nt ri nsi c I mp r ob a m i t i s u s as i m i i b um“, ent, str ke an ag nat ve

f r structure o magniﬁcent p op orti ons .

r o I n the ﬁrst place, the eas n assigned for the Agas tya e o is too m for o r m I x dus yth ical rdina y h u an beli ef . t is s tated that he was sent to the South by G od S iva hi mself t o equalize the balance of t he s outhern half of the G l obe o with the n rthern . Th is pr imitive c oncepti on of the one p orti on of the earth tilting up and an other sinking d own n ot cer tain ly by any geol ogical catastrophe— but by the sheer weight of the heaven ly h osts gathe r ed on the

H m t0 — i o for r o m i alayan p s t o puerile se i us criticis .

r o l of th e C r t c W r as t t B ommu and Ii m r p bab y a na i a s , Ka a ai Du ai o f t h e ol r W r of ll t r c t l m P iga a s Tinneve y , hese e en egends see

t o vie t th e ol r ot i n t r l or t c r c t r and wi h de , b h hei e ab a e ha a e in

r m t c r t S o t h e m of t r t o b thei y hi ing edien s . assiveness a adi i n y i t a e i t self i s n ot a safe gui de for th e deter minat i on of s g . A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND 5 5

o r o ar e too m r Sec ndly , his esidences in the S uth nu e o u s a n d far distant on e from an other t o be r eceived as his t or ical r on o facts . He had his esidence ﬁrst the s uthern o r f- on th e o utski ts o the Vindhya M ou ntains , next M unt

' ’ Vaid i i r a r n on M al aki i t a y in the Satpu a range, the t he near ‘ B ad zi mi on th P o h i il a o , then e t y in the P ndya c untry, and l astly he appea rs to have migrated beyond the sea to the Malaya H ill in Sumatra and thence moved on to Siam and

C mbo 1 o for on e man t o a dia . Is it p ssible have displayed s uch cath ol icity of taste for a series of h ill residences th e s cattered , through out the Pen insular I ndia an d ? 2 n umer ous I nd onesian Islands in the E ast

m ro r om Thirdly, a like i p bability arises f Agastya ofﬁ ciating as the fa mily p r iest of the Cal u kya K ing

1 . T h e ollo o ot M G an ol i n h is f wing is f und qu ed by r . g y ar t i cle on Agastya publi shed in t h e j our na l of M e M yi /z ie S oei V l et o . ! t r m A st or i n t h e l y, VIII Tha B ah in ga ya , b n and of t h e A r ot t o t h e or of com yans , dev ed w ship Shiva , having e by h i s psy chi c power s i n t h e land of t h e Cambod ians for t h e J urp ose of wor shipping t h e Sh iva L ingam known as Sh r i B h ad r e swar a and having wor shipped t h e G od for a long t ime ” ’ a t t — B e r aine s S anscr i t I nscr i t i ons o ained beat i tude . g p f

C/za m a 1 893 L ! V 3 6 0 p , , , p . .

l ll c r on th e 2 . Ce r tain y a feeling of monot ony wi eep r eade r when h e tr ies t o r un thr ough t h e list of t h e Agastya r esi

d e nc e s i n th e r o co t r T h e M ah amala a h ill in th e va i us un ies . y M alaya- D vi p a an d th e M alayam H ill i n Sumat r a c ome t o h im — me r ely as t h e second or thi r d edi t i ons of M alakii tga an d

M l of o h r c l ollo d t . I n or t t e a aya S u h India sh , p in ip e f we a ppear s t o b e t h at whe r ever a mou ntain or h ill r aised i t s head t o th e sky A gas tya sh ould be br ough t for thwi th and

t r A h i s m c i n t h e loc t . i ll t o t h of h a ed he e wi h u a Ris i e inen e ,

v of t h e m t -m r lmo t c o t r c t o i n iew y h ake s , is a s a n adi i n

t er ms . ' ‘ 5 6 A G A S I Y A IN T H E T A MIL LA ND

Ki ir a a 1 rt a of . G of a j L ta, N uzerat , and the P ndya King of o 2 the far away S uth . Is it probable that i n the condi ti ons of S outh I ndia in that early time when r oads and other c onveniences of t ravel di d n ot exist tha t Agastya c ould have had such a la rge clientele of r oyalty to minister to ?

our th l our o r r F y, j udged by rdi na y standa ds, his ex

l oits mo m m cre p are stly superhu an . Here hu an d u l it too m o m s y is taxed a l ittle uch . These perf r an ce hardly ser ve the pu r p ose of establishing h is histor ica l m ff c haracter . Their cu ulative e ect after all seems t o be

r the reve se .

t o as o r of Fif hly, his lab urs the pi nee Aryan civiliza ti on in the South and i n the E ast have to surm ount ser i

ous o f o ar e i . hist rical di ﬁculties , bef re they f nally accepted

o of a a r of The aryanisati n the Mah r st a, then the Kar

a of m o of n taka , then the Ta i l c untry, then the Malay islands and lastly of S iam and Camb odia must each be

N o or assigned a fe w centuries at the least . dinary hu man being with a l i mited span of l ife of a hundred years or thereabouts c oul d have c oped with this giganti c N or task on a scale so c ol ossal . can it be pretended with due respect for the facts of h ist ory that the aryan is ati on of these va r i ous c ountries was simultaneous and c ould be compressed i nt o the l i mited space of on e id e nti of ﬁ i cal century . These are a few the dif cult es present to o ed us by the Agastya traditi n . Thus we ﬁ n d that j udged by the two fundamental

to via o o tests referred at the beginning , ( i) unbr ken c nti n uity of traditi o n with the past and (ii) absence of inherent

V 1 . id e th e our na l o il e M ni S ei V j f t e o et ol . ! f y y , VIII , p . 6 8.

2 Vid e S i nnamanur l t w r . p a e he e Sundar a Pandya i s r r r A t efe ed t o as gas ya Sisya .

5 8 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND which the s ocial f orces had to work thei r way out for the a cc omplish ment of their task set by the communal or o nati nal wi l l . The ancient histor y of almost every

o r o t c untry is ﬁl led with he es . But o un derstand such heroes a r ight depends largely on the way i n whi ch their

- o r o life hist ry is app ached and studied . The appearance of n i m o o the scie tif c eth d in hist ry, superseding the a n one o cien t artistic , intr duces a new angle of visi on a nd o of o h with it a new valuati n hist rical data . Where t e pre - sci e n tiﬁ c rec or de r of facts laid too much st r ess on one m m o r o o hu an spirit e b died i n a he , as descending up n

m om s of ow n or hu an ity fr a phere its , the scientiﬁc hist ian , grown per haps a little i mpervi ous to the pr o mptings of

r o- or r t o s r r he w ship, t ies di sect that spi it and ead ther ein o to o m to the reacti ns its envir n ent , the peculiar stresses and pull s which had played ab out it and helped it on ’ o o m o - o o t wards its devel p ent int a full bl wn pers nality . Science is n ot blin d w onder but it is admirati on built on o o p sitive analytic kn wledge . It will untie the strands of a rope t o its last ﬁlament to understand it aright befor e

r o of ad mi ing it . I n judging the nati nal events a ti me far

1 A s o or M r h as s o ll o in t . The d e e z we sh wn h e four th volume of h is monument al wor k of t h e Synthet i c mode of t e

r or m me n a nd t t t o not as l t ga ding ganis s , ins i u i ns , sing e hings ,

l - c o t an d c om l t in t m l b ut m r l o se f n ained p e e he se ves , as e e y n des o r meet ing point s of all t h e for ces of th e wor ld ac t ing a nd r e ’ m an d a c — W ll m M c D ou all s act ing in unlimit ed t i e sp e . i ia g ’

nd 2 . G r oup M i p . People a re always tal king about or iginali ty b ut what d o t m ? A s oo we ar e or t h e or l hey ean s n as b n , w d begins

t o or o us an d t o on t o th e e n d . A nd t r a ll w k up n , his g es , af e ,

t c an c ll our own c t r t r t a n d wha we a ex ep ene gy , s eng h w ill ? If I could give an ac c ount of all that I owe t o gr eat

r c or and c o t m or r t r o l b ut m ll p ede ess s n e p a ies , he e w u d be a s a ” ’ ’ b alan ce i n my favour — G oethe s L i ter ar y E ssays (Spingar n s

25 6 - 25 7 t ranslat i on) pp . . A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL LA N D 5 9

r mo r om o n o o m not e e ved f urs , d ubt the ind , b ing in

“ f h e o f o of o b - o m p ossessi o n o t s cial act rs t h se y g n e ti es, is ho of i o or m r disp osed to catch l d a he , real i aginary , he e

an d r t o h im al l of a e n a n d there , asc ibe the events a p rti

m o o d for o t o o . lar ep ch , which have be s eh w acc un te This h anke r ing after the c r eati on of he roes may be artistically s atisfyi nga nd even praisew orthy i n its own way but must m o of o our l and i pede the gr wth a true scient iﬁc hist ry in . Applying th is principle of criticism to th e Agastya o t ﬁ n d t raditi on in S uth I ndia an d Fur her India , we that the bu r den s ought to be placed is too vast even

' o of a o for the Atlantean sh ulders a n Agasty t bear . o om o t o If he were a hist rical ﬁgure , as s e are disp sed

" c o ork o o ntend , his w s sh uld be judged by the rdi nary

o of h istOr ic r m A n d h is o can n s c iticis . what was w rk in

' ' o a n d outsid e ? n o S ut h India As already stated, it is thing less than the introducti on of Aryan kn owledge and cul t r r om o u e , A yan bel iefs an d cust s, Aryan religi n and phil o

o a om Vi n d h as to s phy, i n the Peninsul r I ndia fr the y Cape

' omor o o of do C in , in the wh le gr up I n nesian Islands and i n m m o f E E on Sia and Ca b dia stil l arther ast . ven the

u o o was o o o o s pp siti n that he nly the riginat r, the i nitiat r of t he movement, in all these Countries and n ot the later

' a of or ff one to rch itect the w ks in di erent areas , has sti ll admit that the aryanisati on of al l these c ountries was

' sta rted simu ltan e ously an d sh ould be c omp r esse d i n to th e

’ s o t of - m r or h r space a sage s life ti e , say, a hund ed a

' h at mo W o u ndred and ﬁfty years the st . uld any student of h ist or y stand by the i mplicati ons of this ast ounding a d missi on ? E v en th e c onver si o n of the D and akar anya int o a habitable c ountry for the Aryan c ol onists sh ould

two son mo r o have taken up centurie a de ate calculati n . And another two centu r ies for the Karn ataka c ountr ies t o be a r yan ised bef or e Agastya c ou ld th i n k of setting h is oo a m o f t in the T il lan d . Is it c n ceivable th at 60 A G A S T r A [N T H E T A MIL LA ND

Agastya could ever have come to the Tamil lan d leaving behind h im such a broad belt of territ ory a s D the an dakaranya and th e Karn ataka peopled by al ien tribes with out ﬁrst th i nking of aryanising them and se c u r ing ther ei n a ﬁr m base for h is further progress ? If c ol on isati on we r e h i s mo or r o of tive , these f est egi ns fered h i m e la rger faci l it ies than the populated ar a of the Tamil

o . on o r r of m r e regi n If the the hand, he acted the pa t a e m issi onary to br ing the l ight of his kn owledge t o th e

m m o om r to Ta i lians, he ight be supp sed to have c e di ect a o o h im the P ndya c untry . But the traditi n that seated

' i n the M al akii ta range near Badami in the Kanarese

o o o y w e c untry c ntradicts this suppositi on . Acc rdingl have to assume that Agastya moved to the southe r n r egion ,

l a . m o r r stage by st ge I n this sche e , h weve , h is a rival at

Poth i il o o or r th e y w uld be delayed by f ur ﬁve centu ies , at least . C ould Agastya h ave l ived so l ong T o meet thi s f o not di ﬁculty , we have t ass ume either that Agastya was an ordinary mortal or that there sh ould have been many

t o on or of r a o Agastyas carry the w k a yan is ti n . The former assumpti on removes the questi on from the pale of

o s hist ry and the latter c ontradicts trad iti on . A l l thi di ffi cul ty is due to the champi ons of Agastya t rying to mix

two O os - o m up pp ing view p ints, the yth ical and the

. of o of scientiﬁc In j udging the h ist ricity Agastya , ele menta r y can ons of histori c criticism demand that n othi ng of the i mpossibilities and imp r ob ab ilitics of mythi c cha ra cter s sh ould be i mported therein to vitiate our o c nclusi on .

The upsh ot of the discussi on regarding th e h ist oricity of Agastya then comes to t his : that the aryanisati on of th e different c ount r ies of S outh I ndia can i n no way be a scribed to one c ommon poi nt of ti me but must be sp read over a

w r o few centuries and that Agastya , if he e e a hist ric charac

o n o m t o see h i s or k ter, c uld t have lived al l that ti e w A GA S T YA I N T H E T A M IL LA ND 6 1

n o o o even begun i th se c untries . He sh uld have been l ong ago gathered to his for efathers before the later stages of th e aryanisati on work c ould be said to have been even s tarted . Whatever may be h is h ist oricity in the R g Véd ic N o h is of o ld i . e . or I ndia , , i n the Punj ab i n rth I ndia, t ranslati on to the Poth iyil of the South i s a myth pure a nd si mpl e and ca nn ot be accepted as a fact in the primi m N ot o o n ot t ive history of t he Ta ilians . n ly d es it square w ith the kn own facts of S outh I ndian L iterature and m m H istory but it contradi cts the in any vital particulars .

ma still o n R om of old It y be c nte ded that l ike ulus , wh o o R om m f unded e, Agastya ight be — A gast y a A S emi - ‘ considered as a sort ofsemi historic per B i st or te P e r ~

o sona e . H e mi on e of s na ge . g ght be taken as m o of o the pri itive her es antiquity, wh se a o mm o on e fe tures, th ug h di ed and dist rted by traditi , hav s of o m If h e n o ti ll a ring real ity ab ut th e . could t be

o h t e o e oo - of o a br ug b f r the f t l ights hist ry , he might at le st be classed with th ose pre - h istoric ﬁgures wh o have wo fo f ’ o o a o e . rked at the undati ns , nati n s cultur is ma o Th , it y be c nceded , is a perfectly legitimate hyp o

h th e of - t esis . On stage Aryan h istor y or pre h istory th e sa s a a h no o o ge ﬁll p rt, w ich h ist rian w uld be disposed to d e If o ny . he had been l eft with ut disturba nce i n th e Vedic mili eu or i n the pe riod to which R amaya na has a a his o not h ff r be ring, character w uld ave su e ed . But later m - m r o of o- o yth akers , wi th the st ng instinct her w rsh ip in m o m o n ot o h i t e . h o the , w uld all w rest th re He s uld be resurrected a nd brought agai n o n an other stage a nd that a lso at a far subsequent peri od to act an other drama of

mome o s m o . T h e o f h er is one nt u i p rtance n ly di ﬁculty e , o f c hron ol ogy— th e necessity of squar ing the facts of one

’ ‘ individual s l ife - ti me with th ose of the cultur al p er i od s of

u a o many nations i n I ndia and o tside . The ze l us labours ’ ' 6 2 A G A S T Y A ~ I N I H E T A MIL LA ND

o o of the myth l gists h ave on ly gone to make a primitive . or a o l and o o h hist ical char cter , n y less less hist rical d wn t e

to e r of h is o ct a o ages , the very v ge l sing that chara er lt o t gether . Their blind zeal has d ne h e greatest disser vice

o o a t the ancient sage , wh se very existence h s thereby o c ome to be d ubted . In the l imited view of c onsider ing l iterature as th e sta ndard for ai r iv ing at th ecivilization of

on nd om R Véd i c r a nati , i eed it is a far cry fr the g Lite a o B C . to . . . to ture which clusters ab ut B , . C m o 1 00 D H w Ta il Literature which gathers r und A . . o c ould a single character of the pr i mi tive h ist or y of these nat i ons t ouch both these e nds ? T his hiatus i n chro n ol ogy can be remedied on ly by supposi ng that there were more

or r of r o th Agastyas at w k than we are awa e . Apa t fr m e R g Vedic Agasty a and the Agastya of the R amaya na r r at o r mor to peri od , we equi e least f u e Agastyas have

s o of Kar n at ic o of begun the aryan i ati n the c untry,

akam of o a s of C m od . T amil , the I nd nesi n Isle , an d a b ia Is it a rati onal hypothesis to make that on e pa rticular family should h ave specially given birth to a series of deseen

o of o r t e of th e an isation dants on wh om al ne , the s , h duty ary ? of the s outhern region devo lved O r were there many fami lies of Agastyas or many individual s with a mer e a c ci ‘ ? dental coincidence in thei r names W oul d it n ot be more rati onal t o ascri be th e continuity of the traditi on to the ‘ ’ un ity of the name Agastya wh ich had struck roo t in the popular i magination by the labours of myth makers and myth -pr eachers rather t hanto the unity of t he family fr om wh ich half a dozen p i otagani sts of c ulture sh ould be derived We have now arr i ved at th e last stage to which the progress of though t i n th is subj ect — A l l A gM Y a an a: ' v l u s S o who should ine itab y take . . ch lars gori cal ch ara ct er . feel that the Agastya pr oblem i n S outh I ndian H istory b r istles with many insurmountabl e difﬁ c u lties h avetried tomodify the hyp oth esis not a little to A GA S T YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND 6 3

e r ec oncile it to cert ain stubb orn facts . They r alise that a hist orical Agastya in V iew of the stu pend ous volume of l to l o — n ot on e o r m w or k that fa ls his t i n c unt y but in any , — o n n not in one peri od but in many is abs lutely i defe sible . Sti ll to save the situati on they b y to r ead int o th e events of th e o om a e rsist nt aryanising ep ch a d inan t ideal , p e

o r o m . S o n n te , runn ing th ugh the al l Thus uth I ndia aryan isati on becomes a beautifu l l on g- dr awn - o ut alle gor y i n thei r hands and i n such a p oetic View of the wh ol e pr ocess the critic is precluded fr om demanding

r o r o the existence of a cent al hist ric pe s nality . We have to take Agastya as neither mor e n or less than the e mb od i ment of the ideal of the Ar yan nati on in thei r work of spreading their cultur e an d kn owledge to different coun

of o oo ma h e tries the S uth . This new sch l y urge that t Agastya legend need n ot be taken as treating of s ober facts of hist ory to be th r ust i nto a strict chron ol ogica l frame - wor k but must be viewed as the exp r essi on of a gen eral ized type of activity which the A rya n c ol onists

o r o n ot th e had been pursui ng i n the s uthe n regions . C ul d spirit of Agastya — even after his b odily diss oluti on — b e taken as animating h i s fol l owers and driving them on t o the acc ompl ish ment of the great task t o which he had ﬁrst set h is han d W h o will ever think of c ont r overti ng this ﬁgurative way of inter preting S outh I ndian H ist ory

It is far from the pu r p ose ofthis paper to disturb the c omplacency of th ose wh o bel ieve that

Concl usi on . the sage Agastya l ives to th is day in th e mo Poth iyil M ount and remains i nvisible to ordinary rtals ; nor d oes it aim to c onvert an ot her group wh ic h amuses itself by pouring the new wi ne of scientiﬁc history int o th e old bottles of myth ol ogic traditi on and i magines th at th e cause of both Hist ory and Traditi on is s omeh ow served th ere b N of is i n ou th e v . either these the least tr bled by oft- r epeated taunt of the West th at the I ndians have no 4 A GA S 'T YA IN T H E T A MIL LA ND

or n s m o or f hist ical se se and di cri inati n . But f tunately or the reputati on of India th ere i s a numerous and gr owing band of In dian sch olars, wh o d o n ot fl inch from ' applying the modern critical methods for the constr u e o of s o of T o ti n a scientific hi t ry their past . th is new and i fl th e o i a d on ' n uential class, p sit ve f cts and educti s, I have h erein advanced ab out an ancient chapte r in the histor y o f m omm for its o r o the Ta ilians, are c ended c nside ati n

M r m o e . a nd judgment . The lat Vincent S ith wr te o too o on o Attenti n has been c oncentrated l ng th e N rth ,

- o o m on Sanscrit b ooks and on I nd o Aryan n ti ns . It is ti e ” o N on - m that due regard sh ould be paid t the Aryan ele ent .

" 1 n ee d scarcely add that the present is a n attempt to car ry out the wish es of that sch olar in a subj ect wherein independent N on -Arya n testimony is i mpe rative a nd

i s s h ou ld make t elf h eard .

6 6 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL L A ND earl ier extended signiﬁcati on r eceives considerable support

om om of o A a i o fr the fact that the kingd Ai i ( y ) , the P thi

’ il c h i e ftain to m om r n ot m r th e y in P le y s days, c p ised e ely c ountry adj oining the p r esent - day P oth iyil but extended far to the n or th and west as far as M el kyn d a (th e

N e lk n d a of Per i l i i s N i r ku n r a m or y the p ) , the N ira nam near Kottayam i n th e n orthe r n district of T r avan

m G eo r a h o . A ncien c ore . M r Cunningha in his g p y f t

nd i a 552 o— a I . m (p ) states that , in the Chin japanese p of r m of M ala akfi t a India , the alte native na e y , the

o o o of G - an s uthern p rti n the hats, is given as Hai

' me n o o o m o , wh ich suggests a c nnecti n with Pt le y s Ai i .

r x r r o of m Furthe , this e tended ea lie signiﬁcati n the ter ‘ ’ Potli iyil serves to give us the c orr ect derivati on of th e m om on o na e, besides shedding s e light the p l itical divi

of T a mila kam i si ons in the early centuries . It s clear that

or m ommo o d it iginally eant a c n place , lying unappr priate on e o m to m of by any , th ugh latterly it ca e ean a place

' r or m e wsér ui l t o m r o publ ic res o t e ting as p . f r ed p bably also the sheep or cattle range of a tribe of shepherds an d

h u r c owherds kn own as Pot va . As th is range of hi ll s (M alayam) ran through the heart of the terr it or ies of th e r m o of o ér o th ee Ta il S vereigns that peri d (Ch a, Ch la and

a r r of r P ndya) and separated thei respective sphe es ule , it was considered by them a common belt of h il l - r egi on to on n ot o e . A s o bel nging any king exclusively Ai i , the

of or or o r o chieftain a hil l f est regi n , was the ea liest ccupant

' ’ name F urt e r t h e M ok ii r re erre t o i n one o f M amﬁl an s t ion of t h at . h , f d ar

' st anz as ( A k am 251 ) as t h e cap i t al of th e chie f W hose r ec al cit rancy i s sa id to

rou t a out t h e au r an nv as on is not fe re nt I s ou l t n h av e b gh b M y i i dif , h d hi k , ’ ‘ ’ f r om Pt ole my s M agour whic h is st ated t o be a n i nl and ci ty in t h e P aral i a

as . M ﬁ t us a s c t B ut of t h e S é ret ai (C hol ) ok r h f ll outsid e th e Pandya oun ry.

A ms ve M . K . i an ar ee m e ah ém ah s . s t o a e en sl o h e re a l o D r . S y g h b i d by ’ p édh yaya S waminat h a A iyar s erroneou s ident iﬁcat ion of t h e p l ace i n h i s

o h is P u a m n fi n e as a to s u t i t h P g a n ter r t i nt rodu ct ion t f i wn it a e n e é dy i ory . \ Vh eth er t h e t e r m Pot h iyil occu rri ng i n t hi s s tanz a re fe rs to a hill a t al l i s

u t ul B ut t at nee not be one nto at rese n t . highly do b f . h d g i p A PPENDI! I 6 7 of the lan ds on b oth sides of the G hats (the vi llage A ykku di i n the Shencottah taluq on the eastern side

’ of the G hats wi l l testify to A i oi s c onnecti on with th e m to o m east) , he see s have appr priated the na e an d called himself the chieftai n of P oth i yil a nd it is mor e than l ikely tha t his t r ibe was also kn own as th e

va r or Poth u r . This ter it y was afterwards merged i n the Pandya ki ngdom an d the Pandya s then came to be distin ‘ ’ u ish e d o of Poth i i l g in literature as the l rds the y . At that time the Pandya c ountry c overed al most the wh ole of

Travanc ore an d Tinnevel ly and Madura . But subsequen t hi storica l vicissitudes have brought ab out a sh r inkage i n their d omini ons and led to a c orresp ondi ng rest ricti on in f h m ‘P t i il ’ o o t e o h o. m the sign iﬁcati n ter y als In later ti es, the western littoral of the ancient Chéra d omini on became

Malayalam - speaki ng and fell under the rule of numer ou s o C w o r om Pand a l cal hieftains , h w ested fr the y s by far th e gr eater por ti on of the P oth iyil mountains and thei r a d ‘ ’ o m m Poth i i j oin ing regi ns . The Ta il n a e y l consequent

l o mo m. Pand as o y fell int disuse a ngst the The y , the s l e

r m m of m m o su viving e ber the an cient Ta il narchs, then had t o c ontent themselves with the possessi on of th e mo of o s outhern st peak the chain , which acc rdingly ca me

’ i a i to be kn own as the Poth g . Thus Ptolemy s map an d the Chin o - j apanese maps have made it clear that th e Poth iyil of the ancient Tamil p oets ab out the early centur ies of the Christian era is quite di ffe r ent from t h e

Poth igai hill of the present day .

The foll owing three l ines from stanza 2 of P a m

’ n d ntt r u ,

- ré tu xB am e /£75 ; affi /é c g/ fi e gg m g m GOQQ a flmé fi rb Ing ra ’ ' s /n L wtu oui QL M IU OLZ) G u nair Q G u mbG l . a g Q G Q to c onfirm the inte rpretati on I h aVe he rei n

- I o give to the te rm Poth iyil . n th ese l i nes th ? 6 8 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND

Poet institutes a c ompa r ison between th e H i malayas and

Po h i i l m r o t o . m t he y untai n The H i alayas , here , su ely d es

o r r to o of c on not refer t a peak . It efe s the wh le a

f mo r h o ti nu ou s o . u o w chain u ntains N at ally, a p et , wants to o mo for om o b ring in an ther untain c paris n with this , is n ot likely to pitch up on a s ol itary peak or promontory

of o o r or i n a chain hills in S uthern I ndia , h wever sac ed

o ma m t o other wise imp rtant it y be . He ust be taken have had before his min d an other range of mountains in the s outh which w ould stand comparison with the n or the r n

o m s range . Thus early litera ry usage als ake it plain that Poth iyi l refers to a ch ain of mountai ns a nd n ot to m to m a particular peak in it , as it ca e signify i n later ti es .

I may also advert i n this c onnecti on to the gram

’ mati cal diffi culty i n interp r eting Poth iyil as a common b el t of mountain ous country unapprop r iated by the m of o o t hree Ta il kings th se days . Th ugh the te rm Qu rrfi ufléy l ike so many other terms in Tami l e n d ing i n ‘ ev n m th e o f Q sign ifies a place a e, ph netic ru les o later

’ i - g rammar ans state that Q u rrg l @ ev c ould become on ly

' u n a Sl sv not Q u e uﬂ T G g and ﬁ é} . o escape this d ilemma

o - — D r . Caldwel l spl it up the w rd int o Qu mﬁ l Qév an d i nterpreted the n ame as referri n g to a place of c onceal om m ent . Apart fr the fancied n ecessity of concealment

- om om or D r fr wh what . Caldwel l h i mself does n ot say - it is very unlikely that a metaph or sh oul d have been r e s orted to for naming a mountain wher e such ter ms as wasp uSlé) or M afia) w ould have ans wered the purp ose even more

s uitably and with abs olute dire c tness . The difﬁculty

which seems to have driven D r . Caldwell to this f anciful o o o ot o d erivati n , h wever, c uld be g ver by the supp ositi on that the ter m itself arose at a very ancient peri od when the Tami l speech was i n an amorph ous c onditi on as e very spoken dialect should be expected to be an d when th e T amil ph onetic rules themselves had n ot acqui re d A PPENDI ! I 6 9 that regula r ity and rigidity wh ich later on they came to E assu me i n se t grammatical treatises . ven these later grammar ians had to sh ow d eference to such usage as is ‘ ‘ — ’ G u zr ifuiléi G s rmﬂev e tc . n seen in g , , , an d take it under the wi g of what they are pleased to call @ wé a sm i i @u rra 9 c overi ng forms of words which i n thei r op i n i on th ough not strictly

mm o u e gra atical are yet sancti ned by sag . A PPE N D I! II . TE S T I M ON Y OF SC H OL AR S RE D RAV I D IAN S N C IV I L I ATIO .

After giving an account of the Aryan col onizati on of t h e M a r ath a o r D r B h an d ar kar r fol c unt y , . w ites as l ows

B u t r o on e o o fa ther s uth and the east rn c ast , th ugh they penetrated there and communicated thei r own c ivil i z ati on to o i h o r the ab r gi nal races, in abiting th se pa ts, they were not able to incorpora te them th oroughly into their own s ociety an d to root ou t their languages and their

o . o r A to r civilizati n On the c ntra y, the ryas had lea n the languages peculiar of th ose races and to adopt a portion at of o least their civilizati n . Thus the Kanarese, the m o now Telugu , and the Ta il and the ther languages sp oken i n Southern I ndia ar e not derived from the Sans

o o r to ff o krit but bel ng alt gethe a di erent st ck , and hence it

is also that S outhern Art is so di fferent from the N orthern . The re ason why the result of the A ryan i r r upti on was so diffe r ent in S outhe r n I ndia fr om what it was in the

N o r to A r r to rth , appea s be that when the yans penet ated the South there existed al ready well - organised c ommuni ”— n om H i stor o D ecca n . 1 0. ties an d ki gd s . y f , p

' james F e rgu sson s S tu dy of I n di a n A r ch i tectu r e c ontains the fol l owing reference ab out th e D ra vidian A r chitecture

r i s o of m m on He e a rep resentati n a te ple, at Bada i , the li mits between the n or the r n an d souther n ar ch ite ctu

o one al l m l r ral pr vinces . Any at fa i ia with the subj ect two wil l at once recognise the difference between the . A PPENDI ! II 7 1

ou - l w m That the left i s a straight l ined o pyra id , divi ded i o o or n r on nt st reys , and ad ed with pi laste s, that the right i s r r n o r of o or cu vil i nea , with t ace st reys pilasters and i nstead of th e d om i cal form that cr own s the on e it termi n - o ates i n a c onventi on a l fruit l ike ornament . I kn w t he pe ople wh o erected the ﬁ r st must have been speaking Tamil or s ome of the al lied languages when w orking u p on it and that th ose wh o erected the othe r were speak i ng B e ngalee or some t ongue with a str ong infusi on of ” S om o o 1 1 anskrit i n its c p siti n (pp .

From a study of the South I ndia n alphabets and

D r o t o o us o languages . Burnell c mes this c ncl i n

The devel opment of the ea r ly stages of the G rantha c f to for o haracter is very di ﬁcult trace, the reas n that the N or o ot d o th I ndian civilizati n , when it g far wn in the

m o r o o Peninsula as the Ta il c unt y , f und there a pe pl e already in possess i on of the ar t of writi ng an d apparently

r o n ot a cultivated language . Thus Sansk it d es regulate the Tamil Ph onetic system n or did it bec ome more t o the “ o fo — E lemen ts o pe ple than a reign le arned language . f

S ou th I nd i a n P a la eo r a h g p y.

of E R o Pr . . J . aps n writes thus “ This extensio n is everywhere ma r ked by the spread of an d r Sanskrit its dialects . It eceived a check in

o r r o o Ian S uthe n India, whe e the l der c ivi l izati n an d

th e guages remain predominant even to present day .

' A nci en t I t d z a 9 , p . .

Ap r opos of the D ravidian race inhabiting South

D r . o r o o : I ndia, . A C . Hadd n w ites as f ll ws

t r om r Apar f language, there is a gene al cultu re which is character ist ic of th ose peoples a n d after the el iminati on of the pre - D ravidians a racial type eme rges with ﬁner features than th ose of th e ab origines an d th e c o nclusi on seems evident that this was due to an i mmi 7 2 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND

eo wh o o 2000 grant p ple reached I ndia bef re B . C .

Th e R a ces o M a n f .

h is E a r l H i stor o I n d i a D r m In y y f , . Vincent A . S ith wr ites as foll ows : “ om of far o The an cient ki ngd s the s uth, alth ough

r o o D a o n ot ich and p pul us, i nhabited by r vidian nati ns inferi or in culture to their A ryan rivals i n the n orth wer e ordinar i ly so secluded fr om the rest of the civil ized o N o ff s r e w rld i ncludi ng rthern India, that their a ai r mained hi dden from the ey es of other nations ; and native

l l o r o to anna ists being acking, the ir hist ry, p evi us the

r 800 of E ra mo o yea the Christ ian , has al st wh lly

perished (p . Sir Walter E ll i ot adds t he foll owing testi mony

But alth ough the D ravi dians were not the ear liest o not m settlers, and alth ugh they h ave bee n exe pt an d n o m om ﬂ that in s al l degree, fr external in uences , it is f r om them that the civilized part of the D akka h derives

r u o its characte istic features in lang age and i nstituti ns . Among the latter may especial ly b e n oticed its m onetary " o is — Cotns o system and the c ins i n whic h it expressed . f

d i a S ou th er n I n (p .

7 4 A GA ST YA I N T H E T A M IL LA ND a S o h of ntecedents . far as these c aracters ancient Indian o o o o o o hist ry are c ncerned, chr n l gy a nd ge graphy, which

o m o - o of o om f r t gether the i ron frame w rk h ist ry, have s e m f o o n ot o ti es been twisted out o all rec gn iti n , if wh lly splintered an d th rown t ogether into an in disti nguishable

- a T wo to m us oo dust he p . facts, begin with , ust give f d for o ﬂ o seri us re ecti n . Few wi l l dispute that, in the ﬁrst

of rso place, the phen omen on plural pe nal ities appearing under one identical n ame seems to occur frequently more in the history of India than in that of any othe r c ountry o o mo o in the w rld and , in the sec nd place , re in the hist ry of o ancient India than of modern India . Why sh ul d this

so T h e o n ot so m be explanati n, I think, lies uch in the peculiar h istorica l accidents of I ndia as in certain psych o

o r f i o wh o on l gical characte istics o ts pe ple, react the traditi onal materials of antiquity in a man ner peculiar to

m to m . the selves . I t is ve r y n ecessa ry bear th is i n ind

for m o o o As a basis y bservati ns, I subj in here a few

’ om o E ssa s on S a nskr i t L i ter a extracts fr H . H . Wils n s y ’ t u r e Vol . I I I P A i an a r s H is , and Mr . . T . Srinivasa y g tor o th e Ta mil y f s.

E ssa s on S a nskr i L i ter a tu r e Vol . I II . y t ,

. 1 75 R o n Vararu c h i P . e m re than o e

T h at t h e name of Var a ruch i h as i n lik e manne r bee n appli ed t o different i ndi vid uals migh t fai rly be i nferre d f rom t h e pr act ice t h us de scribe d ; but we h a ve in t hi s case a re ma rk a ble conﬁ rma tion of ou r conject u re an d

ﬁ nd rom t h e v ar n st te me t s f se v t at t wo if no t ree f yi g a n o e ral write rs , h , t h pe rsons of this d enomi nat ion are cele br at e d i n t h e li te r ary hi story of t h e ” n us Hi d . 1 89 R m . o on e a nkar a P . e re than S ch arya

T h e followe rs of M adh wach arya i n T ul uva see m t o h av e at t e mp ted t o r econci le t hese cont r a dict ory account s by su pposi ng h im t o h a ve bee n bo r n t ree t mes rst at S ivu l i i n T uluv a a ou t e ars a o a a n i n al a a r h i ﬁ b y g , g i M b some centuri es l ater a n d ﬁ nal ly at Pad ukach ayt ra i n T ul u va n o mor e t h an 600 years since ; t h e la tt er ass ert ion be i ng i nt ended e vi d ent ly to do h onour t o t e r own oun er W ose at e t a t was b e na l n h i m to t r u m ove r h i f d , h d h , y b i g i p h ” n ar a a u os us c r v rs S a k i n s pp it io ont o e y . A PPENDI ! III 7 5

H i st th e Ta mi l ory of s.

30 R e mo on e R a P . . re than vana

A mon ot e rs h e Kért avi r a e e ate a R i va n a n of an a g h ( y ) d f d , ki g L k

m n i m T s van as ce rta nl not t h e a nd i priso ed h i m i n M a h s ati . hi R i a w i y

e nem of R amac a n ra wh o l ve at l east ﬁ ve un re ea rs l ater . ence y h d i d h d d y H , t h e R i vana wh o was impr i soned by Kart av i rya must h a ve been an ear lier

R a a of t name or e r a s t h e ue ss of D r ten Kno is t rue t at t h e j t h a p h p g . S w h n ame R i vana was but th e resul t of t h e S ansk r i ti z at ion of T a mil I raivan ” nd me l K n a re y meant a T a mi l i g .

Take al ong with thi s the foot - n ote

‘ ' T er e was a st ill ea rl e r R i v ana wh o ou t t A néran a n h i f gh wi h y , ki g ” o f A y6 dhya .

46 R e mo one a mi P . re than V l ki

m h u B m a s V C C . v se h R i P rob bly thi i l iki of t e VI I e nt ry . re i d t e a y ana of Val miki Pracét asa i n class i cal S a nsk ri t and wor k e d into i t th e con ’ ” c e t f R n p o ama s be i ng an i ncarnati on of Vi s u .

5 1 R mo on e ma P . e re than Hanu n

H anumfi n himse lf i s said to h ave been t h e e ight h great S ansk rit ” r ammar an but t s e r a s re e rs t l H a u g i hi p h p f o a much ate r n mén .

54 R e mor on P . . e than e Agastya

T h e rst A ast a us an of L o émud r a a r nces s of Vid a r ba ﬁ g y , h b d p , p i , was a contem or ar of A l ar a n of Kas wh o l ve a l t tle more t an p y k , ki g i , i d i h

2 0 e era t ns re ma T us t h e e ar li e st A ast a l ve i n t h e re on g n io be fo R a . h g y i d gi ” mme ate so t of t h e V ndh i di u h i yas .

B ut t h e A gast ya wh om R ama met t wo y6jan as fi om Panch avati c oul not ave n t h e rst A ast wh o l ve a ou t our cent ur es e ore d h bee ﬁ g ya , i d b f i b f ’ R ama s t me bu t mu st ave een one of t h e l at er A ast as for t s A ast a i , h b g y hi g y ’ o f R am d a v G éd v r n r c i h is asr ama R ama a s y li e d near t h e é a i , e a whi h n , s t aye d on h is way sout h

>l<

’ After referring to Agastya s r esidence on the top of the M alaya H ill (C oorg) the auth or writes Hence t hi s mu st h ave been i nse rted by a l at er poet wh o li ved aft er ’ t h e A gastyas h ad proceed ed furt h e r sout h th an th e A gastya of R ama s ” t me and s t tl e i n t h e T m l co t i e d a i un ry .

>l< >l<

I n t h e c as in t h e ur i nas all t h e A ast as a re s o e n of as one Epi P , g y p k

A ast a R i t u erent A ast as res e i n f erent laces at f eren t g y a , h o gh diff g y id d di f p di f " t mes i . 76 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A MIL L A ND

These extracts are en ough to c onvince the reade r of the existen ce of peculiar difﬁculties besetting the path of o of o a hist rian ancient I ndian Literature an d traditi ns . If,

r om o of t o r l f the sh res such litera ure and traditi ns, spect a o m of m o a mi ma R a f r s nu er us V l kis, Hanu ns , vanas an d

o to a o o Agastyas are thus f und cc st the hist rian , surely he is apt to l ose his bear ings in the wide expanse of ancient Indian hist ory un less he takes special care to keep a st rict critical watch over this brood and banish such of them

om h is k en ar e m - o- - fr as ere will the wisps.

Maki ng the fullest allowance for th e p ossibility and even probability of two or more historical pers onages

o u one o m o or g ing nder pr per na e , the questi n bef e the

o o to see hist rian , especially ancient h ist rian , is whether,

r oro m o even afte a rig us critical exa inati n , there exist facts which would warrant h is assu ming for the explanati on a f o l o m di ferent pers nality with an identica pr pe r na e , and n ot to rush at once to this handy expedient of multiplying ’ o Vt w h as om to pers nal ities . e have seenh o Agastya c e ﬁgu r e in the ancient history of many cou nt r ies in s outhern

m ff r u to Asia and i n any di e ent cent ries . Are we then assume the existence of a separate Agastya for each count ry an d also for each century in each country? This pro cedur e d oes n ot seem to take into acc ount the well - kn own fac t that many characters have been created by poetic imagina

o r om ti n o by mythic fancy or by religi ous megal ania . Are we to give to these spuri ous birth s a l oca l habitati on

’ and a name by admitting th em int o the gallery of his t oric pers onages Turning to hist orical cha ra cte r s them

n ot f o d selves, is it a act that later traditi nalists have shifte s ome of these from their strict hist ori cal setting and made m ff s the play many di fferent parts, in di erent place , and at di fferent times An i mpulse to blind hero- worship it i s that furnishes the gr ound for so w r enching a characte r f rom its proper historical mi li eu and introducing it amidst A PPENDI ! III 77 n w o a o to e surr undings and c onditi ons . Are we , here ls , r esort to mu ltiplyi ng the original character as occasi on ? o w h o o to requires Then agai n , th se res rt this device e xhibit an amazing credu l ity in the acceptance of even o N o o ommo man c re d u ﬁcti ns as facts . d ubt, the c n is l ous by natu r e and acts on the pr i nciple that unless a o m statement is pr ved false it ust be accepted as true . But f U that can hard ly be t he scientiﬁc frame o mind . n less and unti l a proposition is proved true it has n o credentials for

r of o its acceptance . If the st ength hist ry lies in critically

r - not o tested an d ca eful ly ascertained facts , is the h ist rian under the necessity of rigorously testing his facts before he t r ies to raise any theoretic structure on them or seeks

m F or t o . of explai n the instance , while the existence R ava na h imself as a hist or ical character is n ot ab ove

o o r o to a two d ubt , what c nceivable pu p se can it serve cre te o r three R ava nas Wh i l e all the r ecensi ons of the exist i ng

R ama r o yana text is i n classical Sansk it , why sh uld a R amayana in Vedic Sanskrit be hyp ostasized and an other valmi ki created to bec ome the aut h or of that hyp othetical R amayana ? A l ong with this exhibiti on of pri mitive cre

’ d ulity on the part of s ome investigators there is als o a ten dency to exhibit undue venerati on towards an cient tradition and literatu r e and to expect f r om them mor e than what the life and characteristics of the p ossessors of such

a o r o to tr diti n and literatu e w uld warrant us expect . If i n actual life we come across imp ost ors and oth cr u nscrupul ou s r o n ot n ow o cha acters, why c uld they i nt rude an d then i nt the w or ld of l etters als o A r e there not insta nces of deli berate for geries committed in the name of wel l - kn own auth ors in the litera ry h istory of e ve ry ' c ou ntry and at al l t imes ? Si mply because a statement gets embodied in a a r o o om o on o liter y w rk , d es it bec e sacr sanct that acc unt S h ould the critical meth od relax its rigour an d go to sleep when that s tatement hails us from antiquity? O n the other mo o o th e th e hand , the re an investigat r recedes int past 7 8 A GA ST YA IN T H E T A M IL LA N E greater sh ould be his care an d ci r cumspecti on in

m r r or n o satisfyi ng h i self whether every fact ings t ue t . If o i s a or nce that attitude rel xed , hist y is l ikely to become mor e a fairy tale than a str ictly scientiﬁc rec or d of

- S ma r carefully tested facts . till , it y be u ged that there are cases where the assumpti on of mor e than on e histori c character going un de r on e identical name seems to be

a m o o r or necessary . Such an ssu pti n , h wever, can be es t ed to only in cases where str ict historical conditi on s

r o of o to vouch fo it . Th e creati n a d zen Agastyas answer all the differences brought ab out by h istoric c ondition s and then to f or mulate the existence of a family of Agast yas to which all of them are to be traced is scar cely

r m o of a j ustiﬁable procedu e . I n fact , this delectable eth d of t R a ma cr eating a number Agas yas , vanas and Hanu ns and of an equa l nu mber of families to go under such gene r i c proper names i s too vague an d indeﬁn ite for o o m n m o o practical appli cati n . What d es this fa ily a e c n n te

o o m m n or in India D oes it c ver n ly a si ple fa ily (ge s),

r r om o of m m or a group (ph at y) c p sed any fa ilies , a om o of o ? o r m wh ole tribe c p sed such gr ups If g t a na es ,

r B h arad v a a o f m m such as At i , j , be c nsidered as a ily na es, mill i ons of the present - day A ryans c ould be dist r ibuted under a fe w gotras and be consider ed as the At r is and

o e B h arad v ajas of this century . But this w uld ha r dly s rve the pu r p ose of any clear i dentiﬁcati on of the individuals

o m n o rv our c oncerned . Thus the g tra na e will i n way se e purpose an d need n ot be resorted to as signifying a defin ite in dividual in any per i od of our histor y except the first n o o f ounder of a particular gotr a . Is it t a little disc ncert ing that proper names i ntended to identify definite indi v i du als sh ould thus be conver ted int o indefinite generi c names for unco ntr olled an d even whimsical applicati on

o on n o - of o ma I n this c nnecti , the atte ti n these sch lars y be drawn to a ver y wh olesome principle of scientiﬁc A PPENDI! I I I 79

’ o r m R o one pr cedu e called the Occa s az r . Where hyp othesis is sufficient to explain adequately a number of o r o r o r to for bse ved facts , it is a vici us scienti fic p cedu e mu late mor on e o for r o e than hyp thesis the same pu p se . Applyi ng this pr i nciple to the phenomen on of many Agastyas appearing in the hist ory of diffe r ent c ountries an d m to o on m at different ti es , are we g assu ing the existence of separate Agastyas for each countr y and for each centur y ? Or are we to ascr ibe th e wh ole phen o menon to a common psych ol ogical char acter istic of the races c oncerned— the st r ong tendency to her o worship i ngrained in them ? It is ver y likely that th e first Agastya was a historic character but the su b sequent Agastyas were a ll the r esult of popular imagina ti on ca t ching hold of an ancient her o and spinning r ou h im or of r W o nd al l s ts sto ies . here such a s litary hypothesis as this is sufficient to acc ount for all th e

of not o o of m c facts the case, is it a vi lati n legiti ate scientiﬁ p r ocedure to go o n creating Agastyas a d l i bi /um to suit the multiplicity of historical c ircumstances turn ing up l f r r d anywhe e, here it is that the necessa y prun ing, insiste

o old o o ff . up n by the L gician , sh ul d be e ected

B h a ab at m The foll owi ng observ ati ons of Mr . g Ku ar

- G oswami made in the introducti on (pp . xxxii xxxi ii) of o B h a kti Cu l t i n A n ci en t I nd i a his w rk, the , wi ll , I of o h e think, be interest as bearing up n the pruning attempts t o d o i n the case of Vyasa

was ot W ene ve r a new s stem of t ou t arose i n n ust an i t. n h y h gh Hi d , on ly sough t to be base d u pon some teachi ng of th e Vedas but t h e n ame of Vyas a was gener ally sought to be connected wi t h t h e depart men t of t h ought some way or ot he r whi le t h e n ames of t h e Vedic see rs t he msel ves were uti f s T s was s ec all li sed or imilar pur poses whereve r necess ary and possible . hi p i y th e case a e r h e u sm V as a t en ure as ft t B ddhi sti c onsl aught on Vedici . y h ﬁg d a r t er of loso cal comment a Y o a bh a s a an aut or of a h iloso w i p hi phi ry g y , h p

h ical s ste m ra ma S ﬁt r a an aut or of a S mrti s st em V asa S m t i a p y , B h , h y , y r ,

r t er on ol t a r ter on A st rolo H e was a a n cla me as t h e a ut or w i p i y , w i gy . g i i d h of a ll t h e Pu n s and t c ll t h e aut or of t h e ole of t h e reat est: r é a o rown a , h wh g 80 A G A ST YA IN T H E T A M IL LA ND

c M ah abh ar a t a . W en not th e or n al aut or h e was o t en t ra t onal l Epi h igi h , f di i y claimed as connect e d some way or ot he r wi th t h e aut h ors of t h e ot he r sys t ems wh o t emse l ves i n most ca s s ore t h e s cr e names of cla e , h e b a d or im d s ome afﬁ n t es t t h e old e c see s T o s t e re x s i i wi h V di r . eek h fore t o ﬁ a hi tor i c age from some a llege d connec tion of th e name of Vyasa or a Vedic se er i s t o

court saste r . W e must l ave e V nd l di e V da yi sa at a bout B C . a al ow o t e r V as as t o t a e care of t emse l ves h y k h .

T o Vasi st h as wh o r m r as the , ﬁgu e as nu e ously the

V asas . . E P ar it r y , Mr F . g e feels justified in giving a d ff ea m i erent tr t ent . Being committed to the p ositi on of finding g r eater authenticity in the Ksatria traditi on than i n t h e m i s o to Brah an , he f rced c onclude that the later Vasis t h as o were as hist rical as the kings with wh om they lived . H e is n ot disp osed t o apply the prun ing kn ife to the r equisite extent an d grapples with the P u r i n ic t raditi ons to extra ct from them some gen eal ogical facts for the c o o of o H ow o m nstructi n hist ry . i n this her ic atte pt he gets hopelessly entangled i n the legendary quagmire will be seen if one tries t o f oll ow the identificat i ons and d isc r iminati ons of the many Vasi st h a s he makes i n

203- 2 1 1 of or A n ci en t I nd i a n H istor ica l Tr a pp . h is w k

d i i n m r t wo Va i st h a m t o . H e dis isses the ﬁ st s s (the ind b o son of r m one o m o of rn B ah a an d , the c nte p ra ry

l ksh uwaku as m o r Vasi st h as ) ythical , an d c nsiders the late Vasi st h a as hist orical . But when we ﬁn d these later s described as havi ng most of the character istics attendant

on r m r o ot to o thei ythical p t ype , we have d ubt the validity

r M r E P r ite r f r o o . a o the p cedu e, ad pted by . F . g in the val uati on of the te sti mony of th e Puranic annalists accepting it as trustwort hy in on e p orti on and rejecting

a o o . H ow for it s entirely w rthl ess in an ther , instance,

one of o c oul d each the f urth , the ﬁfth and the seventh

o A r un d h at i A r un d h ati Vasi sth as p ssess as hi s wife, the , t h e c ompani on of their mythi cal progen it or Much the safe r rule i n such cases would have been to accept all or o o e o to n ne . N thi ng in th se regi ns wi ll enab le us d istinguish betwee n Tweedledum and Tweedledee . It is

‘ 82 A G A ST YA I N T H E T A M I L LA ND

e L iteratufe . T o wh at o o A uv i th e g tra did the riginal a ,

' ‘ am Po s o ? T il ete s, bel ng Or sh ould we res ort to some other meth od to save t h e h istor ic ity of all the A uvais ‘ ﬁguri ng in Tamil lite rary h istory ? T h e tr uth of the

’ m i Par ite r s s o o atter s that M r . g tenderne s t wards traditi ns

as h o h as I ' fear m e h im a too o to a w le , , ad l ittle pr ne H e ascribe obj ect ive reality even to subj ective creati ons .

m to h o ' th u o a s see s have w lly expunged e, s bj ective fact r

an agent in the creati on of personaliti es and perh ap s may. o o s of mo o h h ave th ught that n veli ts are all dern gr wt , the

‘

o to ow. o mo old world having n ne sh H wever, the re we push our way into antiquity, the more are we brough t int o contact with an i maginati on of an unbri dled R o s e m to ha n o o h of mi l type . eas n e s ve bee a sl w gr wt

’ lenniu ms of tardily acc umulated expe rien ce and painful A s h was for m o to labour. against t is , it al l easy i aginati n

o i s m i o a go to w rk . Hence it that i aginat on g t start over sl ow - devel oping R eas on, the results Of which

to l o a are visible even this day . Few wi l d ubt th e abstr ct

o of o o h a pr bability traditi ns c ntaining trut s, but, when large masses of t h em are thrown i nto the melting-p ot of a ' oe ma o or o o r o fee or p t s i ginati n verwr ught eligi us . l ing to sectarian prejudice, expect reality or tru th to eme rge f om h is to m th ere r unscat ed expect th e i possibl e . PE N D I ! I V A P . N U L E D WO R KS CO S T .

L H E NG IS .

’ 1 o M ax M ull er s H i stor o A nci en t S a n scr i t . Pr f . y f

L i ter a tu r e .

’ - . Th G r a E 2 D r o e e t i c o I nd i a . . . Washburn H pkins p f ’ rkar s E a r l H i stor o D ecca n B h anda . D r . 3 . y y f ’ T h e Per i l us o th e E r th r aza n Se a M cCri nd le s 4. p f y ( tran sl ati on) . ’ P o o H istor o S a n skr t L i t 5 . r f . A . A . M acd nell s y f i e

r a tu r e.

’ l h ri n s Th e E vol u ti o o th e A r a s 6 o e . . Pr f . g n f y n

’ P o m G eo r a h o I nd ia a nd S ou th er n 7 . t le y s g p y f A si a ’ (M cC rind le s translati on).

8 a o . . Tr van c re State Manual ‘ ’ 9 E Par it r s A nci n t I nd i a n H s . . . e e i tor ca l Mr . F g i

Tr a d iti on .

’ ’ 0 m a r a i v r D r . o G a 1 . Caldwel l s C p t e mma r of th e D r a vid i a n L a n u a es g g . ’

1 1 . o S sh a iri S astri s E ssa on T l Pr f . e g y a mi L i ter a

’ " 1 2 D r r n t E l m nts o S on h I d . e e t n i a n P a l . Bu e t s f aeo

> ’ 1 3 E R a s n s A nci n t I d i i . o . . o e n a Pr f p . ’ 4 r B a b l on i a n R l M . . e i o d 1 . i n a n L W . King s y g M h olo yt gy. ’ 1 D r m a r l H i stor o I n a 5 . . . d i Vincent A S ith s E y y f . ’ 6 D u all s G r ou 1 . o M o M nd Pr f . Wi lliam c g p i . ’ ‘ ' ’ 1 7 . G oe L r E transla the s itera y , ssays (Spingarn s

’ i s D r T R a ces a M a n . c o s h . . A . . Hadd n e j 9 1 . E i r a h i a Ca r na ti ca Vol . . The p g p , I I V 20 r n l h M th i c S oci et ol . ! . ou a o t e . The j f y y, V I I I 2 1 o of th e a . The Catal gue Orient l Manuscripts L i b ar E mo y, g re , Madras. 84 A GA ST Y A IN T H E T A M I L L A ND

’ 2 2 . D r . . A i an ar s B e i n ni n s o S outh I nd ia n S K . y g g g f H i s or t y.

M L TA I . Pa r i d al p t . Pa tu d u t pp tt .

Pu r a n d nur u .

Tolkti i a m pp y .

I l a kka na kkottu .

Vi r a so i a m t y .

Ti r vd mo i u y l . ' m Teva r a .

A a nd nur u g .

' i v ka ch i n tci ma n J a i .

Ch il a a tikdr a m pp .

Pa nn i r u a ta l a m p .

u a or u v nbd md l a i P r pp l e .

a or u Vi la kka m Ag pp l . m D i vdlza r a .

Ti nvi a d ta l P ur d na m r l y . ‘

Kd n ch i P a r ana m.

u d n m S i kdla tti p r a .

’ d n a va r d a swd mi s W or ks T d y .

’ Per a ka l tiya ttir a ttu (R a o S a h eb B h a va na nd a m

’ P ill a i s E d i ti on ) .

Ka n ta ur d na m pf . d t d n m K ci ta .

Ti r u ku r r d l a tta l a u r d na m pp .

u vé n ka ta tta l a u r d na m Ti r pp .

r u n l vél i tta l a ur d na m Ti e pp .

a i u r d na ri z Ku da n t pp . ‘ M a il a i u r ana m y pp . ‘ ci a u r ci na m Ve t r a ny p . mi l Vol ! I! Th e Ch en ta , . . I N D E ! .

A t r olo 79 As gy , A t i fir kku n l r A n A o 6 6 6 7 y al fi , 46 yi ( i i) , , t r 78 c m r t m l 6 30 , A ade y (Fi s Ta i ) , , A i A t ank fisfin 35 36 A a n nfi u 30 6 5 84 fitt , , g d f , , , A uv 8 A a or u oi a /eh a m 47 84 ais , 1 . 82 g pp t l , , A v a 3 A asti svaram 5 0 5 1 in yan, 5 g , , t 1 1 A a st i a m A kat ti a 3 45 , g y ( y m) , , Avan i ‘ v r M k ast ar k a 6 A ii filami i fir , 2 2 A g y fit m, 5 l ikkud 6 7 t 7 3 75 7 6 7 8 7 9 A y i , Agas yas , , , , , ' A dh a 75 A as ri sr a 5 fi , g ty ma , y y A h at t i ar 38 y , B A indh r a School of Sansk r i t B a byl oni an R el i i on G r mm r 35 g a a ians , M th ol o 36 83 ’ y gy , , A r é B r h m 1 0 i t a ya d a na , , l l am 3 5 5 5 6 0 7 0 Bad i , , , , , A kat ti , 4 B h ad r ab ah u 22 l r 75 , A a ka , B h ad r e svar a 5 3 l c m 38 , A he y , B arh inadvi a 6 l r t h e G r t 5 7 p , A exande ea , B e i nni n s of S outh l t tii r ki r 3 1 g g A a l i , H i st or 6 5 84 l r 26 y, , A va s , r 3 4 B , A mir th av e l utt u , 1 ena es B e n al 7 1 n r n a 7 5 g e e , A fi a y , B er ar s 1 c t 44 7 1 83 , 2 An ien India , , , r 5 3 5 5 A nci ent I nd i a n H i s t or i ca l Be gaine , , B e tt i o 15 6 5 83 d i 30 43 80 8 , , , T r a i t on , , , , 3 g B h a abat m r G o m 79 A r 1 0 l l 28 30 g Ku a swa i , ndh as , , , , B /z a h t i Cul l i n A nci ent I nd i a n a 33 , A g da, 7 9 n t h m ol o ist s 9 A p g , B a rkar D r G 1 1 70 r k 1 1 h nda , . . , , A a nya a , R r c olo t 9 83 A hae gis s , A ruvalar s 2 8 30 a wa a 1 78 , , B h ar d j , ,

’ A rundh ati 80 B a raka 5 3 , h tth , r 1 2 1 4 1 8 1 9 28 29 B h avanandam ll R ao A yan , , , , , , , Pi ai , Baha 5 0 7 8 ur 1 8, 7 , 2 , 7 d , 4

A r t o 7 B h r u l yanisa i n , g , A r a var t a 2 1 0 or o 6 y , , B ne , 86 I ND E !

B r m 1 1 E a r l H i st or o I nd i a 45 ah a , y y f , , r m 23 72 83 B ah ans , , r m C lt r 1 5 6 5 83 B ah an u u e , , , E l ement s of S out h I nd i a n r m r t on 80 B ah an T adi i , P a l a eo r a h 44 83 g p y, , r m t r 79 B ah a Su a , E ll ot S ir W lt r 7 2 i , a e , u t 22 23 24 26 79 B ddhis , , , , , u E l ut t , 40 ll D r 43 7 1 83 Burne , . , , , E nisse r i M ud am si a r o y , 1 8 E i ri /21 a Ca r na zea C n p t , E ssa on S a nsh r z t L i t er a t i /1 e C l ll D r 34 6 5 68 83 y , a dwe , . , , , 74 u Cfil kya , 5 5 C m o 6 5 3 55 5 6 5 9 6 3 E ss a on T a mi l L i ter a t u r e 83 a b dia , , , , , , y , C o l 1 7 E t ut oka i 1 6 an pus , , t , C Comor 5 0 5 9 E vol ut i on o th e A r a ns T h e ape in , , f y , , C r t c W r 5 4 20 83 a na i a s , , Catalogue of t h e O r iental M cr t L r r anus ip s ib a y , G s 1 3 ang , C r G t 2 2 p , G 3 1 0 1 3 1 4 hand a u a anges , , , , é 5 Ch em fit ch , 3 G an ol 5 2 5 5 5 7 p y g y , , , , 83 C n a l 1 5 84 h e t mi , , G eo r a h o A nt i ent I nd i a 6 6 g p y f , C ar 23 6 6 6 7 h a , , , G eog r a phy of I nd i a and ’ 8 Ch il a a a ih ar a m. 46 , 4 S r pp outh e n A s i a , 83 C r ll r 1 3 hinese T ave e s , G olo t 5 3 e gis s , C o- ma 6 6 6 7 hin Japanese p , , G h a dbh ava 2 to , C a 1 4 22 23 6 6 h fil , , , , G h rat ii ci , 5 Coins o S outh I nd i a 72 f , d var i l l 29 30 G fi i , , , , 75 Com a r a t i ve G r a mma r of t/1c ’ p h L i r " G oet e s te a r E ssa s , 5 8 ’ y y , D r a oi a i an L an ua es 83 g g , 83 Coor 7 5 g, 1 G 6 t ama, C m 6 6 unningha , G fitr a , 7 8, 81 G r mm r m l r t 6 42 D a a (Ta i , Fi s ), , G r t c r ct r 7 1 1 an ha ha a e , D k , a sha ‘ G r ea t E i c o I nd i a 1 1 3 4 ks ka i 3 5 p f , , , D a h ina s , , 83 fi a 7 5 7 D aksh in p th a, , andaké ra a 1 3 5 7 5 9 6 0 G r W r t r 43 D ny , , , , eek i e s , a 1 0 G r ou M i nd 5 0 5 8 83 D syus , p , , , G uz ar at 5 6 D e kkh an , 7 2 , D im r ike 6 5 y , H 7 D i odh a r a m, 4 , 84

H o , A . C 7 1 r 1 1 add n D avidas , ai - a - H h me n , 6 6 r 1 8 1 9 20 70 7 2 D , , , , , avidians H m 33 75 76 7 8 anu an , , , , D wi r asamud ram 29 30 , , H m l 3 1 y , , 4, 5 4, 6 8 E i a a a H t indus an , E a r l H i st or o D ecca n 1 2 H i ’ y y f , , st or y of A nci ent S ansh rt 83 t er r L i a t u e, I N D E ! 87

’

H st or D eeean L . W 36 83 i y of , King, , ‘’ r i L i t er a Ki r tira a 5 6 H i st or y of S ansh t j , K s ki nd t nr e, 1 4, 83 i h h a , 33 K sala 1 T mi l 73 4 o , 1 H i st or y of th e a s, , 7 K a a m 6 H o D r W r 34 ﬁtt y , 6 pkins , . ashbu n , Kr au nch a , 5 r n 29 30 K ish a , , 4 I cai , 5 Kr i sh naswam A i a y y ngar . 83 I h e rin r o . 20 , P , , S . 6 5 6 6 g f , , I ksh uvaku 80 , Kr t a A 43 ge , I l a h h a nah ot t n 41 84 , , Ksa r i a 80 t y ,

I lval a , 6 o s l 6 Ind ne ian Is ands , , L 75 anka , 5 9, 6 2 L i 5 0 ta , r 5 Ind a , L co r 42 1 3 1 4 exi g aphy , Indus , , L o 29 gan , I yaL 45 a ud r L op m a , 3 5 1 2 75 J , , , M 22 23 24 26 43 44 45 Jain , , , , , , , M c o l l , ro . 1 4 5 8 83 5 3 a d nne P f , , Jai Singh , M adh wach a rya, 7 4 ad ni 1 43 J am ag , , M adi anan y d ai , 5 m r u o 70 83 Ja es Fe g ss n , , M r 29 6 5 6 7 5 2 adu a , , , Java , ’ a d n r a zh n M d e i , 1 6 i va h aeh int dma i i 46 84 l g , , M ad urai ve er an 5 3 ur na l o th e M t h i c S c , J o f y o i et y, M a our 6 6 2 5 5 5 6 5 7 83 g , 5 , , , , M a ar t 1 2 80 ah bh a a , , K M ah amala a H ll 6 5 y i s , , 6 c c 1 M ara tr 1 3 28 29 30 Ka a , ah sh a , , , , Ké kkai éi i ni an 35 M r H ll 30 p t y , ahend a i s , l 1 1 M ah ismati 75 Ka inga , , Ka arambh an 35 M l r 29 7 4 l , a aba , , Kalasa a 2 M alakii a 5 30 j , t , , , 5 5 , 60 Kalasisut a 2 M l 3 6 35 5 5 5 , a aya , , , , , 6 , 75 K a n a nr a m 48 M ala adv i a 6 t p dn , y p , , 5 5 Kar ki a 3 M ala akﬁ a 6 i l r , 1 y t , 6

' Kar tavi r a 75 M l l m 6 7 y , a aya a , d i [( d n a m 3 48 M ala am 5 5 6 5 d , , y , , , 6 6 , 6 7 a 1 M l l 5 2 K syapa , a ay Is ands , 1 1 M c D ou all W 5 0 Katha , g , . , , B ommu 5 4 M amii lana r 6 5 6 6 Katta , , , ’ Kavéra 3 M animanda 5 (King) , ,

Kavér 3 29 M ar ﬁth a ' 70 i , , , 33 , ar 29 30 K ala , , '

’ 5 3 M ax M ll r . P K e b , roﬁ , han Sah _ u e Ki é rs 2 4 M e asth ene s 4 1 l , g , , 3 88 I ND E !

M e lk nd a 6 ' 6 . P a r i a l 1 y , pti d , 5 , 1 6 , 1 7 , 84 M e kan at é var 5 2 Par i r y d , yfit a , 1 0 M tr 2 Pfit a é 1 3 i a, l , M ékfi r 6 6 Pa ali r 1 , t p ut a , 3 M o r W ll m S ir Pat an l nie i ia s , , ja i , 1 4 M uru a 5 1 6 P a t t n n 15 30 g , , ppdtt , , , 84 ‘ M t 5 3 P ér a ka t t i a t t i r a t n 4 1 u hu Bhattan , y g , utibfis 1 0 P er i M , pl us of t h e E r yth r fi ea n ’ M ut ukad av ul 1 6 S , ea , 1 3 , 6 6 , 84 M or 2 2 29 ys e , , Podal a a g , 2 1 Poth i ai 1 5 6 5 6 7 g , , , Poth uvar 6 6 6 7 N ach inar kki ni a r 16 , , y , , 17 , 34, Poth i il 3 1 8 46 y , , , 2 1 2 2 30 33 5 5 6 0 6 1 5 , , , , , , , Nahusa , 6 5 , 6 6 , 6 7 , 6 8 N anch e ut 1 l t u , 4 Pr ace t asa , 75 N finmarai , 32 r P j p t , 1 ara anasw m a a a is a r . N y y Aiya , R S tol m 1 5 6 5 6 6 6 7 84 P e y , , , , , B . A . , B L 1 5 P ulind as 1 0 1 1 9 , N r m , , 2 a ada Pund ras 1 0 ‘ , N a i na i 1 6 84 gf , , 1 0 1 4 Punjab , , a 5 6 N k , , , si P n f a n nii 47 84 d f n , , N nmar 2 5 1 aya s , 6 , ur an 1 1 2 5 29 43 48 P as , , , , , , N e lk nd a 6 6 y , 0 5 , 7 5 , 79, 81 N e ma 3 i iyfir , 1 tt P r in l i 47 84 a ra ppo nloenod d a , , N ir anam 6 6 , R

N i r kunram, 6 6 c of M an 7 2 83 oach ian l 30 Ra es , , N De uge , am 5 33 75 O R a , , , a a n 1 2 1 3 33 6 1 6 2 R m ya a , , , , , , ’ Occ m or 79 75 7 7 a s Raz , , 3 Or , 10, 0 7 1 83 E . o . issa Raps n , J , , v i a Our as y , 2 a n 1 6 7 5 7 6 7 7 R va a , , , , , P 78 éd 1 3 1 1 19 r a 7 4 E gg V a , , , , PEd ukach ayt , om 20 P ar r 3 R ans , anamp ana , 5 , 36 om 1 6 Pa ava i 5 1 3 33 75 R e , nc t , , , , om l 6 1 P 1 4 1 6 2 3 R u us , ﬁndya, , , 2 , 2 , 29,

R si , 43 , 75 5 6 , 59, 6 6 , 6 7

and c o t r 6 P ya un y , an 1 1 42 h r a 1 0 P ini , , Sa a s , P a nni r n a a l a /n 47 84 m 5 1 5 2 p d , , Saivis , , Par asur ﬁma 29 30 43 a a 1 1 , , S kh s , 7 37 6 5 Par t er . E . 30 43 80 m 1 5 1 1 8 gi , F , , , , Sanga , , , , , r 4 83 S ankarach ﬁ ya , 7

90 IND E !

Var fi a 6 V r a s fi i a m 1 8 h ad vi p , i l y , 2 , 4 Var a u Vi s kéi c ar r ch i , 7 4 fi ya , 22 r l 29 75 Va ka a, Vishnu , Vé r ti ka , 1 4 Vz sn u P u r z a l dz , r 2 , o l D r 5 2 Va una V ge , . , 1 2 80 t , , , V Vasish a yasa, 79 Vasi sh t as 80 81 , , W V t fi fi p i , 6 Va ta i r 5 p p u a . W t Co t 30 es as , 35 W t r G t 6 1 7 6 5 es e n ha s , , , a W ll m M c D ou all 83 0 i ia g , i c A e 1 4 Ved g , W l 7 o H . H 5 i s n , c r m 29 Vedi B ah anas , Vél ir s 2 4 8 30 , , 2 , Ve n a a 2 1 k yy , Vid arbh a 3 5 1 2 1 3 7 5 Y m 1 6 , , , , , a a , V Y asBmat i 6 ilval a, 6 , 44 Y a s6 var ma 6 t A m t D r . c . , Vin en S i h , , , 7 Y fi t ra 1 0 8, 83 , ‘ M t 4 1 1 1 2 Y b a hh a s a 79 Vindhya , , , , g y , Y 6 am 38 55 , 5 9, 75 g ,

T E D A T T H E A D RA L A W J OU R A E Y A ORE PRIN M S N L PR SS M L P .