Dear Members :
Srimathy Saranathan is well versed in Tamil
Literature
and VaishNavite Source books .
I always enjoy her well prepared essays on these
subject areas .
I would like to share with you her recent mail
with her permission .
I am sure you will enjoy this posting for its
insights .
V.Sadagopan
SrI:
Dear Sri Dhivakar,
As I was going through different texts in
connection with your mail, I chanced upon some interesting information which I
will share here.Let me first convey some specific obseravtion with
reference to 'maalmagan' from Silappadhikaaram and the probable connection
of this with maal marugan.
Maal magan is another name for manmadhan or Kaaman.
He is also known as ThirumagaL maindhan. As per Choodamani nigandu,
manmadhan is 'maal magan' or 'maan magan' (la-gara, na-gara thiribu) born to
Thirumal and Lakshmi. The reference to Kovalan as mall magan, is Kaaman (from
madhavi's point of view -the reason is obvious). Nowhere manmadhan is associated
with God of beauty. Instead he is god of
kaamam / desire / love. He is 'mohan' who is 'mayakkam seibhavan' or
'angasan' who creates desires ( viruppam undaakkuvOn), as per choodamani
nigandu.
But beauty is associated with murugan. But
here again murugan means ' the one having divine qualities' or 'the one who is
youthful' and not beauty. Kuzhagan which is another name for murugan means
beauty. (rememeber kuzhagar koil of Ponniyin selvan at Kodi-k-karai? This temple
is still there today. The recent escavation of Murugan temple at Mahabalipuram
exposed by tsunami, and temples for murugan at sea shore like in
Kodi-k-karai Kuzhagar temple and at Thiruchchendur - he is
Chenduuraan, that is why he is also known as sEndhan - must be to do with
hill tracks / eastern ghats and not about neidhal nilam ).
That murugan does not mean beauty can be vouchsafed
by a reference from Purananooru. In verse 259, which is the only vesre in
Purananooru where murugu is used ( at other palces there is reference to
muruga-k-kadavul or murugan kOttam etc, with obvious reference to Murugan), the
term murugu is ued to mean god (deivam). In this verse ( yErudai-p-peru nirai..
by kOdai paadiya Perum Bhoothanaar), is is said 'murugu mei-p-patta pulaiththi
pOla' where murugu means god or deivam.
That murugan is not maal magan can be established
in another way too. Murugan is alos known as 'aran magan' - a clear reference to
Shivan. Where is he is 'maayOn marugan'. This term exists in the nigandu. Here
again mayOn does not mean what we usually think in the present day awareness of
of tamil language.
Verse 57 of Puranaanuru begins with the
definition of MaayOn as this: 'vallaar aayinum, vallunar aayinum,
pughazhthal-uttrOrkku maayOn anna' (by kaari kannanaar). Dr Vu.VE. sA.'s
explanation is two fold. He is mAyOn because He can not be known by (both types
of people) people who are not capable of praising Him and who are capable of
praising Him. He is mAyOn, because irrespective of whether they know Him or
praise Him or not, He is one who treats them alike and blesses all of them.
MAyOn is one such that and Murugan is one coming in his lineage, therefore
capable of or extension of what mayOn does. That is why he is 'guhan' - ' who
protects' like his maaman . (guhan means 'kaapavan'). He is a protector like
Thirumaal. The blend of Kurunji (hill tracks) to which he is the Lord and Mullai
(forest) to which Thirumaal is the Lord gives this dimension to their
connection.
Thus Maalmagan is not Maal-marugan. Maal marugan is
MaayOn marugan. ( many verses can be quoted to establish that marugn
means marabin vazhiyil vandhavan. At another level, marugan and marugi mean son
in law and daughter in law - the olden dictionaries do conatin these. The root
of this to mean the son & daughter in law is in 'maruvuthal', connected with
'kalavi' or matrimonial connection, which is extended to marudha nilam
whose aga vozhukkam is 'punarthal'.. In contrast maNaatti and maNaaLan are
the bride and the groom.)
As you said, 'maal' means mayakkam among the other
meanings and in MaalE manivanna pasuram it is used in this meaning only
(vyamOham).
The 'Thiru'maal' siir kELAtha sevi enna seviyE' in Silappadhikaaram coming
under 'Aaichchiyar kuravai', in my opinion is not written by IllangO. He has
just given the then existant kuravai -p-paattu in Silappadhikaaram. Reason (1)
:-.The specific scene in silappadhikaaram is that of what is happening in
the street. Ilango captures aaichchiyar singing in the street. It is not
possible to think that he composed those verses sung by
aachchiyar.
Reason(2) :- Every line of that kuravai is impregnated with high
philosophical import and even depicting the progression of manvanthras and
avatharas and more strikingly the comparison of 'moondradi' of
Vaamanan with ''nadai' in vana vaasam of Raman and 'Thoodu
nadai' of Krishna, that they must have only been conceived by
wise people in their deep contemplatory mood. It must have been regularly
recited or sung by people of Mullai (aayarpaadi of Tamil Mullai nilam) and
become common place song of aachchiyar. A Buddhist like IllangO could not have
captured the nuances of Thirumaal avathaars as depicted in the song.
Next let me take up Iyer or aiyya.
The root word is 'I' or 'Ai'
In Tamil texts of yore, this word is found at
places to refer to leader or chief in II person (munnilai). That is when they
call their leader or chief standing in front of them, they used to say 'Ai' or
en ai, meaning ' en thalaiva' or 'oh, my chief'. You will find this in
verses 78 and 262 in Puranaanuru.
Aiyan means 'poojaikka-th-thagundhavan' or
'vaNanga-th-thagundhavan'. (the one who deserves to be worshipped).
The common usage in times of yore had been to refer
to Aiyyappan originally known as Aiyyan or Harihara kumaran (born to Vishnu as
Mohini and Shivan).
Then anyone who deserves to be worshipped by their
potential, came to be addressed as Aiyyan or Aiyyar. (Note that this term was
not used for Kings, but only to those who rose to respectable positions by
virtue of their actions and knowledge)
Therefore, the Vediks or Brahmins or paarpanaas
(paarpaar is one 'vedangalai-p-paarpavar') came to be called as ( also note that
the usage is while addressing as in 'ai' in olden days) aiyyar or Iyer.
As per choodamani nigandu, the eldest brother is
also known as Aaiyan, in his being the most resepcted person of the family.
The others called as Aaiyyan by Choodamani nigandu
are God (swami, EEshan, iRai, pathi), father, royals (kOmaan), adigaL, kuravan
etc.
In common usage all brahmins were addressed to as
iyer only.
The formation of Iyengar, in my opinion, is when
Telugus came to be associated with these iyers of Tamilnadu. This could have
happened when Ramanuja migrated to Hoysala region though a kannada populated
area, came to have association with many Telugus only. The addition of term of
respect, kaaru, to Iyer could have resulted in Iyeru kaaru and Iyengar. The
explanation of 5 attributes to Iyengar is intelelctual and can not
have evolved in colloquial usage. Whereas Ai, Aiyyan and Iyer had been in
vogue from time immemorial, as an address to respectable, worshippable and
learned people. It is possible to think that usage came first and
additional attributes came be added later by intelligentia.
Another reason to justify is that it is customary
in Madayam iyengar families to call their father as Aiyya. These families, settled in Melkote region during Ramanuja's times
must have continued the usage of Aiyya (for father or for the vediks). Aaiyya or
iyer must have been in usage when Ramanuja settled there and they must
have been addressed as such. The habit could have continued in calling the
father as aiyya and for commoners / public to call them as iyeru
kaaru.
Madhavi's address to Kovalan in 'vandhir Aaiyya' is
in the meaning of 'kOmaganE' or 'kOmaanE' --'vandhIr KOmaanE' (komaan is
called as Aaiyya or Aaiyyan or Iyer)
Any corrections to this mail are
welcome.
Jayasree saranathan
----- Original Message ---
From: venkataraman dhivakar
To: jayasartn
SPONSORED LINKS
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
|
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia |
oppiliappan-subscribe@yahoogroups.com To subscribe to the list |