On Sanskrit vs. tamil

[Guest guest]

Dear members,

 

To continue on the use of Tamil on par with Sanskrit, I would like to

quote the following

from Srivaishnava ManipravAlA by Sr. K. K. A. Venkatachari.

 

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Nanjiyar's Defence of Tamil:

 

As the idea of Tamil Veda increased in popularity and the hyms of the

Alvars became

known beyond Tamil Nadu, there were criticisms raised against the claims

that the

4000 was the Tamil Veda and that Tamil could be considered on a par with

Sanskrit

as a language of religious texts. Such objections include:

 

a. That tamil is a forbidden language.

b. That even the lower classes read the scriptures and hyms written in

tamil and so

pollute them.

c. That some of the religious hyms were written by NammAlvAr a vaishnava

saint born

in the fourth varna, considered to be of low standing.

d. Tamil is a regional language and not understood throughout the

country as sanskrit.

e. that even avaidhikas such as jains and buddhists adopt this language

to expound their

preaching, (manimekhalai, etc).

f. That the vaishnava hymms and writings do not elaborate on all four

objects (dharma,

artha, kAma and moksha) needed for a full life, but concentrate only

on kAma and

moksha.

g. That the hymms contain a number of references to nAyakanAyakibhAva,

where God

is considered as Nayaka and the soul Nayaki and thus prostitutes such

holy hymms

to bare erotic feelings.

 

 

Nanjiyar in his onpathinAyirappati (9000) effectively refutes these

charges and argues for

the greatness of Tamil.

 

a. It is nonessential to contend that Tamil is a forbidden language, as

any language is

appropriate for praising God. He quotes from matsayapurAna the story

wherein a

king orders that kaisika, one of the devotees was singing the

praises of the Lord in

a language other than Sanskrit, to be banished from his kingdom.

Yamma, the Lord

of death tells the King that his attitude is wrong and that any

language is appropriate

for praising God.

 

b. Scriptures do not become polluted by the lower classes reading them,

on the other

hand, this is a boost for God's apostolic work, since propagation of

religion through

such means is necessary for the good of the world.

 

c. That a person born in a lower varna is no fault of his. What makes

him worthy and

venerated is his erudition and moral rectitude. Nanjiyar says, he

(NammAlvAr) had

such a learning and was so pious and venerable that even God Himself

desired

NammAlvAr's vast store of knowledge and wisdom.

 

d. Tamil may be a regional language, but it is understood by all men of

real learning in

other languages in other regions of India. Such learned men who do

not know Tamil

actually regret that they do not have the good fortune to know it.

 

e. That even the Avaidhkas used Tamil as the medium of their preachings

is actually a

credit to the Tamil language.

 

f. That the hymms of alvArs do not elaborate all the four objects cannot

be considered

a discredit to the hymms of teh AlvArs , since their intention is

only to guide the people

towards the attainment of eternal salvation and they do not consider

the other elements

necessary for a full life.

 

g. The view that nAyakanAyakibhAva gives the Alvar's hymms a taint of

eroticism and

thus makes them inferior is not correct. for the nAyakanAyakibhAva

should be

interpreted as signifying the spiritual union of soul and God and

not erotic lovers. The

nAyakanAyakibhAva is only a stage of devotion which helps the

ordinary mortal to

understand and appreciate the concept of devotion to God.

 

Nanjiyar's defense of the use of Tamil explicitly makes scriptural

knowledge available to

all varnas. This view is opposed to the earlier view of the Bhraminic

orthodoxy which

states that only twice born may know the vedas or Upanishads. Therefore,

knowledge

of the scriptures becomes no longer an opportunity defined by brth, but

rather one

defined by participation in the Srivaishnava community.

 

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I'll follow up with Sir PeriyavAccAnpillai's defence of Tamil, which

appears to be

stronger than that of Nanjiyar's defence.

 

 

AchAryarkaL ThiruvadigalE SaraNam

Venkatesh