The Glory of Tamil

[Guest guest]

Sri

SrimathE nigamAntha mahadesikAya namaha

 

Dear Bhaktas,

 

We must be aware of a controversy in Karur recently. Such instances

taken by both sides often hurt both languages. One side making a

statement that Sanskrit alone is pure and the other declaring that

the god who can't understand tamil has no place in the land of tamil.

 

This reflects the poor scholarship and un-catholicity of both sides.

However, Swami Desikan has clearly established the Glory of Tamil.

Sarva Tantra Swatantrar, Swami Desikan was a master of over 6 to 7

languages. Samskrutam, Tamizh, Manipravalam, Telugu, Prakrit,

Kannadam, Malayalam was pointed out by Sri CG Balaji.

 

Swami Desikan writes about the glory of Tamil in DramidOpanishat

Tatparya Ratnavali (DRT for short). DRT is a commentary on the

Thiruvaymozhi of Prapanna Jana Koothasthar, Nammazhwar.

 

I quote Sloka 4 of DRT. The DRT was translated by Sri R Rangachari of

the Vedanta Desika Research Society, a society that aims to publish

all 120 works on Swami Desikan in languages his votaries can

understand.

 

"To sing the praise of the Lord, all tongues are meet!

No need to discriminate between the famed sanskrit and other speech!

Is not this the way of the world too, as between the rulers and the

ruled?

But Tamizh has a special glory - all persons may use it, without

distinction of caste or creed.

Is not Agastya, the great sage, it's progenitor?

And the Tamizh hymns of SatakOpan(Nammalwar) are unique!

The hosts of sages, the itihaasas and the puranas have but sought to

clarify the import of the vedas!

And SatakOpan is the sage of utmost excellence unalloyed;

His composition does in south - unravel the subtleties of the Word

(Brahma Sabdham) revealed - In this it is beyond compare!"

 

Hence there is no conflict between Samkrutham and Tamizh. Both are

equally valid for praising the Lord. However, when different sects

try to uphold one over the other, misunderstanding arises.

 

Thanga Tamizh Maalai Muppadhum...... - Declares Andal.

 

Samskrute Sambhaashanam Kuru, Jeevanasya Parivarthanam Kuru!

 

Regards,

 

Malolan Cadambi

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

In addition to the posts on the glory of tamil, an awareness needs to

be created that Tamil is the only language that descended to us

without a common Sanskrit ancestor.

 

All the languages spoken in India and in the Indo-European (Hindi,

Greek, Gothic, Latin, English etc.) are all estimated to have

descended from one common ancestor which western scholars seem to

call the Pan Indo European Language.

 

 

Tamil has the glory of evolving independently as a divine language,

given by Sage Agastya.

 

It is much older than our national language or any other of those

spoken in the north. east or west, contains the Prabhandams which are

glorified as much as the Vedas, contains the works of our Acharyas

and the Kamba Ramayanam.

 

The older version of Tamil has been the ancestor for all the Pancha-

Dravida languages today - Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Tulu.

This older version of Tamil font resembles all the scripts in these

dravidian languages.

 

-- pradeep

 

[ If I recall my Indology correctly, the "older version of Tamil"

Pradeep mentions is more properly called proto-Dravidian, being

the common ancestor to all the modern Dravidian languages,

Tamil included. The "older version of Tamil font" is ostensibly

the Brahmi script in which some old Tamil inscriptions are found,

and which was used for scripts all over India and not exclusively

for Tamil. The Brahmi script is the forerunner to all the Indian

scripts in use today (save Urdu), both north Indian and south

Indian. Pradeep's points about the antiquity and literary glory

of Tamil vis-a-vis other modern Indian languages are right on

the mark, IMHO. -- Mani ]