saGgha, saGgama, and saGhAta

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CTamil/message/234

 

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3-113_(9): un2n2i man2attu eZu caGkam

"the group of devotees who start for worship

thinking of you in their mind" (VMS)

 

Explaining this last quotation, VMS writes

that here caGkam stands for caGkamam or kUTTam

 

As I understand, in skt. saGgha and saG-gama

are distinct lexical items.

 

I would be glad if some sanskrit expert

could give a comment on the likely origin

of the term

>>>

 

Let me quote what a tamil expert writes on this.

 

"An insight into Tamilology:

Dr. T. E. Gnanamurthy 61st birth day commemoration

volume", Kalaikkatir, August 1972.

This festscrift volume has an important essay:

tAkTar me. cuntaram, caGkam - ArAycci, p. 29-45

 

p. 30

" caGkam en2Ra collE tamizc col an2mai karutat

takkatu. putta caGkam paRRi maNimEkalaiyil kuRippiTap

paTTirukkiRatu. tamizccaGkam paRRic camayac cArpuTaiya

nUlkaLAkiya tEvAram mutaliyavaRRilEtAn2 mutan2mutalAkak

kANkiROm. ivai ki. pi. 7-Am nURRANTukkum piRpaTTan2avAkum.

ivvARu piRkAlattE peritAkap pEcap paTTatoru peyarai

vaittukkoNTu, ataRkup pan2n2URu ANTukaTku mun2n2arE

Or amaippu iruntatu en2ac cAtippatu varalARRu neRikku

muraNAkum allavA?

 

mutaRkaN "caGkam" paRRiya piRkAlac cAn2RukaLait

tokuttu avaRRin2 uNmai in2maikaLai ArAyvOm.

itu pin2n2ar caGkac cAn2RukaLaik kaNTu oru muTivu kaTTuvataRku

oru vazi kOlum. (1) akanAn2URRukkup pazaiya urai on2Ru

uLLatu. atu muzutum kiTaikkavillai; uraiyAciriyar peyarum

teriyavillai. uraip pAyirattil 'vazutiyar avai' paRRiyum

kuRippiTap paTTuLLatu [1]. itil caGkam en2Ru cuTTAmal

'vazutiyar avai' cuTTap paTutalum, caGkap pulavarkaLaic

'cAn2ROr' en2ak kuRippiTutalum ton2maik kuRiyITukaLAkum.

piRkAla uraiyAciriyarkaLum caGkap pulavarkaLin2 pATTukkaLaik

kuRikka vENTiya iTaGkaLil 'cAn2ROr' ceyyuTkaLil kANka

en2par; piRkAlap pulavarkaLaip pira cAn2ROr en2par [2].

(2) mANikkavAcakap perumAn2 kUTalil tamiz ArAyap paTTatu

en2pataik kuRippiTukin2RAr[3]."

 

[While not a translation expert, let me try to give the gist:

these paragraphs tell that the word, caGkam is a skt. loan,

and bauddha saGgha is first mentiond in maNimEkalai epic.

The legends about tamil sangam are from religious texts

from 7th century or later. There is an old commentary

on akanAn2URu, its author name unknown and incomplete.

In its foreword (urai-pAyiram), there is a mention

of 'vazutiyar avai'. This, and poets designated as

'cAn2ROr' are ancient symbols. ...]

 

 

 

p. 41

" camaNarkaL maturaiyil mutan2mutalAkac caGkam vaittut

taGkaL camayattaip parappa muyan2Ran2ar. vajranantiyAl

niRuvappaTTa caGkam on2Ru ki.pi. 470-il maturaiyil iruntatu.

ivaRRaip pArtta caiva, vaiNava camayAciriyarkaL, ton2Ru

toTTup pANTiyarkalin2 avaikaLil tamiz vaLarkkap paTTatai

nin2aiviRkoNTu taGkaTkum caGkaGkaL iruntan2a en2pataip

perumaiyuTan2 kUrik koLvataRkAkap pun2ainta kataikaLE

muc caGkaGkaL paRRiya varalARu en2par.

 

caGka en2Ra collum caGkamam en2Ra collum toTarpuTaiyan2a.

caGka en2Ra col kaTal aaRuTan2 kalakkum iTattaik kuRikkavum

vazaGkiyuLatu. tamizil 'kUTal' en2Ra col ARu kaTaluTan2

kalakkum iTattaiyum, ARRuTan2 ARu kalakkum iTattaiyum

kuRittatu. piRaku pulavarkaL kUTuvataiyum kuRikka

iccol vazaGkalAyiRRu."

 

p. 45

"

1. pazutil koLkai vazutiyar avaikkaN

aRivu vIRRirunta ceRivuTai man2attu

vAn2Roy nallicaic cAn2ROr kuzii

aruntamiz mUn2Rum ceRinta kAlai ..- akam

 

2. pazaiya uraippAyiram

 

3. uraivAn2 uyarmatil kUTalil Aynta oNtIn tamizin2

tuRaivAy nuzaintan2aiyO? an2Ri Ezicaic cUzal pukkO?

 

- tirukkOvaiyAr 20

4. nan2pATTup pulavan2Ayc caGkamERi

naRkan2akak kizitarumikku aruLin2On2kAN

 

- appar tirupputtUrt tiruttANTakam

 

5. JAn2a campantan2 uraicey caGkamali centamizkaL pattu

 

caGka mukat tamiz mAlai pattu - tiruttEvUrt tEvAram

caGka mali tamiz mAlai pattu - tirumaGkaiyAzvAr tirumozi

 

6. paTTarpirAn2 kOtai con2n2a caGkat tamiz mAlai pattu

 

- aaNTaaL tiruppAvai 30"

 

---------------

 

In addition to saGha and saGgama (JLC), we must consider saGghAta too.

"There is also a reference to a dramiDa saGghAta in the

commentary of DaNDin's KAvyAdarza by TaruNa VAcaspati,

cf. V. Narayana Aiyar in JORM 2 (1928) 2, pp. 149-151"

(p. 59, Zvelebil, Tamil literature, E.J. Brill, 1975).

 

"Marr, John Ralston, The Eight anthologies, Madras, 1985,

introduction and passim (Marr quotes an important source:

TaruNavAcaspati's comm. on DaNDin's KAvyAdarza I.13:

saGghAtaH ekArthaviSayaH, ekakartRkaH, padyasaGghAtaH,

zaratsaGghAta dramiDa saGghAtAdivat; this may be

a Skt. notice of the eight Tam. CaGkam anthologies)"

(KZ, Lexicon of Tamil lit., 1995, p. 108)

 

No need to emphasize DaNDin's place in the development of

Skt. poetics. I also remember reading that Abhinavagupta

composed his own poems (but did not mention he himself is the

author!) (Cf. Indology archives, search "tantrasara").

Abhinavagupta frequently mentions malaya, candana from

malaya/potiyil, malayamAruta (= ten2Ral in Tamil), etc.,

Sri. Vishal Agarwal mentioned about a positive mention

of dravida (country or pepole) in Avantisundarikatha.

It will be interesting to see what A. says.

 

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In the Chola emperors' times, two tamil paraNis were

sung, now lost 1) koppattup paraNi and 2) kuTal-caGkamattup paraNi.

The second paraNi's depiction of a battle did possibly

happen at kUDala-saGghama, the place immortalized by

the veerashaism founder, BasavaNNa in his kannada vacanams.

 

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Also, consider the kuRaL quoted in CTamil earlier,

 

uvappat talaikkUTi uLLap pirital

an2aittE pulavar tozil!

 

kUTal is maturai, pulavar like to assemble ('talailkUTutal')

in kUTal-maturai!

 

 

Regards,

N. Ganesan