Meaning of 'pattu'

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SrI:

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Mani Varadarajan

jayasartn

Wednesday, April 19, 2006 12:36 AM

Re: [dpsanthai] Perumal and his family arrive @ Fremont Hindu Temple

 

 

Dear Smt Jayasree,

 

Thank you for your learned reply. It is much appreciated.

What does "paTTu" in Tamil mean? Because our Alvars

describe Emberuman as wearing paTTu in their anubhavam.

 

Mani

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A good question.

Let me say what I know and leave it to the assessment of yourself and others.

 

According to Chudaamani nigandu, one of the oldest and reliable Tamil

dictionaries, 'pattam' means vasthram.

 

The sutram is

"pattamE vOdai, thoosu, padavi, vaaL, kavari maavaam"

 

Pattam is synonymous with, kuLam (tank) thoosu (cloth/ vasthram),

padavi ( position one holds) vaaL, (sword) and kavari maan (kavari

deer)

 

Pattigai means 'kachcham" like in pancha kaccham, the folds of cloth.

 

The arai-gyaaN kayiru (worn around the waist) is also known as pattigai.

 

These words had been in usage stretching from 1000 years ago to

Tholkaapiam period.

 

The paatam or vasthram or cloth worn by people (pattam vudutthal) must

have come to be known as pattu udutthal.

 

The words pattu, pattOlai, pattai, patturuvudhal, pattayam all have

their roots in mara-paattai, the fibre of trees.

 

Pattai is mara-p-pattai, or fibre of trees which is also known as

mara-vuri in Ramayana.

 

In those days, if it was said, 'pattai vudutthaan', it meant that the

person wore the cloth made of mara-pattai.

Raman 'pattai' vudutthan, during his vanavasam.

 

PattOlai is the sheet made of mara-pattai in which messages and

declarations were written.

 

Pattayam is the sheet used as promisory notes.

 

Patturuvudhal is penetrating the pattai to draw out the fibre or

thread.(pattai vUduruvudhal)

 

This patturuvudhal was weaving the fibre.

 

>From all these the word 'pattu' must have come to stay. We can aslo

see that mara-p-pattai has been the basis of pattu or vasthram, in

other words, vegetation had been the basis for cloth - a memory

carried from early man's period.

 

Azhwars also must have meant the pattam or pattai drawn from

vegetation. As said above. pattam vudutthal (vasthram vudutthal) must

have become pattu vudutthal.

If silk worms were sacrificed for becoming a vasthram for Perumal,

certainly some periyavaal or aazhwar would have aspired for becoming a

silk worm and said so in their writings:-) (no offence please. It is

to drive home a point:-))

 

Pattu also means a small town.

The ChinnaLa-p-pattu is a type of cloth woven by weavers of the small

town called Chinnala-p-pattu. (Both patti and pattu mean chitroor

(small town))

Here it does not mean Pattu or silk was meant by chinnala-p-pattu.

 

As I mentioned in another mail quoting Mr krishnaswamy, naar-pattu had

been in vogue.

When silk entered the market, that must have come to be regarded as pattu.

 

Sri Paramacharyal of Kanchi's repeated disapproval of this silk must

also be known to all.

 

With humble pranams,

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mani Varadarajan

jayasartn

Wednesday, April 19, 2006 12:36 AM

Re: [dpsanthai] Perumal and his family arrive @ Fremont Hindu Temple

 

 

Dear Smt Jayasree,

 

Thank you for your learned reply. It is much appreciated.

What does "paTTu" in Tamil mean? Because our Alvars

describe Emberuman as wearing paTTu in their anubhavam.

 

Mani

 

 

On 4/17/06, jayasartn <jayasree_saranathan wrote:

SrI:

 

I am glad that this topic has cropped up.