Tamil Literature

A rare bronze of dancing Ardhanari(svara), the Androgyne or Hermaphrodite, is in the Colombo museum. It was originally excavated in Anurådhapura, Sri Lanka, in 1982. Professor S. PADMANABHAN of the Peredenia University, who visited my alma mater (The Tamil University of Thanjavur) a few months ago, gave us a copy of the photo (Fig. 1) which is of great importance for research pertaining to Ardhanari. The most significant feature of the image is that it accommodates the feminine part in its right side. Though the figure under study has been published and discussed around nine times, the identification does not seem to be very apt. Even though ADICEAM (1968) wrote an exhaustive account of Ardhanarisvara, the credit of bringing to scholarly attention the concept of Ardhanari with the breast on the right side as against Ardhanari with the breast on the left side goes to Professor Raju KALIDOS (1992). The report of KALIDOS (1993) was followed by brief notes of his colleagues, GOPALAKRISHNAN (1994-95) and KANDASAMY (1994).
This article is based on the hypothesis accounted by KALIDOS (1993: 68), “when the breast happens to be on the left the emphasis lies on the Male principle and on the Female principle when the breast appears on the right”. The pratimalaksana of the Silpasastras brings Ardhanarisvara under Sivatattvanidhi, thus putting stress on Siva and not on Devï. The icon under study is depicted with the breast on the right and so here the androgyne deity is accounted under ‘she’ and not ‘he’.

The author‟s article on “Oceanic Divyadeśas …” (Studies in Indian Place Names, 2020, 40: 71, 3044-3071) stands amended in the light of critical comments by Professor Asko Parpola (e-mail dated June 2, 2020). 
The veil is removed in respect of the confounded „oda‟. There is no such Sanskrit word as oda. Ōtam (DEDR no. 1047) is of Drāviḍian origin. The fault was mine because I did not consult the Dravidian Etymological Dictionary. I wanted to consult this Dictionary but did not strain myself because it was not accessible that easily. Similarly, I did not consult the advanced Sanskrit dictionaries (my article notes p. 3049). It was indeed my shortsightedness to overlook certain figures.

Anand Amaladass SJ, "Mission der Kirche definiert von der Kultur eines Missionslandes: Am Beispiel eines missverstandenen Genies in der Missionsgeschichte Indiens: Roberto de Nobili (1577-1656)" in Glaube in der Welt von Heute: Theologie und Kirche nach dem Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzil: Festschrift für Elmer Klinger, edited by Thomas Franz and Hanjo Sauer (Würzburg: Echter Verlag, 2006): vol. 2 Diskursfelder: 306-318.

An English translation of a Tamil historical fiction novel with the same name written by Kamaladevi Aravindan.

Published by Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) (2020)

Available for sale at:
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Before reciting a canonical work, discussing it or engaging in
any other equally solemn activity, the Śrīvaiṣṇavas recite
what they refer to as taṉiyaṉs, "solitary" invocatory verses,
which are not part of the composition that they precede, but
which they actually introduce and praise, sometimes along
with its author. In this contribution I focus on the
(approximately) fifty taṉiyaṉs solely dedicated to the NTP,
as well as similar solitary verses known under different
denominations by the Śrīvaiṣṇavas. And the aim is to
introduce this peculiar Śrīvaiṣṇava verse in its larger context,
and to provide information on its types, contents, styles,
functions, authorship and dating.

Keynote presentation on introducing Tamil Unicode, standardization process, stability principle of Unicode, a brief review of the Tamil Symbol/Fractions proposal as well as the Tamil Virtual Academiy experts recommendation to the Government of Tamil Nadu.  Meeting on April 29th  at the University of  Madras. Session chaired by Prof. Jayadevan, Chief Editor, Madras University Tamil Lexicon Revised.

"Indian Epic and  Mediaeval Romance of Europe: similar motifs".
The paper deals with a specific complex of motifs which seems to be common for the tale of Nala and Damayanti from the Mahabharata  -  and the mediaeval European romance of Buovo d'Antona.

Seekaalathipuraanam - 7th Kannappach charukkam, 8th Nakeerach charukkam - written by Nallaatroor Thuraimangalam Karpanaikkalangium Shir Sivapirakaasaswamigal  - Tamil Explanations / Descriptions  by Kundrakudi Thiruvannamalai Aadheenapulavar Thamizhaakarar, Vidwan Kathiresan, M.A., B.Ed.

The publication presented here is part of a long-lasting and fruitful cooperation with the Indological institutions of the Universities of Prague, Cracow, Warsaw and Calicut. After the International Seminar organized by Professor C. Rajendran at Calicut University in January 2010 on “Narrative Techniques in Indian Literature and Arts”, it seemed of high interest to go on fostering some questions on the broader notions of figurative language and discourse strategies (especially the textual application) and their role in Indian Culture. In particular, research on stylistic devices has yielded a rich and diverse knowledge-base and the scientific interest has been sparked particularly by the emergence of the possibility to explore the different values, usages and meanings of Rhetoric (using a classical term) trying to create a platform for several research-fields that may open to cross fertilization.

ஓர் இனக்குழுமத்தின் உயிர்ப்பின் அடையாளமாக இருப்பது மொழி. அது பண்பாட்டின் வழிவந்த ஊற்று. மொழியின்றேல் இனமில்லை. அந்த இனத்தின் தனித்துவ அடையாளங்கள் இல்லை. பல்பண்பாட்டுச் சூழலில் புலம்பெயர்ந்து, தமது பிள்ளைகளுக்குத் தமிழ்மொழியைக் கற்பிப்பதற்கும் தமிழைப்பேச வைப்பதற்கும் தமிழினூடாகத் தமிழர் என்ற அடையாளத்தைக் கையளிப்பதற்கும் பல்வேறு செயற்பாடுகளை புலம்பெயர்ந்த ஈழத்தமிழர் ஆற்றிவருகின்றனர்.

தமிழ்ப்பண்பாடு என்பது புதிய தலைமுறையினரிடத்தில் மொழிவழியல்லாத அடையாளமாகப் பேணப்படும் நிலை தற்போது உணரப்படுகிறது. இது மிக ஆபத்தானதாக இருக்கும். தமிழ்ப்பெயருடன் வாழும் பிள்ளைக்கு தமிழ் தெரியாத நிலைபோலவும் நடனம் மற்றும் ஆற்றுகைக் கலைகளுக்குரிய பாடத்தை பிரெஞ்சிலோ அல்லது ஆங்கிலத்திலோ மனனம் செய்துவிட்டு அளிக்கை செய்வது போலவும் இருக்கும். இந்நிலைதான் இன்று மொரீசியசிலும் ரியூனியனிலும் ஏற்பட்டிருப்பதாகக் கூறப்படுகிறது.

  இந்த ஆபத்துக்களைக் களைவதற்கு தமிழ்மொழிசார்ந்து முதலில் புலம்பெயர்ந்து வாழ்கின்ற ஆளுமைகள் சிந்திக்கவேண்டும். அவர்களிடம் இருந்துதான் எதனைப் பிள்ளைக்குப் போதிக்கலாம். அதற்கு எவ்வாறான ஒழுங்குமுறைகளை (அகராதிகள் உருவாக்குதல். சொற்களஞ்சியத்தை உருவாக்குதல், பொருத்தமான கற்பித்தல் முறைகள், பாடத்திட்டம், பாடநூல், ஆசிரியர் பயிற்சிகள்) செய்யலாம் என்ற திட்டம் வரவேண்டும். இம்முயற்சியில் பலர் ஈடுபட்டு வருவதும் அறியப்படுகிறது.

  எனவே புகலிடத்தில் தமிழ்மொழிப் பயில்கையைத் தொடர்வதன் ஊடாகவே எதிர்காலத்தில் அடுத்த தலைமுறையினரிடத்தில் தமிழ்மொழியைப் பேணமுடியும்

COURSE DESCRIPTION
South India, with its rich history and stunning landscapes, has provided the setting for some of the greatest epics in the ancient world. In this class we will explore two of the ‘Five Great Jewels’ of Tamil literature: The Lay of the Anklet (Cilappatikāram) and The Dancer with the Magic Bowl (Maṇimēkalai). These epics were composed sometime between the 1st and 8th centuries CE and present a view of the societies, religions, and cultures of ancient South India. The central narratives of both epics follow the adventures of female protagonists: Kaṇṇaki, a devoted wife turned goddess, and Maṇimēkalai, a dancer-courtesan turned renunciant. These two epics are also connected through their female characters, as Maṇimēkalai is the daughter of Kaṇṇaki’s husband Kōvalaṉ and his mistress Mātavi. In conjunction with reading these fascinating tales, we will also explore their literary and historical contexts and their significance within the Jain and Buddhist religious traditions.

This book explores the impact that notions of ritual, caste, and religion had on society in 19th-20th century colonial South India. The authors present detailed studies of Tamil and Telugu sources, with a particular focus on the newly established print media of the time. They show how these concepts played a crucial role in the formation of social, cultural, and religious identities.
The e-version of the book is available from HASP, https://doi.org/10.11588/xabooks.539

This is a detailed Introduction to the work  Kaivalyanavanītam of Śańkukavi, as well as the present edition. Forms a part of my edition.
Kaivalyanavanītam of Śańkukavi is the Sanskrit translation of a Tamil work on Advaita Vedānta. The Tamil work, which bears the same name, was written by Tāņdavaraāya Svāmikaļ of 16th century. The present edition is the sixth edition of the Sanskrit work. A new Sanskrit commentary named कृष्णप्रिया is also included. The editor, N. K. Sundareswaran himself is the author of the commentary.
The notable features are:
1. Maximum effort has been put in to fix the correct reading ( the previous editions abound in variant/wrong readings).
2. A detailed study of the previous editions and the authorship of the Sanskrit work.
3. The commentary is simple and straightforward.

Poothalathil yavarkkum peradaravay ennalum, Maharasi endru vazhthuginra mariyamman, Seedharanar thangai, sirappana thalattai, Kadaludan odha ganapathiyum kappome. Mundi mundi vinayagre , mukkannar than magane, Kandarukku mun piranda karpagame munnadavai, Velavarkku mun piranda vinayagare munnadaivai, Vembadiyir pillayare , vikkinare , munnadaivai. Quand je chante cette complainte (Thalathu) spéciale à la soeur de Vishnu qui est le support de tous les êtres dans cette terre et louée comme la reine parmi les femmes, elle est la déesse Mariamman. Menez-moi s'il vous plaît en avant et en avant encore, oh, Dieu qui enlève les obstacles qui est le fils du Dieu au trois yeux (Shiven). Menez-moi s'il vous plaît, vous qui êtes la pierre précieuse qui est née avant le Seigneur Skanda. Menez-moi s'il vous plaît, Vinayaga qui est né avant le Dieu qui porte le Vel (lance). Menez-moi s'il vous plaît Seigneur Ganesha qui est assis sous l'arbre Neem et menez-moi S'il vous plaît vous qui enlevez les obstacles. Pezhai vayithone, peruchali vaganare, Karana maal maruga karpagame mey porule, Cheerana nal muruga, selva ganapathiye, Ottai kombone, umayal thiru magane, Kathai chadai anintha gangadaran magane, Vithaikku vinayagane , vennai undon maruga, Matha kari mugava mayon marukone, Iynthu karathone yanai mugathone, Danthamada varanane thar parane munnadaivai.Nenjir kudi irundu nee enakku munnadavai, Panchanju melladiyal parvathiyal puthirane , Vezha mukathone vinayagare munnadavai, Thazhvila sangaranar sar puthira varumaiya, Munnadakkam pillayarku, kannadakkam ponnale, Kannadakkam ponnale, kar chilambhu muthale, Muthale thandai koncha munnadavai pillayare, Selva ganapathi un padam naan maravene. Lui, qui a une grosse panse. Qui va sur un rat (ou une mangouste), Qui est le neveu du Seigneur Vishnu, Qui est le désir donnant la pierre précieuse, qui est la vérité réelle, Qui est le frère du grand Dieu Muruga. Qui est le Roi des ganas (messager, gardiens). Qui ne possède q'une seul défense. Qui est le fils de la déesse Parvathi. Qui est le fils de celui qui porte Ganga sur sa tête pourvu d'un chignon emmélé. Qui est le premier Dieu qui mène connaissance. Qui est le neveu de celui a mangé le beurre (Krishna-Gôvinda). Qui a le visage d'un éléphant, Qui est le neveu du grand enchanteur.

This article attempts to unpack the tales of Tenali Rama to study the intrinsic ideologies they propagate, which otherwise seem naïve and innocent enough for children’s read. Borrowing from Gramsci’s understanding of the senso commune (common sense), this article aims to study the stories as political narratives which provide the masses a transit from knowledge to opinion and determine a cardinal
role in the shaping of the social order. Although the tales of Tenali Rama, like other folk tales, have traversed to us mainly through oral tradition, the thrust of my paper is to problematize how Tenali Rama is projected in popular culture, especially in graphic novels and cartoon shows.

Singapore, represented by a tiny dot on the world map, became a Republic on 9 August 1965. It celebrated its silver jubilee in 1990. Within the short span of 25 years, Singapore has made tremendous social and economic progress. Similarly, it has also witnessed remarkable progress in the field of creative literature such as traditional poetry, songs for children, new poetry, novels and dramas. The objectives of this thesis are to provide a critical evaluation of these works in Tamil.

Tamil literature in Singapore has a history of around 112 years. The first literary work in Tamil was published in 1887. However, it was only after independence in 1965 that a great number of literary works were printed in book form.

My critical evaluation covers Tamil literature (excepting short stories) published in Singapore from 1965 to 1990. This research consists of seven chapters. The introduction consists of Tamil language in Singapore, creative literature, the beginning and development of creative Tamil literature in Singapore, the objectives of this thesis, the limitation of this research, primary and secondary resource materials and a review of the literature. Short stories have not been included as the scope of the research would have become too extensive and beyond the scope of thesis.

The chapter on Traditional Poetry is categorised into content, form and technique and covers 10,371 poems written in the traditional form listed under 1795 titles found in 38 books. The content section contains poems on various themes and poems in story form. The poems are subdivided into 17 sections covering topics such as Singapore and its History, Community and Devotion. The topic Love and devotion is dealt with in about one quarter of the poems. The poems on Singapore describe its beauty, its external perception and the pride of its people. The poetry on social issues does not wholly reflect Singapore society. The former Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew and G Sarangapany (a community leader who was the founder of the Tamil newspaper, Tamil Murasu) are featured prominently in the poems. The section on form deals with prosody, musical compositions, minor literary genre and sithrakavi or verse composition fitted into figures (such as chariots, mountains, etc.). The poems mostly deal with viruttham (a kind of metre in Tamil prosody) and sinthu-song of melodic type. Mr Ikkuyanam stands out as the only one to compose sithrakavi. The section on technique deals with imagination, similes and humour. Singaporean Tamil poets seem to have used very few techniques. The poems do not give much importance to these techniques.

The chapter on Songs for Children deals with 777 songs with different headings contained in 13 books written by eight poets. The chapter deals with classifications viz., content, form and technique. The songs for children can be divided into those for the very young and for the slightly older. The section on content deals with Singapore - the nation, relationships, sports and 15 other topics. The themes of the songs do not seem to reflect the children's point of view. The poets primarily seem bent on preaching and place the happiness of children last. The section on form deals with rhythm, commands over words and harmony. The songs conform to a certain rhythm; however, the form does not deal with the different stages of childhood. The section on technique covers imagination, simile, contention and graphics. However there seems to be a paucity of techniques that would attract the children.

The chapter on New Poetry looks at 320 new verses contained in nine books, which were written by 11 poets. The poems are examined under the headings, content, form and technique. The section on content is divided into 12 sub-divisions and contains headings such as Singapore - the nation, politics, society and family. There are very few songs, which contain Singapore as the theme. Elangovan dwells into social issues more than anyone else. He is the only one who has also composed poems on Singaporean politics. The section on form is subdivided into sound, graphic portrayal and usage of words in the local context. Only Elangovan has written lengthy and graphic poems. The section on technique deals with imagery, ambiguity, and obscurity and satire. Again Elangovan has dealt with poems that contain dramatic changes of events and stands out with significant features in the field of new poetry in Singapore.

The chapter on Novels deals with 20 novels written by eight authors. It has different sections such as story line, background, characters, subject matter, community, techniques and style. The section on story line explains the story and its theme. The section on background deals with the place, period and historical and social background. The two novels entitled Alaigal and Vaikaraipookkal have Singapore as their background. The stories Sumaithangi, Alaigal, Thuyarapathai, Inivavalae are set in the 1960-70s. The theme in the story Thuyarapathai discusses the social issues of the Malaysian Indians living in the rubber estates. Aspects of character are discussed in the section on character. Elankannan and K Perumal's characters are well thought out. The younger female characters are portrayed as those who do not pay attention to traditions whilst the older female characters seem to be concerned with traditions. The section on subject matter talks about the gist of the novels while the section on community discusses social issues. The Singaporean society, however, is not featured well in the stories. Techniques are also not well used. Except for A P Shanmugam, all other authors have used a clear and lucid style of writing.

The chapter on Dramas deals with 45 dramas written by 17 dramatists and is divided into dramas in prose form and dramas in poetry form. The section on dramas in prose form deals with the story and theme, and presentation, portrayal of characters and style of language. The dramas in prose form portray Singapore more than any other literary form. The themes seem to reflect the fact that society needs to be reformed or that the society should know of its foibles. The distinctive and self-opinionated A P Shanmugam's dramas lose their importance as they do not have a clear and lucid style. The section on dramas in poetry form deals with theme and dramatic structure, characters, techniques and prosody. Among the four dramas in poetry form, three are connected with the epic Mahabaratha and the other on a social theme.

The conclusion of the thesis and recommendations for future research are given under the heading conclusion. There does not seem to be enough evidence of a distinctive Singaporean Tamilness in the creative literary scene. Creative writers must strive more to do so. There are opportunities for future research to pursue research on short stories, which are featured over the media.

Caturagiri is a mountain located about 58 km to the southwest of Madurai in southern part of Tamil Nadu, South India. The
mountain valley, with a reserved forest cover, has two shrines dedicated to Shiva, natural shelters with rock paintings, and
caves and shelters considered to be the abodes of the Siddhas. Thousands of people from Tamil Nadu visit the Shiva temples of
Sundaramahalingam and Sandanamahalingam located on the Caturagiri mountain on the new moon days, and it has become
a popular pilgrimage and tourist destination. This area is inhabited by the Paliyars who used to primarily subsist through
hunting-gathering till the 20th century. This paper discusses about the Paliyars of this region, history of the Caturagiri temple,
the Saptur Zamindari, which patronized the Caturagiri temples, and the Caturagiri Vazhinadaiccindu, which is found in the
British Library. It argues that the Siddha medicine system perhaps had the contribution of the hill people of Tamil Nadu,
including the Paliyars, who do preserve and practice the traditional medicinal system.

There were hardly any references to the Maldives in academic works after HCP Bell’s visit to the country at the beginning of the 20th century. Bell’s work was not widely circulated and the country was ignored by scholars until the last quarter of the century. I was curious to know about the reasons that made someone go to the Maldives during the years of obscurity. Clarence Maloney, an anthropologist from the USA and the writer of People of the Maldive Islands, is one of the few researchers of Maldivian culture who broke the long academic silence that weighed on the archipelago. He made three visits to the Maldives between 1974 and 1976.

Multiple etymologies have been suggested for the word Tamiḻ, with the most promising suggested by the veteran linguist Franklin Southworth. He derived the term from a proposed compound *tam-miḻ, with the meaning of “ones’ own speech”. However, the exact factors that led to this proposed term have not been investigated to date. In this article, I suggest that the term may have first emerged due to contact between different speech communities.

The world of Tamil literature is full of kings, gods, and demons. Entire genres of poetry are dedicated to the art of praising these powerful figures, including one genre of poetry known as kovai. While the vast majority of kovai poems are dedicated to kings and gods associated with Vaishnava and Shaiva communities, this study examines a nineteenth-century kovai that takes the Prophet Muhammad as its heroic patron. I illustrate how the poet utilized a devotional model that was successful in Hindu contexts to present Muslim audiences with a literary tribute to Muhammad that is both aligned with Tamil bhakti aesthetics and in praise of the Prophet’s humanity and graciousness
toward devotees.

Constantine Joseph Beschi received the name "Dhairiyanath Swami" also known under his Tamil name of Veeramamunivar. He was an Italian Jesuit Priest and renowned poet in Tamil Languages. He translated and explained in Latin the "Thirukkural" an epic poem of Thiruvalluvar. This Latin work was an eye opener for European intellectuals.

The Jains and their texts play a key role in the literary histories of the Tamil-speaking region. However, in their modern form, dating from 1856 to the present, these histories have been written almost exclusively by non-Jains. Driving their efforts have been agendas such as cultural evolutionism, Dravidian nationalism or Shaiva devotionalism. This essay builds on ideas articulated by the contemporaryTamil theorist K. Civatampi, examining how various models of periodization have frozen the Jains in the ancient past. Further, it will explore how this unfolding historical drama, which gloriously climaxes in Tamil literature, has attributed the Jains, as dramatis personae, merely a role in early Jain texts; their role as communities transmitting these texts has been ignored. In contrast to this typical pattern, this article will also introduce a literary history written in 1941 by the Jain A. Cakravarti Nayanar (1880–1960). It will explore whether or not his voice, which emerged from within the same academic community contributing to the strange absence of Jains in the contemporary awareness of Tamil literary, was successful in finding another way for Jains of being heard, and for non-Jains, of listening.