The Power of Curse

We would have see the Power of Aram in the previous posts of this blog, that is primarily the power to prove that truth always wins. There can be a remedy to the consequences caused by the power of Aram (Truth), but curse in most cases is not remediable. The person has to undergo the trials and tribulations of a curse. Curse can come by the way of the victim cursing the criminal/defaulter verbally and by the way of one's own action. The latter has more impact and bad effect than the former. We would have heard about the famous Curse of King Tutankhamun. Though that one is disputable if that is actually a curse or not, the ones that Thirumoolar says, in his masterpiece Thirumandhiram, definitely is. Especially the curse gotten by one's action of insulting or hurting his/her Guru, who showed the way to enlightenment and knowledge.

The curses Thirumoolar explains are songs so strong and potent, that we can realise why such acts carry with them such a strong and powerful curse. It does not need to be that the Guru will utter the curse, the act itself carries with it such a curse. Now let us see those songs that are really mind blowing and awe-inspiring. In fact the acts that we should not do or allow our younger generations to do.



"Ore Ezhuthu Ore Porul Unara Kooriya
Seer Ezhuthaalarai Sidhaiya Seppinor
Ooridai Sunanganaai Pirandhu Angorugam
Paaridai Kirumiyaai Pazhaguvar Mannilae"

meaning, The person who insults/hurts the heart of the Guru, who taught or gave the meaning and knowledge about the one lettered universal Mantra - OM - and the universal being - The Brahmam, by vituperating about the Guru will be born as a dog that wanders aimlessly in the country. And then as a parasite creatures for a Yugam in this earth.

Ore Ezhuthu - One letter, in this context, the Mantra OM
Ore Porul - One thing, in this context, The universal being
Unara - Realise
Kooriya - Explain, utter
Seer Ezhuthaalar - refer the Guru (Teacher)
Sidhaiya - Destroy, hurt badly
Seppinor - Utter
Ooridai - in the country, place
Sunganan - Dog
Pirandhu - Being born
Angu Ore Ugam - There for for Yugam
Paar - Earth
Kirumi - Bacteria, Parasitic Creatures
Pazhaguvar - get used to
Mannilae - In the soil or sand or earth

This really frightens most of us. The next one is even harsher, it goes like this



"Pathini Paththargal Thathuva Gnanigal
Siththam Kalanga Sidhaivugal Seidhavar
Aththamum Aaviyum Aandondril Maaindhidum
Sathiyam Eedhu Sadhanandhi Aanaiyae"

meaning, Those who hurt the feelings of the noble family persons and the persons considered as knowledgable nobles/divines making them worry, will have their wealth and their life wiped out within a year. And promising on Lord Shiva, it is the real truth.

Pathini Paththar - People who lead a noble family life
Thathuvam - Great Thought
Gnani - Wise man, Holy person
Siththam - Mind
Kalanga - Disturb
Sidhaivu - Destruction
Seidhavar - Person who does something
Aththam - Wealth
Aavi - Life, the soul
Aandu Ondru - One Year
Maandu - Die
Sathiyam - Truth
Sadhanandhi - other name for Lord Shiva
Aanai - Promise, rule

The next one song applies not only to a person but to a country, the king and his subjects




"Easan Adiyaar Idhayam Kalangida
Dhesamum Naadum Sirappum Azhidhidum
Vaasavan Peedamum Maamannar Peedamum
Naasamadhu Aagumae Nann Nandhi Aanaiyae"

meaning, if the minds of the devotees of Lord Shiva are hurt, then the country, its state and its fame will be destroyed completely. Even Lord Indran's throne and the thrones of the great emperors will be destroyed. These are the truths that could be promised on Lord Shiva.

Easan Adiyaar - Lord Shiva (Easan), Devotees (Adiyaar)
Idhayam - Heart
Kalangida - Disturb
Dhesamum - Country
Naadu - State, also refers to country and used synonymously with Dhesam
Sirappu - Fame, Popularity
Azhindhidum - Destroy
Vaasavan - Lord Indran
Peedam - Throne
Maamannar - Emperor
Naasam - Destruction
Aagum - Happen
Nann Nandhi - Divine Nandhi (Lord Shiva)

The next song is more stricter in a sense that it describes about what happens if one lies to his Guru.



"Sanmaarga Sarrguru Sannidhi Poivarin
Nanmaargamum Kundri Gnanamum Thangaadhu
Thonmaarga Maaya Thuraiyum Marandhittu
Panmaaragamum Kettu Panjamum Aamae"

meaning, if one utters a lie to the great guru who inculcated great virtues and righteousness, then his righteousness will decline, along with his knowledge. Also, he will forget the traditional values and virtues. Then all his ways for livelihood will get destroyed and will result in misery for life

Sanmaargam, Nanmaaragam - Virtue, Righteousness
Sarrguru - Great Guru
Sannidhi - Sanctum
Poi - Lie
Varin - coming
Kundri - decline
Thangaadhu - Negation Thangum which means staying or remaining
Thonmaarga - Traditional Virtues
Thurai - Area of study, department, etc
Marandhittu - Forgetting
Panmaargamum - Others ways of virtuous life and livelihood
Kettu - Spoil
Panjam - Misery, Famine

The songs that Thirumoolar has given us intimidates at the outset, but those songs are not to intimidate but to realise the fact the people who should be held in high regards should not be denigrated or insulted. If so, the result of such insult will automatically be attributed to the person insulting. Those consequences are really bad putting people in difficulty for a long period of time. And through songs like these, Thirumoolar inculcates righteousness that has to be followed in everyone's life. The songs are a forerunner to the realisations of truth, because those consequence puts the defaulter into an oblivion that he/she will not have a chance know the reason for the suffering. These righteousness are simple and easy to follow that keeps us out of trouble for ever.

More to come, until then...

Fabled Morals!!!

We have seen morals being depicted in various ways, that are being passed from our ancestors since time immemorial. Morals are depicted as pictures, drawings and even in religious stories. In fact even in our schools, there was a subject called Moral Science (Ozhukka Kalvi) that taught about virtuous behaviour etc. In many of its forms, the morals being presented, the expression through fables is the most fascinating and interesting and still loved by many. The way the fables are expressed arouses the interests of many. At times, there is even a subtle humour involved in it, so that it is remembered for a long time. Even Tamil literature has these fascinations represented umpteen songs. Lets see some of the songs that have a subtle humour in them.

The first song goes like this




"Kari Oruthingal Aaru Kaanavan Moondru Naalum
Irithalai Putril Naagam Indru Unum Irai Eethendru
Virithalai Vedan Kayil Vilkudhai Narambai Kavvi
Nariyanaar Patta Paadu Naalaiyae Paduvar Maadho"

meaning, a greedy fox that planned on eating the dead elephant, the dead hunter and the dead snake all by itself, bit the string of the bow and died.

Kari - Elephant
Oru - One
Thingal - Month, Moon, Monday
Aaru - Six
Kaanavan - Person living in the forest, Hunter
Irithalai - Run quickly
Putru - Snake mound
Naagam - Snake, Cobra
Indru - Today
Unum - Eating
Irai - Food
Eedhu - Referring to the subject
Virithalai - The head with hairs untied
Vedan - Hunter
Kayil - Hand
Vil - Bow
Narambu - String in the bow
Kavvi - Grab by mouth
Nariyanaar - Fox
Patta Paadu - Troubles faced
Naalaiyae - Tomorrow
Paduvar - Feel, experience
Maadho - An interjection


The story behind the song is as follows. Once a hunter went to a forest to hunt an elephant, he found an elephant and threw a spear at it killing the elephant. While throwing the spear, a snake bit the hunter and he fell dead. The hunter fell on the snake while falling dead and killed the snake too. A fox that came by, saw these three dead and being a treasure trove of food. It went greedy and thought of having all the food by itself. So it started planning, it thought that it will eat the elephant for six months, the hunter for three days and the snake as today's meal. So it wanted to pull out the snake that was underneath the hunter. But mistakenly, it bit the string of the bow that the hunter was carrying. The string was cut and the bow stretched rapidly killing the fox. The greedy fox died in an instant. The moral is that greediness puts people in trouble and at times even puts an end to them. The humour part is the fox biting the string of the bow instead of the snake. If we imagine the sequence of events happening in our mind we can feel the humour and the moral inculcated in this song.

The next one is similar to an one old saying that is



"Dhushtanai Kandaal Dhoora Vilagu"

meaning, get away from a bad guy, because he will bring trouble to us unnecessarily. The following song illustrates such concept and if we correlate the this saying with the song, we can see the subtle humour involved



"Vaanaram Mazhaithanil Nanaiya Thookkanam
Thaanoru Nerisolla Thaandi Pithidum
Gnanamum Kalviyum Navindra Noolkalum
Eenarukku Uraiththidil Edar Adhu Aagumae"

The song illustrates, a monkey drenched in rain, destroying the nest of the weaver bird when the bird advised the monkey.

Vaanaram - Monkey
Mazhai - Rain
Nanaiya - Drenched, become wet
Thookkanam - Weaver bird
Thaan - a reflexive pronoun
Oru - One
Neri - Moral,
Solla - Telling
Pithidum - Break or destroy something
Gnanam - Knowledge
Kalvi - Education
Navindra - Learnt, studied
Nool - Texts
Eenar - mean people
Uraithal - Telling, teaching
Edar Adhu Aagumae - will result in trouble

The story behind this song goes like this. Once a monkey drenched in the rain was walking in the forest. A weaver bird saw the monkey drenched, and advised the monkey that if it had built a home like the nest it had, the monkey would not have been drenched in the rain. On hearing this, the monkey destroyed the weaver bird's nest. Likewise, giving advice about knowledge and education to mean people results in trouble.

If we correlate the above saying and the events in the songs, along with bringing a visual image of the event, the subtle humour could be understood along with the moral. Had the weaver bird kept its mouth shut, it would have saved its nest. So the moral is before giving advice, understand the character of the person getting the advice. If the person happens to be mean, the advice will result in trouble.

Though people at times don't to hear morals just because it is boring and irritating , but these fables mingled seamlessly with a moral is interesting always.

More to come, until then...

A Cryptic Expression of Love

Expressing love, is what young, enthusiastic and vibrant lovers apply their thoughts and brains to impress each other. The creativity that comes out is always admired and awaited by the opposite party. The suspense/hidden clues in such expressions of love are the interestings bits that really takes people close to each other. Discovering the hidden pieces is the real blast of the such expressions, that gives each other the adrenaline booster. More cryptic the message, more is the entertainment in deciphering it.

There is one such cryptic love message, in Tamil, where the guy write to his lover a cryptic message that is very interesting to decipher. The song is from the famous Viveka Chintamani, the author of this work is unknown, but the message is really out of this world and deciphering requires a real effort, the result of which is really astounding. The song goes like this





"Oru Naangum Eeraraiyum Ondrae Kelaai
Unmaiyaai Aiaraiyum Araiyum Kaetaen
Irunaangum Moodrudanae Ondrum Solvaai
Immozhiyai Kaetapadi Eendhaai Aayin
Perunaangum Arunaangum Peruvaai Pennae
Pinnae Ore Mozhi Pugala Vaendaam Indrae
Sarinaangum Paththum Ore Padhinaindhaalae
Sagikka Mudiyaathini En Sagiyae Maanae"


The message is that the guy asks his lover for a kiss. If she agrees, she will win his heart. But the poet has used his creativity and put in a really interesting puzzle to solve. That his request requires a lot of thought and intelligence to decrypt the message.

Oru, Ore - One
Naangu - Four
Arai - Half,
Eer - Two, so Eer Arai - Two Halves
Kaetaen - Ask
Iru - Two
Moodru - Three
Solvaai - Tell
Immozhi - These words, request
Kaetapadi - As requested
Eendhaai Aayin- Give as requested
Peru - Big, Dominant
Aru - Six
Peruvaai - Obtain, Receive
Pennae - Girl, Young lady
Pinnae - Later
Mozhi - Language, Speech
Pugala - Utter
Vendaam - Negation of an action
Indrae - Today
Sari - Correctness, Exactness
Paththu - Ten
Padhinaindhu - Fifteen
Sagikka Mudiyadhu - Intolerable
En - My
Sagiyae - Friend, An Equal Partner
Maanae - Deer

Lets get the literal meaning first so that we could uncover the clues one by one, that we get the pleasure of solving an interesting puzzle, rather the one that relates to love :)

The literal meaning is,

"One Four plus Two Halves plus One (Six) Hear to what I say
Truly I requested for Five Halves and a Half (Three)
You tell Two Fours plus Three plus One (Twelve)
If you hear to these and give as requested
You will get a big Four plus six Fours (Twenty Eight), young lady
You don't not tell anything else today
Because of the Four plus Ten plus One Fifteen (Twenty Nine)
I am not able to tolerate it, my deer like soft young lady"

The numbers are really cryptic ain't it? Especially, the total in the brackets. Now lets, decipher the numbers and solve the puzzle. The clue to all the answers in this song lies in the concepts used in astrology.

• The first line totals to Six - One Four + Two Halves (One) + One. In this song the poet refers to the sixth zodiac sign which is the Virgo (Kanni in Tamil), and refers to the virgin, the young lady.
• The second line totals to Three - Five Halves + Half. Here, the third day of the week, Tuesday (Sevvaai in Tamil, which also means mouth with rosy lips)
• The third line totals to Twelve - Two Fours + Three + One, which refers to the Zodiac star called Uththiram that also means Acceptance, Consent in Tamil
• Line four is already translated, so we will see the fifth line, which totals to Twenty Eight - Four + Six Fours that refers to the twenty eighth year in the Tamil Calendar which is Jaya that means Victory.
• We will skip the sixth line and move on the the seventh that totals to Twenty Nine - Four + Ten + Fifteen, that refers the again to the year in the Tamil Calendar. Manmadha (A person similar to Cupid). The last line is done.

Now lets gather our clues and put them together to find out the solution to the puzzle. The guy says, "You young lady, I request you to give me your rosy lips. If you accept and heed to what I request, you will have victory in winning my heart. You need not tell me anything else (reasons or denial) today because, I am not able to torelate the effects of manmadha arrow (cupid's arrow)."

Spectacular puzzle and the answer to it!!! If such creativity could be found in old texts like Viveka Chinthamani, our language and tradition has a very rich and excellent stuff to be admired for years to come. I am not sure if the girl consented to this, or even decrypted this message, but the creativity and the intelligence of the guy is truly amazing and out of this world.

More to come, until then...

Elusive Expressions!!!

Expressions are realisations or reflexes of the humans under different situations of their life. These reflexes or realities are quite elusive that they stay for just a small time. Just imagine how many expressions do you remember having made for yourself. And how many do many of us know what expressions we express in various situations. Classifying expressions has been a subject on its own and that is what today's movie makers capitalize when they make any great hits. These expressions are those that the essence of who we are. Tamil literature has a mastermind who has classified these expressions, he is none other than the famous Thollkaappiyar. He classifies the expressions in eight categories, grouping four in each category. The song in the section Meipaatiyal, in his work Thollkaapiyam, goes like this. Also I have tried to get the closest or correct English words for the each of the terms below. Please correct me if I am wrong in any of those.



"Nagaiyae Azhugai Ilivaral Marutkai
Achcham Perumidham Veguli Uvagai Endru
Appaal Ettae Meipaadu Enba"

meaning, Laughter (Nagai), Crying (Azhugai), Weakness (Ilivaral), Astonishment (Marutkai), Fear (Achcham), Pride (Perumidham), Anger (Veguli), Happiness (Uvagai), are the eight different expression categories .

Each of these above mentioned eight categories have four different expressions in them. The following songs enlist what they are

For Laughter



"Ellal Ilamai Paedhamai Madan Endru
Ullappatta Nagai Naangu Enba"

meaning Snicker (Ellal), Ilamai (Laughter when young or immature or Innocent laughter), Paedhamai (Laughter out of foolishness), Madan (Laughter for Ignorance) are the four laughters that come from one's heart

For Crying



"Ilivae Izhavae Asaivae Varumai Ena
Vilivu Ill Kollkai Azhugai Naangae"

meaning, Ilivae (Insult, Defamation), Izhavae (Death, loss), Asaivae (Restlessness, Tension), Varumai (Poverty) are the four different aspects of crying

For Weakness


"Moopae Piniyae Varutham Menmaiyodu
Yaapura Vandha Ilivaral Naangae"

meaning Moopae (Senility), Piniyae (Disease), Varutham (Sorrow), Menmaiyodu (Feebleness) indicate weakness.

For Astonishments



"Pudhumai Perumai Sirumai Aakkamodu
Madhimai Saala Marutkai Naangae"

meaning Pudhumai (Being latest and new), Perumai (Pride), Sirumai (Being very simple), Aakkamodu (Being powerful) are the various astonishments that man expresses

For Fear


"Anangae Vilangae Kalvar Tham Irai Enba
Pinangal Saala Achcham Naangae"

Anangae (Fear of Devils, Intimidating Goddesses like Kaali), Vilangae (Fear of Animals), Kalvar (Thieves), Tham Irai Enba (One's Gods) are tracts of fear .

For Pride



"Kalvi Tharukan Pugazhmai Kodai Ena
Sollappatta Perumidham Naangae"

meaning, Kalvi (Education) Tharukan (Bravery), Pugazhmai (Fame) Kodai (Donation, Benefaction) are the facets of Pride .

For Happiness


"Selvam Pulanae Punarvu Vilayaatu Endru
Allal Neetha Uvagai Naangae"

meaning Selvam (Wealth), Pulanae (feelings), Punarvu (Intimacy), Vilayaatu (Play) are expressions of happiness

For Anger



"Urupparai Kudikole Alai Kolai Endra
Veruppin Vandha Veguli Naangae"

Urupparai (Dissection), Kudikole (Treason), Alai (Torture), Kolai (Murder) are the four different expressions of Anger.

So complex and subtle classifications, that only going through them carefully, will we be able to make the difference in each of them. Thollkaapiyar should have been a great person to analyse human behaviour and emotions and of course psychology to such a great extent to classify the subtleties of the elusive human expressions. What human relations experts do now and psychologists analyse about human behaviour has been done by a genius thousands of years ago. And that genius being a Thamizhan, we all should be proud of.

More to come, until then...

Subtle Senses!!!

Senses are the subtle instincts that guide the living being throughout its entire life. Many have attempted to classify the senses of various living beings especially humans. Though Thirumoolar has classified the senses of human beings to be 10 (Article here), the widely accepted fact is the human are six-sensed beings. It is interesting to know that this classification of beings based on the numbers of senses they predominantly use, has been done way back by the Tamil people.

The classification of the senses and the specifying of beings that fall under this classification is found in the oldest surviving work on Tamil Grammar - The Thollkaappiyam. Thollkaappiyam is a combination of the words Thonmai (very old, ancient) + Kaappiyam (Literature). The name Thollkaappiyam stood because the actual time when this piece of literature was written is not known, some say it is over 2000 years old and some say it was written between 1st CE and 10th CE. Also some say that the name of the author, Thollkaappiyar, is a generic name derived from the name of the work, as the exact details of the person who wrote it is not known. And some strongly believe that Thollkaappiyar was a disciple of Agathiar, the first and foremost of Siddhars and Thollkaappiyar wrote his work based on Agathiar's work Agathiam. However, Thollkaappiyam is a masterpiece and the oldest surviving work on literature on any language. Well, lets get back to the classification.

Thollkaappiyar, classifies the beings based on the senses they use predominantly, in the section called Marabiyal (Marabu - generally accepted practices since old days, culture, tradition. Iyal - Research work, Science). The poems in each called Suthirams (Formulae) describe about various aspects of grammar, habitat, etc. The song that we intend to read goes like this




"Ondru Arivadhuvae Uttru Arivadhuvae
Irandu Arivadhuvae Adhanodu Naavae
Mondru Arivadhuvae Avattrodu Mookae
Naangu Arivadhuvae Avattrodu Kannae
Aindhu Arivadhuvae Avattrodu Seviyae
Aaru Arivadhuvae Avattrodu Mananae
Naeridhin Unarrndhor Neripaduthinarae"

meaning, beings with one sense are those that have the sense of TOUCH. Beings with two senses are those that have the sense of TASTE along with the above. Beings with three senses, have sense of SMELL in addition. Beings with four senses, have sense of SIGHT, along with the above. Beings with five senses, have sense of HEARING, in addition. The beings with six senses, have a MIND, along with the above. The people who have realised this truth have classified and organised it appropriately

Ondru, Irandu, Moondru, Naangu, Aindhu, Aaru - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 respectively
Arivadhu - Know, feel, realise, sense
Uttru - Touch, come into contact
Athanodu - Along with some other thing (usually when the number of objects is two)
Avattrodu - Along with some other things (usually when the number of objects is more than two)
Naavu - Tongue, in this context, taste
Mooku - Nose (for sense Smell)
Kann - Eye (Sight)
Sevi - Ear (Hearing)
Manam - Mind
Naer Idhu - This truth (the above mentioned classification)
Unarrndhor - People who realised this truth
Neripaduthinarae - Classified and organised the truth

Thollkaappiyar, does not stop with this classification alone, he also gives examples of beings in each of these classifications. The poems go like below


"Pullum Maranum Ore Arivinavae
Piravum Ulavae Akkilai Pirappae"

meaning Grass (Pull) and Trees (Maram) have single sense, that is the sense of touch. Similar beings also form part of this branch.



"Nandhum Muralum Eer Arivinavae
Piravum Ulavae Akkilai Pirappae"

meaning Snails (Nandhu) and Oysters or Molluscs (Mural) have two senses,the sense of touch and taste. Similar beings also form part of this branch.



"Sidhalum Erumbum Moo Arivinavae
Piravum Ulavae Akkilai Pirappae"

meaning Termites (Sidhal) and Ants (Erumbu) have three senses, the sense of touch, taste and smell. Similar beings also form part of this branch.



"Nandum Thumbiyum Naangu Arivinavae
Piravum Ulavae Akkilai Pirappae"

meaning Crabs or Crustaceans (Nandu) and Dragonfly or Beetles (Thumbi) have four senses, the sense of touch, taste, smell and vision. Similar beings also form part of this branch.



"Maavum Maakkalum Aindhu Arivinavae
Piravum Ulavae Akkilai Pirappae"

meaning Horses, Elephants, Pigs (Maa) and Other similar animals and birds (Maakkal) have five senses, the sense of touch, taste, smell, vision and hearing. Similar beings also form part of this branch.



"Makkalthamae Aaru Arivu Uyirae
Piravum Ulavae Akkilai Pirappae"

meaning Only humans have six senses, the sense of touch, taste, smell, vision, hearing and mind. Similar beings also form part of this branch.

Truly amazing classification, though these classifications are based on the what the beings predominantly use for their survival. For eg though the ants have eyes, they predominantly use the three senses mentioned above. This proves that Thollkaappiyar is not only an expert in literature and grammar, but also a multi-faceted human having expertise in animal and plant life and other sciences too. It is no surprise that the Tamil Culture having an ancient history that spans over thousands of years to have made this classification and much more. His work in our hands is what we need to be proud of and we can proclaim it to the world for generations to come that our culture, tradition and civilisation has a long standing history that only a very few cultures have in this world. The pdf version of the Thollkaappiyam can be found here.

More to come, until then...

Abithana Chinthamani - The Encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature

When we utter the term encyclopaedia, most English Encyclopaedia come readily into our thought; The Brittanica Encyclopaedia, Encarta Encyclopaedia etc are the ones that most of us remember, and most recently the online free encyclopaedia - The Wikipedia, is gaining its grounds among the people. Only a few of us know that an Encyclopaedia in Tamil Literature also exists. Earlier in Tamil Literature, dictionaries that are so organised, as the English counterparts, did not exist, however they existed in the form of a composition called Nigandu.

Later people started to realise the need of a Tamil Dictionary and started composing dictionaries. During those days, composing a dictionary is a herculean task, as they did not have the power of computers that could sort the entries at the touch of a button. But still there wasn't a work that matched to that of an Encyclopaedia. And, nearly a century ago, a great man named, Mr. A. Singaraveloo Mudhaliyar, took the pains to compose the Encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature. He was a Tamil Pandit in the famous Pachaiappa's College in Chennai. His mentor was Mr. C Gopalarayar, the Headmaster of the institution, who gave the encouragement and the material to start of the work.

Singaraveloo Mudhaliyar, started off the work just like that around the year 1890 AD and he named his work as "Puraana Naamaavali". As the work progressed, he began to feel it to be hard and tough to continue as he had to go looking for many resources. But the resources and the material he had in had was not sufficient to continue with his work.

So he went to many places in search of information, indeed a lot. His money reserves were quite low being a Tamil Pandit in those days was not so lucrative, but people had high respect for teachers and professors. In spite of that he took the pains to gather information from all sources he had access.

The real pain was to collect those information and write then in the correct alphabetical order. It was the days of pre-computing civilisation, where all the work had to be done manually. Rearranging and organising those entries, is almost rewriting them again and again as new information is being obtained. We could feel the pain if we imagine the amount of work he would have done just to organise the entries as new information flows in.

These pains that Singaraveloo Mudhaliyar underwent resulted in one of the great masterpieces, "Abithana Chinthamani" (Puraana Naamaavali renamed). The initial edition was around 1050 pages. But this was not all and it seems Singaraveloo Mudhaliyar's fate decided that the pains he underwent were not enough.

He went to many people, who were then wealthy in Madras (The then Chennai), with the manuscripts of his great work, Abithana Chinthamani. All admired and even praised his work but simply stated, without offering any help, that publishing this would cost more. Then he thought of publishing it as a periodical and printing leaflets about his work, but only a few subscribed. He got dejected and he felt sad that his work and efforts could be a failure.

But then the copies of his work reached the then Zamindar of Palavanatham and the President of the Madurai Tamizh Sangam, Mr. Pandithoraiswami Thevar. The Zamindar went to Chennai to meet Singaraveloo Mudhaliyar and gave instructions to the Madurai Tamizh Sangam Press to write a clean copy of it and ordered it to be printed in the printing press in Madras. And thus came into existence in 1910 AD, the 20 twenty years of hard work of Singaraveloo Mudhaliyar, Abithana Chintamani.

The book became popular and can be considered a de facto standard for Tamil Encyclopaedia. Even after that the author gathered many information. And on 1931 AD, he passed away and he left his additional work with his son, Sivaprakasa Mudhaliyar - a postmaster, who also took pains to publish the second edition with the help of a person named Thiruvarur Somasundar Desikar who worked in the Lexical Department of the Madras University, the position held by Singaraveloo Mudhaliyar before his death. The second edition of Abithana Chinthamani was published posthumously in the year 1934 AD and it contained 1634 pages of information. Now the work has been edited and now has about 2000 pages of information.

Had it not been for Singaraveloo Mudhaliyar, we would not have got the great work, the Encyclopaedia for Tamil Literature, Abithana Chintamani. Lets honour this great man and his work, and if possible we should buy a copy of his work in his honour.

More to come, until then...

What to tell and What not to tell

Privacy, Confidentiality and Sensitive Information are very important things that all of us tend to be careful about in this Internet-enabled world. The information that are considered private and confidential quite personal to each individual, revealing them makes one feel insecure, ashamed etc. So what are the factors that are considered as privacy. Nowadays, the list goes like credit card numbers, mobile phone numbers, bank account numbers etc. The fact about privacy is not an awareness that was created recently. It dates back to the eighteenth century, where a poet named Ambalavana Kavirayar in his work, Arappaleeswara Sadhagam, has described about what to tell and what not to tell to the world. His work is in praise of Lord Shiva, called Arappaleeswarar, in a town called Seergazhi, and the place is called Sadhuragiri with the temple called Arappaleeswaram.

His literary work, the Arappaleeswara Sadhagam, consists of 100 songs that praise Lord Arappaleeswarar. Sadhagam is one of the 96 Prabandhams. It consists of 100 songs that either praises the Gods or describes about Love etc. This Arappaleeswara Sadhagam not only praises Lord Shiva, but also tells about good deeds, morals and characteristics of various things. And this is where Ambalavana Kavirayarar has sung about what to tell and what not to tell. The song goes like this







"Senmitha Varudamum Undaana Aththamum
Theedhil Gragachaaramum
Thindru Varum Oudathamum Maelanaa Desikan
Seppiya Maha Mandhiramum
Punmai Avamanamum Dhaanamum Paimpon Ani
Punaiyum Madavaar Kalaviyum
Pugazh Mayvum Maanamum Ivai Onbadhum Thamadhu
Pundhikkullae Vaipadhae
Dharmam Endru Urai Seivar Onnaar Karuthaiyum
Thann Piniyaiyum Pasiyaiyum
Thaan Seidha Paavamum Ivai Ellam Veru Oruvar
Thann Seviyil Vaipadhu Eyalbaam
Annmaruvu Kandanae Moondru Ulagum Eendra Umai
Anbanae Arumai Madhavael
Anu Dhinamum Manadhil Ninai Tharu Sadhuragiri Vala
Arappaleeswara Devanae"

meaning, The year of birth, The wealth acquired, Planetary positions when they are good in one's zodiac chart, The medicines being taken, The mantra uttered by the Guru, The mean insults, The donations and benefactions, Intimacy with women, The dignity that brings fame - all these nine things should be kept within oneself as they are considered as private and should not be publicised to the world. The intentions of the enemies, The troubles one has, Hunger, The sins committed will usually be shared with someone else. Concluding with this moral, this stanza is completed with the praise of Lord Arappaleeswarar stating that his throat is dark as He ate the great poison obtained along with the divine potion called Amirdham, after churning the ocean of milk. And He is the consort of the Goddess Parvathi, who created all the three types of worlds. And this Lord Arappaleeswarar is being worshipped daily by the patron of the poet called Madhavael.

Senmitha - Being born
Varudam - Year
Undaana - Created, Acquired, Resulted
Aththamum - Wealth
Theedhil - Theedhu (Bad) + Ill (Negation), which means without being bad
Thindru Varum - Thindru (Eat) + Varum (Come, Continuing something)
Oudatham - Medicines
Maelana Desikan - Guru, Teacher
Seppiyya - Uttered, Said
Maha Mandhiram - The great or important mantra or advice
Punmai - Mean, Cheap, Misery
Avamaanam - Insult
Dhaanam - Donations
Paimpon Ani - Pure gold ornaments
Madavaar - Women
Kalavi - Intimacy
Ivai - These
Onbadhu - Nine
Thamadhu - Oneself
Pundhikkullae - In the mind
Vaipadhu - Keeping, holding
Dharmam - Good deed, Moral etiquette
Onnaar - Enemies
Karuthu - Intentions, Thoughts
Thann - Oneself
Pini - Troubles, Diseases etc
Pasi - Hunger
Paavam - Sin
Veru Oruvar - Other persons
Seviyil - Ears
Vaipadhu - Put, Tell, Hold, Keep
Iyalbu - Natural, Usually
Anmaruvu - Dark part
Kandam - Throat
Moondru Ulagam - Three Worlds
Eendra - Give birth, Create
Umai - Goddess Parvathi
Anbanae - Lover, Person showing Kindness
Madhavael - Patron of Ambalavana Kavirayar
Anu Dhinam - Every Day
Manadhil - Mind
Ninai - Think
Tharu - Giver, Tree
Sadhuragiri - Place in Seergaazhi
Arappaleeswara Devanae - Lord Arappaleeswarar

Some of the details like year of birth could not be hidden these days, but the actual intention to not reveal the year of birth was that the general characteristics of the person could be found if the year of birth is known. But the other things are considered private even today. Lets honour the great mind Ambalavana Kavirayar for his excellent work - The Arappaleeswara Sadhagam - and let his work be propagated for generations to come.

More to come, until then...