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The Dravidian folks, particularly the Tamils have an understanding of
history, a historiography that is quite different from that
of the West and in which the notion of ThruviLaiyaadal plays a central
role and because of that the puraaNic lore is still an
important element of their culture. History, whether at the cosmic,
national or individual level, is in fact an enactment of PLAY
or DANCE called Lila in the Vaishnava tradition and ThruviLaiyaatal
in the Saiva tradition and because of which God Himself
is called Adavallaan. I have rediscovered this and have
recirculated these ideas in all my books particularly ArutKuraL,
ThrineRiththeLivu, Azivil uNmai, Pothath theLivu, Civajnaana
Karpam and many others, most of which remain unpublished.
What surprised me however, is that such was also the historiography
of the ancient Sumerians and which gets expressed in such
epic tales as THE CURSE OF AGADE ( edited by Jerrod S.Cooper and published
by The Johns Hopkins University Press,
1983) The tale is about the destruction of the city of Agade ( cf Ta.
AaRkaatu) and the historian who narrates the tale, interprets
its prosperity and destruction as something that arises because of
the love and wrath of In-Anna, whom the Semitic King
Naramsin offended. The text is dated around 2000 B.C and appears to
be one of the cuneiform texts fortunately well preserved.
Prosperity as Divine Favor
One of the notions that permeates the whole epic tale is that
prosperity of a nation is a favor of the gods and when that favor is
withdrawn there comes to prevail poverty and misery. A nation prospers
and individuals enjoy various benefits only when they
are bestowed by the gods. The beginning lines of the epic describe
this quite well. In the following lines I have given also Tamil
reconstructions that should be taken as only tentative. I have kept
technical discussions of the linguistic type to the minimum.
1) sag-ki gid-da en-lil-la-ke
(After Enlil's frown)
cenni kiiththa EnliillakE
2) kis gu an-na-gim im-ug-ga-ta
Had slain Kish like the Bull of Heaven
Kishi kO vaanna-in im ukkiththa
3) e ki unu-ga gu-mah-gim sahar-ra mi-ni-ib-gaz-a-ta
Had slaughtered the house of the land of Uruk in the dust like a mighty
bull
Il kiiz Urukka kO maa-yin sakaRRa kaziippathumini
4) KI.UD-ba sar-ru lugal a-ga-de-ra
And then, to Sargon, the king of Agade
KI.UD-pa raasar uLukaL aaRkaadunRa
5) sig-ta igi-nim-se en-lil-le
Enlil, from South to North
Sikkiththu imai nimirsE
6) nam-en nam-lugal-la mu-un-na-an-sum-ma-ta
Had given sovereignty and kingship
ENNam uLukaLan-am sumaththu munnaan
The several attributes indicate that enlil, the Lord of the Winds and
hence movement or Power, here is probably Thirumaal, also
called elsewhere Seermaal, the lord of the liilaas, though literally
the wind but standing derivatively for the play, the liilai- the
transitory events of life. It can be taken also as the archetype controlling
the breathing processes i.e. uyir in the body.The terms
<ra> and <la> appear to be interrelated and stand for the
events that come and go, the world of becoming. These terms are
related to the Telugu <raa> meaning come , Ta. <vaa> also
with the same meaning. We can also cite the Malay <lalu> , a
South East Asian language to which Sumerian also appears to be related
in lexicon as well as in syntax.(We will bring out the
relationship in a separate study)
In terms of historiography what is important is that a person
does not simply become a king of a nation, it is a GIFT or AruL of
God . It is a favor bestowed upon an individual only because he deserves
it. This notion contains within itself the notion of
karma, that one receives what is rightfully due to oneself as the payan,
or outcome of one*s own actions. Greatness and
kingships are not just picked up by the individuals but rather bestowed
upon by the gods and only for the deserving.
The term<en> is related here to the Ta.<EN> from which we have
Eni, ladder; vEN, a royalty etc. It serves here as epithet like
Sri> Thiru and so forth, meaning great, noble etc.
sag-ki > cenni: head, face; gid-da> kIththu, kIRRu: lines, scratches
etc; ug-ga>ukku: to destroy, allow to decay; sahar-ra>
sakathi. sERu: mud, dirt; mah>maa, makaa:great; sar-ru> rasar,aracan:king;
sig> sikkil: low lying lands;
sum-ma-ta>cuman-thu: to carry; u-ba> appO: at that time
The Blessings of In-Anna
One of the notions that is well established even among ordinary Hindues,
is the notion of latchumikadatcam, prosperity ,
happiness and economic well being as the blessings of Sri or Makalaxmi,
the consort of Thirumaal, the lord of the phenomenal
world , the repertoire of all the good and noble or as Namaazvaar would
put it: uyarvu aRa uyar nalam utaiyavan, the Lord of
all that are the most excellent. In- Anna appears to be the protoform
of this Mahalaxmi, the mother of tireless fecundity who
keeps on producing all kinds of things and populating the world with
all kinds of riches. While EnLil, as the male God provides
sovereignty and social leadership, it is In-Anna who fills the nation
with abundance and prosperity. In this we see the
emergence of the notions of Naatham and Bindhu , the fundamental Siva
tatvas of latter day Saiva Siddhanta and Siddha
philosophies.
First of all for the nation to enjoy abundance, In-Anna must establish
herself no matter how meagerly.
7) u-ba es a-ga-da ku inanna-ke
8) ama mah-ni-se im-ma-an du-du
At that time , holy Inanna built
The sanctuary Agade as her grand woman^s domain.
AppO iisa aaRkaatu kO iinannaikkE
Amma mahaanisE eduedu yimmaan
ama> ammaa, ammai: mother,lady; ku>kO :divine, sacred; du-du> edu-edu: to built, to raise etc.
The nation must be possessed, first of all, as her domain, as her dwelling
and which SHE does by building a shrine for herself
within that nation. The word <es> is related to Ta. iisan, meaning
simply god in ordinary usage but technically the face of
Sathasiva that points towards transcendence, liberation. Probably
originally it meant the god who is praised or praiseworthy. The
word <es> may be related to the Tamil <isai> meaning songs and
hymns.
But what are the prosperity that the nation begins to enjoy as a gift
of Inanna?
First of all, there is the economic well being with plenty food and
beverages for the people.
Good Food and Drinks
One of the most fundamental blessings of Inanna, is the provision
of sufficient wealth so that food and beverages are aplenty.
10)
lu-tur gibil-se e du-u-gim
Like a youngster building a house for the first time
uLu thur kavinsE il edUuyin
11)
dumu-ban-da ama ga-ga-gim
Like a girl establishing a woman's domain
Thamu vaaNdu amma kaalkaalyin
12)
e-nig-ga-ra nig sa-di-de
So that the warehouses would be provisioned
Il nikkam-Ra nikam sUdidE
13)
uru-be dur ki-gar sum-mu-de
That dwellings would be founded in that city
Uurubee thuRai kiiz kaar samaiyidee
14)
un-be u nir-gal ku-u-de
That its people would eat splendid food
Unbee UN nErkaL kUyidE
15)
un-be a nir-gal nag-nag-de
That its people would drink splendid beverages
UnbE aal nErkaL nakkunakkidE
nig-ga, nig>nikamam: shops, stores; tur> thuru:small: dumu>thamu, thamar: kith and kin; ban-da> vaaNdu : young; dur> thuRai: establishments : u>UN : food; a>aal: water; nag-nag> nakku: to lick un> Un: flesh. Also Ur: the world, people
Crowed dwellings, shops and warehouses with plenty of provisions, good
food and clean water etc that are basic for survival
and healthy living, are seen here as the first kind of blessings
of Inanna.
Another issue related to this, though not basic, is the provision of
material wealth which in those days, as of now, were
calculated in terms of gold, silver and such other precious metals
the nation hoards in its treasury.
25)
u-ba aga-de e-AS-a-ba ku-GI mi-ni-in-si
At that time, she filled Agade ^s ------- with gold
AppO aaRkaattE il- AS-aba kO-GI sIminin
26)
e-AS babbar-ra-ba ku-babbar mi-ni-in-si
She filled its shining----- with silver
Il-As baarpparaba kO paarppar siiminin
In addition to gold and silver, there is mention of copper, tin, lapis etc. Here the term <ku> relates to the Tamil <kOL> meaningsomething shining but derivatively the planets in the heavens. The term <babbar> may be the protoform of <paarppaan> , a termused to describe SIVA in historical times. It may be possible that the original meaning is <shining, bright, glistening > and soforth, epithets also of Inanna and many other gods. SIVA is always described as a resplendent principle, the Radiant One . Itmay be possible that another application was to describe the intelligent and bright members of the community, possibly thepriests, poets and scribes also as paarppaan meaning simply a brilliant person, a usage that is also present in English and manyother languages so abundantly. All terms descriptive of brightness have been used metaphorically to describe great intelligenceand intellectual acumen. It may be possible that later it was appropriated as a term for a particular caste.
The word<sI.> has many derivatives .The sI occurs in the sense of
sacred as in sI-rangkam in colloquial Tamil. It is possible
that the Sk. Sri is derived from this, and the original meaning may
be : filled up, complete, a wholeness, lacking in nothing etc.
FESTIVALS AND PEACE
Another blessings of Inanna as a sign of her greatness is related
to the notion of happiness both social and individual. Festivals,
where occur merry making along with friendship even with foes and where
there is wining and dining together in a mood
friendship is also seen as her gift, something ordained by her presence.
16)
sag a-tu-a kisal hul-le-de
That those bathed(for holidays) would rejoice in the courtyards
Taan aatuva kiiz saalai uvallite
17)
ki ezem-ma un sig-ge-de
That the people would throng the places of celebration
Kiiz vizamma uun sikkidee
18)
lu zu-u-ne tes-bi ku-u-de
That acquaintances would dine together
ULu n-uuvinE thEsubi kuuyidE
19)
lu-bar-ra musen nu-zu-gim an-na nigin-de
That foreigners would cruise about like unusual birds in the sky
uLu puRa mUsen n-anuuayin vaanna n-iinginnE
a.-tu> aatu: may be those who dance around, kisal> kiiz saalai: courtyard;
hul-le> uval, ukal: to rejoice; ezem> vizem> vizaa :
festival: sig-ge> sikku: to get caught up so that unable to escape;
zu-u> n-uu> nuul : to understand, be familiar; tes> thEsu:
perhaps happily; bar-ra>puRa, para: foreign; musen> mUsu,musal: beaked
creatures, or animals with protruding faces like
beetles, rabbits, rats etc Note Sk. mUsika: rat
Inanna as an expression of the Siva tatva Bindu, is a force that brings
about love and friendship among people by kindling
kindness and thereby subduing the confrontational attitude among strangers.
There cannot be social celebrations of any
magnitude unless people forget their innate aggression and meet each
other in a spirit of love and affection. The presence of
Inanna, and homage to her, make Bindu present in the bosom of the people
making them love and respect each other and hence
live in peace and friendship.
THE PROVISION OF MEANINGFUL SOCIAL FUNCTIONS
One of the most sophisticated concept of happy social existence is also
enumerated here as a gift of Inanna. And this pertains to
the provision of activities suited to the age and maturity of the different
members of the society. It was recognized that the
social needs of the individuals vary and that the societal organization
must be such that all must be assigned roles that would fit
their needs as well as their expertise.
29)
Um-ma-be ad-gi-gi ba-an-sum
She endowed its old womwn with advice
UmmaapE aatumImI summubaan
30)
ab-ba-be inim-inim-ma ba-an-sum
She endowed its old men with counsel
AppaabE enam-enamma summubaan
31)
ki-sikil-be ki-e-ne-di ba-an-sum
She endowed its young women with dance
Kiiz sukkilabe? Kiiz E nadi summubaan
32)
gurus-be a tukul-la ba-an-sum
She endowed its young men with martial might
KurusilbE aal thukaLLa summubaan
The terms umma, appaa need no discussion as they are even in current
use. These older and experienced folks were given
definite and meaningful social functions instead of being abandoned
to the old folks home and await death. The experience of
the older folks appears to have been valued greatly and they were given
the function of COUNSELING the younger members
of the society. The term <aatu-mI-mI> may be conversations, verbal
exchanges as mI-mI can be related to the Tamil: mIndum
mIndum , that is in current use. The term<inim> that means words,
utterances etc is still available but only in the verbal form:
en, enRu: to tell, relate, utter etc. The most interesting however
is the term <ki-e-ne-di> , a place for dancing. The term <nedi>
is still in use; we have the verb<nati> and its derivatives
natanam, naattiyam, naatakam and so forth. The town planning was
such that the needs of the young women were not neglected. The pressure
to dance is in the blood of the young and adequate
provisions were made by city planners for such needs.
The young men, (gurus> kurucil, Malay: kerus: thin) were given to develop
their martial capacities. The term <aal thukaL.>
which is good Tamil even now, means the power to destroy, to smite
and turn something into dust. It appears that while young
women were allowed to develop music dance and such other cultural accomplishments,
the young men were encouraged to
develop their martial capacities and become brave and courageous.
INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
It appears that over and above such cultural activities, education in
instrumental music was heavily emphasized particularly for
the very young ones. There is mention of different kinds of musical
instruments, not only in this text but also in many others.
33)
di-di-la-be sa-hul-la ba-an-sum
She endowed the little ones with joy
ThithilabE saay uvalla summubaan
34)
emeda-ga-la su-gid dumu sagina-ke-ne
al-gar-sur-da e-ne im-di-ne
The viceroy^s children, (still) cradled by nursemaids
Played algarsur instruments
MEthaikaLLE cUkItha thamu sangkinakinE
Yaaz kaal suRRida InE iyamidinE
Here the term <al-gar-sur-da> is interesting for it may be
a description of the musical instrument that goes by the name vINai
at the moment. It is a yaaz, a stringed instrument with a stand (kaal,
gar) that has been wrapped around to form something
globular, a description that quite fits the current vINai so important
in Carnatic music.
di-di> thiththi: dots, Malay: titik,: dots
Concluding Remarks:
This is not an extensive and well researched study. However, it is hoped
that enough have been said to wet the appetites of
those who are interested in Dravidian and Sumerian studies that
can unravel the mystery surrounding the ancient Tamils. The
Tamil scholars must enter the field of Sumero-Dravidian Studies for
neither the transliteration nor the translations are adequate
and the knowledge of Dravidian languages can help considerably in all
these and through that shed immense light on the history
of the Dravidian folks.