"माझा नातू अगस्त्य - भाग १३"

"माझा नातू अगस्त्य - भाग १३"

ब्रिटनमधे जन्माला आलेल्या माझ्या नातवाचे नाव ब्रिटनचे भारतीय मूळाचे पंतप्रधान "ऋषी सुनक" यांच्या प्रमाणेच भारतीय संस्कृतीशी बांधिलकी असणारे असावे या विचाराने शोधून शोधून "अगस्त्य" असे ठेवले.आज माझा नातू एक महिन्याचा झाला.त्या निमित्ताने "अगस्त्य" मुनी यांची प्राचीन तमिळ साहित्यातील माहिती व त्यांचे दक्षिण भारतातील "वैद्यकीय कार्य" याची माहिती सांगतो.

1.Agastya, in Tamil Hindu traditions, is considered as the first and foremost "Siddhar(Tamil: cittar, Sanskrit: siddha)".

2.A "siddhar" is derived from the Sanskrit verbal root "sidh" which means "to accomplish or succeed".

3.As the first Siddhar, Agastya is deemed as the first master, accomplished, the sage who perfected his knowledge of the natural and spiritual worlds.

4.This Tamil concept has parallels to Tibetan "mahasiddhas", Sri Lankan "Buddhist", and Nath Hindu "yogi" traditions of north India.

5.Agastya, along with "Tirumular", is considered a siddhar in both philosophical and practical domains, unlike most other siddhar who are revered for their special domain of knowledge.

6.Agastya is also unique for the reverence he has received in historic texts all over the Indian subcontinent.

7.According to Venkatraman, the Siddhar-related literature about Agastya is late medieval to early modern era.

8.In particular, all medicine and health-related Tamil text, that include Agastya as the Siddhar, have been composed in and after the 15th century.

9.According to Hartmut Scharfe, the oldest medicine siddhar Tamil text mentioning Agastya were composed no earlier than the 16th century.

10.His named is spelled as  "Agathiyar" or "Agasthiyar" in some Tamil texts, and some consider the writer of the medical texts to be a different person.

11.According to Kamil Zvelebil, the sage Agastya, Akattiyan the Siddha, and Akatthiyar, the author of Akattiyam, were three or possibly four different persons of different eras, who over time became fused into one single person in the Tamil tradition.