"माझा नातू अगस्त्य - भाग १२"

"माझा नातू अगस्त्य - भाग १२"

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 त्यांच्या उत्तर भारतातून दक्षिण भारतात झालेल्या स्थलांतराची कारणे सांगतो.

1.In Tamil traditions,Agastya is considered as the father of the Tamil language and the compiler of the first Tamil grammar, called "Agattiyam"  or "Akattiyam".

2.Agastya has been a culture hero in Tamil traditions and appears in numerous Tamil texts.

3.Agastya learnt the Tamil language from god Murugan when he arrived in the southern Tamil country from north India.

4.There are similarities and differences between the Northern and Southern (Tamil) traditions about Agastya.

5.According to Iravatham Mahadevan, both traditions state that Agastya migrated from north to south.

6.The Tamil text "Purananuru" dated to about the start of the common era, or possibly about 2nd century CE, in verse 201 mentions Agastya along with many people migrating south.

7.In the northern legends, Agastya's role in spreading Vedic tradition and Sanskrit is emphasized, while in southern traditions his role in spreading irrigation, agriculture and augmenting the Tamil language is emphasized.

8.In the north, his ancestry is unknown with mythical legends limiting themselves to saying that Agastya was born from a mud pitcher.In southern traditions, his descent from a pitcher is a common reference, but two alternate southern legends place him as the Caṅkam(Sangam) polity and is said to have led the migration of eighteen Vēlir tribes from Dvārakā  to the south.

9.The northern traditional stories, states Mahadevan, are "nothing more than a collection of incredible fables and myths", while the southern versions "ring much truer and appear to be a down to earth account of a historical event".Others disagree. 10.According to K.N. Sivaraja Pillai, for example, there is nothing in the early Sangam literature or any Tamil texts prior to about the mid 1st millennium CE that mentions Agastya. 11.The earliest mention of the role of Agastya in Tamil language, according to Richard Weiss, can be traced to the "Iraiyanar Akapporul" by 8th century Nakkirar.

12.However, in medieval era stories of the Tamil tradition, Agastya pioneered the first sangam period that lasted 4,440 years, and took part in the second sangam period that lasted another 3,700 years.

13.The "Tirumantiram" describes Agastya as an ascetic sage, who came from the north and settled in the southern Pothigai mountains because Shiva asked him to. He is described as the one who perfected and loved both Sanskrit and Tamil languages, amassing knowledge in both, thus becoming a symbol of integration, harmony and learning, instead of being opposed to either.

14.According to the Skanda Purana, the whole world visited the Himalayas when Shiva was about to wed Parvati. This caused the earth to tip to one side. Shiva then requested Agastya to go to the southern region to restore the equilibrium. Thus, Agastya migrated south at Shiva's behest.