Hinduism in South India
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[edit] Ancient South India
The Vedic culture in South India has been in some respects the best preserved of ancient Vedic culture and traditions, especially when the north of India was dominated by Buddhism and later was affected by Islam.
Tamil literature and Tamil epics and classics have many references to Vedic gods and culture. The Tolkaappiyam, 1st century BCE grammar book, mentions non-Vedic, early-Vedic (Indra, Varuna) and Puranic (Vishnu) gods. The Paripadal (8; 3; 9 etc.), one of the "Eight Anthologies" of poetry (or ettuttokai), has homages to Vishnu, Lakshmi, Brahma, the twelve Adityas, the Ashvins, the Rudras, the Saptarishis, Indra, the Devas etc. The Kural, written by Tiruvalluvar, mentions gods like Indra (25) and Lakshmi (e.g. 167).
The Fifth century CE Tamil epic Silappathikaram, begins with invocations to Chandra, Surya, and Indra, and has homages to Agni, Varuna, Shiva, Subrahmanya, Vishnu-Krishna, Uma, etc. The epic states that “Vedic sacrifices [are] being faultlessly performed” and has many references to Vedic culture and Vedic texts. In the Buddhist work Manimekhalai, the submersion of the city Puhar in Kumari Kandam is attributed to the neglect of the worship to Indra.
[edit] Vedic legends
According to the Puranas, the Dravidians are descendants of the Vedic Turvasha people. According to the Matsya Purana, Manu is considered as a south Indian king.[1] In Hindu tradition the creation of the Tamil language is credited to the Rig Vedic sage Rishi Agastya[2].
[edit] Notes
- ^ also e.g. Bhagavata Purana (VIII.24.13)
- ^ Michel Danino - Vedic Roots of Early Tamil Culture
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
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