19. A G A I N S T L I M G U I S T I C C W e U V I M I S M e

T . P . M . ' S COMPARATIVE S T U D I E S

L i t e r a r y C r i t i c i s m , a s it is unders tood i n t h e West,

was i n a s t a t e of in fancy i n Tamil b e f o r e

T.P.Meenakshisundaran appeared on t h e s c e n e . G i f t e d a s he

was wi th a capac ious mind, and a wide range of s c h o l a r s h i p

cover ing many branches of knowledge i n c l u d i n g H i s t o r y ,

L i n g u i s t i c s , Ph i losophy and Re l ig ion and many languages

b e s i d e s Tamil , a s v a r i e d a s E n g l i s h , French, German,

S a n s k r i t , Hind i , Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, he cou ld

b r i n g about a sea-change and th rough h i s numerous a r t i c l e s

and books on d i v e r s e t o p i c s rang ing from Caljkam l i t e r a t u r e

t o modern Tamil f i c t i o n opened t h e eyes of t h e Tamil

c r i t i c s of h i s t ime who were f a n a t i c s of d i f f e r e n t t y p e s t o

t h e r e a l g r e a t n e s s of t h e i r l i t e r a t u r e . I t was mainly due

t o h i s Herculean e f f o r t s t h a t contemporary champions of

Tamil l i t e r a t u r e l e a r n t t h e v a l u e of a c r i t i c i s m t h a t is

f r e e , f a i r and d i s p a s s i o n a t e and n o t d ivorced from

s c h o l a r s h i p . With miss ionary z e a l , he undertook t h e onerous

t a s k of i n t r o d u c i n g t h e wea l th of a n c i e n t Tamil c l a s s i c s t o

t h e d i s c e r n i n g Western r e a d e r s . His w r i t i n g s on t h e f i c t i o n

and p o e t r y of h i s own t ime were a n i g h t y a t t e m p t a t

c o r r e c t i n g t h e t a s t e s of t h e Tamil p u b l i c whose judgemen t s

were l a r g e l y swayed by e x t r a - l i n g u i s t i c p r e j u d i c e s o f

v a r i o u s k i n d s . Even though he was a s t a u n c h Congressman

committed t o n a t i o n a l i s t i d e a l s , he cou ld w r i t e

a p p r e c i a t i v e l y of B h a r a t i d a s a n , t h e p o e t i c v o i c e of t h e

Drav id i an Movement. When t h e t h e i s t i c c r i t i c s o f h i s t i n e

were h o p e l e s s l y d i v i d e d i n t o S a i v i t e s and V a i s h n a v i t e s

choos ing t o i d o l i z e e i t h e r t h e N Z y a p i i r s o r t h e X ~ v X r s , he

could speak w i t h e q u a l g u s t o and c o n v i c t i o n of TiruvZcakaa

and T i r u v T y m o ~ i . H i s p i o n e e r i n g s t u d i e s on Tamil l anguage

c u l m i n a t i n g i n a h i s t o r y of Tamil l anguage comparab le t o

S u n i t i Kumar C h a t t e r j i ' s h i s t o r y of B e n g a l i l anguage p roved

t o be p a t h - b r e a k i n g and a h o s t o f Tamil l i n g u i s t s d i d a l o t

of f r u i t f u l work on t h e a r e a s s u g g e s t e d by him. H i s

c r i t i c a l o u t p u t i s s o v a s t and v a r i e d t h a t an i m p a r t i a l

a s se s smen t of it may i n d r r e c t l y l e a d t o a wor thy s t o c k -

t a k i n g of what t h e c r i t i c s i n Tami l have s o f a r a c h i e v e d .

I f a s a Tamil t e a c h e r and c r i t i c he d i d n o t have t h e

o f f i c i a l l y p r e s c r i b e d b a s i c q u a l i f i c a t i o n t o b e g i n w i t h ,

f o r h i s f i r s t d e g r e e was i n h i s t o r y , a s a c o m p a r a t i s t he

was n o t f o r m a l l y i n t r o d u c e d t o t h e w r i t i n g s of eminen t

French and American t h e o r e t i c i a n s . I n h i s w r i t i n g s t h e r e

is no s i g n of h i s a c q u a i n t a n c e w i t h t h e methodology o f t h e

d i s c i p l i n e c a l l e d Compara t ive L i t e r a t u r e . H i s knowledge of

t h e u o r k s of T . S . E l i o t , one of whose e s s a y s on c r i t i c i s m h e

has t r a n s l a t e d i n t o T a m i l , must have conv inced him of t h e

need t o u s e compar i son and a n a l y s i s a s t h e two l e g i t i m a t e

t o o l s of c r i t i c i s m . To a man of wide r e a d i n g i n many

l a n g u a g e s , l i t e r a r y s e n s i t i v i t y and humane c o n c e r n ,

Comparat ive L i t e r a t u r e must have a p p e a l e d l e s s a s a

d i s c i p l i n e w i t h i ts own c i r c u m s c r i b e d s u b j e c t - m a t t e r t h a n

a s a d a i l y p r a c t i c e , i n s i d e a s w e l l a s o u t s i d e t h e

c l a s s r o o m . At a t i m e when l i n g u i s t i c c h a u v i n i s m r e a c h e d i t s

n a d i r i n Tami lnadu , he had t h e o o u r a g e t o e x h o r t t h e T a m i l s

t o l e a r n a s many l a n g u a g e s a s p o s s i b l e :

We must undo t h e m e n t a l i t y t o f rown a t o t h e r l a n g u a g e s by which a l o n e c o u l d we s e e Tami l d e v e l o p i n o t h e r p a r t s of t h e w o r l d . No th ing c o u l d be more u n d o i n g t h a n t h e a t t ' t u d e t h a t we need no l anguage o t h e r t h a n T a m i l . 1 We need t h e v a r i e t y of c u r r i e s ( o f o t h e r l a n g u a g e s ) added t o t h e sumptuous f e a s t [ o f T a m i l ] , d o n ' t we?2

Very o f t e n he condemned t h e b l i n d n e s s o f t h e T a m i l s t o t h e

g r e a t n e s s of t h e n e i g h b o u r i n g D r a v i d i a n l a n g u a g e s and even

p l e a d e d f o r an i n t e r e s t i n H i n d i , when t h e v e r y name had

become anathema t o t h e T a m i l - l o v i n g m a j ~ r i t y . ~

Emphas i z ing t h e v a l u e of E n g l i s h a s t h e e y e o f t h e

he a p p e a l e d t o t h e Tami l s a v a n t s t o t r e a t it a s t h e

t r u e v o i c e of s c i e n c e and n o t a s t h e t y r a n n i c a l c r y o f

i m p e r i a l i s m . Undaunted by t h e w r a t h of Tami l s c h o l a r s who

t h u n d e r e d a g a i n s t E n g l i s h and H i n d i d a y i n and d a y o u t , h e

t r i e d t o d e m o n s t r a t e how a knowledge of E n g l i s h c o u l d be

f r u i t f u l l y employed f o r t h e deve lopmen t of Tami l l i t e r a t u r e

and imp lo red them t o t a k e t o Compara t i ve L i t e r a t u r e :

The T a m i l s s h o u l d s e e k t o s t u d y t h e works i n t h e i r l a n g u a g e n compar i son w i t h t h o s e i n t h e o t h e r l a n g u a g e s . 8

He p o i n t e d o u t t h a t c o n t a c t w i t h a n o t h e r c u l t u r e a n d

c i v i l i z a t i o n is o f t e n r e s p o n s i b l e f o r v i g o r o u s g r o w t h of a

c i v i l i z a t i o n and c u l t u r e , d r a w i n g t h e i r a t t e n t i o n t o t h e

f a c t t h a t

' t he c o n t a c t w i t h N o r t h e r n I n d i a , e s p e c i a l l y t h e two g r e a t m i s s i o n a r y r e l i g i o n s of J a i n i s m and Buddhism, t h e c o n t a c t w i t h t h e West t h r o u g h t r a d e and t h e c o n t a c t w i t h t h e E a s t e r n I s l a n d s t h r o u g h t r a d e and c o l o n i z a t i o n , were a l l r e s p o n s i b l e f o r s t i m u l a t i n g a new g r o w t h i n Tami l l a n d which i s found i n i ts CeAkam l i t e r a t u r e , which r e p r e s e n t s a new h i s t o r i c a l developme t and a new t r e n d i n o i v i l i z a t i o n and c u l t u r e ' . r!

P r o f . T . P . H . had t o f i g h t a g a i n s t a n o t h e r f o r m i d a b l e

f r o n t c o n s i s t i n g of s e v e r a l S a n s k r i t s c h o l a r s o f Tamilnadu

who r:hsail;rianarl t.hn cni1~4n of S a n s k r i t a s i f it were t h e i r

mother t o n g u e c l a i m i n g t h a t e v e r y c l a s s i c i n Tami l had a

S a n s k r i t s o u r c e . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , on a c c o u n t o f t h e

p re sumptuous i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of S a n s k r i t w i t h B r a h m i n i s n t h e

p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l c o n f l i c t between Brahmins and non-

Brahmins l e d t o t h e v e r y u n p l e a s a n t l i t e r a r y c o n t r o v e r s i e s

w i t n e s s e d i n t h e d i s c u s s i o n s of works l i k e T i r u k k u ~ a ; ,

~ a r n p a r & ~ y a ~ a r n and o t h e r s . P r c f . T . P . m . had t o c h i d e them

f o r t h e i r c h i l d i s h a s sumpt ions c i t i n g numerous i n s t a n c e s of

g i v e and t a k e between t h e two g r e a t l i t e r a t u r e s and

s t r e s s i n g t h e wonder fu l b e a u t y of t h e mosaic p a t t e r n o f t h e

g r e a t I n d i a n c u l t u r e t o which e a c h l i t e r a t u r e h a s

c o n t r i b u t e d i t s b e s t h e l p i n g t h e e v o l u t i o n of t h e

r emarkab le u n i t y i n v a r i e t y . I n t h i s c o n t e x t , he emphasized

t h e v a l u e of t h e c o n c e p t i o n of Ubhaya Vedanta - t h e Vedanta

i n S a n s k r i t and Tamil - which a r o s e a s a p r o t e s t a g a i n s t

t h e p r i d e of t h e S a n s k r i t i s t s i n o r d e r t o e s t a b l i s h a

harmony of t h e s e two l a n g u a g e s by d e i f y i n g t h e l anguage o f

t h e common man. The g r e a t V a i s h n a v i t e Acharyas were o n l y

i n t e r e s t e d i n u n d e r l i n i n g t h e fundamen ta l u n i t y found i n

t h e two g r e a t l i t e r a t u r e s of S a n s k r i t and T a m i l . The so -

c a l l e d Aryan c u l t u r e of t h e N o r t h i s i t s e l f a commingling

of t h e c u l t u r e s of d i f f e r e n t g r o u p s o f t h e I n d i a n s

i n c l u d i n g t h e S o u t h e r n e r s , and a c c o r d i n g t o P r o f . T . P . K . , i f

one were t o c a l l t h i s s y n t h e t i c c u l t u r e A r y a n i s a t i o n , i t is

e q u a l l y c o r r e c t t o c a l l i t ~ r a v i d i a n i s a t i o n . ~ Because he

chose t o a d v o c a t e t h e v i a media i n s u c h c o n t r o v e r s i a l

i s s u e s , he i n c u r r e d t h e d i s p l e a s u r e o f b o t h t h e g r o u p s o f

e x t r e m i s t s , b u t t r u t h was more d e a r t o h i s h e a r t t h a n

p o p u l a r i t y .

I n a s s a y a f t e r e s s a y , P r o f . T . P . M . w r o t e a b o u t t h e

l i t e r a r y r e l a t i o n s between S a n s k r i t and Tami l l i s t i n g t h e

v a r i o u s common a s p e c t s of what may be c a l l e d t h e u r - I n d i a n

l i t e r a t u r e w i t h o u t a t t h e same t i m e i g n o r i n g t h e

p e c u l i a r i t i e s of e a c h of t h e two l i t e r a t u r e s . The

m y t h o l o g i c a l s t o r i e s of K r i s h n a , Rama and S i v a , J a i n i s m and

Buddhism were some of t h e cemen t ing f a c t o r s which q u i c k e n e d

t h e p r o c e s s of I n d i a n i s a t i o n . I n t e l l e c t u a l s f rom a l l p a r t s

of I n d i a w r o t e i n P a l i o r P r a k r i t and l a t e r i n S a n s k r i t ,

and t h e r e is enough e v i d e n c e t o show t h a t even i n t h e p r e -

Sanka ra p e r i o d , t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s of t h e T a m i l s t o S a n s k r i t

were h i g h i y v a l u e d by t h e g r e a t p h i l o s o p h e r s of ~ n d i a . ~

Even i n t h e u n i q u e Tamil c u l t u r e of t h e ~aAkam a g e , t r a c e s

of S a n s k r i t i n f l u e n c e a r e d i s c e r n i b l e . I n a d d i t i o n t o

a l l u s i o n s t o t h e myths of major Hindu d e i t i e s , t h e r e a r e

p o i n t e d r e f e r e n c e s t o P a t a l i p u t r a , B a n a r a s , t h e Ganges and

t h e H ima layas . One of t h e p o e t s s p e a k s of " t h e y a k cow

dreaming of t h e c r y s t a l c l e a r w a t e r s of t h e H ima layas and

t h e r i c h g r a s s e s , w h i l e s l e e p i n g u n d e r t h e k i n d l y

p r o t e c t i o n of t h e g r e a t s a g e s k i n d l i n g t h e i r s a c r i f i c i a l

f i r e " . lo Even ~ o l k r ~ ~ i y a r , t h e e a r l i e s t Tamil g r ammar i an ,

d i d n o t r u l e o u t t h e u s e of Nor the rn words i n T a n i l

l i t e r a r y c o m p o s i t i o n s . P r o f . T . P . M . ' s a n a l y s i s i n d i c a t e s

t h a t t h i s grammarian t o o k A i n t i r a m a t t r i b u t e d t o I n d r a and

n o t P a n i n i ' s work a s h i s model i n a t l e a s t one r e s p e c t .

P a n i n i , who had a p a s s i o n f o r p r e c i s i o n , f o r g e d a s t y l e o f

h i s own f o r h i s g rammat i ca l t r e a t i s e p a y i n g heed t o t h e

minimum u s e of words t o convey t h e r u l e s o f l a n g u a g e ,

whereas T o l k ~ p p i y a m , l i k e its model A i n t i r a m , g i v i n g

impor t ance t o a e s t h e t i c c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , c h o o s e s a p o e t i c

s t y l e .

The impac t of Dandin, a n o t h e r g r e a t g rammar ian , on

t h e Tamil t r a d i t i o n is s t u d i e d by P r 0 f . T . P . M . i n more t h a n

one e s say . ' ' D a n d i n ' s ~ I a f i k & i l r T s t t r n n s i a t e d i n t o Tami l a s

T a f i i Alankzraa, and a l s o a s " s 1 a h k ~ r a p p a ; a l a m " i n

vGacQiyam marked t h e r e j u v e n a t i o n of T a m i l p o e t r y and , t o

g i v e one example o f i t s u s e , rupaka., upama, s l e s a , u t p r e k s a

and d i p a k a a r e p r o f u s e l y used i n Tami l B h a k t i l i t e r a t u r e . 1 2

He, i n t u r n , e x p l o i t e d h i s knowledge of t h e Tami l t r a d i t i o n

i n h i s d i v i s i o n of p o e t r y i n t o two k i n d s i . e . , t o k a i n i l a i

and t o f a r n i l a i , meaning a n t h o l o g i e s o f u n c o n n e c t e d v e r s e s

and n a r r a t i v e p o e t r y r e s p e c t i v e l y , wh ich d i s t i n c t i o n ,

a c c o r d i n g t o P r o f . T . P . M . , is n a t u r a l t o T a m i l l i t e r a t u r e .

I n one o f h i s m a s t e r p i e c e s , P h i l o s o p h y o f T i r u v a l l u v a r , he

e v a l u a t e s V a t f u v a r ' s v iew of l i f e w i t h i n t h e p a n - I n d i a n

background o f p u r u s a r t h a , c l a i m i n g t h a t t h e e x p o s i t i o n of

p u r u s a r t h a s a s t h e t h r e e - f o l d t r i v a r g a s is a g r e a t

of t h e Tamil s a i n t , who d o e s n o t n e g l e c t

moksa b u t makes i t t h e b a s i s and consummation of a l l t h e

o t h e r t h r e e . P r o f . T . P . H . , i n t h e c o u r s e of t h i s a n a l y s i s ,

t a k e s p a i n s t o p r o v e t h a t t h e c o n c e p t i o n o f p u r u s a r t h a s is

n o t a p r o d u c t of t h e Aryan c u l t u r e b u t of t h e common

e f f o r t s of t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l world of I n d i a s p r e a d i n g f rom

t h e Himalayas t o Cape Comorin, " a common h e r i t a g e and a

common h a r v e s t " , l3 s i n c e it c a n n o t b e t r a c e d back e i t h e r

t o t h e Indo-European c u l t u r e o r t o t h e p r o t o - D r a v i d i a n .

The e s s a y " I l a k k i y a Marapu" ( L i t e r a r y T r a d i t i o n ) , a

s u c c i n c t a n a l y s i s of Tami l p rosody by P r o f . T . P . M . , r e j e c t s

t h e common o p i n i o n t h a t V i r u t t a m , a p o p u l a r m e t r i c a l fo rm

i n T a m i l , owes its o r i g i n t o S a n s k r i t . A s t u d y of Tami l

pur i i f a s is u n d e r t a k e n i n a n o t h e r s h o r t e s s a y which g i v e s a

b r i e f h i s t o r i c a l - c r i t i c a l a c c o u n t of t h e t r a n s l a t i o n s o f

S a n s k r i t p u r z ~ a s i n t o Tami l on a l a r g e s c a l e i n t h e 1 5 t h

and 1 6 t h c e n t u r i e s . I t c o n t a i n s a huge list l e a v i n g u s t o

long f o r more comments on t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e t r a n s l a t i o n .

A ~ p u m u ; i , a book d e v o t e d t o t h e s t u d y of t h e s e c t i o n i n

P e r i y a p u r z ~ a m on E r i p a t t a NZya_%r, i n c l u d e s an i n s i g h t f u l

compara t ive s t u d y o f C i ikk iL i r ' s a c c o u n t of t h e l i f e o f t h i s

S a i v i t e s a i n t w i t h t h e o n e s found i n two S a n s k r i t poems - S i v a b a k t a Vi la 'can and U p a m a y a b a k t a V i l z c a m . Examining a

number of s i m i l a r p a s s a g e s i n t h e t h r e e works , he r e j e c t s

t h e commonly he ld e a r l i e r n o t i o n t h a t PeriyapurZpam must

have been a t r a n s l a t i o n and c o n v i n c i n g l y a r g u e s t h a t it was

t h e s o u r c e of t h e two S a n s k r i t works which were o n l y its

i m p e r f e c t t r a n s l a t i o n s .

Some of P r o f . T . P . H . ' s p r i z e d i s c o v e r i e s p e r t a i n t o

t h e l i t e r a r y r e l a t i o n s between T a m i l and t h e o t h e r

D r a v i d i a n l a n g u a g e s . He e s t a b l i s h e s t h r o u g h one o f h i s

r e s e a r c h a r t i c l e s t h a t t h e t r a n s l a t i o n o f t h e Bhagavad-Gita

i n Halayalam by one o f t h e Kannada p o e t s is a c t u a l l y a

t r a n s l a t i o n o r a d a p t a t i o n of t h e Tami l t r a n s l a t i o n by

B s t . C a r . 1 4 F o r t.llo t r lury u P Nn~~l.a;X!i;r, a H a r l j t l r ~ d i a o i y l a of . . S i v a , which was v e r y p o p u l a r i n Tamilnadu i n t h e 1 9 t h and

20 th c e n t u r i e s , Gopala K r i s n a B h a r a t i was i n d e b t e d t o t h e

Kannada v e r s i o n which was t h e f i r s t t o i n t r o d u c e t h e

Brahmin l a n d l o r d who i n s i s t e d on Nantaf!XrCs c o m p l e t i n g t h e

h a r v e s t of h i s e n t i r e l and i f he s h o u l d b e a l l owed t o g o t o

Chidambaram.15 K r i s h n a d e v a r a y a ' s Zmukta MFllya i n Te lugu is

t h e s t o r y of none o t h e r t h a n t h e T a m i l Va i shnava p o e t e s s - A?;hl, a l s o known a s ~ r f i k k o ; u t t a NiicciyHr. P r o f . T . P . l i .

a f t e r e x t e n s i v e r e s e a r c h cou ld i d e n t i f y many of t h e s t o r i e s

of Tami l NiTyafimiTrs i n Kannada, Te lugu and M a r a t h i and

u n d e r t a k e a f a s c i n a t i n g s t u d y of t h e v a r i o u s v e r s i o n s

a v a i l a b l e i n t h e d i f f e r e n t l a n g u a g e s . 1 6 I n a l o n g e s s a y on

t h e Tami l dramas of t h e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y , he p o i n t s o u t t h a t

tohra, cisa patyam, and tvipatam a r e d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f

mus ica l compcs i t ' i ons which Tami l g o t from H a r a t h i and

Telugu . l7

I t is well-known t h a t a s t u d y o f m i g r a t i o n o f t hemes

from one l i t e r a t u r e t o o t h e r s is a domain i n which

c o m p a r a t i s t s have f e l t v e r y much a t home. Raymond Trousson

emphas i s ing t h e v a l u e o f examin ing t h i s phenomenon h a s

c a l l e d i t " a d i f f i c u l t e x e r c i s e a s f a r removed f rom d u s t y

e r u d i t i o n a s f rom t h e s c o p e of b e g i n n e r s i n c r i t i c i s m , a

t a s k o f t e n demanding and a r d u o u s some t imes u n g r a t e f u l , b u t

e v e r i n v i g o r a t i n g and new, r e v e a l i n g some th ing of t h e

s e c r e t , s t r o n g l i f e o f t h e g r e a t f i g u r e s we have made,

c e n t u r y a f t e r c e n t u r y , o u r own g l o r i o u s d o u b l e s " . Accord ing

t o T r o u s s o n , " t h e s t u d y of r e c u r r e n t f i g u r e s and

f i g u r a t i o n s a ims a t f i n d i n g , a c r o s s many r e i n c a r n a t i o n s o f

a s i n g l e h e r o , some c o n s t a n t s , some f u n d a m e n t a l p r o b l e m s ,

i n a word; some th ing e s s e n t i a l t o human n a t u r e , s o m e t h i n g

c e a s e l e s s l y m o d i f i e d y e t a lways p r e s e r v e d and t r a n s m i t t e d

b e n e a t h t h i s my th ic g u i s e " . l8

What he s a y s of t h e European myths , l e g e n d s and

named p e r s o n a g e s , it s h o u l d b e e v i d e n t , is much more

a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e I n d i a n c o n t e x t , s i n c e o u r r e g i o n a l

l i t e r a t u r e s have been f e r t i l e i n a t t e m p t s t o p o u r o l d wine

i n t o new b o t t l e s - p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e i r r e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n

of c l a s s i c a l myths and l e g e n d s embodied i n t h e two g r e a t

e p i c s , V y a s a ' s Hahabharata and V a l m i k i ' s Ranayana.

Prof . T . P .H. p a r t i c u l a r l y r e v e l s i n a n a l y s i n g t h e

m u l t i t u d i n o u s m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of t h e s t o r y of Rana i n

S a n s k r i t , T a m i l , H i n d i , Te lugu , Kannada and Malayalam, t h e

e n d l e s s v a r i a t i o n s of e p i s o d e s of t h e Mahabharata t o b e

found i n T a n ~ i l f o l k - l i t e r a t u r e and t h e m i g r a t i o n of B h a k t i

theme f rom Tami l t o o t h e r I n d i a n l a n g u a g e s .

P r 0 f . T . P . M . d e a l s a t l e n g t h w i t h Kampan's i n f l u e n c e

on T u l a s i d a s , e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e l a t t e r ' s t r e a t m e n t of

Rama's m e e t i n g w i t h S i t a b e f o r e t h e i r m a r r i a g e , 1 8 and

r e v e a l s s u r p r i s i n g d e t a i l s abou t t h e r e c e p t i o n of Kampan i n

Mysore and K e r a l a i n c l u d i n g t h e f a c t t h a t i n a Malayalam

l egend Kampan is r e p r e s e n t e d a s an a v a t a r of Lord s i v a Z 0

and makes an i n t e r e s t i n g oompara t ive s t u d y o f

F Kampar~nTya?app~valkLttu i n Malayalam and i ts T a m i l

o r i g i n a l The f o l k - s t o r y of May i l RKvarag p o p u l a r w i t h

Tamil women i n v i l l a g e s , i n P r o f . T . P . H . ' s o p i n i o n , i s

i n d e b t e d t o t h e B e n g a l i s t o r y of Mahiravana, i n t r o d u c e d

i n t o t h e Tamil l and by t h e d i s c i p l e s of ~ h a i t a n y a . ~ ~ The

p a r t i c u l a r v e r s i o n of H a r i s h c h a n d r a ' s s t o r y i n vogue i n

Tamil i n c l u d i n g A r i c c a n t i r a p u r i i r a m h a s an i m p o r t a n t Kannada

s o u r c e c a l l e d Ragavanga of t h e 1 3 t h c e n t u r y . 2 3 He m e n t i o n s

how Ka?naki became Teyyo i n Cey lon , as c e l e b r a t e d i n a

number of S i n h a l e s e f o l k s o n g s .

Two S a n s k r i t p u r r ~ a s d e s c r i b e Bhakti a s a f e m a l e

c h i l d t h a t was born on t h e banks of t h e Cauve ry o r t h e

Tamaraparani i n Tamilnadu, was b r o u g h t up i n d i f f e r e n t

p a r t s of Sou th I n d i a , and grew i n t o an o l d l a d y i n

~ u j a r a t . 2 4 T h i s i s o n l y a symbo l i c a c c o u n t of how B h a k t i

had i t s o r i g i n i n Tamilnadu i n t h e bone -me l t ing s o n p s o f - NZya;mZrs and AlvZrs and s p r e a d t o v a r i o u s p a r t s o f t h e

s u b c o n t i n e n t d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d f rom 650 A . D . t o 950 A . D . ,

when t h e T a m i l s had c o n t a c t s w i t h t h e o u t s i d e wor ld f rom

t h e Nor the rn I n d i a , from t h e E a s t e r n s e a s and f rom S r i

Lanka i n t h e Sou th and even A r a b i a i n t h e West .

P r o f . T . P . K . e n u n c i a t e s t h i s p r o p o s i t i o n i n h i s two

long e s s a y s "TamilccelvZkku-1" , "Tamilccelvi ikku-2" , (The

F o r t u n e s of Tami l i n I n d i a and Abroad) . T h e r e i s a l w a y s t h e

dange r of s u c h s t u d i e s of r e c e p t i o n d e g e n e r a t i n g , a l l t o o

e a s i l y , i n t o m e c h a n i c a l and d u l l c a t a l o g u e s . But

P r o f . T . P . H . ' s s t u d y of t h e l i t e r a r y f o r t u n e s o f Ni;lyapZrs

and H ~ v Z r s i n I n d i a and i n t h e F a r E a s t e r n c o u n t r i e s t a k e s

i n t o a c c o u n t , i n a s e n s i t i v e and w e l l - i n f o r m e d manner , many

s o c i o l o g i c a l , h i s t o r i c a l and p o l i t i c a l f a c t o r s . A l l k i n d s

of s o u r c e s i n c l u d i n g s t o n e - i n s c r i p t i o n s , f o l k - l i t e r a t u r e

and b e l l e s - l e t t r e s a r e t a p p e d and e v e r y p i e c e of

information is d i l i g e n t l y c o l l e c t e d , p r o p e r l y weighed and

o b j e c t i v e l y a s s e s s e d . Such a t h e s i s could have been

s a t i s f a o t o r i l y s u b s t a n t i a t e d on ly by a c r i t i c who knew t h e

Bhakti l i t e r a t u r e i n d i f f e r e n t l anguages i n t h e o r i g i n a l .

Se rv ice t o t h e p o o r , a f f i r m a t i o n of l i f e .and empha t ic

r e j e c t i o n of wor ld -nega t ion , accep tance of music a s a

powerful medium of e x p r e s s i o n , b e l i e f i n t h e one-world

concept , love f o r God expressed i n t e rms of love between

man and woman, and emphasis on dharma a r e l i s t e d by him as

some of t h e a s p e c t s of t h e Bhakt i c u l t . Ramanuja s e r v e d a s

a powerful i n t e r m e d i a r y i n s p r e a d i n g t h e message of t h e - Alvr r s and h i s d i s c i p l e s con t inued t h e t a s k of m e d i a t i o n

l a t e r . The songs of t h e z i v ~ r s were w r i t t e n i n Te lugu ,

Kannada, Hind i , G u j a r a t i and Benga l i s c r i p t s f o r t h e

b e n e f i t of t h e V a i s h n a v i t e s of t h o s e r e g i o n s .

P rof .T .P .M. s k e t c h e s t h e t r a v e l r o u t e s of t h o u g h t

and l i t e r a t u r e whi le drawing t h e mag of l i t e r a r y

communications between v a r i o u s r e g i o n s of t h e c o u n t r y and

a l s o a n a l y s e s t h e r e a s o n s f o r t h e d i s t o r t i o n s t h e s t o r i e s

of NXyacmgrs faced a t t h e hands of ~ r r a S a i v i t e s i n Kannada

and those of X ~ v Z r s and NKyagmirs i n Te lugu .

Pr0f .T.P.M. goes on t o c o n s i d e r how t h e s e waves of

t h e Bhakt i movement l a t e r reached t h e s h o r e s of some of t h e

f a r E a s t e r n c o u n t r i e s f o l l o w i n g t h e r o u t e s of t r a d e . The

n a t i o n a l f e s t i v a l of T h a i l a n d was known a s T i r u p p z v a i -

~ i r u v e m p z v a i p r o v i d i n g u n m i s t a k a b l e e v i d e n c e f o r t h e

overwhelming impac t of t h e s o n g s o f i ? t E l and

~ ~ ? i k k a v ? i c a k a r on t h e T h a i c u l t u r e . 2 S One o f T.P.H. ,s

f a v o u r i t e s u b j e c t s i s t o t r a c e t h e p reva len , ce o f Tamil

c u l t u r e i n S r i Lanka, Burma, Malaya, T h a i l a n d , B a l i I s l a n d ,

China, A r a b i a , Egyp t , Greece and Rome and t o p r o v e h i s

c o n c l u s i o n s he p i l e s i n s t a n c e s upon i n s t a n c e s f rom

d i f f e r e n t s o u r c e s i n c l u d i n g l i t e r a r y works .

Compara t ive l i t e r a r y s t u d i e s may v e r y o f t e n l e a d t o

s t u d i e s i n c u l t u r a l h i s t o r y and h i s t o r y of i d e a s , and

c o m p a r a t i s t s a r e fond of a n a l y s i n g how an i d e o l o g y o r a

p h i l o s o p h i c a l s y s t e m h a s g e r m i n a t e d i n t o a work o f a r t .

P r 0 f . T . P . H . e x p l o r e s ~ Z t t a ~ L r ' s a t t e m p t a t p r o p a g a t i n g

Buddhism i n Nanimgkalai i n more t h a n one e s s a y and t h e

p r e s e n c e of S a i v i s m i n CaAkam l i t e r a t u r e i n two e s s a y s

c a l l e d " ~ a h k a K z l a t t i l Saivam" ( S a i v i s m d u r i n g Cahkam E r a ) ,

making it c l e a r t h a t u n l i k e C z t t a n z r , t h e ~aikaa p o e t s were

n o t i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e o l o g y o r making a c a s e f o r t h e i r

r e l i g i o u s c o n v i c t i o n s i n t h e i r p o e t i c e x p r e s s i o n o f t h e

1 ~ 1 ~ s ( d i v i n e s p o r t s ) o f Lord S i v a .

Though he was n o t a w r i t e r o f i m a g i n a t i v e

l i t e r a t u r e , P r o f . T . P . M . s e r v e d a s an e f f e c t i v e m e d i a t o r

t h r o u g h h i s s c h o l a r l y a r t i c l e s and t r a n s l a t i o n s . He

introduced t h e Tamil r eaders and s c h o l a r s t o a number of

Weatern concep ts , t h e o r l e a , l i t e r a r y movements and t e r n s .

His c o l l e c t i o n of e s s a y s c a l l e d Pz;filPPura;ci (Revolu t ion

in P o e t r y ) , f o r example, c o n t a i n s d i s c u s s i o n s i n Tamil of

John Crcwe Ransom's theory and p r a c t i c e of p o e t r y , t h e

Imagist movement, t h e s t ream-of-consciousness nove l , t h e

poe t ry of Cummings i n t h e l i g h t of t h e Tamil concept of

poru;ka, t h e concept of i rony and of t h e l a t e s t t r e n d s i n

c r i t i c i s m . I n many of t h e s e rap id c r i t i c a l su rveys ,

numerous s u g g e s t i v e p a r a l l e l s a r e drawn from S a n s k r i t and

Tamil p o e t i c s . His t r a n s l a t i o n s ranee from Harco P o l o ' s

n o t e s on t h e 13 th cen tury Tamil land t o A l b e r t S c h w e i t z e r ' s

obse rva t ions on Tirukku~a! and T . S . E l i o t ' s e s s a y "The

Funct ion of C r i t i c i s m " . A s e a r l y a s t h e f i f t i e s of t h e

p r e s e n t c e n t u r y , he s e r i a l i s e d i n Ralaikkatir e s s a y s

expounding f o r t h e f i r s t time t h e r e v o l u t i o n a r y t h e o r i e s of

Freud.

As one of t h e f i r s t r e s e a r c h g u i d e s i n Tamilnadu,

P rof .T .P .H. chose t o s u p e r v i s e t h e w r i t i n g s of t h e f i r s t

Ph.D. t h e s i s w r i t t e n s t r i c t l y accord ing t o t h e norms of

Comparative L i t e r a t u r e , Dr.V.Sachi thanandan's "Whitman and

B h a r a t i " . The o t h e r e a r l y ones s u c c e s s f u l l y s u p p l i c a t e d f o r

Ph.D. under P r o f . T . P . M . ' s guidance a r e : Dr.S.Ramakrishnan's

"Hi l ton and Kamban", Dr .K.Chel lappan's "Shakespearean

Tragedy and Cilappat ikKram" and Mrs. Radha Tyagara jan 's

"Mysticism i n Tiruviicakam". These d i s s e r t a t i o n s ,

unders tandab ly , s e t t h e t r end of a c t i v i t i e s i n compara t ive

l i t e r a t u r e r e s e a r c h i n Tamilnadu.

Because of h i s knowledge and u n d e r s t a n d i n g of more

than one l i t e r a t u r e , Pr0f .T.P.M. could g a i n a more ba lanced

view and a t r u e r p e r s p e c t i v e than was p o s s i b l e t o h i s

con temporar ies from t h e i s o l a t e d a n a l y s i s of T a n i l

l i t e r a t u r e and a s a c r i t i c , t e a c h e r and g u i d e he cou ld

s h a r e t h e p l e a s u r e of t h i s achievement wi th a l a r g e number

of r e a d e r s , d i s c i p l e s and s t u d e n t s . I t is u n f o r t u n a t e he

could n o t come o u t wi th f u l l - l e n g t h compara t ive s t u d i e s

f o l l o w i n g t h e methodology a s s o c i a t e d wi th compara t ive

l i t e r a t u r e , b u t then he had t o do t h e p i o n e e r i n g work i n a

number of f i e l d s answering t h e demands of t h e T a n i l

r esurgence immediately a f t e r t h e independence of t h e

c o u n t r y . When one comes a c r o s s a b r i e f comparat ive s t u d y of

Naz;i?ai and A r i s t o t l e ' s Ethics o r of Va thsayayana ' s

Kamasutra and V a l l u v a r ' s "Kiimattupp'iil" o r of Kau$i lya ' s

Arthasasthra and V a l l u v a r ' s "Poru;p=l" o r of Va lmik i ' s . . p o r t r a y a l of Tara and Kampan's, one wishes t h a t he had

g iven more d e t a i l e d appraisal^.^^ A l a r g e number of c a s u a l

comparisons t e s t i f y i n g t o h i s i n c r e d i b l e sweep and e x t r a -

o r d i n a r y i n s i g h t s a r e found s c a t t e r e d i n h i s c o u n t l e s s

e s s a y s . From h i s o b s e r v a t i o n s it is c l e a r t h a t f r u i t f u l

comparisons can be made of Va t ;uva r ' s c o n c e p t of l o v e and

S p i n o z a ' s and of P l a t o ' s R e p u b l i c and Rampan's p i c t u r e of

AyFtti i n h i s Ramayanam, t h a t ~ a > k a m l y r i c s can b e

p r o f i t a b l y s t u d i e d i n t h e l i g h t of H o p k i n s ' s c o n c e p t of

' i n s c a p e ' and t h a t t h e poems of Tami l S i d d h a s s h o u l d b e

s t u d i e d a l o n g w i t h t h e "Vacanaka lus" i n Rannada and

v&ana ' s Patyams i n ~ e l u g u . ~ ' As a o o m p a r a t i s t , he h a s

p rov ided s i m p l e l i n e s of numerous sketch-maps which p e r m i t

an e x t r e m e l y u s e f u l f i r s t o r i e n t a t i o n . And t h e y have t o b e

expanded i n t o more complex end e l a b o r a t e s t u d i e s by t h e

p r e s e n t g e n e r a t i o n of s c h o l a r s t a k i n g a d v a n t a g e o f t h e

l a t e s t deve lopmen t s i n Western l i t e r a r y c r i t i c i s m .

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1 . Tarnilmanam, (Madura i : Meenakshi P u t t a k a Ni layam, 19627, ;. 9 . [ A l l t h e works c i t e d i n t h e r e f e r e n c e s h e r e a r e by T . P . M e e n a k s h i s u n d a r a n . ]

2 . I b i d . , , p . 5

3 . I b i d . , , P . 6

4 . I b i d . , , p . 12.

5 . I b i d . , , p . 4 9 .

6 . P h i l o s o p h y o f T i r u v a l l u v a r , ( H a d u r a i : Madurai U n i v e r s i t y , 1 9 6 9 ) , p . 7 .

I b i d . , p . 15

I b i d . , p. 19

I b i d . , p . 2 0 . I b i d . , p . 18

S e e S i x t y - f l r s t B i r t h d a y Con~mr . ru~ .a t i un Volume, ( A n n a m a l a i n a g a r : Annamalai U n i v e r s i t y , 1961), pp.106-113.

"The T a m i l L i t e r a r y Theory o f t h e B h a k t i P e r i o d " , J o u r n a l o f t h e Madura i U n i v e r s i t y , December 1970, p. 7.

P h i l o s o p h y of T i r u v a l l u v a r , p. 33.

Tami lum PirapanpZturn, ( M a d r a s : New ~ o u s e L t d . , 1975)) 'p. 32.

C e n t u r y Book

I b i d . , p . 4 0

S e e " T a m i ~ c c e l v ~ k k u " , Tarnilurn Pigapappg;urn.

~ T d k a l u r n C u v a i y u h k a l , ( M a d u r a i : S a r v o d a y a I l a k k i y a - p a n n a i , 1978, p p . 108-109.

Q u o t e d i n S . S . P r a w e r , C o m p a r a t i v e L i t e r a r y S t u d i e s , Duckworth , 1973, p.104.

Tarnilurn - ~ i ~ a p a f p T ; u m , p . 31

I b i d . , p . 29.

Tamilum Pi_rapanpZfurn, p. 31.

I b i d . , p.41

I b i d . , p.18.

U l a k a N g k a r i k a t t i l T a m i & r i ~ ~ a A k u ( M a d u r a i : S a r v o d a y a I l a k k i y a p p a n n a i , 1982), p . 11.

27. U l a k a N g k a r i k a t t i l T a m i l a r i ~ ~ a A k u , pp. 90-92, F h i l o s o p h g , o f T i r u v a l l u v l j r , pp. 111-113, 116-17, 140-41, N l n k a j u n Cuva i yu l j ka ; , pp. 59-61 .

2 8 . S e e P h i l o s o p h y o f T i r u v a l l u v a r , p. 82, ~ ~ ~ k a l u n r C u v a i y u r i k a l , pp. 5 2 , T a m i l I l a k k i y a ~ a r a l Z i u , pp.57-58. T a m i ~ u m Pifapa7pB$;jm, p.27.