Wednesday, 31 December 2014

Indian history was distorted by the British

‘Indian history was distorted by the British’

The Aryan invasion theory was actually part of the British policy of divide and rule, French historian Michel Danino, an expert on ancient Indian history, said on Thursday on the sidelines of the Kolkata Literary Meet. Danino, who authored books such as The Lost River: On The Trail of Saraswati and Indian Culture and India’s Future, blames the British for distorting Indian history and challenged the Arayan invasion theory, while maintaining that there was no actual Aryan-Dravidian divide.

“No ancient or medieval Indian text would support the Aryan invasion theory. It is genetically proven that Aryans and Dravidians belong to the same race, ”said Danino, who settle in India in 1977 and has since acquired Indian citizenship.

Danino said that early Tamil literature displayed a cultural fusion with north Indian literature. Even the name of the city Maduri was influence from the ancient north Indian heritage city, Mathura, Danino claimed.

“Indians are basically a mixed breed and the mixing started as early as the Stone Age. After the Saraswati river dried up, leading to the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization, people started settling on the banks of the Ganges. This phenomenon that occurred around 2000 BC led to massive mixing up of the populace as a while has to shift its base,” Danino explained.

“The Mahabharata defined ethnic groups as jatis, whereas the British brought in the term tribes to describe the same thing, thus denigrating the homogenous culture of India. Jatis were defined on ecological terms. There is a popular perception that casteism started in India since the Vedas but that is not true. There was no casteism even during the Mahabharata period,” he said.

Danino also rued the fact that Indians are apathetic towards the preservation of their rich culture and heritage. “1170 sites of the ancient Harappan civilization have been identified during its mature phase. But till date only around 100 sites have been excavated. There is a fear that 90% of the sites might disappear due to expansion of urban areas or agricultural land being converted to residential high rises,” Danino said.

He went on to give an example of how the archaeological Survey of India (ASI) could recover only eight kilos of Harappan gold when about 80 kilos of the same was unearthed at Mandi in Uttar Pradesh. Villagers pilfered the rest, depriving India of a useful insight into its rich heritage.

“ASI admitted to a Parliament query that 42 protected sites vanished from Delhi alone. No one noticed as land sharks went to grab the sites and construct high-rises on them,” Danino said.

Historian Sanjeev Sanyal, speaking on the continuity of Indian history claimed that east European and north Indian people share genetic similarities.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/1004972.aspx?s=p

Sunday, 28 December 2014

How movies embraced Hinduism

How movies embraced Hinduism (without you even noticing) From Interstellar to Batman and Star Wars the venerable religion has been the driving philosophy behind many hit movies. Why?

Alec Guinness as Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars … is he really a Hindu?

Nirpal Dhaliwal

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Interstellar’s box office total is $622,932,412 and counting. It is the eighth highest-grossing film of the year and has spawned an endless raft of thinkpieces testing the validity of its science and applauding the innovation of its philosophy. But it is not so new. The idea that propels the plot – there is a universal super-consciousness that transcends time and space, and in which all human life is connected – has been around for about 3,000 years. It is Vedic.

When the film’s astronaut hero (Matthew McConaughey), declares that the mysterious and all-knowing “they” who created a wormhole near Saturn through which he travels to save mankind – dissolving his sense of material reality in the process – are in fact “us”, he is simply repeating the central notion of the Upanishads, India’s oldest philosophical texts. These hold that individual human minds are merely brief reflections within a cosmic one.

McConaughey’s character doesn’t just talk the talk. He walks the walk. So, the multidimensional tesseract – that endlessly reflective prism he finds himself in as he comes to this realisation, and in which he views life from every perspective – is the film’s expression of Indra’s net, the Hindu metaphor which depicts the universe as an eternal web of existence spun by the king of the gods, each of its intersections adorned with an infinitely sided jewel, every one continually reflecting the others.

Of course, Hollywood’s eager embrace of Buddhism, yoga and other esoteric Indian systems is not new. David Lynch is an outspoken exponent of transcendental meditation, Richard Gere follows the Dalai Lama and Julia Roberts affirmed her Hinduism in the wake of Eat, Pray, Love – a movie that tells the tale of a modern American woman’s journey towards peace through Indian spiritual practises that grossed over $200m (£128.6m). Hinduism can get the tills ringing even when it urges parsimony.

Nolan has long been a devout subscriber to the cause. A director famed for being able to get a multimillion dollar project off the ground with only his own name as collateral, he clearly knows the value of pre-existing brands such as Hinduism. His breakthrough hit, Memento, had Guy Pearce as an amnesiac whose unreliable consciousness is the faulty lens through which we see the story of a murder, told both in chronological and reverse order. This notion of distrusting individual reality and looking beyond it for truth was extended in Nolan’s Inception, in which Leonardo DiCaprio leads a team of “psychonauts” on a heist deep within the recesses of a billionaire’s mind – a spiralling adventure of dreams within dreams in which the laws of nature increasingly bend and warp – before finding its purest expression in Interstellar.

Interstellar … spiritual journey? Photograph: Sportsphoto/Allstar/Legendary Pictures

“Look at the first Matrix movie,” says producer Peter Rader. “It’s a yogic movie. It says that this world is an illusion. It’s about maya – that if we can cut through the illusions and connect with something larger we can do all sorts of things. Neo achieves the abilities of the advanced yogis [Paramahansa] Yogananda described, who can defy the laws of normal reality.”

Rader’s latest movie, a documentary about Yogananda, who was among the first gurus to bring Indian mysticism to North America in the 1920s, has been a sleeper hit in the US. The film documents how influential Hindu philosophy is in American culture, with contributions from the likes of the yoga-devoted hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons. “There’s a big pent-up demand,” thinks Rader. “There are a lot of closet spiritualists who are meditating, doing yoga, reading books and thinking about a bigger reality. And now they can come out and say, ‘Yes, I’m into this.’ Steve Jobs read Yogananda’s book once a year. He bequeathed a copy of it to everyone who attended his memorial. It helped inspire him to develop products like the iPad.”

But before Nolan, before the Matrix, before, even, the iPad, there was Star Wars. It was the film, with its cosmic scale and theme of a transcendental “force” that confers superhuman powers on those who can align with it, which opened up mainstream American culture to Indian esotericism more than anything else. George Lucas was influenced by the mythologist Joseph Campbell, whose work A Hero With a Thousand Faces traced the narrative arc common to all mythic heroes that Luke Skywalker would embark upon. Campbell himself lived by his Upanishadic mantra “follow your bliss”, which he derived from the Sanskrit termsat-chit-ananda.

“The word sat means being,” said Campbell. “Chit means consciousness. Anandameans bliss or rapture. I thought, ‘I don’t know whether my consciousness is proper consciousness or not. I don’t know whether what I know of my being is my proper being or not, but I do know where my rapture is. So let me hang on to rapture, and that will bring me both my consciousness and my being’.” His mantra was the paradigm for Skywalker’s own realisation of the force, the sense of peace, purpose and power gained once he allowed himself to accept and unify with it. “If you follow your bliss,” thought Campbell, “you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living.”

As his mastery of the force neared its peak, Skywalker comes perilously close to taking Vader’s sinister path. With this, Star Wars established the principle in Hollywood of superheroes having to overcome an inner darkness while battling an external enemy, and finding an enlightenment in the process. Nolan’s trilogy of Batman movies – in which a tortured protagonist struggles as much not to become his nemesis as to defeat it – have introduced a whole new generation to the Indian god-myths and the teachings of yoga that emphasise the priority of one’s internal journey while facing the challenges of the outside world. Next year, even younger recruits to the cause will feel the force of the new JJ Abrams’ Star Wars movie.

“Spirituality is the open-secret,” says Rader. “A lot of people know that if we quieten down we can tap into a deeper power. And the movies that tap into that, like Star Wars and Interstellar, are hugely popular. Audiences know what the film is telling them, they have a sense that this story is working on a deeper level. It’s telling them that there’s more to life than just the ordinary. That there’s something much bigger, and they’re a part of it.”

A philosophy to which many are keen to subscribe is what makes religions successful. Movies, too.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/dec/25/movies-embraced-hinduism

Wednesday, 17 December 2014

Henry Kissinger on Bhagavad Gita & Arthashastra

I have often been intrigued by Henry Kissinger. After all, he was the man who said - If you want to learn how not to conduct foreign policy, you need to follow Jawaharlal Nehru! Now, we know where he got his acumen from.

MILLENNIA BEFORE EUROPEAN THINKERS

World order in Hindu cosmology was governed by immutable cycles of an almost inconceivably vast scale — millions of years long. Kingdoms would fall, and the universe would be destroyed, but it would be re-created, and new kingdoms would rise again. The true nature of human experience was known only to those who endured and transcended these temporal upheavals.

The Hindu classic the Bhagavad Gita framed these spirited tests in terms of the relationship between morality and power. Arjuna, “overwhelmed by sorrow” on the eve of battle at the horrors he is about to unleash, wonders what can justify the terrible consequences of war.
Henry

This is the wrong question, Krishna rejoins. Because life is eternal and cyclical and the essence of the universe is indestructible. Redemption will come through the fulfillment of a preassigned duty, paired with a recognition that its outward manifestations are illusory because “the impermanent has no reality; reality lies in the eternal.”

Arjuna, a warrior, has been presented with a war he did not seek. He should accept the circumstances with equanimity and fulfill his role with honor, and must strive to kill and prevail and “should not grieve.”

While Lord Krishna’s appeal to duty prevails and Arjuna professes himself freed from doubt, the cataclysms of the war — described in detail in the rest of the epic — add resonance to his earlier qualms.

This central work of Hindu thought embodied both an exhortation to war and the importance not so much of avoiding but of transcending it. Morality was not rejected, but in any given situation the immediate considerations were dominant, while eternity provided a curative perspective. What some readers lauded as a call to fearlessness in battle, Gandhi would praise as his “spiritual dictionary.”

Against the background of the eternal verities of a religion preaching the elusiveness of any single earthly endeavor, the temporal ruler was in fact afforded a wide berth for practical necessities.

The pioneering exemplar of this school was the 4th century BC minister Kautilya, credited with engineering the rise of India’s Maurya Dynasty, which expelled Alexander the Great’s successors from northern India and unified the subcontinent for the first time under a single rule.

Kautilya wrote about an India comparable in structure to Europe before the Peace of Westphalia. He describes a collection of states potentially in permanent conflict with each other. Like Machiavelli’s, his is an analysis of the world as he found it; it offers a practical, not a normative, guide to action. And its moral basis is identical with that of Richelieu, who lived nearly two thousand years later: the state is a fragile organization, and the statesman does not have the moral right to risk its survival on ethical restraint.

The Arthashastra sets out, with dispassionate clarity, a vision of how to establish and guard a state while neutralizing, subverting, and (when opportune conditions have been established) conquering its neighbors.

The Arthashastra encompasses a world of practical statecraft, not philosophical disputation. For Kautilya, power was the dominant reality. It was multidimensional, and its factors were interdependent.

All elements in a given situation were relevant, calculable, and amenable to manipulation toward a leader’s strategic aims. Geography, finance, military strength, diplomacy, espionage, law, agriculture, cultural traditions, morale and popular opinion, rumors and legends, and men’s vices and weaknesses needed to be shaped as a unit by a wise king to strengthen and expand his realm — much as a modern orchestra conductor shapes the instruments in his charge into a coherent tune. It was a combination of Machiavelli and Clausewitz.

Millennia before European thinkers translated their facts on the ground into a theory of balance of power, the Arthashastra set out an analogous, if more elaborate, system termed the “circle of states.”

Whatever professions of amity he might make, any ruler whose power grew significantly would eventually find that it was in his interest to subvert his neighbor’s realm. This was an inherent dynamic of self-preservation to which morality was irrelevant.

What our time has labeled covert intelligence operations were described in the Arthashastra as an important tool. Operating in “all states of the circle” (friends and adversaries alike) and drawn from the ranks of “holy ascetics, wandering monks, cart-drivers, wandering minstrels, jugglers, tramps, [and] fortune-tellers,” these agents would spread rumors to foment discord within and between other states, subvert enemy armies, and “destroy” the King’s opponents at opportune moments.

The Arthashastra advised that restrained and humanitarian conduct was under most circumstances strategically useful: a king who abused his subjects would forfeit their support and would be vulnerable to rebellion or invasion; a conqueror who needlessly violated a subdued people’s customs or moral sensibilities risked catalyzing resistance.

The Arthashastra's exhaustive and matter-of-fact catalogue of the imperatives of success led the distinguished 20th-century political theorist Max Weber to conclude that the Arthashastra exemplified “truly radical ‘Machiavellianism’... compared to it, Machiavelli’s The Prince is harmless.” Unlike Machiavelli, Kautilya exhibits no nostalgia for the virtues of a better age.

Whether following the Arthashastra's prescriptions or not, India reached its high watermark of territorial extent in the third century BC, when its revered Emperor Asoka governed a territory comprising all of today’s India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and part of Afghanistan and Iran.

Excerpted from Henry Kissinger’s book, recently published by Penguin India World Order: Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History

Tuesday, 16 December 2014

ANCIENT INDIAN MARITIME LINKAGES WITH SOUTH-EAST ASIAN NATIONS

ANCIENT INDIAN MARITIME LINKAGES WITH SOUTH-EAST ASIAN NATIONS

1. Navigation in the seas of the North Indian Ocean is as old as the river valley civilisations in the adjacent coastal areas of Asia. India located centrally in North Indian Ocean had a lion’s share of early maritime relations. Buddhist Jataka tales and Kathasarit Sagara talk of coastal sea links between Gujarat and Srilanka on one hand and across the sea voyages in the Bay of Bengal and beyond.

2. The Mauryas and later the Guptas are believed to have built a navy. The Kalingas, after the invasion of Ashoka, had set on an emigration voyage across the Bay of Bengal to Bali Island, of a sizeable number of their people. The Mauryan voyage from the Bengal port of Tamralipti to Srilanka in the Ashokan days is a historically recorded fact. No less than six cultural and trade emissaries reached the Chinese coasts across the seas from the South of India.

3. The Vedas, Buddhist Jatakas, Sanskrit, Pali and Persian literature, Indian folklore and mythology and even the Old Testament bear testimony to the fact that as far back as the days of Mohen-jo-Daro, Lothal and Harappa (3000 to 2000 B.C), i.e., the Indus Valley Civilisation, there was considerable maritime activity between India and countries in Africa, Southern Europe, Western Asia and the Far East. Seals and Potsherd portraying anchors and tools and kitchen implements made of coral and mussel shell have been found at these places and Java, Sumatra, Indo-China, Sri Lanka and Egypt.

4. This fact is further borne out by the writings of foreign travelers and historians-Chinese, Arabic and Persian – which contain observations on Indian subjects and Indian and foreign art and literature- English, Greek, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Persian, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Malay, Thai, Burmese and Sinhalese. Some of the little known facts about the extent of commercial and cultural influence of India and sea-borne trade using ships built in India during the Hindu period (pre-Christian era to the middle of the 15th century) are :

The Matsya Yantra (the fish machine), an iron fish floating on oil pointing to the north serving as a primitive compass was used by Indian sea-farers for several millennia (Matsya was the first incarnation of Lord Vishnu).
The names of some of the places in Southern and Southeast Asia such as Socotra which is a derivative of Sukhadhara and Sri Lanka which originally was Swarna Alankara.
The similarity between the Thai and Oriya scripts due to the long Kalinga influence on Thailand.
The scriptures in a Buddhist temple in Japan which are recited by the monks every morning even today being in the 6th century A.D Bengali script.
The transfer by sea of the weary, tired and demoralized army of Alexander the Great from the mouth of the Indus to the shores of the Persian Gulf in 323 B.C in about 800 Indian built sailing vessels.

5. During this period, while the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean were used mainly for purposes of maritime trade, the Bay of Bengal provided a high-way for the countries on the Eastern sea-board to embark on proselytising, cultural and colonising missions to Sri Lanka and countries as far as the East Indies and Japan.

6. During this period, considerable maritime activity took place in the waters around India. As described by Megasthenes, the royal shipyards of the Mauryas built seagoing ships of various classes. The War office of Emperor Chandragupta had, as one of his six boards, a Nav Parishad (Board of Admiralty) which controlled national shipbuilding. During the days of Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century B.C., his sister, Princess Sanghamitra sailed from Tamralipta in Bengal to Srilanka on her historic mission of spreading Buddhism there. Between 200 B.C and A.D 250, the Andhras carried out maritime trade with Western Asia, Greece, Rome, Egypt, China and some other Eastern countries and had even set up embassies in some of these countries. Larger sailing vessels built by the Cholas, Pandyas and the Keralas of South India and the Kalingas of Orissa were used for trade, passenger traffic and naval warfare. It is a fact of history that during the first decade of the seventh century, a ruler of Gujarat who was faced with defeat at the hands of his enemy, sent his son with thousands of followers comprising cultivators, artisans, warriors, physicians and writers in over 100 vessels to Java where they laid the foundation of a new civilisation whose contribution to the world is the temple and sculptures of Borobudur.

7. That oceanic navigation was well advanced during the earlier centuries of the Christian era is further borne out by the writings of the celebrated Chinese monk, Fa Hien who came to India overland to study Biddhism at Bodhgaya, Sarnath and Varanasi in A.D. 413. On his way back to his home land he sailed from Tamralipta in Bengal and 14 days later reached Sri Lanka where he embarked for Java and called at the Nicobars before passing through the Straits of Malacca to reach the Pacific.

8. In April A.D 800, as described in the 199th Chapter of the Japanese document Ruijukokushi, an Indian was cast up on the shores of Japan and some seeds of the cotton-plant, so far unknown to that country, were found on his ship and sown in the province of Kii, Awaji, Jyo, Tosa and Kyushu. Thus cotton was introduced into Japan.

9. The Cholas (985-1054 A.D) maintained a strong naval fleet on the Coromandel Coast. In 1007 A.D., the Cholas launched an expedition against the Sri Vijayas, who at that time ruled the Malayan Peninsula, Java, Sumatra and some neighbouring islands and the sea areas contiguous to them, and defeated them to establish Chola power in the Malayan Peninsula.

10. Indian supremacy over the Eastern waters reached its zenith during the period of 5th to 12th centuries when the Sri Vijaya Empire ruled the entire sea area between India’s eastern seaboard and the Far East. The Sri Vijayas’ cultural and colonising expedition took them to such far-flung areas as Sumatra, Burma, the Malayan Peninsula, Java, Thailand and Indo-China. Sri Vijaya put down piracy, attracted Indian, Arab and Chinese merchants to its ports where excellent harbour facilities were available. Every ship passing the Straits of Sunda and Malacca was obliged to pay a toll. Besides spreading Hindu culture, they maintained regular political and commercial intercourse with the Cholas, Pandyas and Keralas. As a result of jealousy between the Cholas, the Tamil kings and the Sri Vijayas, a series of sea battles were fought between their navies towards the end of the 10th century A.D resulting in the weakening of these empires and opening the way for Arab supremacy in the region. These Arabs, however, became great intermediaries of maritime commercial intercourse between India and the West (Europe & West Asia).

INDIANISED KINGDOMS OF THE FAR EAST

11. In the early centuries of the Christian era South Indian kingdoms of Chre, Pandya and Chola were known for their maritime enterprises in the Eastern direction. The Tamil kings became prosperous and encouraged seaborne trade by developing harbours and providing quarters and warehouses for foreign traders and sailors. There was competition among the South Indian kings for the gains by this trade, Sri Lanka being another rival. Among the South Indian ports which traded actively with South East Asia were Muzuris (Cranganore), Poduca (Pondicherry), and Sopatma (Markanam). In the North Tamralipta (Tamluk) at the mouth of the Ganges and Barygaza (Gujarat) were ports from which Indian influence reached out to the far-east. The Ramayana and Mahabharata, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, Sanskrit language and Hindu mythology, temple architecture and the Indian way of life became part of Far-Eastern culture.

12. Successive waves of Indian emigrants brought about major political and cultural changes in South East Asia. In the first century AD, Indians, attracted by trade and gains, traveled to these regions by land and sea. After setting up trading posts, they took advantage of the mutual conflicts of local rulers to established Indianised kingdoms. Between the first and fourth century AD the first wave of emigration set up Indian kingdoms in Malaya, Champa and Funan. The second wave (4th to 7th century) spread Indian culture and religion (both Hinduism and Buddhism) over a wider area. The first Indian ruler of Funan in Indo-China, according to Chinese accounts was “Kaundinya”, which is a Hindu Brahmin Gotra name and not the real name of the king. He introduced a modern irrigation system, drained the marshes, encouraged agriculture and trade and created a strong Army and Navy. Sanskrit was the language of culture. Hinduism and Buddhism co-existed peacefully. Under Indian kings Funan grew into an important commercial centre visited by merchants from China, India and Arabia.

13. These Indian immigrants consisted of traders, soldiers, Hindu and Buddhist priests, scholars, artisans and craftsmen. Starting with Indianised kingdoms in Malaya peninsula they pushed forward farther to Thailand, Champa and Funan in the following centuries.

14. The Indianised kingdoms of the Far East disintegrated and declined in the middle of the 14th century and went on till the seizure of Malacca by the Portuguese in 1511. Angkor was abandoned in the middle of the 15th century. The final abandonment of Sri Vijaya came in 1471 and Java ceased to exist as a separate kingdom, around 1350, Sumatra followed suit. With the increased navigation of the Arabs, Islam became a strong influence. The near total absence of Indian political relations with these regions and the weakening of Indian maritime contacts left the native population to recover their national and racial identity. They retained some of the acceptable elements of Indian culture. The original immigrant Indian population, necessarily a small number, merged with the large mass of local population and lost their separate identity, if ever they had maintained one. The fact to remember is that these Indian kingdoms were not Indian colonies politically subordinate or linked to the mother country, but independent local kingdoms. When our links with these regions were cut, base forgot our former connections and lost even the memory of our grand overseas ventures.

http://www.aseanindia.com/navy/maritime-history/

The Maritime Activities of the Ancient Tamils and Indus Valley Civilization

K.V. Ramakrishna Rao B.Sc., M.A., A.M.I.E., C.Eng. (I )., B.L.,
http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=20757

A paper to be presented during the International Symposium on Indus Civilization and Tamil Language
at Chennai on February 16th and 17th , 2007.

Introduction: The Maritime activities of the ancient Tamils have literary evidences in
Tolkappiyam, the ancient extant Tamil work and the Sangam literature datable to c.1000 BCE
and 500 BCE respectively. However, the seafaring activities of the people of IVC is dated to
c.3,500 BCE to the peak period 2250 to 1950 BCE. The recent Sembiyan-Kandiyur Neolithic finding
has also been dated to c.1,500 BCE, where historians have not recognized any state formation
in the ancient Tamizhagam. Again archaeologists assert that Neolithic culture in Tamil Nadu
is datable to 2,800 B.C. to 500 B.C., and megalithic culture from 500 B.C. to 100 C.E.
Even the post-Sangam Imperunkappiyangal have been glorifying the seafaring merchants and
trading communities. The trend continued with the Pallavas and the Cholas, till the Arabs
started gaining control in the west, China in the east and ultimately European dominance
started in India itself. However, the presence of Pallavas in the SEA countries and even in
Maldieves has not been studied properly. The books published on the shipbuilding technology
based on manuscripts do not give details as one expect, as the editor or commentator obviously
do not deal with technical details. Of late, even the over-sea expedition of the Cholas has
been questioned suggesting that the Rajendra's maritime sojourn to SEA countries could be
the excessive imagination of the poet, who rendered the text for the Tanjore inscription.

Under such circumstances, the connection between the ancient Tamils and that of IVC is
studied taking certain specific areas as follows:
Whether the Sangam literature can be correlated with IVC? The Western Indologists and IVC
scholars based on Vedic studies tried to correlate the Aryans with IVC. Accordingly, Dravidologists
have to consider the Dravidians of the Sangam period and their literature. The Sangam poets,
flourishing from c.500 BCE have not mentioned anything beyond Ganges except Himalayas in the
north. As for as the north-west is concerned, their knowledge has been NIL. For them the Southern
Direction had been sacred as has been revealed through certain references mentioned. The
end of IVC peak period c.1950 and the start of Sangam period c.500 / 300 BCE has to be linked
and the gap explained. This has been the main problem for Indian history also. Therefore, for
direct correlation, correspondence and connection, more material evidences have to be
produced for the acceptability of historians. Few issues are taken up and attempt has been
to correlate as follows.

The Maritime Capabilities of the Ancient Tamils: To correlate the archaeological evidences
of the ancient Tamils with that of the people of IVC, the literary evidences are considered,
as the existing archaeological evidences do not go beyond c.2,000 BCE and historic period
c.500 BCE. First, the shipbuilding techniques are analyzed.

நளிகடல்இருங் குட்டத்து வளிபுடைத்த கலம்போல (அகநானூறு.26:1-2) =
The ship was set to sail in the ocean. It was sailing at a depth with the winds forcing it through the
bulging sails. Thus, it speeds through waters piercing.

��..��கூம்பொடு

மீப்பாய் களையாது மிசைப்பரந் தோண்டாது

புகாஅர்ப் புகுந்த பெருங்கலந் தகாஅர்

இடைப்புல பெருவழிச் சொரியும்

கடல்பல் தாரத்த நாடு (புறநானூறு.30:10-15) = The sail fitted to the mast was not stroked
(this implies that it was anchored temporarily for doing business and ready to sail off).
Balancing loads were not reduced (thus, the ship had been anchored at a convenient position,
so that the goods and men from the ship could go to the shores in small boats or the local merchants
could come there on the board). The Big Ship entered the city of Puhar (and was anchored at a
convenient distance). The local merchants came there to sell their goods and buy goods coming from
different countries by sea. The description fits to a well-maintained Port.

சினமிகு தானை வானவன் குடகடல்

பொலந்தரு நாவாய் ஓட்டிய அவ்வழிப்

பிறகலம் செல்கலாது அனையேம் (புறநானூறு.126:13-16) = The Chera King (implying கடல்பிறக்
கோட்டிய சொங்குட்டுவன்) with anger made his ships sailed without any hindrance bringing gold
(to his exchequer). He also regulated that the ships of others did not tread waters in his area. The
practice of restricting the vessel movement, specifying territorial waters and collection of money i.e,
probably entry tax for the vessels to enter into his area for doing business prove the well-established
Port, Port Administration and taxation of the material period. As the two way-ship movement has been
mentioned, both imports and exports must have taken place from the port.

After describing the goods, including mounts of sacks of pepper, dumped at the Port of Musiri for export,
the expecting import of gold is described as follows:

கலிசும்மைய கரைக்கலக்குறுந்து

கலம்தந்த பொற்பரிசம்

கழித்தோணியான் கரைச்சேர் குந்து

மலைத்தாரமும் கடல்தாரமும் (புறநானூறு.126:13-16) = The ship laden with cargo came to Musiri.
(The Indian goods were transferred to the board by small boats by rows). The gold given in turn was
brought to the shore in rowing boats. Thus, the goods produced at the mountains (mountainous regions)
and seas (coastal areas, particularly in foreign countries) met there.

விண்பொர நிவந்த வேயர மாடத்

திரவின் மாட்டிய விலங்குசுடர் ஞெகிழி

உரவுநீ ரழுவத் தோடுகலங் கரை (பெரும்பாணாற்றுப்டை.348-351) = The sky high building had enclosures
at the top, where lights were lit during the night. The glowing light was controlled by a stick, so that the
beamed light would invite the ships roaming on the waters to the shores. This is a typical description of
light house and the adjustment light-beam points to a fact that it was also used as a signaling apparatus
for the ships.

சுள்ளியம் பேரியாற்று வெண்ணுரை கலங்க

யவனர் தந்த வினைமா ணன்கலம்

பொன்னொடு வந்து கறியொடு பெயரும் (அகநானூறு.30:10-15) = The well-built ship of the Yavanas
entered into the waters of the Chulliyam Periyaru (from the sea), where the Port Musir was situated.
As such a huge ship turned from the sea and entered into the mouth of the river, the upsurge waters
produced foam on the surface due to turbine / whirling effect. The Yavanas bought the different varieties
of spices (and other goods) giving equivalent gold.

��தெண்திரைக்

கடல் ஆழ் கலத்தில் தோன்றி

மாலைமறையும் அவர் மணிநெடும் குன்றம் (குறுந்தொகை.240:5-7) = The ship appeared in the oceanic
wavy waters (when it started sailing in the morning). The high mountains disappeared in the evening.
Morning, both the ship and the mountain could be seen, but in the evening both disappeared, as the
ship sailed away at a distance slowly from bottom to top (in the east), as if it was drowning and the
mountain from bottom to top, as the Sun sets in the west. The rotation of the earth, the spherical
shape of the earth, the telescopic view depicted by the poet - all these details could be understood
in this poem for appreciation in the oceanographic angle.

சிதைவின்றிச் சென்றுழிச் சிறப்பெய்தி வினைவாய்த்துத்

துறைகலம் வாய்சூழும் துணிகடல் தண்சேர்ப்ப (கலித்தொகை.132:6-7) = the naval fleet returned
without any damage or harm after achieving the purpose of journey from the places gone and reached
safely. The ships had been anchored at the port (in a row just like the tied elephants in the garrison).
So the damage or harm to the ships during seafaring activities is implied here. Thus, it could be due to
voluntary expedition against the lands situated away separated by seas or oceans or even during a
normal course of voyage, the ships could be damaged or harmed by the pirates. It is significant to note
such an implied prevalence of such an exigency during the material.

After depicting the turbulent condition of the ocean due to natural phenomenon, a shipwreck is
succinctly portrayed by the Sangam poet as follows:

கரைகாணப் பௌவத்துக் கலம் சிதைந்து ஆழ்பவன்

திரைதரப் புணைபெற்றுத் தீதின்றி உய்ந்தாங்கு (கலித்தொகை.132:6-7) = There was no sight of land
without any direction amidst of the ocean (after the shipwreck). A survivor was struggling swimming
with heavy breadth. At that time, he could catch a wooden plank and breathed with relief. Then he
reached the land alive safely. So that the shipwrecks had been also a common feature of the
material period proves the large number of ships engaged in sailing both as cargo-ships and
passenger-ships.

உலகுகிளர்ந் தன்ன வுருகெழு வங்கம்

புலவுத்திரைப் பெருங்கட னீரிடை போழ

இரவும் எல்லையும் அசைவின் றாகி

விரைசெலல் இயற்கை வங்கூழ் ஆட்டக்

கோடுயர் திணிமணல் அகன்றுறை நீகான்

மாடஒள்ளெரி............ (அகநானூறு.255:1-6) = The ship had been so huge like that of an earth
(floating on the ocean). It sails through the fish smelling great ocean piercing. It sails thus days
and nights with speed without halting. After a long journey, (perhaps when approaching a port),
Nigam could observe the beam of light coming from a light house.

இதையுங் கயிறும் பிணையு முரியச்

சிதையுங் கலத்தைப் பயினாற் றிருத்தும்

திசையறி நீகானும் போன்ம் (பரிபாடல்.10:53-55) = The ropes (tied to the sail, mast, anchor and
other parts) had been twisted and entangled. The joints parted away due to heavy shaking. The
keel planks and other wooden parts had been completely collapsed and came away from their places.
Some parts had been damaged due to direct hitting or collision. This type of ships was brought to
Nigan, a trained ship repairing expert. He was not only an expert of ship-repair but also an
experienced sailor knowing the directions (routes to different countries). Thus, the recording of
ship-repair, maintenance and other activities has been more significant bringing out the existence
of established Shipyards and workshops with facilities.

பனைமீன் வழங்கும் வளைமேய் பரப்பின்

வீங்குபிணி நோன்கயி றரீஇ யிதைபுடையூக்

கூம்புமுதன் முருங்கவெற்றிக் காய்ந்துடன்

கடுங்காற் றெடுப்பக் கல்பொரு துரைஇ

நெடுஞ்சுழிப் பட்ட நாவாய்��(மதுரைக்காஞ்சி.375-379).

The day was with Anusha Nakshatra (the 17th Lunar asterism) exalted. The Chanks roamed over
the surface of the waters (perhaps due to the heavy winds). The swelling cyclonic winds were so
strong that the ropes tied to the sail were about to snap. Even the mast was at the mercy of the
furious winds. The ship was anchored under the circumstances and it was in the midst of encircling
waters of huge radii at the port. Thus, the anchored ship with ropes tied to anchors also started
to circle around with restricted movement.

மாக்கடற் பெருங்கலங் காலின் மாறுபட்

டாக்கிய கயிறரிந் தோடி யங்கணும்

போக்கன பொருவன போன்று.......(சீவகசிந்தாமணி.2231).

The direction of a big ship from the great ocean was changed due to heavy winds and thus it was
anchored. But, as the rope tied to the anchor was snapped, it started moving without any directions.

கடலுட் கலங்கவிழ்த்தேன் (1805) = I made the ship wrecked (comparing an event of death).
A ship-wreck is compared with the death of a dearer one.

கோடிக் கோடுங் கூம்புயர் நாவாய் (2331) = the ship was navigated according the location of the
planets observed and thus, the sail was directed accordingly. In other words, the sail to the mast
was regulated with reference to the planets and thus the ship followed the required directions.

வடகடற் படுநுகத் துளையுட் டிரைசெய் தென்கட லிட்டதோர் நோன் (2749) = If we drop a rod / stick
through hole drilled at the south pole, it cannot be obtained at the north pole. Thus, the knowledge
of South pole and North pole and that too drilling hole straight so that we can reach the opposite etc.,
clearly prove that the existence of geographical knowledge with the ideas of longitude.

மாக் கடலுடைகலத் தவருற்ற துறவே (2759) = the agony was compared with the people who got
in a shipwreck and the ship was about to drown.

Naval fleet is mentioned in 1776, 1801, 2597, etc. and there have been abundant references about
asterism, planetary motion etc. Thus, from the above the existence of shipbuilding techniques of the
ancient Tamils cannot be doubted.

Coming to the archaeological evidences, NIO3 and Tamil University4 researching scholars have
reported certain stone anchors findings in the coastal areas of South India. However, cautiously,
they report about the dating from the literary and archaeological evidences it can be safely
presumed that the usage of stone anchors would have prevailed from the 3rd century BCE.
Therefore, unless material evidences are produced, the above literary evidences cannot be correlated
and substantiated. Next, the conch-cell connection between the ancient Tamils and Sangam and
that of IVC is brought out based on the literary and archaeological evidences as follows.

The Conch-shell Industry: The Conch-shell industry interestingly appears to have a connection.
Sangam literature refers to the Valampuri i.e, Right turned Conch available in the seas.

Agananuru (அகநானூறு) gives the following details:

� வேளாப் பார்ப்பான் வாளரந் துமித்த வளைகைந் தொழிந்த (Agam.24:1-2) = The Parppan
who does not perform Yagnas engage in cutting Conches with saw leaving the pointed head.
The description gives a vivid picture of cutting a conch step-by-step (clearly a hard and skilled process)
with a saw (thus, the job is tough), evidently of equal or required width (requires precision) so that
the pointed edges are left out.

� இலங்குவளை (Agam.39:17) = immaculate dazzling bangles.

� வளைமேய் பெருந்துறை (Agam.150:7) = the conch crawling far and wide beach adorned
Port / place. Here, வளை = bangle is equated with கோடு orவலம்புரி.

� இலங்கு வளை தெளிர்ப்ப = immaculate dazzling bangles produce sound (Agam.261:5).

Idampuri (normal) Valampuri (Rare)

To differentiate between �Idampuri� (left-twisted) and �Valampuri� (right-twisted) Sangus, they are depicted as above.

� வயங்குவினை வாளேர் எல்வளை நெகிழ்த்தன (Agam.267:15-16) = the bangles come out of her
shoulders / hands. The bangles have been manufactured by the technology known and sewn with
a good saw. Thus, they are filed, shaped and polished to give luster. Here, thus, the bangle
manufacturing �technology known� workers / experts are implied with their tools used like saw
(specifically mentioned as வாள்) and file and water emery paper (implied).

Ingurunuru (ஐங்குறுநூறு) has an Exclusive Ten (வளைப்பத்து) for Conch-Bangles.

� கடற்கோடு செறிந்த வளையார் முன்கை = the hand (of heroine) is adorned with well-sewn
bangles obtained from the sea (Ingu.191:1).

� <

History is not what was written or is written, but it is actually what had happened in the past.

K. V. Ramakrishna Rao

� கடற்கோடு செறிந்த வளையார் முன்கை = the hand (of heroine) is adorned with well-sewn bangles
obtained from the sea (Ingu.191:1).

� கோடு புலங் கொட்பக் கடல் = The Conches leave the oceanic waters and roam on the shores
(Ingu.192:1). It goes to record that the bangles worn by the heroine came out of her hands by
mentioning, நெகிழ்ந்தன = (the bangles made out of the above conches) come out of the hands
(of heroine), as she laments about the separation of her hero (who went on an oceanic expedition)
(Ingu.192:3).

� வலம்புரி யுழுத வார்மண லடைகரை = As the Conch crept and crawled on the sand, its path
appears as if it has been ploughed. The sand has been spread lengthy and wide with the dashing
oceanic waters hither and thither� (Ingu.193:1). It also mentions that the Hero gives
Heroineஅறைபுனல்வால்வளை = the bangles made out of Conch procured from the roaring
ocean (Ingu.193:4).

� கடற்கோ டறுத்த அரம்போழ் அவ்வளை = the bangles have been manufactured by sawing and
shaping the conches obtained from the ocean with a File. Here a tool, அரம் is specifically mentioned
used in the manufacture of bangles.

� வளைபடு முத்தம் பரதவர் பகரும் = The People of Neydhal Land, Paradhavar sell Conches and
Pearls (from the oceans and seas) (Ingu.195:1-2). This shows that they sell them as such and as
well as convert them into ornaments like bangles.

� கோடீர் எல்வளை = the bangles manufactured by sawing (ஈர் = cut, split, saw) shine (Ingu.196:1).

� இலங்கு வளை தெளிர்ப்ப = immaculate dazzling bangles produce sound (Ing.197:1).

'Valampuri' chank, NaturalHistory Museum, London.

� வளையணி முன்கை = the forehand adorned with bangles (made of Conch in the context)
(Ingu.198:1).

� செறிவளை நெகிழ்(த்தோன்) = the sawn and well made bangles come out of the hands
(because of separation) (Ingu.199.4).

� இலங்கு வீங்கெ ல்வளை = dazzling, shining and big immaculate bangles.
Thus, the quality of the bangles has been evidently summarized in the last verse (200.1).

� தண்கடல் வளையினுமிலங்குமிவள் = the bangles made of conch obtained from the cold
oceanic waters (Ingu.106:3). They are compared with the heroine in such way, it is portrayed
that she over-shines than the dazzling white bangles made of conch.

� அரம் போழ்ந்தறுத்த கண்ணேர் இலங்குவளை (மதுரைக் காஞ்சி.316) = the bangles become
shining and dazzling after the completion of manufacture of them from the conches (by cutting,
sawing meticulously with a Saw and then ) polishing and honing a File.

� துணைபுணர் எழுதரும் தூநிற வலம்புரி Kalittogai mentions that, �� = Valampuri rise
(from the oceanic waters) with companion or in two numbers, which are pure white in colour (Kali.135:1)

From the above, the following points can be noted:

� The bangle-industry had been so popular among the ancient Tamils.

� The required Conches were obtained through the divers along with Pearls.

� The Tamil women of the material period used to wear the conch-bangles.

� The manufacturing process had been so hard and meticulous too involving physical strength
and precision.

� To achieve such precision and excellence, special tools were used like saw, file and other cutting,
honing, polishing tools.

� The tools must have been manufactured out of high tensile or alloyed metals as otherwise,
Conch-like hard material could not have been subjected to work with.

� The process involved in the manufacture of conch-bangles are cutting, shaping, polishing,
designing and painting.

The Conch Worskshop at Korkai: James Hornell5 describes the finds of Conch- workshop at Korkai
as follows:

"I unearthed a fine series of chank workshop waste -- seventeen fragments in all. The whole numbers
were found lying on the surface of the ground in a place where old Pandyan coins have from time to time
been discovered according to information gathered in the village. The fragments unearthed all bear
distinct evidence of having been sawn by the same form of instrument, a thin-bladed iron saw, and in
the same manner as that employed in Bengal in the present day. Eight fragments represent the
obliquely cut 'shoulder-piece', six consist of the columella and part of the oral extremity of the shell
and the remaining three are fragments of the lips - all show a sawn surface, the positive sign of
treatment by skilled artisans�It is also noteworthy that the huge funeral urns found in tumuli of the
Tambraparni valley (at Adichanallur) have yielded a few fragments of working sections cut from chank
shells, associated in the urns with beautifully formed bronze utensils, iron weapons and implements
and gold fillets. So old are these tumuli that they are classed as prehistoric though it is obvious that
the people of these days were skilful artisans in gold, bronze, iron and must have been contemporaries
of historic periods in the story of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Ovari is the name of a small fishing village
not far distant on the adjacent coast and may possibly be the Ophir of Solomon and the port whereto
the fleets of Tarshish sailed to fright home the treasures of India. In several other cases (Srinivasapur
in Mysore, Havaligi Hill in Anantapur, and Bastipad in Kurnul) pieces of iron sag were found in association.
" (pp. 45-61).

Details of bangle manufacture. "The tool employed for breaking away the columella is a hammer
fashioned on the principle of the well-known geologist's hammer, sharp-edged on the one side and
square on the other. The shell is now ready for the sawyer, who sits on the earthen floor tightly
wedged between two short stakes of unequal length driven into the ground. Against the longer,
measuring some 15 inches above the ground, the worker's back is supported, while against the shorter,
only 4 to 5 inches high, his toes are pressed. The space between the two stakes measures no more
than 18 inches, hence the workman although he sits with his knees widely separate -- is very tightly
jammed between the rests. This is found essential as it is necessary that the limbs should be rigid
during his work, as his feet have to function as a vice during the sawing of the sections, the shell to
be cut being placed between the right heel and the toes of the left foot.

After the columella and lip of the shell are removed, a disc of hard wood is placed over the moth
aperture of the shell to provide a firm purchase for the foot pressed against the side of the shell.
The worker is now ready to begin sawing the shell into sections. For this purpose he is provided
with a heavy hand-saw of great apparent clumsiness. The iron blade is of a deep eccentric form
ending in an attenuate horn at each end. A little way from each of these tapered extremities the
end of a long iron tang is riveted to the back of the saw; the further ends of the two tangs are
connected by a thin cane cross bar or handle lashed by twine to the tangs, which are covered
with a serving of the same twine.

IT is noteworthy that the tangs are not straight but have a hook-like bend near the attachment
to the blade. The latter is a stout forged iron plate, 2 mm. Thick except for a distance of one inch
from the cutting edge where it is worked down to a thickness of 0.6 mm. Between the tangs the
back of the saw if protected by a piping of iron. A saw of this description costs Rs. 12, each workman
providing his own. After sharpening, a new saw is adorned on each side of the blade with a number
of red spots as auspicious marks. In beginning work, the shell is placed somewhat obliquely
between the feet, the apex directed to the right and away from the worker, who places his left
hand on one twine-covered tang of the saw and the other on the horn of the blade at the opposite
extremity. Balancing the saw carefully in his hands, and at right angles to his body, he applies the
edge to the shell and begins a vigorous to and fro movement of the saw from side to side, the course
of the hands being through a short arc of a circle at each swing.

Several times he pauses momentarily to adjust the shell anew as the work progresses. On an average
it takes 4 1/2 minutes to saw once through a shell�The rubbing down of the inner surface of the
working circlet is accomplished in an ingenious manner by means of a wooden spindle 18 to 20
inches long, covered with an abrasive coating of fine river sand embedded in a rough lac basis.

In Bengal and wherever in the adjoining provinces of Assam, Bihar and Orissa every married woman
of all castes which are thoroughly Hinduised is bound to possess a pair of chank bangles lacquered
in vermilion as one of the visible tokens of her married state; the red sankha or shakha as it is
called in Dacca is indeed as necessary of assumption during the marriage ceremonies as is the
performance of that other Hindu custom of smearing a streak of vermilion on the forehead or down
the parting of the bride's hair bala and churi. The former are broad bangles worn on each wrist.
The churi on the contrary is always quite narrow, generally 1/6 to 1/5 inch in width, and usually of
conventional scroll design worn in a set of three on each wrist.

The section of the Kurmi caste found in Chota Nagpore and Orissa also wear chank bangles in the
hill tracts of Chittagong, we find the women of the Maghs, a race of Indo-Mongolian extraction
and Buddhists by religion, using very broad unornamented sections of chank shells as bracelets
considerable demand for chank bracelets comes from Tibet and Bhutan".

Besides, James Hornell has made some conjecture that conch craft concentrated in Dhaka rather
than Korkai, because the people engaged in this craft fled to Dhaka from the Tinevelli district
following the invasion of Malik Kafur in the 14th century, which is not relevant to be considered
in the context. Thus, the archaeological evidences in Tamizhagam have been a common feature.
Even, in May 2005, when excavations were conducted at at Andipatti in Tiruvannamalai district
and Modur in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu by the State Archaeology Department, conch-bangles
have been found. The following figures show the manufacture of conch-bangles and the findings of IVC.

Turbinella pyrum shell bangle manufacturing process. [a to f]: preliminary chipping and removal of
internal columella; [g to k]: sawing shell circlets; [l to n]: finishing the shell blank; [o]: final incising
[After Fig. 5.23 in Kenoyer, 1998]. The manufacturing process explained by James Cornell is depiction
below and the pictures are from the book of Dr. S. Kalyanaraman: That the process explained by
James Hornell fits with the pictorial depiction can be noted.

A worker cutting / sawing a conch holding with his legs is depicted:

TURBINELLA PYRUM, S�AN:KHA KR.S�ANA (Conch PEARL)

Burial ornaments made of shell and stone disc beads, andturbinella pyrum (sacred conch, s�an:kha)
bangle, Tomb MR3T.21, Mehrgarh, Period 1A, ca. 6500 BCE.

The nearest source for this shell is Makran coast near Karachi, 500 km. South. [After Fig. 2.10 in
Kenoyer, 1998]. http://www.hindunet.org/saraswati/maritime/maritime01.htm

The following photos are from David Happell's site7.

Chank gauging in Tiruchendur

A 2 � inch gauge, Madras

A diver�s catch, Tiruchendur

Valampuri Sangu and normal shell

Thus, the similarity of chank industry of the both civilizations has been interesting. However,
because of the chronological gap i.e, c.1950 to 500 / 300 BCE of 1650 to 1450 years, it cannot
be decided as to whether the technical; knowhow had spread from IVC to Tamizhagam or vice versa.
The existing chronology goies to show that it could have passed on from IVC to Tamizhagam, as
the other way would place Tamizhagam before IVC.

Now, the shipping and shipbuilding techniques of the ancient Tamils are considered to assess
their maritime activities and capabilities.

Shipping and shipbuilding technology of the Ancient Tamils: The reference about the subject matter
as found in the Sangam literature is not repeated, as they have already been pointed out by many
scholars in various contexts one way or the other. Only the ship building technology, which has not
been dealt with so far and hence doubted by the modern scholarship, is discussed here.

Civaga Cintamani (verse no. 882) mentions about the existence of �books on the knowledge of
Oceans�, which is very significant in the context:

வாண் மின்னு வண்கை வடிநூற் கடற்கேள்வி மைந்தர்

தான்மின்னு வீங்கு கழலான்றனைச் சுழமற்றப்

பூண்மின்னு மார்பன் பொலிந்தாங்கிருந்தான் விசும்பிற்

கோன்மின்னு மீன்சூழ் குளிர்மாமதித் தோற்றமொத்ததே.

The brothers are having hands which are well-versed in the handling of glittering swords and as
well as well-written books on Oceans (The sailors of all categories � traders, businessmen, should
be warriors and also good navigators with the knowledge of shipping, astronomy, geography and
oceanography). As Civaga, the hero is encircled with his brothers shining, the cool Moon is also
encircled with other planets and asterism (visible clearly during the night, as could be observed by
them on the ship during their voyage, i.e, the knowledge of stellar navigation is also a must for them).

6 The mention of availability of books on the knowledge of Oceans is significant.

6 �The Books on the Knowledge of Oceans� covers all aspects of Ships, shipping etc.,

6 That the sailors should be capable of handling swords and such books is also significant
considering the dangers involved in ocean-trade, visiting many countries, the nature of peopled
dealt with in trading etc.

6 Interestingly, both the Science of Ocean and the Sky are mentioned together in the same context
figuratively.

Kappal / Navai Sattiram � Science and Technology of Ships and Shipping: Indians used to write books
on Palm-leaves, particularly, in South India. They used different scripts to Sanskrit and Tamil languages
on various subjects. Most of the original Sanskrit books are missing as they must have been destroyed
by the Mohammedans, taken away by the Mohammedans for study and also by European missionaries.
As the demand for books increased with the exigencies, more books could have been produced engaging
the scribes. An expression, �Tiruppugira Pusthakam� found in �Kappal Sattiram� (Science and
Technology of Ships and Shipping) proves that copies of books were made from the translations and
as well as originals. The expressions �Edu Tiruppudhal� (turning the pages) and �Tiruppugira
Pusthakam� (the book that is turned) convey copying a book from its original, so that the original
could be preserved and the copy given away or sold. As per the directions of the Danish, in the house
of Kangirayap Pillai or Kalingarayap Pillai, a Dubash, the book was dictated and a scribe had written
down. The name of the book is mentioned as �Nikamasigamani�, a Sanskrit name. As the last line of
8th song clearly mentions that, �Salaikathirangan sorppadi idanai tamil seythittan�, it is evident that
as per the directions of one Salaikathirangan, it was made into Tamil i.e, translated into Tamil from Sanskrit. As it was known that there was a work named �Nauka Sastra� in Sanskrit, that book might have been used for translation. Here, Kangiyap Pillai says that he is producing
the book as per the directions of Danish in 1620 (of Salivahana Era) or 1698 of CE in his house.
So the Danish used different tactics to get the science and technology books from the Indians.

The book gives the following details (the author�s comments are given in different colour):

� The standard measurement is given (Verse.3).

� The time suitable for manufacture of ocean-going vessels is given astronomically based on an
earlier work, �Nigama Sigamani� (நீகம சிகாமணி, Verse.4).

� The properties of ships (5).

� The suitable time for navigation is given (6-9).

� The best time for fixing of mast is given (13).

� A Tamil king �Parasi Vendan�, who helps shipping technology, is mentioned.

� When a ship could sail safely, when it might face with danger, when a ship may wreck, and such
other exigencies are mentioned (23-28). Thus, it is amply evident that the Tamils knew the ship
wreckage occurred as a result of piracy by non-Indians. As they followed the rules and regulations
of nature and sailed in the prescribed time, the wreckage due to natural disasters like tempest,
cyclones, rough weather etc., must have been minimal.

� Mathematics involving points / dots is mentioned (29). As it is not explained, it is not known exactly
what mathematical method or mathematics involving points was used in the maritime context. But, it
must have been connected with Cartography making points on the maps drawn, developed, corrected
and modified. In those days, maps could have been produced only after undertaking any voyages.
Ironically, such projection in navigation charts used is known as the Mercator, named after the Flemish
mathematician and geographer Gerardus Mercator (1512-94), who reportedly devised it. But it is
evident that they must have known from Indians, as existence of such method is mentioned here.

� Experts of Books without any weariness (31). It is mentioned that these details are given by the
Experts of Books without any weariness implying that they exclusively engaged in such observatory
and cartographic work making projections etc.

� When the destruction of a ship with cargo would occur (33) is mentioned.

� When a ship would return successfully with earned profits after selling the goods aboard (37) is given.
These two exigencies have been given in astrological interpretation, but involving astronomical
observation. The Tamils must have found out the arrival of Arab and European vessels to SEA countries
at a particular time, as their starting with winds from their destinations had been different from that of
Indians. However, they tried to coincide with the timings of Indians with an intention to compete initially
and then seize cargo by piracy realizing their law abiding nature. Moreover, the cunning Arabs and
Europeans must have used Indian flags, symbols, dress etc., to cheat the Indians to complete their piracy.

� Persons with two eyes and one eye are compared figuratively with Sun and Moon. Danger to cargo
would come from the persons with one eye (39), as they stealthily attack other vessels without following
any marine-ethics or Maritime regulations. This is clear indication that Tamils knew of the nature of pirates,
who were not Indians, as they were not following the Indian ethics of not attacking the vessels of others.
Incidentally, the western depiction

Persons with two eyes and one eye are compared figuratively with Sun and Moon. Danger to cargo
would come from the persons with one eye (39), as they stealthily attack other vessels without following
any marine-ethics or Maritime regulations. This is clear indication that Tamils knew of the nature of pirates,
who were not Indians, as they were not following the Indian ethics of not attacking the vessels of others.
Incidentally, the western depiction of standard pirates have been �one-eyed�!

� Interestingly, another point implied is about the persons with �Surya dhristi�, �Chandra dhristi�, �
Raja dhristi�, Griha dhristi�, �Rakka dhristi� etc. They were nothing but persons with eye-sight of Moon,
Sun, King, Planets, sides etc. in other words, the ocean going ships had such experts / observers of Solar,
lunar, planetary motions and time calculations. As they had to visit different countries, they had to know
about the Kings of such countries, thus the experts of Kings. And there were experts in observing
directions also, as it is important in navigation. As such things could have been possible with past
experience, it is evident that the experts mentioned must have had books on such subject matter.

� Suddenly, the work changes from poetry to prose giving statistical details of planets, asterisms, stars
etc.

� Thus, the measurements for masts are given.

� The measurements for anchors are given.

� Measurement details of a �English ship� is given.

� At the end, it is appended with �Silpa sastram� (A Manual of Sculpre) only with 13 verses.

� As most of the verses have been written with defective words, language and grammar, it is evident
that the Danish must have engaged poor scribes to write this work, evidently to substitute, as the original
was taken away by them.

� Many verses have been adopted or imported straight away from the following earlier works:

சரஸ்வதிஅந்தாதி, சோதிடகிரகசிந்தாமணி, கணக்கதிகாரம் and

நீகம சிகாமணி

However, the scribe has not acknowledged the source.

� As the work has been incomplete in many aspects, it is evident that the copy has been only a part of a
bigger book.

� The Navai Sarittiram published in 1995 also proves the fact.

In view of the above, it is evident that before the Cholas-Pallavas period, there must have been books on
astronomy, shipbuilding etc., and they must have been copied and circulated throughout India. As the
Arabs / Mohammedans first and the Europeans later started wholesale collection of Indian palm-leaf
books, many important books must have still been in the archives, libraries and private collections of
westerners. Therefore, absence of evidence cannot be taken as an evidence to deny the incidence
happened or taken place in the past. The finding of coins Romans, Chinese etc., and the goods of
South India / ancient Tamizhagam have been found in many ancient civilizations, the maritime
capabilities of the Tamils cannot be doubted.

Conclusion: In view of the above the following conclusions are drawn:

The literary Sangam literature evidences amply prove the seafaring and maritime capabilities of the
ancient Tamils from c.500 BCE.

The scientific details as pointed out have been so interesting and the poets could not have recorded
such events just out of their poetic fantasy or imagination.

The astronomical knowledge of the Sangam Tamil and that of IVC could not be compared and
correlated, because of the chronology gap.

The striking similarity has been the usage of Chank in both the IVC and Sangam people, though
separated by distance and chronology.

The usage of Chank for other purposes other than bangles should be studied separately.
Its usage in religious rituals, war, used for feeding children, relation to numbers is few examples.

Its importance among the Hindus, Jains and Buddhists have been significant. The Jain and
Buddhist domination could be noted in Imperumkappiyangal, which vividly describe certain details.
That the �Manimekhalai� core story is found in all SEA countries is very interesting.

The gap between the IVC peak period c.2250-1850 BCE and the Sangam period c.500 / 300 BCE
has to be explained historically with evidences.

The literary evidences pointed for the maritime activities, shipbuilding, repair, shipping technology etc.,
should be correlated with the archeological evidences.

The dating of stone anchors has been done on relative method, as has pointed out and therefore,
it should be correlated with other method, as otherwise, the literary evidences could not go beyond
c.500 BCE.

The dating of Sri Lankan Brahmi before that of Tamilnadu, the existence of �Pallave inscriptions�
of SEA countries dating before Indian Pallava inscriptions are debatable points.

Notes and References

1. T. Chandrasekharan(Gen.Ed.), Kappal Sattiram, Madras Government Oriental Series, Government
Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras, 1950.

Kappal Sattiram published in 1995 gives no new details but for some generalizations.

2. The Oriental Manuscript George W. Spencer, The Politics of Expansion, the Chola conquest of
Sri Lanka and Sri Vijaya , New Era Publications, Madras, 1983.

Sinnappah Arasaratnam, Maritime India in the Seventeenth Century, Oxford University Press, New
Delhi, 1994, see under chapter.9 �Shipping and sea faring, pp.246-264.

Though, he concerns about the 17th century, his remarks on shipbuilding technology of the
Indians / Tamils have bearing on the subject matter.

3. A. S. Gaur et al.,

4. N. Athiyaman and P. Jayakumar, Ancient anchors off Tamilnadu coast and ship tonnage analysis,
Current Science, Vol.9, May 10, 2004, pp.1261-1267.

5. James Hornell, The sacred chank of India: a monograph of the Indian conch, turbinella pyrum,
Madras, Madras Fisheries Bureau, Bulletin No. 7, 1914, pp. 91-107.

6. S. Kalyanaraman, www.hindunet.org/saraswati/maritime/maritime01.htm

7. David Heppell, The chank shell industry in modern India, see in the following site:
http://princelystates.com/ArchivedFeatures/fa-03-03a.shtml

INDIAN HISTORY AND TRADITION

Wednesday, 31 December 2014