An Introduction To The Book
‘SCIENCE DURING THE SANGAM AGE’
‘ANDRE SONNA ARIVIYAL-SANGAKAALAM’
By Ilakkuvanar Thiruvalluvan
- Prof. G.MARIA JOSEPH XAVIOR
3/8
SCIENCE OF WIND
In the year 1806 Sir Francis Beaufort
differentiated the air by its speed and nature. But 2000 years back the Tamils
had mentioned many types of air.
Piṅkala nikaṇṭu(Thesaurus) gives a list of various types of
winds as Vaṅkūḻ, maruntu, calaṉaṉ,
vāṭai, vaḷi, kōtai, vātam, kūtai, vēṟṟalam, kāl, oli, uyir,
kālili,viṇṭu, nīḷai,ulavai,koṇṭal,kōṭai, niḻali and uyirppu.
They differenciated the air according to
the directions from which they blow.
Air from the South is TEṈṞAL
Air from the North is VĀṬAI
Air from the West is KŌṬAI
Air frot the East is KOṆṬAL
According to the chillness it is
differentiated as
Kūtir(Tholkappiyam.Porul. 6)
- Chill
wind
Ūtai - shivery wind
kulir – air of Coldness
Acording to the spead and the strength
air, the Tamils differentiated them as
shown below
Cil kāṟṟu
(Maturaikkāñci
line 358) - Chill wind
Kaṭuṅkāṟṟu
(Maturaikkāñci
378) - Gale-force wind
Peruṅkāṟṟu (kalittokai 45.4)- Strong breeze
Cuḻal kāṟṟu
(NaṟṟiṇaiPoem
37, line 7) -
Cyclone
Kaṭuṅkāl (Patiṟṟuppattu Poem 17, line12) - Violent wind
Taṇkāl (Puṟanāṉūṟu poem 396, line5) - cool breeze
The author has explained it in the
chapter No.12.
Knowledge of space DEVOID OF air
From the chapter 13, we come to know
that the Tamils were well informed of the knowledge of space.
There are many levels of atmosphere
above the earth. Atmosphere exists only upto a certain altitude. The content of
air gets reduced as the altitude increases.
Beyond a particular altitude there is no air
but vaccum.
Modern scientists came to know this
truth quite recently.
But Poet
VEḶḶAIKKUṬI
NĀKAṈĀR in the poem No.35, lines 1-5, in Puṟanāṉūṟu pointed about the fact tha there is no air
beyond a particular altitude above the earth in the space above.
[ Poet
Vellaikudi Nākanār sang to the King Chōlan KUḶAMUṞṞATTUT TUÑCIYA KIḶḶI VAḶAVAṈ
as shown below:
In this dense world where winds cannot
penetrate,
decorated with the sky, with huge ocean
as its limits,
Among the three who rule over the cool
Tamil land with
roaring drums and armies, your royalty
alone is true !
[நளிஇரு முந்நீர் ஏணி யாக,
வளிஇடை வழங்கா வானம் சூடிய
மண்திணி
கிடக்கைத்
தண்தமிழ்க்
கிழவர்,
முரசு முழங்கு தானை மூவர்
உள்ளும்,
அரசுஎனப்
படுவது நினதே, பெரும!
Naḷi'iru
munnīr ēṇi yāka,
vaḷi'iṭai
vaḻaṅkā
vāṉam cūṭiya
maṇtiṇi
kiṭakkait
taṇtamiḻk
kiḻavar,
muracu
muḻaṅku
tāṉai
mūvar uḷḷum,
aracu'eṉap
paṭuvatu
niṉatē,
peruma!]
[valiyidai vazhangaa vaanam –Space
devoid of air]
And in Puṟanāṉūṟu (Poem 365), Poet MĀRKKAṆṬĒYAṈĀR has spoken
about the sky or space where there is no air as ‘NĪTTAM’ . Nīttam
means the space, far above the atmosphere.
Knowledge of
bonsai breeding
In
the chapter No 14 the author has explained that Tamil people had the knowledge
of the miniature trees – bonsai.
An
anonymous poet in the poem No 165 in Akanāṉūṟu has mentioned about the bonsai
of blue lilies as TĀḺIKKUVAḶAI
– that is blue flowers in the pot.
STREET NAME BOARDS
Street name boards came into use in 1870
only. Malaipaṭukaṭām
is a long Tamil poem composed 3000 years back. (i.e. before Tholkappiyar
period) . The author in the chapter No. 15, has revealed the fact about the
name board through a line from this classical poem.
செல்லும் தேஎத்து பெயர் மருங்கு அறிமார்
கல் எறிந்து எழுதிய நல் அரை மராஅத்த
Cellum
tē'ettu peyar maruṅku aṟimār
kal
eṟintu eḻutiya nal arai marā'atta - Malaipaṭukaṭām,
lines 394-395
To
know the direction of one’s destination,
It
was etched on stone.
In
many out side places they had the habit of
tying a tuft of the grass in the
juncion after cleaning the area to identify the place.
[Paṇṭu
naṟku aṟiyāp pulam peyar putuvir
cantu
nīvip pul muṭintu iṭumiṉ ]
Whatever
our wise ancestors did was quite meaningful and useful.
- Prof. G.MARIA JOSEPH XAVIOR
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