KARIKALAN AND THE TIME MACHINE--CHAPTER 106

                                      KARIKALAN AND THE TIME MACHINE –CHAPTER 106

The Itihasas like Ramayana and Mahabharata were translated into Tamil by the Sanskrit scholars among the Tamil. They were well received by the common folks. The practice of telling the story of Lord Rama in the Linga Temples during the festival season came into vogue. The Vedas and Vedanga were also translated for the purpose of the Tamil Scholars. Within a hundred years of the first settlement of the forefathers of Sivanesan, these Arians came to be called ‘Brahmins’ as their spiritual culture was yoked to a search of knowledge about the ineffable Brahman. During that period, that is during the first hundred years of their settlement, the Brahmins too had taken much interest in the classical language, Tamil and its beauty. It had great literature also. And the Linga Form came to be associated with the Rudra of the Vedas. Thus was born the culture and cult of Lord Siva. Soon it was only a question of time for the growth of ‘Puranas around the Lord Siva. The Devi worship came to be associated later with Lord Siva and the Devi became Parvati. Already Lord Muruga was a well-known Tamil Deity. The Skandan of the Vedas came to be associated with Lord Muruga. And He became the second son of the Lord Siva and Goddess Parvati, His Spouse. The Ganapathyam lost out to the Cult of Siva and Ganapati became the first son of the Divine Couple. Thus there was much give and take between the two cultures, Tamil and Sanskrit. Much later the Sanskrit Scholar in Grammar, Panini came to be favourably worshiped by the Tamil scholars, while the Tamil Scholar in Grammar, Tholkapiyar was a celebrated one among the Sanskrit speakers. The joint family of the original forefather also had fanned out around Kanchi.