Aryans and Dravidians

[Satyanad Kichenassamy]

This is in answer to the question raised by Stephen Phillips.

1. First of all, the oldest strata of Tamil literature
(tentatively dated 300 BC-200 AD, figures to be taken with caution)
show the existence of an independent cultural life in Tamil,
with very few traces of Sanskrit influence.
As someone else already pointed out, there does not seem to be
any contestation of the fact that Tamil and Sanskrit are unrelated.
(See Burrow and Emeneau's Dictionary).
Borrowings in both directions have been known for some time.

2. This literature has developed by integrating slowly Northern
elements, with the consequence that it was possible to have
access to most intellectual currents without using anything
but Tamil sources. In recent times, perhaps due to the
fact that foreign invasions pushed Sanskrit scholars to find haven in the
South in particular, one has seen more conflictual situations.
One may want to look up J. Filliozat's works (e.g. a collection
of his papers under the title `Laghu Prabandhah') to see 
the place of Tamil sources in modern Indology. There are examples
of Tamil works where a Sanskrit translation has been passed as
the original. 

3. Tamil-speaking regions and their sphere of influence have 
also contributed many writers who expressed themselves in Sanskrit,
while they were well-aware of a related literature in Tamil,
to which they occasionally made reference. It should not be 
believed that Tamil literature was developed only by 
non-Brahmins, since there are famous counter-examples.


It is because Tamil literature has preserved a certain degree
of independence that we may now infer that it stems from a
source which has slowly imbibed conceptions of another.

Over and above the question of the level of violence involved in this
transformation, we must note that Tamil sources, 
because they do not duplicate
material in other languages, have been and will be an invaluable
source of insight.

The reader who wishes to see for him/herself may want to learn 
more about the following works

* For philosophical literature:
     Tirumantiram (by TirumUlar): one of the earliest treatises of
Saiva Siddhanta
     MaNimEkalai: a Buddhist epic (perhaps around 200 AD?)
containing refutations of other doctrines
     Civa-n~An'a Botham, C'iva-n~An'a cittiyAr, ...: 
these texts of the S'aiva Siddhanta include a study of other
doctrines as well.

* For musicology:
     CilappatikAram, by ILankO-v-at'ikaL (incudes glimpses of 
a remote ancestor of modern Karnatic music)

* For poetry:
     PuRanAnURu, AkanAnURu: two of the oldest anthologies.
     TirukkuRaL: arguably the most famous work in Tamil

* For mysticism:
     TiruvAcakam: contains the experience of MANikkavAcakar
     The poetry of the AzhvArs

* A famous epic:
     Kampa-rAmayaNam: A well-known study by VVS Aiyar compares 
this to the Sanskrit original.

Many of the above have been translated into English or French, at
least once; but as one may infer from the difficulties in datation,
much remains to be done. As usual, there is no substitute for
first-hand information.

We hope that these few lines will encourage more people to read
about Tamil literature and its specific contribution to Indian
culture.

                                   Satyanad Kichenassamy
                                   School of Mathematics
                                   University of Minnesota