Dates of tiruvAymozi and tirumantiram

[Lakshmi Srinivas]

It would appear that some form of relative chronology exists for all
the Vaishnava saints of the Tamil country. This relative chronology is
based on literary criticism, tradition, hagiography etc.. An example
of the first type would be that pEy, pUtam and poykai only used the
venpA metre and not any of the more elaborate ones. Also, their
relative tolerance of Siva and Saivite beliefs. An example of
tradition-based relative chronology would be that nammAzwar predated
kampan. Vaishnava hagiography gives elaborate details of the birth
stories of the AzwArs, including the month and asterism in which each
was born. I would not accept this uncritically.

Once the relative chronology is known to some certainty, absolute
dates may be determined by use of an astronomical event refered to in
the tiruppAvai. This event would help us date the tiruppAvai to within
a century or two. This event is similar to the Gajabahu synchronism,
so some of the same caveats may apply here too.

In the song "puLLinvAykIntAnai", there is a line which says "veLLi
ezunthu viyAzam uRankiRRu" meaning Jupiter set and Venus rose in the
morning sky. You would however have to further assume that AntAL is
periyAzwar's daughter and choose the right pAntiyan for periyAzwar's
time.





==
Lakshmi Srinivas





_________________________________________________________
DO YOU YAHOO!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com