paladai

[Periannan Chandrasekaran]

--- "Chouhan Electronic Informatics P Ltd." <chouhan at BLR.VSNL.NET.IN> wrote:
> Paladai is a tamil word meaning a feeding cup from very ancient days.
> "Pal" meaning milk, "adai" the vessel/cup.

Yes you are right.

pAlaTai
otl pAlaTai pAlaTai 01 conchshell or any metallic imitation of it for feeding
infants

Ta. pAL = milk; Ta. aTu (or = to give; Ta. aTai = feeding.

Actually it used to be called "cagkaTai" also in rural areas, the "cagku"
clearly being a reference to the conch shell originally employed for feeding
milk.

..> Dr. R.S.Chouhan
>


> At 12:25 PM 12/3/99 +0100, you wrote:
> >1. Can someone provide informations on the paladai? It should be a
> >traditional feeding cup for babies in India.
> >I am also looking for pictures.
> >2. Is there any known connection between feeding of babies and
> >lingam/yoni symbols?

While I do not know whether there are any such deliberate connections in the
tradition,
the feeder does look exactly like the base of the siva lingam.

But of course siva's consort pAravthi is frequently cited for her luxuriant
motherly breasts in post-cangkam bhakti literature; her epithets in many
ancient siva temple of tamil nadu also refer to that attribute.
Like "pOkam Artta pUN mulaiyAL"  for the female deity at the very ancient
thirunallARu temple.


Chandra

> >
> >Regards,
> >--
> >Martin Bemmann
> >Heidelberg Academy for the Humanities and Sciences
> >>Rock Carvings and Inscriptions along the Karakorum Highway<
> >Karlstr. 4  - D-69117 Heidelberg Germany

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