the word "potiyil" in classical Tamil (was Re: the word "potiyil" inside MaNimEkalai)

[Jean-Luc CHEVILLARD]

A 17:47 24/02/99 +0100, vous avez écrit :

>>Can you give us the places where Potiyam and Potiyil figures
>>in Sangam texts (eTTut tokai and pattup paaTTu)? Please.
>>
> >How many places Potiyil refers to Mt. Potiyil
>>and at how many places it refers to a "Public Hall".
>>

This time I am sending the data for Akam (after taking care of
PuRam and MaNimEkalai in my previous postings). I am drawing from
an unpublished draft translation of akanaanuuRu that was made
in 1975 by the late V.M.Subramanya Ayyar and that is kept
(in draft form) in the French Institute Indology Library
in Pondicherry.

To summarize, the word "potiyil" is used
 3 times to refer to Mount Potiyil (examples M1, M2, M3)
 6 times to refer to a public hall (or a temple?)
     (examples H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, H6)

Here are the quotations:

M1 (25-20)
 vil kezhu taTak kaip potiyiR celvan2, polan tErt titiyan2
 "titiyan2, who has a golden chariot, who is the chieftain of potiyil
  and who has big hands holding a bow"

M2 (138-7)
  ten2n2avan2 potiyil aruJ cimai izhitarum Arttu varal aruviyin2
  "springs that descend down roaring from the inaccessible heights
   of potiyil, which belongs to ten2n2avan2"

M3 (322-14)
   pukal arum potiyil pOla
  "[she who afflicted us is] as difficult [to attain]
   as the potiyil is difficult to enter.
   [that potiyil has high peaks which are not easy to climb
    even by the kuRavar-s who try to cut the honey-comb
    to collect the sweet honey which is at the topmost point of the rock.
    it has adjacent hills where the tigers join together ...]
   [that potiyil belongs to titiyan2
    who possesses swift moving chariots ...]

H1 = 167-20
H2 = 251-8
H3 = 287-5
H4 = 307-11
H5 = 373-4
H6 = 377-10

As in the case of maNimEkalai, 
it seems to me impossible
to draw any conclusion
from this litterary evidence
regarding a buddhist claim on Mount Potiyil.
These poets are more interested in love and war
than in religious beliefs ...

Others may differ ...

Best wishes

-- Jean-Luc CHEVILLARD (Paris)

P.S. When I get the time, I'll try to go through
the other classics, unless somebody else gets the time ;-)
to do that necessary job before me.