Vedic Language Less Archaic than SumeroTamil
Having discovered that Sumeru language is Archaic Tamil and developing
that understanding through studies of the original texts, it came
to me as a surprise that the ancient Sk texts can also be understood
as texts in Archaic Tamil of a sort. The present study of the first hymn
of Rig Veda is in this line and though only the first hymn has been studied
, some general conclusions ( quite tentative at the moment) can be arrived
at . This is what I propose outline in this posting.
The Language of Rig is Less Archaic than SumeroTamil.
The language as a whole is Archaic Tamil of a sort for
every word can be given a Dravidian cognate most of the time with references
to SumeroTamil texts. The grammatical elements - in Verb morphology Noun
morphology and syntax are the same as in Sumerian and Tamil and hence the
language is definitely a species
of Dravidian in terms of classification of language. But despite this
it is also evident than the language of Rig is LESS ARCHAIC than SumeroTamil
and hence a later variety. Since most of the Sumerian texts are dated around
the period 4000 B.C --1500 B.C , it is clear that Rig Veda must be
LATER than 1500 B.C and hence a date quite consistent with that which has
arrived at by many scholars. Perhaps it is to be dated around 1200 B.C
or so.
Su. ba-ere and Sk. -bhir , Ta. peer
I shall point out some evidences for this from this first hymn. This
pertains to the nominal suffix 'bhir' as in
"puurve-bhir" 'rishi-bhir ' devee-bhir" etc. Here it is a variant of
Su. ba-ere which itself is variant of 'ba-ene' where the roots
'ba' and 'inam' are still available in Tamil. The late version of Ta. peer,
is quite close to this Rig Vedic "-bhir" . Thus we can see a line of development
as follows : Su. ba-ene> Su. ba-ere > Sk. bhir > Ta. peer.
Su. -ere Sk-ir Ta. ar, aar
Another noun morphology element related to the above is Sk -ir which can be taken as a variant of Su. ere which is itself is a variant of Su. ene ( Ta. inam: a group, a collectivity) This we see in in such words as 'nutani-ir" , the newly forth coming , a notion rendered in Sulgi as "sa bal-bal-a egir-da" and "doshavastar ' ( , dhosavastu-ir) .
Derivative Semantic Notions
.Semantically we can also note the SECONDARY and hence derivative meanings in such words as "bhadram' which can be taken to mean contextually "safety and security" but originally a weapon Su. ba-da-ra , and which is instrumental in providing such a security.
Temple Centredness
Whoever sang these moving hymns, must have been people very familiar
with temple worship. Just from this First hymn we can provide some evidences
for this. We have the important word 'puroohitam' which is still in use
with Tamil parallels such as 'purootayam' etc. (but means day break
: pur= paruti: the sun). The 'pur' in 'purohitam' means temple, the Ta.
puram which originally meant an enclosure and which later became also a
word for the palace as in Ta. anta-puram etc. a fate we meet with also
with the term Ta. kooyil ( <Su. e-ku) used both for temple and palace.
In Indonesia the word 'pura" is still retained as the word for temple.
Thus "purookitam" can be derived from "pur--uu-si-dam" meaning 'the lighting
up the temple ' and hence 'puroohitar' as the people who light up the temples.
In the first sloka where this word occurs, it is used in METAPHORICAL form
for describing "agnim ellee" which itself is a variant Su.
ugnim ellu, as already pointed out.
Another evidence comes from the 'daasushe' that occurs in the 6th sloka
and which means Ta. taasi-se: towards the taasies, the taasies are
women who ahve abandoned themselves to God and hence to service
to temples, an institution that survives even now in some parts of S. India.
That 'dasu" means 'taasi' appears to be clearfrom the fact that the
poet seeks security ( bhadram) for them and so that they can
continue with their tapas and become resplendent ( tavet tat satyam angirah).
This presence of women as who have sacrificed
their life for temple services is a continuation of the Sumerian
institution of "es-dam", temple women also another term for prostitutes
( es. Ta. veesi) a fate for such women that wecontinuously meet with (
note Ta. teevataasi, teevadiyaaL etc.). Perhaps the poet calls for
divine blessings for the security for such women so that they are
NOT abused and turned into prostitutes but would rather continue
with their true vacation : tapas and such other austerities
Metaphysics of Light
The description of BEING as 'agnim ellee" and the noting that it is
that which destroys as well as nourishes mankind by becoming the source
of food "ritvijam (> urita-biijam) , divine illuminations that
shines in truth and so forth are certainly very sophisticated and presuppose
a philosophic culture of millenniums in which such metaphysical questions
must have been pondered at . Such notions are present very widely in Sumerian
metaphysics. We have "u dall-e-a " of En Hudu Anna ( `2200
B.C. ) and the following words in EnMerkar
and Aratta :
504. u-bi-a inim im-ma gub-bu nu-ub-ta-gal-la (Formerly, the writing of messages on clay was not established)
*Ta. uuzbiya enam imma kuppu naa upparttu kaala ( " )
505. i-ni-se Utu ude-a ur he~n-na-nam-ma-am (Now, with Utu's bringing forth the day, verily, this was so)
*Ta. inikkee utu utiya uRu innanamma aam ( ")
Here we see the same nation as in the firsthymn of Rig but at its initial stages and in conjunction with contemplation as to the growth of intelligence and the birth of new technical competencies.
There is a long history of the worship of light in Saivism , Murukaism Saktaism and the monograph below traces the history of it from the Sumerian times to 19th century Tamil literature.
https://members.tripod.com/loga/radian.htm
This historical continuity in metaphysical understanding also makes it clear that the "puurveebhir rishibhir" mentioned here are the Sumerian mystics/philosophers like Ubartutu, Jiusudra, EnHudu Anna, Sulgi , Gudya , Utuhegal and so forth and NOT some nomadic European tribes wandering at the North Pole seeing the sun with soft rays over the horizon only for the six months of the year. The term "agnim ellee" betrays a knowledge of a severe sun, very destructive such as the sun of the deserts or the tropics
Brahma and Brahmanahs
The Rig Veda appears to be hymns specially composed for the worship of Brahma, the Veetan and hence only a part of the temple rituals and not the whole of it. The Brahma-worship makes the worshippers Brahmanahs and hence the term is similar to Saivas, Saktas, Vaishnavas and so forth, sectarian in its origins. We can cite again the following lines as evidences for this.
Sir
84. as-im babbar na-an-kus-u-de ( I cannot appease Ashimbabbar )
*Ta. aatimpaarpaar naan kuucittee ( " )
85. su-luh-an-ku-ge-ke ni-nam-ma-ni-in-kur ( (Lugalanne) has altered the
lustrations of holy An and all his (other rites)
*Ta. cuulai aaN kookkee nii nammanin kuuRu ( " )
This shows that there were rituals conducted with fire pits ( Su. suluh Ta. cuulai) within the temples (as it is till today) and they were for aaN, the BEING but by way of Aatimpaarpaar, the Brahma. The term 'babbar 'is derived from "bar-bar", by the duplication of the verb or noun "bar" which as "bari" means setting up of fire, light etc. ( Ta. paal, pariti, parai etc.). Thus bar-bar to which the Tamil 'paarpaar' correspond pretty well means simply a ritual of kindling continuously the fire in the fire pit and as term for a group of people , it means simply people who practice this ritual. Thus in course of time there must have arisen a group of people specially devoted to Brahma, the Ati paarppan and the Rig Veda might have be composed by such people. These people could have become the Brahmanahs, the devotees of Brahma just like Saivas Vaishnavas and so forth. So it follows that the paarppaars or the Brahmanahs were NOT people different from others ethnically but rather simply people devoted to Brahma, a deity, and interesting enough , that is NOT worshipped that much by the general public.
I conclude this essay with these notes with the hope that these ideas can be further substantiated with future studies into Vedic Tamil, closely to be linked with SumeroTamil.
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