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EDAKKAL CAVE INSCRIPTIONS
A LINGUISTIC APPROACH
F.W. Faucet, the-then Police
Commissioner of erstwhile Malabar and R.C. Temple, brought to light the carvings
and writings of the Edakkal cave through an article entitled "Notes on the Rock
Carvings in the Edakkal Cave, Wayanad" (Indian Antiquary Vol. XXXVIII 1889 &
Vol. XXX 1901). Faucet identified the writings on the walls of the Edakkal cave
and sought the help of Hultzch, the-then epigraphist of Madras, to read and
interpret them. Hultzch published a note on Edakkal cave writings in 1898. He
read two inscriptions out of four made available to him by Faucet. Later, in
1998, Iravatham Mahadevan and Swaminathan re-examined the carvings in the cave
and found out some more inscriptions.
Out of eight inscriptions
carved on the wall of Edakkal cave, six bear the genuine features of the
west-coast dialect of Tamil. Scholars are of the opinion that the evolution of
Malayalam language is from the west-coast dialect of Tamil. The first lengthy
written document in which the reflections of Malayalam features are attested
belongs to A.D. 830 but a close examination of Edakkal cave writings reveals
that Malayalam showed tendencies to evolve as an independent language centuries
before the ninth century A.D. Edakkal inscriptions belong to a period between
the second and fifth centuries A.D. Malayalam features reflected in these
inscriptions are worthy to note.
Inscription 1 :
venkomalai kaccavanu catti- lit. `kasyapa of venkomalai has vigour'
Hultzch read it in 1897.
kaccava-nu `kaccava-for', -nu is the dative suffix. kaccava is kasypa in
Sanskrit. In Malayalam, -nu is the dative marker in words ending with alveolar
nasal. -innu, -kku, -ukku and -annu are the dative markers in Old Tamil and
Middle Tamil. -nu is a peculiar marker of Malayalam.
Inscription 2 : palpuli
tattakari- lit. `tattakari of palpuli'
Hultzch read this line as
palpuli tanandakari in 1897. This inscription belongs to the fifth century A.D.
The script employed is Tamil Brahmi. The present reading is palpuli tattakari.
tattakari may be a personal name; most probably a hero from palpuli. palpuli a
place name or a gotra title (title of a lineage)? Though there are slight
phonetic variations in readings, the presence of a secondary derivative suffix
kari or kari is notable. -karan (`having-he'), kari (`having- she') are
secondary derivative suffixes generally used in Malayalam. There is a view that
karan, kari have their origin from Sanskrit derivative suffix. kara, -kari not
only function as feminine derivative suffixes but also as epicene plural
derivative suffixes. In the word tattakari and its variation in readings like
tanandakari and tanantakari, -kari or `kari is the derivative suffix. However,
the meaning of tattakari and its variations are doubtful.
Inscription 3: katummi
puta cera - `Chera, the son of Katummi'
This seems to be the earliest
inscription from Kerala in which a reference to Chera dynasty comes. From Sangam
literature, we get a picture of the Chera dynasty inhabited in the west coast of
ancient Tamilakam. The land lying between Kumari and Elimalai was under its
sway. They also enjoyed supremacy beyond present Kovai and Salem districts of
Tamil Nadu. The land beyond Tamilakam was tamil moli peyar tecam lit. `land
beyond Tamil-speaking areas'. In an inscription from Pukalur, reference to
Irumporai branch of Chera dynasty is seen. Through the present cave inscription,
Chera
gets another epigraphical evidence. Chera mentioned in Edakkal cave may denote
the dynasty inhabited in the west-coast region of ancient Tamilakam.
Katummi may be a corrupt form
of katuman. Katuman was an epithet of Chera king Mantaram Ceral Irumporai and
Kuttuvan Kotai. -puta is a Prakrit form of Sanskrit word putra which means
`son'. katummi puta cera reminds one of keralaputa, found in one of the edicts
of Asoka. Dravidianised Sanskrit words like puta (`son'), catti (`vigour'), puti
(`fame') and kaccavan (kasypa) attested in Edakkal cave inscriptions suggest
that Prakrit and Pali languages functioned as a bridge to connect the west-coast
dialect of Tamil with Sanskrit in the formative periods of Malayalam language.
Inscription 4 : ko puti
vira
Inscription 5 : ko(v)atana
Inscription 6 : op napa vira
These inscriptions are in
daksina Brahmi (`southern version of Brahmi script') script. vira is a corrupted
form of vira (`brave'). ko means `king' or `lord'. puti might be a Dravidianised
form of Sanskrit word bhuti (`prosperity').
op napa vira can be interpreted
as opp appan vira. The second word, by virtue of its meaning, creates extreme
curiosity. Is it appa or appan (`father')? appan is not familiar to Old-Tamil
culture. Irrespective of caste and religion, appan is familiar to
Malayalam-speaking people. In certain castes, this word denotes `father' while
in others `younger father'. Among Nambutiri Brahmins, appan is aphan. For
voiceless stop `-p', they utter voiceless aspirated stop `ph'. It is interesting
to note that most of the male deities worshipped in Kerala are appan; for
instance, guruvayurappan, vaikkattappan, ettumanurappan, etc.
Thus, even though linguistic
features are very few in the inscriptions of Edakkal cave, the information it
contains regarding Malayalam linguistic features is large and precious.
Appendix: `Other
Inscriptions in the Cave'
-
Saka Muner Verako (hu)
Danam (Second to Third Century B.C.) [Pali language]. Its Sanskrit version
is Saka Mune Ovarako Bahu Danam (Sanskrit) lit. `the space got for
meditation by the grace of Buddha' (Reading made by A. Balakrishna Pillai,
1938).
Vetkopanam Nannu Catti is the reading given by A. Balakrishna Pillai for the
present reading Venkomalai Kaccavanu Catti by Iravatam Mahadevan. A.
Balakrishna Pillai is the first Keralite who attempted to write a note on
Edakkal Cave depending upon the article published by F.W. Faucet in 1898 and
1901 in Indian Antiquary. (For more details, please see "Keralam 8000
Varsannalkku Mumpu" published in Mathrubhoomi Weekly Special, 1938.)
-
visnuvarma kudumbiya
kulavardhanasya likhitam (Fifth Century A.D.) [Pali] lit. `the writings of
Vishnuvarma, the lord of Kudumbiya dynasty'.
Reference
Early Tamil Epigraphy from the
Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. Iravatham Mahadevan. Chennai, India:
Cre-A & U.S.A.: Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University,
2003.
Naduvattom Gopalakrishnan
INDUS SCRIPT
(Continued from last issue)
The identification is
corroborated by the occurrence of -an as by far the most frequent masculine
singular nominal suffix occurring in Old Tamil Sangam anthologies and Tamil-Brahmi
cave inscriptions. Perhaps the name Andhra is ultimately derived from -anr, when
the morpheme was borrowed into Indo-Aryan as an ethnic name of the non-Aryans in
post-Harappan times. Like the arrow sign, the jar sign can also occur in the
literal sense of `sacrificial vessel' > `offerings' as in the compound sign
jar-bearer: `one who carries sacrificial offerings, a priestly functionary'. In
the late or post-Harappan periods, the jar sign evolved into a symbol
representing priestly and royal clans who claimed descent from `jar-born' sages
like Agastya and Drona. Old Tamil legends on the origin of the Velir from the
water-pot of Agastya and their southern migration under his leadership are
historical links between Late Harappan and Early Old Tamil civilizations. Many
southern royal dynasties including the Velir, Pallavas and Chalukyas had their
own versions of the `jar-born' myths. The jar sign has many bilingual parallels.
The legend of the `jar-born' sages is first found in the Rigveda (VII: 33),
where it is said that Agastya and Vasishtha were generated from a jar. According
to the Mahabharata, Drona was a `jar-born' sage. The Kauravas were born from a
hundred jars (in which portions of Gandhari's foetus were stored): probably sata
`jar' > sata `hundred'. In Vedic rituals, sata is a sacrificial vessel. The
Andhra kings had also `jar' names (Sata, Stavahana, Satakarni). Here the attempt
to decipher the Indus script is widening its area of exploration from epigraphy
to cultural semiotics. This is a significant methodological shift which will
lead us into linguistic archaeology of South Asia. The bearer signs given below
show post-Harappan semantic continuity both in Dravidian and Indo-Aryan
languages.
The bearer sign depicts a standing person carrying a yoke on his shoulders with
twin loads slung from either side. The sign also occurs combined with jar and
arrow signs. The bearer sign occurs mostly in the final position. It also occurs
alone, without the jar and arrow signs, showing that it is not a suffix but an
important title. This sign can be interpreted ideographically as `one who bears
responsibility'. In Tamil, this semantic content is represented by poru `to bear
(as load)' and poruppu `responsibility'. In Harappan polity, the bearer was an
important priestly functionary with specific responsibilities. The jar-bearer
carried ceremonially the sacrificial vessels containing food offerings to the
deity. The arrow-bearer was a warrior entrusted with the responsibility of
defence, i.e. they had control over distribution of food and army, and they
formed an important part of the ruling establishment.
In Old Tamil society, Chera
kings sported the title porai literally meaning `bearer'. The name iru(m)porai
probably refers to `twin loads' on the yoke. The Cheras claimed that one of
their ancestors supplied food to both the armies in the Mahabharata war. This
legend links the Cheras (poraiyar) with the bearer title in Harappan polity.
Interestingly, as late as in the 19th century CE, the rulers of Travancore State
in Kerala (who claimed descent from the Velir and the Cheras) issued copper
coins with the bearer motif. The yoke with twin loads evolved independently into
a popular religious symbol called kavadi in Tamil, a term borrowed into
Indo-Aryan languages also. The kavadi is used for ceremonial carrying of food
offerings to the deity. It is especially associated with the deity Murukan in
Tamil Nadu, just as irumudi `twin (head) loads' is associated with Sasta (Ayyanar)
in Kerala.
1.1. Loan translation of
Harappan sign
Exploration of the
transcendence of Harappan signs into Sanskrit literature is a methodological
innovation. There are many bilingual parallels of bearer signs found in post-Harappan
Sanskrit literature. It was not like lexical borrowing as Emeneau and Burrow
explained but a semantic borrowing from Indus culture to precedence by loan
translation. Here Thiru Mahadevan has opened a new path of exploration which
will lead to exploration of `retention of semantic contents' of Indus symbols in
Dravidian and Indo-Aryan languages. In post-Harappan times, the bearer title was
translated into Sanskrit and borne by descendants of the Harappan priest: rulers
who were Brahmanas (priests) as well as Kshatriyas (rulers) in the new social
order. The most famous royal and priestly families of the Vedic period were the
Bharata (literally `bearers') and the Bharad-vaja (literally `bearers of food').
They were related to each other and were in the Indus region during the Vedic
times. In still later times, Andhra kings called themselves
Satavahana or Salivahana, which could be directly traced to the Harappan bearer
titles. Seals with bearer signs are common in Harappan script. Mapping of the
continuity of Harappan signs in the latest languages reminds us that South Asia
is not only a linguistic area but a translation area with the retention of
broken past into present.
2. Intentional
Paradigm shift in the
methodology of decoding introduced by Iravatham Mahadevan is intentionally
motivated to place Indus Script as a common inheritance of both Indo-Aryan and
Dravidian. If we consider Indus civilization as a common source of tradition to
both Dravidian and Indo-Aryan, many of the cacophonies on Harappan inheritance
can be solved. In essence, post-Harappan reading of Indus signs in the lecture
is pacing Indus civilization not in the paradigm of divergence but the
convergence of two major language-families in the Indian linguistic area.
We look forward to the
publication of Mahadevan's book Dravidian Elements in the Indus Script: An
Interpretation.
P. Sreekumar
Dravidian University
TAMIL SUMMER SCHOOL 2008
Puducherry Institute of
Linguistics and Culture is organising Tamil Summer School 2008 from 14th July
2008 to 23rd August 2008. TSS focuses on Spoken Tamil and the level is
intermediate. The course will be conducted for six days per week during the
period and is based on materials both in English and in Tamil. Spoken Tamil is
taught with conversational material throughout the course. It includes practical
training and drilling in Spoken Tamil in the context of fieldwork with
experienced research assistants.
Eligible participants are
students or researchers from foreign or Indian universities or institutions who
have studied written Tamil for at least one year and have a good knowledge of
basic grammar.
Enrolment starts on 1st March
2008 and closes on 30th April 2008.
For more details, please contact The Director, P.I.L.C., PIPMATE Campus, Lawspet,
Puducherry 605 008, India. Phone: 0413-2255827; E-mail:
pilc@vsnl.com
M. Soudarssane
P.I.L.C., Puducherry
DELHI KARNATAKA SANGHA GETS
BENDRE NATIONAL AWARD
In the Bendre birth-anniversary
function organized by Bendre Foundation at Dharwad in Bendre Bhavan on 31st
January 2008, Purushottama Bilimale, President of Delhi Karnataka Sangha,
received Bendre National Award from Smt. Sarojini Mahishi, former Union Minister
and founder-President of Delhi Karnataka Sangha. The function was chaired by Dr.
M.M. Kalburgi, President of Bendre Foundation. It was attended by eminent
persons including Nadoja Channavera Kanavi, Professor G.S. Amur and Dr.
Siddaling Pattanashetti. The award, carrying a citation and cash prize of Rs.
50,000/-, was given in recognition of Delhi Karnataka Sangha's services for
Karnataka and Kannada. A native speaker of Tulu, Purushottama
is the Director of American Institute of Indian Studies in Delhi. He has been
instrumental in the new construction of Delhi Karnataka Sangha's cultural
complex.
Dattatreya Ramachandra Bendre
(1896-1981) occupies a unique position in the history of Kannada literature. He
is known for his lyrics. His poetry has immortalized the contemporary Brahmin
dialect of Dharwad Kannada. His poetic genius is reflected through folk and
classical traditions. Bendre's silence over the imposition of Emergency in 1975
may be contrasted with his passionate plea for opposing oppression or with the
surrendering of state honours by Shivaram Karanth, another Kannada writer.
Dr. Kalburgi had a long
association with Bendre.
R.M. Girji
D.D. SHARMA
HONOURS IN THE RECENT PAST
Dr. D.D. Sharma, former
Professor and Head of the Department
of Sanskrit in Punjab University, Chandigarh and Professor-Emeritus
in Linguistics and Sanskrit in Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra
has commendable academic achievements.
In the recent past, he has been honoured with the prestigious
Twentieth Century Achievement Award for his academic achievements,
and with Nomination as International Man of the Year (1996)
and International Man of the Millennium (2000), an honour conferred
by International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, England. He has
been appointed an Honorary Member of Advisory Committee by
I.B.C. and conferred the honour of International Cultural Diploma
of Honour, Consulting Editor of `The Contemporary Who's Who'. His
life profile is included in the ninth edition of International
Directory of Distinguished Leadership by American Biographical
Institute in Cardona, North America.
NEW BOOK ON LINGUISTICS
Niladri Sekhar Dash, I.S.I., Kolkata recently informed about
his new book, Corpus Linguistics: An Introduction. He states
that the book offers guidelines for the creation and usage of corpora
in the form of empirical language databases with direct functional
and theoretical interpretation of a natural language. Divided into
seven chapters, it begins with the definition and evolution of the
concept of a corpus in Linguistics, its salient features and its utility
in advanced works of Linguistics and language technology besides discussing
the typological classification of the existing corpora, generation
of spoken and written corpora and a compilation of corpora for future
applications. The author claims that the work, based on original research,
will create avenues for further advancements in mainstream and applied
Linguistics and language technology and that it will be useful to
scholars, researchers and students of Linguistics.
The hardbound book of 200 pages, published by Pearson Education,
New Delhi, is priced at Rs. 499/-.
TANTRA LITERATURE OF KERALA
AN APPRECIATION
Dr. N.P. Unni deserves gratitude for his Tantra Literature
of Kerala, New Bharatiya Book Corporation, Delhi, 2006. Sanskritization
has now placed temples in the focus of culture. With entry now available
to all castes, crowds flock temples more than ever. Old forms of worship
with priests drawn from the communities themselves are given up. Even
small shrines established by erstwhile untouchable communities are
now being discovered and sanctified by performance of rituals by Brahmin
Tantris. Sanskritised idols are installed, Brahmin priests appointed
and worship according to Tantrasamuccaya routinized. Funds
are collected and structures built around them in accordance with
the prescriptions contained in the literature.
The author is, as usual, meticulous in collection and assessment
of his material. He includes several verses in original Sanskrit but
leaves them without translation or even a gist in English. Obviously,
he assumes that his readers have adequate knowledge of Sanskrit -
an assumption that may unfortunately limit his readers. The treatment
is thorough, discursive where needed, though brief, almost cryptic,
in some sections. He starts his main text (after the Introductory
chapter) with an exposition of Mayamata, pointing out probable Dravidian
origin of that text. He has been judicious in selection of texts,
e.g. Prapancasara, Vishnusamhita, Isanasivagurudevapaddhati,
Tantrasamuccaya, etc. Unfortunately, there are a number of
proofreading deficiencies - too numerous to be listed in this short
appreciation.
The privilege Indian
scholarship accords to written text has
pushed non-literary folkloristic contributions to the background.
When the literary tradition of Tantra in Kerala is being recounted,
Dr. Unni has, understandably and pardonably, relegated pre-Brahminical
traditions to a distant background.
N.N. Bhattacharya (History of the Tantrik Religion)
has shown that Tantrik practices are pre-Vedic and extended beyond
present political India. Egyptian mysteries, Bon of Tibet,
certain Taoist schools in China, etc. have hoary histories predating
the Vedas. We know that in Kerala, Brahmins ingested folk religious
observances and incorporated them into the corpus of their literature
on rituals. For example, the curvilinear geometry perfected by Pulluvar
of intertwining cobras in multiple colours has been stylised into
yantra-s used by Brahmins for Sarpa Bali. Incorporation
of deities from local pantheons into Brahminic fold is ongoing, e.g.
deities not mentioned in Tantrasamuccayam feature in Sesasamuccayam.
Pre-Brahminic Tantra had been practiced by lower castes in
Kerala from time immemorial but was not incorporated into literary
tradition. Practices like oti, etc.
are of the same genre as stambhana, marana, etc. These practices
certainly included use of meat, fish and wine. We do not know whether
ritual sex was practiced but stripuja though infrequent
even in Brahminic temples indicates that it was not a taboo. I wish
that Dr. Unni had explored these traditions in his Introduction.
Despite this, it is a valuable book, timely in its publication,
authoritative, written in an elegant and lucid style, and enlightening.
The book has been nicely produced.
T. Madhava Menon
ADDITIONS TO THE I.S.D.L. LIBRARY
Prakash, B.A. & V.R. Prabhakaran Nair, 2008, Kerala's
Development Issues in the New Millennium, New Delhi: Serials Publications.
Russ, Martin, 1996, Sound Synthesis and Sampling. Oxford:
Elsevier.
Russel Stuart & Norwig Peter, 2005, Artificial Intelligence:
A Modern Approach, New Delhi: Prentice Hall.
Sagart Laurent, Blench, Roger, Mazas, Alicia Sanchez, 2005,
The Peopling of East Asia, London: Routledge.
Shaughnessy, Douglas O', 2001, Speech Communications,
Hyderabad: University Press.
Srinivasan, R., 2007, Nallapillai Bharatham, Chennai:
Kalaikoottam.
Tirutendar Kappiyam, 2007, Chennai: Kavya Pathippakam.
Varadarajan, M., 2006, Tiruvenkatatilakam, Tirupati:
Sri Anand Pathippakam.
Ve Pa Babul, 2007, Tirumarain Then Malarkal, Chennai:
Sandhya Pathippagam.
Yadav, R.K., 2007, Nanotechnology, Delhi: Manglam Publishers
& Distributors.
Yunus Agaskar, 2007, Arabic for Everyday Use, Mumbai:
Jaico Publishing House.
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