There have been many blogs and debates on the internet on the origin of tamil from sanskrit. I am going to give an overview on this topic. But before moving to the topic, all the discussions on this topic is started by a person who has no knowledge of both the Languages .This leads to a Biased idea because he/She is not aware of the other Language.Well , my mother Tongue is Tamil and I have been learning Sanskrit for over 15 years. So there is no need for any doubt on by authority on this topic.
OLDEST RECORD OF TAMIL:
Agattiyam is the oldest work in tamil which was written around 300-350 BC. This was written in Sangam era .
Agattiyam was written by Agasthiyar. Agasthiyar is one of the Saptha Rishis mentioned in the vedas. He is also the author of Agathiya Samhita (Written in sanskrit)
Aga means Mountian and Asthi means Thrower (Best example is Brahma Asthram in Mahabaratha)
Now the oldest author of Tamil is also the author of a sanskrit work and also has a Sanskrit Name.
He is beleived to be sent by Lord Shiva , Who is also been described in Rudram and Chamakam in the vedas.
So he is a Vedic Sage who travelled south. Moreover Comparison of Ayurveda and Siddha medicine can solve this doubt because Siddha has been heavily borrowed from Ayurveda.
TOLKAPPIYAM
Now we have to analyze the meanings of few words.
Tolkappiyam- Kappiyam is originated from Kavyam which is a Sanskrit word. This is because there are many instances of the usage of the Word "Kavyam" in sanskrit literature much before.So the argument is "Tolkappiyam being the oldest work in Tamil itself has a sanskrit word in it"
Sangam- This is used to denote the earliest period in Tamil History .Now Sangam is a derivative from sanskrit word "Sangaha" which means community or union. The best example for this is TriveniSangam in Allahabad where the 3 rivers meet and the place where the Khumbamela is Held. Moreover the Buddhists were organized into Sangha .So again here tamil is using a sanskrit word.
Conclusion-
The very oldest work in tamil and the period in Tamil itself was written by a vedic Sage .Which means that Tamil has a strong lineage from Sanskrit.
STRUCTURE OF ALPHABETS
It is interesting to note that Both sanskrit and Tamil have the Alphabets in an order . It starts form Ah , Aah...and goes to ooh. And the consonants also start with Ka and goes on. The Same applies to every Indian Language as well.The only Letter unique to tamil is Zha .
Now we have to see the origin of this structure in Tamil and Sanskrit.
The oldest date for the origin of tamil is around 300 BC(start of Sangam Era) .
Moreover The sounds E,Ee,Uh and Ooh in Tamil is also similar to that of Sanskrit.
There have been many studies by Indian Scholars on dating the vedas. They have consistently been around 3000 BC .Though the vedas are known as Aanadhi (Without start or end) , they were Compiled around 3000 BC by Veda Vyvasa. Now If we see the Mahabaratha , the study on Astronomical positions of the Mahabaratha War pointed the time of war as 3102 BC. Since there was a character named Vyasa in Mahabaratha, this can also support this argument. Further more According to the puranas , The Kali Yuga also started around this period 3000 BC (ie.After the kurukshetra war)
Reference for my work :- Research paper ->"There is no scientific basis for aryan invasion theory" By T.R.S Prasanna Published in Current Science Vol 103 No.2 ,25th July 2012
Link:
http://www.currentscience.ac.in/php/toc.php?vol=103&issue=02
This link has proofs to show the vedas date around 3000 BC.
Conclusion:-
Sanskrit is more than 2500 years older than Tamil. This gives a lot of room for evolution. And the Sanskrit Alphabets are much older than Tamil.
ANALYSIS OF TAMIL WORKS
If we analyze any Tamil work, they have always been inspired from sanskrit Literature.
Examples are,
i)Sage Agasthya was mentioned in the puranas (Written before the Sangam Era) but the Tamil claim him as one of the first person to speak Tamil. Ayurveda from him developed into Siddha medicine.
ii)Shiva(Mentioned in Vedas- Rudram) is adopted by the Tamils.
Now let us Take an example from the very first verse of The Thirukurral.
Akara Mudhala Ezhuththellaam Aadhi
Bagavan Mudhatre Ulaku
Here
Aadhi-Aadhi means First in Sanskrit (used in the Rig Veda)
Bhagavan means God in Sanskrit (used in Mahabaratham and various other works)
Ulaku-Loka means World in sanskrit (Used in multiple Places)
Conclusion:-
Tamil yet again has heavily borrowed from Sanskrit.
The oldest Work in Tamil - Tholkappiyam itself contains a Sanskrit word.
The oldest period of Tamil history (Sangam) itself has a Sanskrit word.
The First Verse of Thirukural itself has 3 Sanskrit words.
So what more to Say and Argue when the oldest and the first things in Tamil had Sanskrit words ??
DESPERATE CONDITION OF TAMIL FANS(DK)
This is an Incident where the Pro-Dravidian people wanted to prove that Tamil was Older.
The Concept of Dravidian in Indus started much after the Indus Civilization was re-Discovered.THe fact is that No part of Tamil History has recorded Indus in any Literary work.
The point is that ,These people are adapting the stories from the west to Strengthen the Historical dominance of Tamil Language which was never True. My argument is that why didn't these people mention about Indus before the Westerners ?
But If we take Sanskrit for Example, Dwaraka has been discovered under water and Ram Sethu was also discovered as recorded in the Sanskrit Literary works.
For example, even the party name - “Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam” – the world “Dravida” itself is a Sanskrit word, which means south. "Udaya Suryan" are Sanskrit words. Karunanidhi, Ramasamy, (Ala)giri, Anna(durai) are all Sanskrit names. Even in the word "Maa-nadu", the first syllable "Maa" is a Sanskrit based word (that is, "Maha")
If we take the Shiva Puja, which is a integral part of any Smarta or Shaivite's Pooja,
Under the Neivedya Mantra,
Pushpanjilam PradasyamiGruhaana karunanidhae I
Neelakanta Virupaaksham vaamaardha girijaa Prabho II
Umamaheshwaraaya Namaha Pushpaanjilim Samar payami I
Mantrapushpam suvarna pushpam samarpayaami II
here, we can see the usage of the words Karunanidhi and Giri. So The DK claims can be rubbished from the very fact that their leader's name itself is Sanskrit. Periyar's original name Ramaswami is also sanskrit .The worst part is that their organization's name Dravid is used in Valmik's Ramayanam , yet another Sanskrit Work.
So the ultimate conclusion is left to you readers. You decide which is older and how did Tamil Originate? Post your comments and Share your information
I have put a lot of efforts into this Blog. Mistakes may have crept in and Please point them out so i will be able to make this more reliable .
Thanks
P.S
This Blog has no intention to hurt any Tamils , But this is to reveal the truth.Tamil is one of the most beautiful Language in the world.Tamil is every bit worthy enough to gain a Classical Status. I would Discuss more truths in my following Blogs.
I thank Mr.Jayarathina Madharasan for pointing out mistakes and making valuable contribution in the making of this Article.
