Lord Murugan and South Indian Hinduism, a documentary launched by Chella Meenakshi Centre aims to look at the various cross-cultural layers in the religion we find today
“Is there something called Tamil religion?” asks Dr.
V.A. Vidya, Academic Director, CM (Chella Meenakshi) Centre for
Educational Research and services. Noting how the north has Ram and
Krishna while in the south, gods like Murugan and other demi-gods are
venerated, Vidya says, “There are numerous aspects to people’s religion.
It contains folk myths, personal and cultural histories.” CM Centre has
been working since 2008 in documenting the trends in Murugan worship
and the constantly growing pilgrim centres across the globe, especially
in Tamil peopled nations. The project that commenced from
Thirvappudaiyar Temple, a Siva Shrine on the banks of Vaigai, got
completed on the shores of the Indian Ocean, at Tiruchendur Murugan
Temple.
The result is a 45-minute film Lord Murugan and South Indian Hinduism,
which takes the viewers on a journey of how the ancient Dravidian
Civilization mingled with the Vedic religion from the north to result in
the complex multi-layered faith we find in the current times. “The data
we gathered from pilgrims, art historians and scholars was so vast that
it could make 100 more projects,” says Vidya, who framed the concept.
“We have 60 million gods in India, but somehow the peculiarity of the
folk religion in Tamil Nadu and the Murugan cult fascinated me.”
Professor
Joseph W. Elder, Professor Emeritus of Wisconsin State University who
is the Script Writer for the documentary, says, “I found the ardent
faith of Palani padayatris extremely moving. Murugan cult is
characterized by overt depiction of Bhakti, where devotees dance in
trance, pierce themselves with spears, carry kavadis and walk bare-foot
for miles.” “The cult has a visible folk tradition,” he observes.
The group of researchers behind the film also read Sangam works on Lord Murugan such as Tirumugratrupadai by Nakkirar and Tirupugazh by poet-saint Arunagirinathar.
“Murugan
was originally a hero warrior who was worshipped by the tribals of the
Kurunji land, which later emerged into a separate cult,” says Retd.,
Professor of Art History, Dr. R. Venkatraman. “The lord was
characterized as an eternally youthful, handsome and mighty warrior.
After the Bhakti movement that swept the south, bigger Vedic gods like
Shiva and Vishnu became popular and Muruga cult became restricted to
pockets of Tamil Nadu.”
Venkatraman elaborates on the interesting myths and tales behind the six faces or roots and the various names of Muruga.
One
of Muruga’s names is Skanda, which is actually derived from the word
‘Sikandar’, denoting Alexander the Great. “Alexander rode a horse and
carried a lance in hand. The similar kind of imagery was attributed to
Lord Muruga and hence he got the name Skanda,” says Venkatraman.
“Ancient Tamils had the tradition of giving natural elements as symbols
to their Gods. Such divine representations of Lord Muruga are the
Peacock, rooster, the Vel and the Kadamba tree.”
Lynn
Ate, a Doctorate in Classical Tamil Literature, from the US, who has
been researching on religious reference in Sangam literary works for the
past four decades, notes, “Early Tamils defined God as immanent,
existing within a space. They demarcated sacred space with a flag post
and worshipped it. That’s why we still find Kodi Maram only in the temples of the south.”
She
adds, “In contrast to the Vedic gods which were sky-dwelling, the
Dravidian deities were positioned on earth. The concept of God was not
placed upon a pedestal and was more accessible.”
Lynn
who is currently researching on Vaishnava Tamil and the works of
Azhwars, points out how worship in ancient Tamil was in the form of
poetry and songs.
“For instance, Periyazhwar in his
poems brings out the kid in Krishna, while the Sanskrit scriptures
portray him as a heroic superpower who slays demons,” she says. “This
kind of earthy compositions on God stems from the Sangam literary
tradition.”
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