Part 1
Introduction
When human beings started cultured life in new stone age had experienced many developments. Mainly the civilization and culture were improved. It was due to the literature and the values in it. We will know about value of Tamil people like love, valour, hospitality, friendship, helping tendency, truth, contributions and donations.
Thitukkural, nannul, naladiyar, 5 epics, kambaramayanam, and villi bharatham are root of Tamil people’s culture. The moral opinion mentioned in these books are responsible for the world wide fame of Tamil culture and civilization.
Development of human civilization
The humans were moving around like vagabond and then had started to living in a place where they could get food. In that place they reared animals, cultivated lands and became farming community. When they lived as a hunting community and later changed into farming community, human beings were started to living like a family and community. They faced internal and external changes due to new way of life.
To suit their way of living humans need to change the situation of living environment. Instead of going out to find fertile land he built a stable colony. Prepared cultivating land for food. Those villages and cities around rivers in a long run developed as countries. The technical inventions from human helped these developments.
Wheel and boats helped humans in transportation in land and water. These transportation helped the trade between villages, cities and countries. To attain these external developments of humans from hunting community to farming community to trading community, human beings formed relationships between themselves. At the same time to live in unity, it formed many rules and regulations.
It was unavoidable to make rules and regulations for the improvement of internal/family relations. Based on these rules and regulations, different cultured people came together to form institutions like village, city and country. To improvise these institutions single human, family, city, country and its leader regulated their personal interests. Public interest was above personal interest was the basic for these rules and regulations. It was important for the human beings to preserve and improve these values in order to live united and peaceful.
Do you know
Tamil literature from ancient times includes morality, affection, love, grace, modesty/humility, peace, knowledge, energy, truth, hard work, honesty, integrity, highness, character, compassion, charity, duty, love, valour, justice in its contents.
People set ways and values to live united according to the situation. They categorised these values into basics, changeable, same for all human beings and for some particular communities. These values were registered by Tamil literature time after time.
Love Sangam literature highly praises the love relations between the hero and heroine. Tholkappiyam describes that the love between two people who have compatibility stays long.
It explains about 10 compatibility in ... பிறைபமப குடிழம ஆணழம ஆணம்டாடுஉருவு நிறுத்� காம வாயில்நிழறைமய அருமள உணர்தவாடு திருதவன முழறையுறைக் கிளந� ஒபபினது வழகமய
Kurunthokai describes that “The (rain) water that pours down on a red (sand) field will readily mix with the red sand and both (the sand and the water) will attain each others attribute and becomes inseparable. Like that hearts that has love mixed with each other, like the rain that poured down on red earth.
Lotus bloomed in Maruda landscape Bee collects honey from that flower. It keeps that honey in the tall sandalwood tree atop of a hill in Kurinji landscape . Like that hero keeps his heroine’s love.
This poem from natrinai explains this. In this poem Heroine explains her friend about her love. “My hero always keeps his promise, very sweet in nature, and never leaves my arms. He keeps my love like a honey that kept in a sandalwood tree.
Friendship
The relationship between the people who are united by heart is called friendship. Among all relationships in human life, friendship is the greatest. Sangam literature appreciated the greatness of friendship and registered it in its books. For one’s success not only hard work and perseverance are important but friendship is also equally important.
The natrinai, agananuru books explains about importance of friendship.
It is better to have friendship with tiger as it has perseverance and strength than to have friendship with rat. This is explained in purananuru.
In Maduraikanchi tells that even if we have achieved great things in life, falsehood in friendship will end in blame/bad name only. True love is valuable, pure and the best.
Adhiyaman gave rare gooseberry to Avvaiyar, Pisiranthayar sacrificed his life with Kopperunchozhan, Kapilar shared the happiness and sorrow with Pari are examples of friendship in Sangam literature.
Help
Helping others was considered as the best morality according to sangam literature. Nallanduvanar in kalithugai said that one should feel the sorrow of others as theirs and should help them.
Nalvettanar in natrinai said that resolving other’s suffering is the real wealth. In kalithogai perunkadungo said that those who are doing evil to relatives for the sake of one’s self will lose their glory.
Truth
Sangam literature appreciated the greatness of truth. These literature reveals that truth speaking tongue is the original tongue. In natrinai truth was referred as error less good word and lie was referred as horrible word.
Purananuru advises that even if the earth is buried in front of you, never tell lies.
Hospitality
(Refer previous chapter) The importance of hospitality is explained in Natrinai. In purananuru even if people got the precious nectar, they shared that with guests happily. When nothing was there to offer to the guests, the hosts made floor with the millet seeds and served the guests.
There were poems in the literature about people borrowed millets to feed guests. To serve food to others one man mortgaged his sword in those timesபுறம்316. One woman had no time to get angry with her lover because she had visitors to feed continuously. (Natrunai 380) Tinnai( Bench like structure in the front side of the house) is an identity for Tamil people’s hospitality.
The status of women
Hospitality, faithfulness, taking care of elders, having good offspring were the duties of a family life. When her child was injured and dead in a war, his mother was happier than the time of his birth. Another mother told a women that “I don’t know where my son is but my stomach is only here like a tiger’ den and if you want to see my on go to war-field” (Purananuru 86)
Having children was considered as a social duty. According to a poem from puranuru 188 The living days of those who are not having children are waste only.
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