“What is ‘hissing’ in the village names Aravakurichi, Nagapalayam, Naganaickenpalayam, and so on?
The comb, which you often use for untangling and styling your hair, must have been an important article in the bygone era. Had it not been so, the popular Tamil proverb Seepai Oliththu Vaiththaal Kalyanam Nindruviduma ?( Can the wedding be cancelled just by hiding the comb?) would not have emerged in the language. However, a person's usual activity of combing the hair or the custom of tonsuring the head was not in the tradition of ancient Kongunadu.
“With the impact of Jainism being more in the Kongu region, many of our routines take root only from the Jain culture†informs Magudiswaran, a Tamil professor, researcher and author from Gobi Arts and Science College.
“Though the comb plays a very important role for hairstyling in Jain weddings, the custom of tonsuring the head is also from the Jains. But, a Jain ascetic does not 'shave' his head using the knife, but pluck his hair one by one allowing his head to bleedâ€
Pointing out the impact of Jainism even in the functional Kongu Tamil vocabulary, Magudiswaran notes:
“The expression 'Samanangaal Pottu Utkaaruthal ' to mean squatting on the floor, derives from the sitting posture of the Jain ascetics ( Samanar in Tamil). And when you tell someone to sit putting 'Samanangaal' you are literally asking him to sit like a Jain ascetic!â€
Magudiswaran also informs that Jains, who propagated the principle of non-killing, avoided traveling in the dark lest they would unwittingly step on small insects and become cause for killing them.
“In the Kongu region, going out even to dump waste at a rubbish mound in the dark is still considered inauspicious for some reason, but it is nothing but a remnant of Jain culture†explains Mahudeeswaran.
Childless Hindu women strongly believe that they would get conceived, if they worshiped Lord Ganesha and circumambulated the Pipal tree. But they are sure to be disappointed at Magudiswaran's new information on the deity and the tree.
“Lord Ganesha had nothing to do with the Pipal tree, which is none other than the tree of wisdom or Bodhi tree. And the one who sat under it, was Gautama Buddha until the Hindu religion fraudulently replaced Him by the elephant God.
Explaining the important reason behind the people of Kongunadu setting up temples for their family deities, Magudiswaran says:
“As everything is lost in the flight of time, the only channel for posterity to trace their roots is visiting the shrines of their family deities, which are built in their respective native villagesâ€
An author of around ten books including Kongu Seethanam, Kongu Verkal and Kongu Manidaviyal, Magudiswaran noted that ancient Kongunadu was also known for worshiping the snake-god.
“Place names in the Kongu region like Aravakurichi, Nagapalayam, Naganaickenpalayam and so on contain references to the snake-god. What's more, the first fiction in Kongu Tamil dialect, which also became India's first regional novel, is R.Shanmuga Sundaram's Nagammal !†he avers.
“With the impact of Jainism being more in the Kongu region, many of our routines take root only from the Jain culture†informs Magudiswaran, a Tamil professor, researcher and author from Gobi Arts and Science College.
“Though the comb plays a very important role for hairstyling in Jain weddings, the custom of tonsuring the head is also from the Jains. But, a Jain ascetic does not 'shave' his head using the knife, but pluck his hair one by one allowing his head to bleedâ€
Pointing out the impact of Jainism even in the functional Kongu Tamil vocabulary, Magudiswaran notes:
“The expression 'Samanangaal Pottu Utkaaruthal ' to mean squatting on the floor, derives from the sitting posture of the Jain ascetics ( Samanar in Tamil). And when you tell someone to sit putting 'Samanangaal' you are literally asking him to sit like a Jain ascetic!â€
Magudiswaran also informs that Jains, who propagated the principle of non-killing, avoided traveling in the dark lest they would unwittingly step on small insects and become cause for killing them.
“In the Kongu region, going out even to dump waste at a rubbish mound in the dark is still considered inauspicious for some reason, but it is nothing but a remnant of Jain culture†explains Mahudeeswaran.
Childless Hindu women strongly believe that they would get conceived, if they worshiped Lord Ganesha and circumambulated the Pipal tree. But they are sure to be disappointed at Magudiswaran's new information on the deity and the tree.
“Lord Ganesha had nothing to do with the Pipal tree, which is none other than the tree of wisdom or Bodhi tree. And the one who sat under it, was Gautama Buddha until the Hindu religion fraudulently replaced Him by the elephant God.
Explaining the important reason behind the people of Kongunadu setting up temples for their family deities, Magudiswaran says:
“As everything is lost in the flight of time, the only channel for posterity to trace their roots is visiting the shrines of their family deities, which are built in their respective native villagesâ€
An author of around ten books including Kongu Seethanam, Kongu Verkal and Kongu Manidaviyal, Magudiswaran noted that ancient Kongunadu was also known for worshiping the snake-god.
“Place names in the Kongu region like Aravakurichi, Nagapalayam, Naganaickenpalayam and so on contain references to the snake-god. What's more, the first fiction in Kongu Tamil dialect, which also became India's first regional novel, is R.Shanmuga Sundaram's Nagammal !†he avers.