Never Insult Brahmanas

pārpār novana ceyyār (பார்ப்பர் நோவன செய்யார்)

An interesting episode is mentioned in Puram poem 43. Mavalattān a prince of the Chola family, younger brother of Nalam Killi was playing dice with the Brahmin poet, Dāmappal kannanār. The former lost the game and in anger threw the dice on the victorious Brahmana. The poem describes this situation. The poet refers to important Vedic traditions. One. There was belief that a group of Brahman Rishis were following the hot sun to prevent the excessive heat of the sun on earth, so that the world may be saved. These rishis were called Vālakhilyas who were circling the earth along with the sun constantly. This is a Vedic lore. The poet of the Puranānūru refers to these sages who have sacrificed everything for the sake of the world and live only by air as their food. Having said that the poet says that your ancestors (Cholas) will never insult the Brahmanas which you have done now. It shows in ancient Tamilnad, Brahmins were highly respected and will not be insulted even by the ruling kings. Obviously because of their sacrifices for humanity , bearing the unbearable heat of sun for the people of the world. But the poet goes beyond what he said initially. As the poem seems to record an interesting episode which obviously is not a fiction but history we may see the poem itself.

The sages who live only on air and move always with the sun to prevent his heat scorching the world were themselves surprised when king Sibi an ancestor of the Cholas, himself entered a weighing scale to give equal amount of flesh to the vulture which chased a dove that took refuge on the lap of the king. The vulture demanded either the dove his prey or equal amount of flesh for it was its due food.The king agreed to himself in place of the dove and entered the weighing scale. When he entered the scale the god of righteousness appeared , praised the king for his selfless sacrifice and gave them salvation.

This story is an ancient one and is also found in Buddhist Jātaka tales. And so decidedly a northern one that has been integrated into the genealogy of the Chola dynasty, as an ancestor. It is praised in the Silappadikâram and all subsequent Tamil poems as the exploit of the Chola ancestors.

The poem goes on then to praise the ancestry of the cholas and told the prince who threw the dice at him he was not born of a Chola for they would not insult a Brahmana the way in which the prince behaved.

That was a very severe rebuke. The Prince would have drawn his sword and cut the poet's head. He didn't do any such act but felt ashamed of his action. So the poet told him that he was indeed a noble for he didn't get angry , instead felt sorry. So the poet said you were not wrong but it is I who should be blamed. Be you be prosperous so long as the sands of the river Kaveri exist.

There are three elements in this rather historic episode.

1) the reference to sages Vālakhilyas.
2) the story of Sibi chakravarti who was a Chola. and
3) that even the kings will not insult any Brahmana in the Tamil country.

This needs to be kept in mind by the speculators on Tamil civilization who hold Tamil as an exclusive civilization without northern culture.

Courtesy: http://www.tamilartsacademy.com