(An earlier version had some mistakes. This is the
corrected version)
That title is from an essay on the Tamil classic
Thirukkural. Before I get into the topic of courage, compassion and love, a
word about phonetics.
The alphabet l in the word Tamil is not pronounced the same
way as in the word Thirukkural. The alphabet l in the so-pronounced Tamil does
not have a corresponding alphabet in English. The closest is the combination zh.
Tamizh with a sibilant sound is a little better than Tamil. Even that does not
make it.
Here is what the mouth and the tongue must do to pronounce
the zh in Tamizh. The tip of the tongue has to bend backwards (called
retroflexed), go to the back of the palate (roof of the mouth) and gently move
towards the front without touching the palate while outgoing air makes the
sound. Here is another way to compare. If you do the same movements with the
tongue but with the tip of the tongue touching the palate, you will get the
sound “sha”.
Now, in English, the letter l in the word Thirukkural may
stand for the sound l as in the word lake or for the sound l as in clay. The correct way to pronounce this l in the
word Thirukkural is as in clay. If we go to the mechanics of making the sound,
it is similar to the other two sounds we discussed, namely “sha” and “zha”. The
tongue bends backwards and touches the back of the palate but stays there while
making the sound. The tongue does not slide forwards. In making the sound l as
in lake, the tip of the tongue touches the root of the upper front teeth.
If anyone thinks that I am making too much fuss about
nothing, grammarians of both Tamizh (Tholkappiam) and Sanskrit (Panini) did not
think so. It is amazing to read the original texts in which these authors tell
us in the very beginning how to use the lips, tongue, teeth, palate and the
voice box to make specific sounds. According to the classification in Sanskrit,
the l of lake belongs to the Dental group of semivowels. And “sha” belong to the Sibilant group. The l of
clay is aspirant lingual in Sanskrit. I do not know where the zh of
Tamizh will come in Sanskrit since this sound is not part of Sanskrit. My guess
is that it will also be lingual aspirant.
Grammarians of Sanskrit and Tamizh were way ahead of time.
Thirukkural deals
with what in Tamizh is called “aram”, which is equivalent to “dharma” in
Sanskrit. The word stands for natural order of things and what is right conduct
in life. It stands for custom, law, morality and ethics.
The author of the essay I read refers to poems written in
Tamizh before the period when Thirukkural was written. They were written when
the people followed Nature’s rhythm and its bounties and the subject matters
were family life and regional conflicts. Those poems were called “puram”,
which means “outside” conflcits. There was also “aham” literature, on
the inner life of man and woman.
Thirukkural emphasizes
yet another aspect, namely “aram” or dharma.
In an earlier version of this post, I made the mistake of
confusing “aram” with “aham”. A reader pointed out that error. I
went back to the source. The author uses the word “puram” as opposed to
“aram” of Thirukkural. He did not call it “aham” literature.
Based on the essence of the subject matters of these kinds
of poems, it should become obvious that Courage is needed in dealing
with Nature and external forces. Love and compassion are needed for living
an ethical and moral life. Although I have been aware of this literature and
have read a few of them with meaning, I did not realize the significance until now.
Poets of these ancient classics make it clear. The “puram”
poems talk about “veeram” (meaning courage, boldness) and aham
emphasizes life of man and woman and their relationship in specific geographic
and seasonal settings. It is more about
physical love.
But, Thirukkural is an “aram” poem which emphasize “arul”
(this l should be pronounced as in clay, means compassion). One other
embellishment to these thoughts is given by another writer. He says that arul
is the term for outward action (loving acts of kindness) that indicates the
inner state of karunai or compassion.
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