Sangam Poetic traditions under the Imperial Cōḻa-s
p. 487-494
Texte intégral
Two inscriptions
Two inscriptions of the Cōḻa period coming from the northern part of Tamilnadu throw interesting light on the influence of Sangam poems in the mediaeval period. The first one dated 1012 CE (27th regnal year) in the reign of Rājarājacōḻa I is found in the Vīraṭṭāṉēśvara temple of Tirukkōyilūr and the other assignable to the 12th cent. is found in the Riṣabhēśvara temple of Chengam in north Arcot District. Both are important from different angles. This paper draws the attention of scholars to the content of these inscriptions and to their relevance to Sangam poetry. The first one was copied by the Governement epigraphist, and published in South Indian Inscriptions.1 And the other copied by TN State Department of Archaeology, when an Epigraphical survey was undertaken under my direction in the Chengam area2.
1The operative part of the first record refers in detail to a gift of villages to the Vīraṭṭāṉa temple at Tirukkōyilūr and provisions made for various services in the temple to be met from the revenue of the endowment. The emperor Rājarāja himself ordered the gift at the request of one Kampaṉ Vītiviṭaṅkaṉ, who also had the title Mahimālaya Muvēndavēḷāṉ. It is thus a royal gift. Kampaṉ Vītiviṭaṅkaṉ served under Rājarāja as a commander and administrator of justice. As the gift was made at his request he gets importance in the record.
Āṟṟuppaṫai format
The inscription of Rājarāja, recorded in Tamil script and language, on the base of the main Vīraṭṭāṉa temple of Tirukkōyilūr is a long poem in āciriyappā meter, running to over two hundred and thirty lines (with some damages in the middle) in the āṟṟuppaṭai format of Sangam literature. There are thousands of inscriptions of Rājarāja found all over Tamilnadu which are in prose form, in the usual inscriptional format, as matter of fact records. But this one is unique and is the only one known, prescribing even the boundaries of gifted lands, taxes, services in the temple, etc. in this poetic format.
2The record starts with an invocation to Sūrya, as annihilator of clouds of darkness (andhaka) and the progenitor of the Cōḻa royal family, in which Rājarāja was born. In addition to the praise, this passage also suggests that the Sun is identical with Śiva who destroyed Andhakāsura,3 an exploit connected with the Tirukkōyilūr Viraṭṭāṉa temple. It also alludes to Rājarāja, born in the solar dynasty, as a destroyer of his enemies who appeared as dark clouds. The inscription continues with the greatness of Rājarāja and his prowess, and conquests4. Following this, the inscription proceeds, in well laid out parts, to describe Rājarāja´s mother, Vāṉavaṉ mahādēvī5, the glory of the family of Malaiyamāṉ in which she was born, the greatness of Tirukkōyilūr, the river Peṇṇai that passes through this town, and the hilly boulder on which Kapilar, the Sangam poet left his mortal coils, the sanctity of the temple of Vīraṭṭāṉēśvara Śiva to which gift of lands were made and the services and payment. Finally it praises the Commander Kampaṉ Vītiviṭaṅkaṉ who was responsible for the donation. Praising Kampaṉ the inscription ends as "He the Chief of Poṉṉi nāṭu".
3Without going into the details of the gift, etc., this study will confine itself to the parts that are relevant to the present essay.
Tirukkōyilūr Pāṫṫu
The poem ends in the Āṟṟupaṭai tradition, praising the liberal patron Kampaṉ as the chief of Poṉṉi Nāṭu, (Kāvēri region) full of water resources, that bestows prosperity: Taṫa nīr nalam taru poṉṉi nāṫu kiḻavōṉē. It is well known that some of the ten idylls of the Sangam anthology (Pattup-pāṭṭu)6 end in this manner:
Malai-paṭu-kaṭām, which ends as kuṉṟu-cūḻ-irukkai-nāṫu kiḻavōṉē
Perum-pāṇ-āṟṟuppaṭai, that ends as oḷiṟu ilaṅku aruviya malai kiḻavōṉē
Porunar- āṟṟuppaṭai that ends as kāviri purakku nāṫu kiḻavōṉē and finally
Tiru-muruk-āṟṟuppaṭai, that ends as Paḻamutir-cōlai-malai kiḻavōṉē.
The ending of this inscriptional poem as Poṉṉi-nāṭu kiḻavōṉē leaves no doubt that the whole composition is based on the model of Sangam poems. This must be viewed in the light of reference to the famous poet Kapilar of the Sangam anthologies in the body of the text of this inscription. In analogy with Sangam poems like Kuriñcippāṭṭu and Mullaippāṭṭu, in the Pattup pāṭṭu collection, it would be appropriate to call the Tirukkōyilūr inscription of Rājarāja "Tirukkōyilūr pāṫṫu".7
Kapilar and Pāri
The mention of the poet Kapilar in the inscription of Rājarāja deserves greater attention. This place is associated with Kapilar, a great friend of Pāri, one of the seven celebrated patrons of the Sangam age. Pāri died in a battle with the three crowned kings of Tamilnad leaving his two daughters orphans. Kapilar took under his protection the two girls, visited the courts of the three kings and entreated them to marry them, but all of them refused. Finally he reached Tirukkōyilūr and persuaded Malaiyamāṉ to marry. This is alluded to in the Sangam poems and also later tradition. Thus Kapilar was closely connected with Tirukkōyilūr. The poems sung by the daughters of Pāri are included in the Puṟanāṉūṟu collections8. They are seen lamenting the death of their father and their pitiable state. Kapilar was moved by the death of his friend Pāri and taking pity on the girls sings the situation in moving poems. There are several poems in the Puṟam collection mentioning this poignant situation that would not fail to move any reader. This inscription of Tirukkōyilūr mentions the poet Kapilar, and the marriage of Pāri´s daughter to Malaiyamāṉ and adds more information not known from any other source about the poet Kapilar. It says that having ensured the safety of Pāri´s daughter he decided to ascend heaven and attain liberation and immolated himself on a rocky boulder on the river Peṇṇai near the Vīraṭṭāṉa temple.
"Kapilar rock" (Kapilak kal)
The relevant portion of the record reads as follows.
"Moy vaitiyalum muttamiḻ nāṉmai
Teyvak kavitai ceñcoṟ kapilaṉ
Mūṟi vañ taṫakkai pāri taṉ aṫaikkalap
Peññai malaiyarkku utavip peññai
Alai puṉal aḻuvattu antarikṣam cella
Miṉal pukum vicumpu pēr eṇṇi
Kaṉal pukum kapilak kal atu"
i.e. "Kapilar, the composer of classical divine poems, abounding in three Tamils (iyal, icai, and nāṭakam — poetry, music and dance), presented the great Pāri´s daughter, now under his protection, to Malaiyamāṉ. Having accomplished it he decided to ascend heaven through the sky, sparkled by lightning and attain salvation. Kapilar leaped into a glowing fire and immolated himself, on the boulder called Kapilak-kal (Kapilar rock) on the banks of the Peṇṇai waters"
The inscription calls Kapilar´s poems, "teyvak kavitai", divine poems, abounding in poetry, music, and dance. Obviously the verses of Kapilar in the Sangam collections were extolled as divine poems in the mediaeval period. Kapilar´s poetic talent and also his mastery of music and dance, are referred to in his own poems of the Sangam age, like the Kuriñcip pāṭṭu, while mentioning an accomplished musician playing tunes like naivaḷam (lines 146-152) and to a dexterous dancing girl who dances to sweet music "iṉṉicai karaṅka āṭum makaḷ" (line 193).
The inscription corroborates what is found in the Sangam poems.
Aṟṟait tiṅkaḷ av veḷ nilaviṉ
Entaiyum uṭaiyēm em kuṉṟum piṟar koḷḷār
Iṟṟait tiṅkaḷ iv veḷ nilaviṉ
Veṉṟu eṟi muraciṉ vēntar em
Kuṉṟum koṇṭār yām entaiyum ilamē9
These Puṟam lines of Pāri´s daughters "that our father was alive on the other full moon day and there was none dared to take over our hill, but this full moon day our hill has been captured and we have lost our father" show the pitiable condition of the girls. Similarly the following lines of a Puṟam poem by Kapilar tell that he was a great friend of Pāri10 and that his daughters were under his protection.
ivar yār eṉkuvai āyiṉ ivarē
ūr uṭaṉ iravalarkku aruḷi tēr uṭaṉ
mullaikku ītta cellā nal icai
paṭu maṇi yāṉai paṟampiṉ kōmāṉ
neṭu māp pāri makaḷir yāṉē
tantai tōḻaṉ ivar eṉ makaḷir
antaṇaṉ pulavaṉ koṇṭu vantaṉaṉē 11 (Puṟam. 201, 1-7)
i.e "If you ask me who these girls are I shall tell you they are the daughters of the great and far famed Pāri, the chieftain of Parambu country, who gifted his villages to ministrels and his chariot to the jasmine (mullai) creeper. I am the friend of the father of these girls. They are indeed my daughters. I am a Brahmin poet who has brought them here"
says Kapilar in his own words in the Puṟam verse. This is corroborated in the lines of the inscription when it says "Pāri taṉ aṭaikkalap peṇṇai Malaiyārkku utavi".
Marriage of Pārís daughter
That one of Pāri´s daughters was given in marriage to Malaiyamān is mentioned also in a few stray Tamil verses, found in12 Tamiḻ Nāvalar Caritai. One verse is an invitation to the Cēra ruler to come with presents to Tirukkōyilūr to attend the marriage of Pāri´s daughter, as the king has consented to marry her. The name of Pāri´s daughter is given as Aṅkavai. (A Variant reading of the verse also mentions the name of the other daughter Caṅkavai). Another poem attributed to the Poetess Avvaiyār is an invitation to the Pāṇṭiya king to attend the marriage scheduled on the 18th day with presents13. It is known that all the three kings of the Tamil Country Cēra, Cōḻa and Pāṇṭiya attended the marriage of Pāri´s daughter14. Another poem of significance addresses god Varuṇa that he should benevolently pour rains of gold, at the great marrige at Kōvalūr, excluding only the waters poured over the burial urn of Pāri15. All these poems clearly confirm that Kapilar got the marriage of Pāri´s daughter to Malaiyamāṉ performed at Kōvalūr (alias Tirukkōyilūr) that attained celebrity. All these get pointed reference in the inscription. Evidently these seem also to confer historicity to the events connected with Kapilar. The other historic episode connected with Kapilar, but not known so far from any other source, is that, having completed his life´s mission, he gave up his life by falling into a burning fire on top of the boulder, near the Vīraṭṭāṉa temple .
Death of Rājarājás mother
Almost one thousand years later Rājarāja´s mother Vāṉavaṉ mahādēvī immolated herself on the funeral pyre of her husband Cuntara Cōḻaṉ, leaving an infant child.16 This episode is mentioned in this record alone. Rājarāja´s mother was born in the family of Malayamāṉ-s of Tirukkōyilūr who had an unbroken lineage from the Sangam age17. There is also a clear suggestion that she hailed from the lineage of Pāri on her mother´s side18. Rājarāja obviously had in his vein the lineage of two of the greatest chiefs of the Sangam age, Malaiyamāṉ and Pāri, both liberal patrons of Sangam poets. There is no doubt this unique parentage inspired Rājarāja to compose his inscription in the Sangam tradition. Incidentally this also shows that the Sangam tradition continued in the 11th century under the Cōḻa-s.
Malai kaṭām Pāṭṭu
I have mentioned that there exists a poem inscribed in the Riṣabhēśvara temple of Chengam and the record refers to Malai kaṭām pāṭṭu. The record is in Cōḻa characters of 12th cent Tamil script in Tamil language. It does not refer to the ruler but there are inscriptions of the later Cōḻa-s in the same temple and that the inscription is in 12-th century characters brings it under the mediaeval period. It is in praise of a chief Gaṅgēya and his prowess in Veṇpā meter. The record reads: -
Mūvēntar tār maṉṉarai malaip paṭait teṉ maṉṉarai
Veṇkaṇṫa tiṟal kaṇkar kōmāṉ kaṇ civappa paṇṫē
malai kaṫām pāṫṫuṇṫa mālnavarai ceñcōṟi
alai kaṫām pāṫṫuṇṫatē 19
"When the eyes of the Ganga chief,
The conqueror of the crowned kings three
And more so the victorious ruler
Pandya of mountain ranges like army,
Turned red with merciless anger
The great Navirai hill, that received
Praises in days of yore, in
The song Malai kaṫām pāṫṫu,
Was reddened with waves of blood
(Of the vanquished).
I have published a note on this inscription in Kalvettu Quarterly no 5, p. 13. The reference to Malai kaṭām pāṭṭu of the Sangam age Pattup pāṭṭu anthology is of equal interest like the Tirukkōyilūr record. In the manuscripts of the Pattup pāṭṭu collection, edited by U.V.Swaminatha Iyer, the title of the poem is given as "Malai paṭu kaṭām", but the inscription calls it "Malai kaṭām pāṭṭu". In all probability the original title of the poem was "Malai kaṭām pāṭṭu", as attested by the inscription. The village Chengam (Ceṅkam), not far away from Tirukkōyilūr, situated near the hill Navirai Malai is well known (it is now a taluk headquarters). Chengam was then known as Ceṅkaṇmā and is mentioned in the literature. Both these inscriptions point clearly to the influence of the Sangam poetic tradition very much alive in this region in the Cōḻa age. These two decidedly provide firm historicity to Sangam personalities.
Interest in Sangam poems
The above may be read against the background of other poems of the age. Nampi Āṇṭār Nampi, a poet of great merit who is said to have helped Rājarāja Cōḻa to discover Tēvaram Hymns at the Chidambaram temple, has composed a long poem in Sangam tradition on Ñāṉacampantar, that goes by the name Āḷuṭaiya-Piḷḷai Tiruttokai. Nambi´s interest in Sangam poems is also attested by another source. The Saiva saint Cuntarar, assigned to the 8th cent., lists 63 Saiva saints in his Tiruttoṇṭat Tokai (Tēvāram, 7-39), giving brief notes on their specific devotion on which Cēkkiḻār later elaborated in his Periya-purāṇam. Cundarar mentions "poy aṭimai illāta pulavar" in his list but it is not clear whether the reference is to a number of poets or to a single poet. The expression poy aṭimai illāta pulavar can be interpreted in two ways: as pseudo-devotees, or as devotees who are not slaves to false precepts. Whatever be the meaning, it clearly emphasizes true devotion. Nampi Āṇṭār Nampi enlarges the lives of saints furnished by Cuntarar in the 10th cent in his Tiruttoṇṭar Tiruvantāti by providing more information on each saint. Nambi takes the expression poy aṭimai illāta pulavar as referring to a group of poets and not to a single poet. According to Nampi the term refers to forty-nine poets of the Tamil Sangam of Madurai led by Kapilar, Paraṇar, and Nakkīrar, who were great Saiva devotees. A free rendering of Nambi´s poem would read:
Taraṇiyil poymai ilāt tamiḻc caṅkam atil Kapilar
Paraṇar Nakkīrar mutal nārpattoṉpatu pal pulavōr
Aruḷ namakku īyum Tiru Ālavāy araṉ cēvaṭikkē
Poruḷ amaittu inpakkavi pala pāṭum pulavarkaḷē
´The poets singing many delightful poems dedicated to the sacred feet of Hara of Tiru Ālavāy (Madurai), bestowing grace on us, are forty nine in number led by Kapilar, Paraṇar, and Nakkīrar at the Tamil Sangam of the world that knows no falsehood´.
It may be noted that Nampi makes specific reference to forty-nine poets of the Tamil Sangam led by Kapilar, Paraṇar, and Nakkīrar. Incidentally he seems to be the first to give the title ´World Tamil Sangam´ (Taraṇiyil Tamiḻc Caṅkam). There could be no doubt that the reference is to the well known Sangam as Nambi mentions the names of Kapilar, Paraṇar, and Nakkīrar. The fact that Nampi is considered to be a contemporary of Rājarāja Cōḻa in whose inscriptions at Tirukkōyilūr Kapilar finds mention, deserves attention. It illustrates that mediaeval poets held Kapilar, Paraṇar, and Nakkīrar in great veneration as Devotees of Siva.
4Cēkkiḻār, who wrote his Periya Purāṇam on the base of Cuntarar´s Tiruttoṇṭat Tokai and Nampi Āṇṭār Nampi´s Tiruttoṇṭar Tiruvantāti, does not say specifically whether the expression poy aṭimai illāta pulavar refers to a single poet or to a group of poets, but he seems to lean on the idea that it refers to a single poet. In other words he does not refer to the Sangam poems, but elaborates on the term in an interesting manner.
The poets having determined clearly the meanings of words in classical poems and also the multiple layers of meanings in exalted texts came to the conclusion that they point to the lotus feet of Nīlakāṇṭa as the true import of all of them, became his true devotees, attained the fame "the Flawless Poets" and were not swayed by falsehood.
In the next verse Cēkkiḻār says that these poets attained fame by singing none but Siva with devotion in their poems. According to him, it is the path of Siva that is the true import (mey uṇarvu) of all great poems while the others lack the truth (Poy uṇarvu). That is how he interprets poy aṭimai illāta pulavar. There is no mention of Kapilar, Paraṇar or Nakkīrar in this context in Cēkkiḻār’s poems but he says they were eminent scholars who studied classical poems and literature, and who came to the conclusion that Civa neṟi is the end result of all true exposition. This suggests that there was analytical study of ancient literature in his time.
5Two other poems assignable to the same age, Tiru Kaṇṇappa Tēvar Tirumaṟam and Kōpappiracātam, both ascribed to Nakkīra Tēvar, follow the same tradition. Moreover, the existence of a commentary on the Puṟanāṉūṟu by an anonymous author and the activities of the commentator par excellence, Nacciṉārkkiṉiyar on Sangam works also show that Sangam Poems were greatly studied in the mediaeval period. To this list may be added the commentary of Arumpatavurai Āciriyar on Cilappatikāram, followed by Aṭiyārkku nallār who verbatim quotes him.
19th and 20th century revival
There has clearly been a continuing interest in the Sangam classics, as evidenced by these two inscriptions and other works cited. Almost thousand years later, the 19th and 20th century witnessed a new dimension in this tradition with the Western translations by G.U. Pope of some Sangam poems, like those included in the book Tamil Heroic Poems, and also the translation of Dr. François Gros, Le Paripāṭal20. This has been further enlarged by critical studies by a galaxy of eminent Western Scholars like John Marr,21 Kamil Zvelebil and a host of others.
6Another important trend that deserves attention is the role of epigraphy. The works of such eminent scholars like R. Raghava Aiyangar22 and Sri K.V. Subramanya Iyer in the first half of the 20th cent and in recent years by Iravatham Mahadevan,23 myself24 and Mr R. Krishnamurti25 (Dinamalar) have brought to light important epigraphical and numismatic discoveries bearing on some of the important kings of Sangam like the Sangam Cēra-s, Atiyamāṉ Neṭumāṉ Añci, inscribed coins with the names of Sangam kings like Kollippoṟai, Peruvaḻuti, Mākkōtai, Kuṭṭuvaṉ kōtai and others have further kindled interest in the Sangam poems. These are certainly landmarks in 2000 year old literary traditions that deserve attention.
Notes de bas de page
1 South Indian Inscriptions, Vol. N° VII, n° 863.
2 Ceṅkam Naṭukaṟkaḷ (Tam) Ed Nagaswamy R., Pub. by Tamilnadu State Department of Archaeology, Madras.1972
3 "Jaya jaya veṉṉum… . moḻi
paṇṇiyal vāymaiyiṟ paṇṇiya
poṉṉiyal vicumparil kataḻum pacumpari
veḷḷulai neṭuñcuvaṟṟu eṭutta kuṟuntunaip patuṅka
nallurap poṉ ñāṉ vallura vacca
taṉikkāl aracu maṉakkāl kaṅkul
kuḻampu paṭu pēriruḷ piḻampu paṭa uruṭṭiya
ceñcuṭar mauli veṇcuṭar vāṉavaṉ"
vaḻi mutal vanta mahipati" (Tirukkōyilūr Inscription, lines 1-8)
[Ceñcuṭar mauli veṇcuṭar vāṉavaṉ denotes: 1) one who has reddish flames as halo on his head, and 2.) Śiva of white complexion with reddish jatā makuṭa]
4 Rājarāja´s conquest of Pāṇḍya, Chera, Gaṅgapāḍi, Udagamaṇḍalam, Koṅgam and Īḻamaṇḍalam are mentioned. Rājarāja is given the following titles: Mahipati, Adhipati, Narapati, Aśvapati, Gajapati, Indra samāṉaṉ, Rāja-sarvajña, Caṇḍa-parākrama, Tamiḻ-nāṭaṉ, Kaṇṭaṉ.
5 "Rājarājaṉ rājasarvajñaṉ eṉṉum // puliyaip payanta peṇ-māṉ"
6 Pattup pāṭṭu, Ed U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, Madras, 7th edition, 1974.
7 R. Nagaswamy, Colmalai (Tam), pub. by Tamil Arts Academy, Madras, 2000, pp 75-90.
8 Puṟanāṉūṟu, U.V. Swaminatha Iyer (Ed.), Madras, 6th edition, 1963.
9 Puṟam, 112, lines 1-5
10 "yāṉē tantai taṉ tōḻaṉ ivar eṉ makaḷir"
11 Puṟam, 201 lines 1-7
12 "cēralarkōṉ cēral ceḻumpat tirukkōval // ūr aḷavum tān varuka uṭkātē Pārimakaḷ // aṅkavaiyai koḷḷa aracaṉ maṉam iyaintāṉ // caṅkiyātē varuka tāṉ" (Tamiḻ nāvalar caritai)
13 "………… ..taiyarkku
vēṇṭuvaṉa koṇṭu viṭiyal patineṭṭām nāḷ
īṇṭu varuka iyaintu" (ibid)
14 "cēraṉum cōḻaṉum pāṇṭiyaṉum
maṅkaikku arukiṭa vantu niṉṟār maṇap pantalilē" (ibid.)
15 "karuṇaiyāl inta kaṭal ulakam kākkum
varuṇanē māvalaiyāṉ kōval perumaṇattu
naṉ pāri tāḻi koṇṭa naṉ nīr atu tavirttu
poṉ māriyāka poḻi" - (ibid)
16 "Indra samāṉaṉ rājasarvajñaṉ eṉṉum
puliyaip payanta peṇmāṉ
kaliyaik karantu karavāk kārikai curanta
mulaimakaḷ pirintu muḻaṅkeri naṭuvaṉum
talaimakaṭ piriyāt taiyaḷ
……… .
cuntara cōḻaṉ mantara tāraṉ
tiruppuyam muyaṅkum tēvi viruppuṭaṉ
vantutitaruḷiya malaiyar tirukkulattōr" (Tirukkōyilūr inscription lines)
There are two parts in the first two lines of this inscription: 1) the first part speaks of Vāṉavaṉ Mādēvī as a delicate and tender deer, who gave birth to a tiger. It points out that she as a mother gave birth to a valourous son Rājarāja. 2) It alludes to the Cōḻa lineage that had the tiger as their royal insignia.
The later half of the inscriptions mentions that Vāṉavaṉ Mādēvī left behind a suckling baby, and entered the funeral fire of her husband, in a beautiful poetic way
17 Malaiyamāṉ-s, celebrated in Sangam literature, continued to have Tirukkōyilūr as a capital almost till modern times.
18 As Pāri´s daughter was married to Malaiyamāṉ, Vāṉa mādēvī was born in the line of Pāri through her mother´s side.
19 Malai kaṭām pāṭṭu (in Tam.) in Kalveṭṭu issue no 5, Quarterly Journal of the Tamil nadu State Department of archaeology.
20 François Gros, Le Paripāṭal, French Institute of Indology, Pondicherry, 1968.
21 John Marr, 1985, The eight Anthologies, [Thesis written in 1958], Institute of Asian Studies, Madras.
22 R. Raghava Iyengar, Vañci mānakar, Madras, 1932.
23 Mahadevan, Iravatham. "Corpus of Tamil brahmi Inscriptions", Seminar on Inscriptions, Madras, 1967.
24 Nagaswamy, R. 1. "Asoka and the Tamil Country: a new link", The Indian Express, 6-12-1981; 2. "Sangam Age Chera Coins Found", The Hindu, 8-11-1987. 3. Roman Karur, Brahad Prakashan, Madras, 1995.
25 Krishnamurti, R. "A rare Sangam period Cōḻa coin", in Studies in South Indian Coins, vol. I 1991, Pandya Peruvaluthi coin, (Tam), Madras; Late Roman Copper Coin from South India, Madras, 1994
Auteur
-
R. Nagaswamy
Ramachandran Nagaswamy (b.1930) obtained Master’s degree in Sanskrit language and literature (Madras) and PhD in Indian arts (Poona). Fields of specialization: Art, Archaeology, Architecture, Literature, Epigraphy, Paleography, Numismatics, Temple rituals and philosophy, Ancient law and society, Music and Dance. Served as Curator for Art and Archaeology, Madras Museum (1959-63) and later joined the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology as Assistant Special Officer (1963-65) and became the First Director of Archaeology of the State and held that post till retirement (1966-88). Served as Head of the Epigraphy Program, EFEO Pondichery, and Consultant Government of India, Documentation of Cultural property (under the UNESCO program), under Indra Gandhi National Center for the Arts, Tanjavur Brahadisvara Project. Popularized Archaeology in Tamil Nadu, especially among Children through publications. Carried out Under Sea Archaeological Survey off the Coast of Pumpuhar for the first time in Tamil Nadu. An acknowledged International Expert on South Indian Bronzes appeared as an Expert Witness in the London high Court, in the London Nataraja case. Has started the now famous Chidambaram Natyanjali Festival, 24 years ago with Kapila Vatsyayana. Organized an International Conference on Arts and Religion at Chidambaram in 2001, The proceedings Edited and published under the title "Foundations of Indian Arts". Organized several exhibitions including the one at the National Museum New Delhi in 1983 during the Non Allied Summit Meet. Conducted Excavations at important places like Kārūr, Alagankulam, Korkai, Gangaikonda chola puram etc. Published several books including Masterpieces of South Indian Bronzes [1983], Siva Bhakti [1989], Tantric Cult in Tamil Nadu [1982], Uttaramerur [1970] (in French, jointly with F. Gros) and Facets of South Indian Art and Architecture.
Le texte seul est utilisable sous licence Licence OpenEdition Books. Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.
La création d'une iconographie sivaïte narrative
Incarnations du dieu dans les temples pallava construits
Valérie Gillet
2010
Bibliotheca Malabarica
Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg's Tamil Library
Bartholomaus Will Sweetman et R. Ilakkuvan (éd.) Will Sweetman et R. Ilakkuvan (trad.)
2012
