Tambraparni Mahatmiyam

"தாமிரபரணி மகாத்மியம்' 

 ரேடியோவில் ஒலிபரப்பு

திருநெல்வேலி, செப்டம்பர் பத்தொன்பது 

               'தாமிரபரணி மகாத்மியம்' குறித்த தகவல்கள் செவ்வாய் தோறும் திருநெல்வேலி ரேடியோவில் ஒலிபரப்பப்படுகிறது,
               'தாமிரபரணி மகாத்மியம்' வேதவியாச பகவானால் எழுதப்பட்ட மிகப்பழமையான் நூலாகும். ஆழ்வார்கள், நாயன்மார்கள் காலத்திற்கு முற்பட்ட இந்நூல் சைவ, வைணவ ஒற்றுமைக்கு எடுத்துக்காட்டாக விளங்குகிறது. இதில் தாமிரபரணியின் உற்பத்தி, உபநதிகளின் உற்பத்தி, ஸ்தல மகாத்மியங்கள், பண்டைய மன்னர்களின் சரித்திரம், கோயில்களின் வரலாறுகள் போன்றவை அடங்கியுள்ளன.
               புதையல் போல் இருந்த இந்த அரிய நூலில் உள்ள செய்திகள் திருநெல்வேலி ரேடியோ நிலையம் சார்பில் கடந்த ஆறாம் தேதி முதல் ஒவ்வொரு செவ்வாய்க்கிழமையும் காலை ஒன்பது முதல் ஒன்பதரை மணி வரை ஒலிபரப்பப்படுகிறது. இருவர் உரையாடுவதுபோல ஒலிபரப்பாகும் இந்த நிகழ்ச்சியில் இசை மற்றும் சமஸ்கிருத ஸ்லோகங்களும் இடம் பெறுகின்றன. இதை கேட்பதன் மூலம் தாமிரபரணியின் பழமையான் வரலாறுகளையும், அதன் சரித்திர பெருமைகளையும் தெரிந்து கொள்ளலாம்.
               சுத்தமல்லியை சேர்ந்த சமஸ்கிருத பாடசாலை மாணவர்களின் ஸ்லோகமும், கர்நாடக சங்கீத பாணியியில் தாமிரபரணியை பற்றிய இசைப்பாடல்களும் இடம் பெறுகின்றன. தாமிரபரணி மகாத்மியத்தை சங்கர்ராம் தொகுத்து வழங்கியுள்ளார். உமா கனகராஜ் நிகழ்ச்சிகளை ஒருங்கிணைத்துள்ளார்.


குறிப்பு: மேற்கண்ட செய்தி தினமலர் நாளிதழில் வெளியானது. இந்த நிகழ்ச்சியின் பொருளைப்பற்றிய மேல்விவரங்களும், குறிப்பாக தாமிரபரணியைப் பற்றிய சரித்திர, மற்றும் புராண, இலக்கிய விவரங்கள் பற்றியும் இந்த நிகழ்ச்சியை உருவாக்கியவர்களிடம் தெரிந்து கொண்டு இந்த 'ப்ளாக்" மூலம் வெளியுலகிற்கு கொண்டுவர முயற்சி செய்கிறேன்.
சுத்தமல்லி மாணவர்களை அணுகி விசாரித்ததில், அவர்கள் மொத்தம் ஐம்பத்தைந்து ஸ்லோகங்கள் இந்த நிகழ்ச்சிக்காக பதிவு செய்திருப்பதாகவும் இதுவரை பன்னிரண்டு ஸ்லோகங்கள் ஒலிபரப்பப்பட்டிருப்பதாகவும் கூறினார்கள்.

Shri Gomathi Sankara Dikshitar

I consider it a great previlege to start my write up with one of the great sons of Tambraparni. Shri Gomathi Sankara Dikshitar, known to me as 'Thatha' (the grand father and a grand seer), was a true Gandhian throughout his life and lived as an iconic replica of the Father of the Nation. For persons like me who did not have the opportunity of seeing Gandhiji, Shri Dikshitar was a great source of inspiration. I had the great fortune of knowing him personally, as a friend and classmate of his grandson, and had spent a few hours each day in his house. That had given me some idea as to how Gandhiji would have been and would have faced situations. I am proud of being not only his contemporary but someone who had seen and moved with him in close quarters.

Shri Dikshitar belonged to Kallidaikurichi but moved and settled in Sermadevi (Cheranmahadevi). I was born in Kallidaikurichi and my family moved and settled in Sermadevi, in the same street where Shri Dikshitar lived. And there ends the comparison! Shri Dikshitar took part in the freedom struggle and followed the principles of Gandhiji. Clad in his white Khadi dhoti and shirt he lived a simple life and depended on his feet for transportation. After India became a Democratic Republic Shri Dikshitar was the Member of the the Madras Legislative Assembly for three terms. Though an independent represented the Ambasamudram constituency from 1952, ever since Shri Dikshitar contested the election in 1957 representing the Congress Party under the stewardship of Shri Kamaraj and later Shri Bhaktavatsalam, he got elected with a thumping majority each time and served the constituency for three continuous terms (1957/1962/1967) of 5 years each. It is to be noted here that during the 1967 election when DMK swept the electioneering proceeds and formed its own government, the Ambasamudram constituency rested its faith on Shri Dikshitar.

Shri Dikshitar led a spartan life and worked for the constituency, unlike a few politicians in those days and a majority of them in the present day who consider politics as an easy route to feather their nest. Shri Dikshitar's children or grandchildren did not bask under his glory but lived true to the the grand person's ideals and worked hard and made their life according to their own personal abilities. One of his sons Shri Mahadevan was managing, in the capacity as a warden, the "Harijan hostel' in Cheranmahadevi that was originally started by Shri V.V.S. Iyer, a freedom fighter that came later under the trusteeship of Gandhiji after the untimely death of Shri Iyer. Presently it is being run by Shri Ramakrishna Tapovanam with the title "Bharadwaja Ashramam".

The popular phrase ' vox populi vox Dei ' (the voice of the people is the voice of God) had only remained as a political slogan to many politicians to wrest the benefits by mesmerising the gullible public with catchy slogans and empty promises. But it was life and breath for Shri Dikshitar. He used to listen with concern and care of any representation from the people of his constituency and attended to them with sincerity. Cheranmahadevi got the benefit of getting a causeway across the river Tambraparni during the tenure of Shri Dishitar. It was inaugurated by none other than Shri Jayachamaraja Wodiyar, the Maharaja of Mysore who was the then governor of Madras state. The causeway cuts short the distance to Tirunelveli, particularly to the Tirunelveli Town and Pettai and provides easy access to all villages on the other bank of the river.

A few samples of the adjournment motions brought by Shri Dikshitar in the assembly:
a) To discuss about the Land Grab Movement in Tamil Nadu and the consequences thereon. (25 Aug 1970)
b) The inconvenience caused to the students from 6th to 11th Standards due to the non-availability of text-books and also due to defects and mistakes in the text-books and the need to take immediate steps to make available to all students properly printed text-books in time. (29 Aug 1970)
c) The closure Hindu National College at Sirugalathur following the Madras University's announcement that the approval given to the College for running the Pre-University Course had lapsed. (29 Aug 1970)
d) The inconvenience caused to the travelling public due to the inadequacy of State Transport buses in the City of Madras and the need to introduce more buses especially during peak hours and relieve the hardship caused to the public. (2 Sep 1970)
e) To discuss about the situation created by students strike and the lathi charge by the police at Madras on 27 Jan 1969. (28 Jan 1969)

A few samples of the statements made by the concerned ministers for questions raised by Shri Dikshitar, under Rule 41 of the Assembly:
a) Statement by Tirumathi Satyavanimuthu -- The grave water shortage likely to arise in the City of Madras this year. (26 Feb 1969)
b) Statement by S. Madhavan -- The non-payment of salaries to the teachers working in Panchayat Union Schools of Udankudi, Radhapuram, Sankarankoil and Ambasamudram in Tirunelveli District. (1 Mar 1969)
c) Statement by S. Madhavan -- The plight of Sanskrit teachers in the State consequent on the adoption of the two language formula.(5 Mar 1969)
d) Statement by A. Govindaswamy -- The delay in the distribution of new ration cards and the consequences thereof. (11 Mar 1969)

Ref: http://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/archive/Resumes/04assly/04_04.pdf
       http://www.assembly.tn.gov.in/archive/Resumes/04assly/04_08.pdf

As a proof that Shri Dikshitar lives in the heart of the people of his constituency an old-age home is being run for the past twenty-six years in Kallidaikurichi, Tirunelveli District called the 'Charanalaya' to perpetuate the memory of one of the proud sons of Tambraparni. Readers may get more information on the 'home' from the site: http://www.charanalaya.com/

I conclude with my humble obeissance to this lofty personality. May his tribe flourish and remain beacons of honesty, integrity and simplicity.

Pearls from Tambraparni

Having my first posting on the River Tambraparni, I plan to devote my subsequent postings on all great sons, spiritual seekers, all happenings, all important attractions for tourists including health resorts, wild life sanctuary, religious places and beaches, on scholars, on art and architecture lovers and contributors, industrialists,  contribution to the Tamil Literature and Culture, participation in freedom struggle, on unique and popular items like the Tirunelveli Halwa, the Pattamadai Silken mat -- all of them the gift of mother Tambraparni and the fertile soil she helps to grow everything for our needs.

Tambraparni

The river Tambraparni originates from the western ghats of South India in an area within the undivided Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu (part of the composite Madras state). It is a small river flowing through a distance of about seventy miles (112 kilometers), however, a perennial river irrigating and providing water for all the needs of the people of the district. People of the district were proud of a river exclusively flowing for them -- no interstate or even inter-district issues involved in sharing water. That is history now since the district has been divided and a new district called Tuticorin District has been carved out.

More information on the river can be had from the "Gazeteer of South India". The following is the excerpt from the above reference with additional information for the readers.


Excerpts from "Gazeteer of South India" by W. Francis et. al, pp.179-180.

http://tinyurl.com/35gj7jm

QUOTE

Tambraparni: A river in Tinnevelly District, Madras. The derivation of the name has been much discussed. One etymology is from the Sanskrit tamara, 'copper' and varna, 'colour', from the colour of the sand in its bed. It rises on the slopes of the peak Agastyamalai in the Western Ghats in 8 Deg 37 Min N and 77 Deg 15 Min E, and after a course of some miles through this range descends to the plains in five beautiful falls at Papanasam, a very sacred spot. Higher up, in the heart of the hills, it forms another falls called the Bana-tirtham, which is equally sacred but, being with difficulty accessible, is less frequented. From Papanasam it runs eastward across Tinnevelly District, receiving as it goes a number of tributaries which, like itself, rise in the ghats. The chief of these is the Chittar, 45 miles long. It eventually falls into the gulf of Mannar in 8 Deg 40 Min N and 78 Deg 9 Min E, after a course of 70 miles, during which it drains 1739 square miles.

The Tambraparni receives a supply from both monsoons, and is thus almost a perennial stream and of great use for irrigation. Eight dams across it. Seven of these were made by former native governments and are believed to date from the fifteenth century. The eighth and lowest, at Srivaikuntam, was suggested by Mr. Puckle, a former Collector, and was begun in 1867. It is 1,380 feet long, and feeds channels on both banks of the river, which fill a large series of tanks in which the supply was formerly precarious, and also water other land directly. The irrigation revenue has by this means been raised from Rs. 80,000 to over 2 lakhs, which gives a return of over 6 per cent on the capital of 15 lakhs laid out on the system. The Marudur dam, higher up the stream, irrigates on an average 30,000 acres of first and second crop, and the other six water 71,000 acres between them. One-tenth of all the irrigable area in Tinnevelly depends upon the river. Its vally is the wealthiest portion of the District, and the land there is some of the most valuable in the Presidency.

Several of the chief towns of the District stand upon the banks of the Tambraparni. Five miles below Papanasam are Ambasamudram and Kallidaikurichi, opposite one another and connected by a bridge built by public subscription in 1840; 20 miles farther down Tinnevelly and Palamcottah are similarly connected by the Sulochana bridge, built in 1844 by Sulochana Mudaliyar, a rich landowner and high official of the District; and there is a third bridge over the Srivaikuntam dam. Near the mouth of the river is Kolkai, the first capital of the Pandyas, the earliest seat of Dravidian civilization, and once a famous seaport. The silt from the river ruined its career as a port and it is now five miles from the sea; its place was taken by Kayal, where Marco Polo landed, but this also silted up and the Portugese then established Tuticorin as the chief port on this coast. The pearl and 'chank' (Turbinella rapa) fisheries off the mouth of the Tambraparni were once very famous and are frequently mentioned in early Tamil literature.

UNQUOTE