It is doubtless that no other
literary work in the world has glorified agriculture as much as
Thirukural. And the people of
the ancient Tamil land had high regards for the farmers' service to
mankind , as read from a couplet in the great work, which points out
that even ascetics would long for their wants, if farmers failed to
till their lands. Though the Tamil classic dedicates an exclusive
chapter on farming and its key role in shaping mankind, the credit of
authoring a comprehensive work on agriculture goes to a 19th
century Tamil poet from the Kongu region.
According
to a tale in Greek mythology, Hades, the king of the underworld,
fell in love with Persephone, the beautiful daughter of Demeter, and
abducted her to his dark land. Though it was a common belief that
one who ate anything in the underworld could not reach the earth
again, Persephone, unable to bear the pangs of hunger, tasted and
swallowed six seeds of pomegranate in the land of Hades. As she did
so, the logic behind the tale informs that Persephone must live the
first six months in the underworld and the following six months on
earth.
When
Persephone appeared on earth, the planet witnessed blooming of
flowers and growing of crops, as the joy of her mother Demeter, the
Goddess of vegetation, knew no bounds. However, when the time came
for Persephone to bid adieu to earth, Demeter worried a lot and the
earth turned unproductive. Legend has it that this was the reason
behind seasonal changes.
But,
the Vellala Puranam, a
literary work on agriculture by Mahavidwan Kandasamy Kavirayar, links
the origin of agriculture with Hindu mythology.
Kandasamy
Kavirayar, who was born at Veerachi Mangalam near Dharapuram in the
Kongu region, penned the work in the 19th
century. The book was first published in 1907 at Nithya
Kalyanasundaram Printing Press in Erode by Naa. Muthusami Pulavar,
who was also a traditional medical practitioner and astrologer in
Kongarpalayam.
Though
Vellala Puranam narrates the
legend of Marabalan or
Vellalan, the first
agriculturist said to be born from river Ganga, flowing from the
matted hair of Lord Shiva, the work admires the virtues of farming
and provides information on everything related to agriculture like
suitable seasons for cultivating crops, methods of irrigation and so
on. Being a handbook even for today's organic farming, Vellala
Puranam provides valuable
information on a variety of traditional agricultural equipment and
the use of manure to improve the soil's fertility.
The
book, which consists of 1373 songs under 29 chapters, says that
Marabalan was married
to Aintree the
daughter of Indira and Tharaniyavathi,
the daughter of Kubera
in heaven.
Vellala Puranam
notes that the four-faced God Brahma created Marabalan
to save human beings from hunger and his descendants spread across
the world as agriculturists.
However,
noted epigraphist and Kongu historian R.Jegadeesan says:
“ With
the portrayal of people ploughing lands in the lyrics of
Pathitrupaththu, a Sangam period
work and the excavation of rain-fed grains in places like Kodumanal
and Porunthal, the history of agriculture in the Kongu region dates
back to the later years of the Neolithic period, when people
experienced the transition from nomadic life to settled community
life”
2)
Kongu Kalanjiyam - Volume II
Link to my article in The New Indian Express : http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/6527533
Hello Sir,
ReplyDeleteNice article. I would like to know more information about Kandasamy Kavirayar. Where we can find the information about him.
Thankyou