Religion in ancient Tamilakam
[1] Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism were the three major religions that prevailed in the Tamil region predating the Common Era, as early as the Sangam period.
[6] Early iconography of Murugan[7] and Thirumal[8][9][10] and their association with native flora and fauna goes back to Indus Valley Civilization.
Tolkappiyam mentions that each of these thinai had an associated deity such Maayon in Mullai—the forests who was considered supreme, Seyyon in Kurinji—the hills, Kotravai in Pālai—the deserts, Ventan/Senon in Marutham—the plains and Varunan/Kadalon in Neithal—the coasts and the seas.
[17][18] He is regarded to be the only deity who enjoyed the status of Paramporul (achieving oneness with Paramatma) during the Sangam age.
Under the influence of the god, women sang and danced, but also read the dim past, predicted the future, diagnosed diseases.
[21] Among the early Tamils the practice of erecting hero stones (nadukkal) had appeared, and it continued for quite a long time after the Sangam age, down to about 11th century.
Theyyam migrates into the artist who has assumed the spirit and it is a belief that the god or goddess comes in the midst of fathering through the medium of possessed dancer.
Theyyam incorporates dance, mime and music and enshrines the rudiments of ancient tribal cultures which attached great importance to the worship of heroes and the spirits of ancestors, is a socio-religious ceremony.
Words meaning 'King', like kō (Tamil: கோ "King"), iṟai (இறை "The One Above All") and āṇḍavan (ஆண்டவன் "Conqueror") now primarily refer to Gods.
[28] These elements were incorporated later into Hinduism like the legendary marriage of Sivan (Sokkanathar, in this avatar) to Queen Meenatchi who ruled Madurai or Vendhan, also known as Indra.
[32] Hinduism in Tamil Nadu finds its earliest literary mention in the Sangam literature as early as the 5th century BCE.
The temples of the Sangam age were built out of perishable materials such as plaster, timber and brick, which is why little trace of them is found today.
[37] The only public structures of any historical importance belonging to this age that have survived to this day are the rock-beds hewn out of natural rock formation, that were made for the ascetics.
[39] Both Jaina and Buddhist texts state that Ājīvikas believed in absolute determinism, absence of free will, and called this niyati.
[43] James Lochtefeld summarizes this aspect of Ajivika belief as, "life and the universe is like a ball of pre-wrapped up string, which unrolls until it was done and then goes no further".
[44] The Ajivikas simply did not believe in the moral force of action, or in merits or demerits, or in after-life to be affected because of what one does or does not do.
He appears to have believed in destiny, nature, and change, and possibly parinama, which may have prompted other philosophical schools to label him variously as ahetuvadin, vainayikavadin, ajnanavadin, and issarakaranavadin.
This culminates in the course of time (samsarasuddhi) in final salvation to which all beings are destined under the impact of the factors of destiny, nature, and change.
According to three Tamil texts,[44] the Ajivikas held there exists seven kayas (Sanskrit: काय, assemblage, collection, elemental categories): pruthvi-kaya (earth), apo-kaya (water), tejo-kaya (fire), vayo-kaya (air), sukha (joy), dukkha (sorrow) and jiva (life).
The Ajivikas then proceeded to justify their belief in determinism and "no free will" by stating that everything experienced – sukha (joy), dukkha (sorrow) and jiva (life) – is mere function of atoms operating under cosmic rules.
All beings, all that have breath, all that are born, all that have life, are without power, or strength, or virtue, but are the result of destiny, chance and nature, and they experience joy and sorrow in six classes".
[47] Despite this ascribed premise of antinomian ethics, both Jain and Buddhist records note that Ājīvikas lived a simple ascetic life, without clothes and any material possessions.
Some scholars believe that the author of the oldest extant work of literature in Tamil (3rd century BCE), Tolkāppiyam, was a Jain.
[54][55][56] It emphatically supports moral vegetarianism (Chapter 26) and states that giving up animal sacrifice is worth more than a thousand offerings in fire (verse 259).
The heritage of the town of Nākappaṭṭinam is found in the Burmese historical text of the 3rd century BCE and gives evidence of a Budha Vihar built by the King Ashoka.
An inscription from Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka dated to 2nd century BCE records the association of Tamil merchants with Buddhist institution.
[61] The Silapatikaram mentions that the monks worshipped Buddha by praising him as the wise, holy and virtuous teacher who adhered to his vows strictly, as the one who subdued anger and all evil passions and as the refuge of all mankind.
In the Buddhist Viharas or monasteries, learned monks preached their sermons, seated in a place which was entirely concealed from the view of the audience.
[1] Christianity was believed to have been introduced in India by St. Thomas the Apostle who landed at Muziris on Malabar Coast in the year 52 CE[citation needed].
[69] The traditional account is that traders from Judea arrived in the city of Cochin, Kerala in 562 BCE, and that more Jews came as exiles from Israel in the year 70 CE after the destruction of the Second Temple.
