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Read two interesting pieces from @RamanujaOrg regarding Tamil:
First, Nanjīyar’s defense of Tamil’s sanctity in Hinduism after some expressed opposition as to why Āzhvār-s’ pāsuram-s & Tamil should be equivalent with the Vedas & Sanskrit, respectively.
https://ramanuja.org/sri/BhaktiListArchives/Article?p=jan98%2F0012.html
First, Nanjīyar’s defense of Tamil’s sanctity in Hinduism after some expressed opposition as to why Āzhvār-s’ pāsuram-s & Tamil should be equivalent with the Vedas & Sanskrit, respectively.
https://ramanuja.org/sri/BhaktiListArchives/Article?p=jan98%2F0012.html
As Nanjīyar argues in Onpathināyirappati, “learned men who do not know Tamil actually regret that they do not have the good fortune to know it” (quoting from the article). Not to be undone, by Nanjīyar, Periyavāccān Pillai & Azhagiya Manavāla Perumal Nāyānār also defend Tamil.
Periyavāccān Pillai in “his
commentary on Thirunedunthantakam strongly argues against those who
want Sanskrit first, since Tamil is an independent language and its words convey their meaning lucidly
and unambiguously.” Azhagiya Manavāla Perumal . . .
https://ramanuja.org/sri/BhaktiListArchives/Article?p=jan98%2F0015.html
commentary on Thirunedunthantakam strongly argues against those who
want Sanskrit first, since Tamil is an independent language and its words convey their meaning lucidly
and unambiguously.” Azhagiya Manavāla Perumal . . .
https://ramanuja.org/sri/BhaktiListArchives/Article?p=jan98%2F0015.html
Nāyānār goes even further and comments on the word ‘vadavEnkadam', which he describes as the northern place where people
cannot understand Vedas without the aid of Purāṇa-s and Itihāsa-s, while
everyone born in Tamil country can understand the revelations of Thiruppanāzhvār.
cannot understand Vedas without the aid of Purāṇa-s and Itihāsa-s, while
everyone born in Tamil country can understand the revelations of Thiruppanāzhvār.
These three Śrī Vaiṣṇava Pūrvācārya-s’ defense of Tamil’s sanctity is quite reminiscent of Kṛṣṇadevarāya’s defense of Telugu’s religious sanctity in the Āmuktamālyada (even evoking Viṣṇu’s words about Him being a Telugu Lord & Telugu being the best language of the lands).
This work of the aforementioned pūrvācārya-s (and others, including Emperumānār) paved the way for the establishment of Ubhayā Vedānta, a system in which the Saṃskṛtam Śruti & the Āzhvār-s Tamil pāsuram-s are given equal status and validity. Extremely useful articles!
