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Tamil Inscriptions In Sri Lanka
Tamil inscriptions in Sri Lanka date from the centuries before Christ to the modern era. The vast majority of inscriptions date to the centuries following the 10th century AD, and were issued under the reigns of both Tamil and Sinhala rulers alike. p. xxiv-xxvii, p. xiii Out of the Tamil rulers, almost all surviving inscriptions were issued under the occupying Chola dynasty, whilst one stone inscription and coins of the Jaffna Kingdom have also been found. p. 241-243 Most inscriptions are of a Hindu or Buddhist nature, or record the exploits of merchants, soldiers, officials and kings. The longest Tamil inscription in the island is from the Lankatilaka Vihara, for which historian K. Indrapala states the following: Early Anurādhapura period (300 BC – 300 AD) Anaikoddai seal, Jaffna Tissamaharama coins with Tamil Brahmi legends Tamil letters and words in Prakrit inscriptions Late Anurādhapura period (8th–9th centuries AD) Abhayagiriya Tamil Buddhist ins ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamil Language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Puducherry. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in the four other South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is also spoken by the Tamil diaspora found in many countries, including Malaysia, Myanmar, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and Mauritius. Tamil is also natively spoken by Sri Lankan Moors. One of 22 scheduled languages in the Constitution of India, Tamil was the first to be classified as a classical language of India. Tamil is one of the longest-surviving classical languages of India.. "Tamil is one of the two longest-surviving classical languages in India" (p. 7). A. K. Ramanujan described it as "the on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruwanwelisaya
The Ruwanweli Maha Seya, also known as the Mahathupa (), is a stupa (a hemispherical structure containing relics) in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. Two quarts or one Dona of the Buddha's relics are enshrined in the stupa, making it the largest collection of his relics anywhere. It was built by Sinhalese people, Sinhalese King Dutugemunu in 140 B.C., who became king of Sri Lanka after a war in which the Chola Dynasty, Chola King Ellalan, Elāra (Ellalan) was defeated. It is also known as Swarnamali Seya, Svaṇṇamāli Mahaceti (in Pali) and Rathnamali Seya. This is one of the "Solosmasthana" (the 16 places of veneration) and the "Atamasthana" (the 8 places of veneration). The stupa is one of the world's tallest ancient monuments, standing at and with a circumference of . The original stupa had been about in height and was renovated by many kings. The Kaunghmudaw Pagoda in Sagaing, Myanmar is modelled after this stupa The Mahavamsa contains a detailed account on the construction and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abhayagiri Tamil , a Theravadin Buddhist monastery in Redwood Valley, California
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Abhayagiri may refer to: * Abhayagiri vihāra a ruined monastic complex of great historical significance in Sri Lanka * Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery Abhayagiri is a Theravadin Buddhist monastery of the Thai Forest Tradition in Redwood Valley, California. Its chief priorities are the teaching of Buddhist ethics, together with traditional concentration and insight meditation (also known as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vel 123
Vel ( ta, வேல், lit=Vēl) is a divine javelin or spear associated with Kartikeya, Murugan, the Hinduism, Hindu god of war. Significance According to Shaivism, Shaiva tradition, the goddess Parvati presented the Vel to her son Murugan, as an embodiment of her shakti, in order to vanquish the asura Soorapadman, Surapadman. According to the Skanda Purana, in the war between Murugan and Surapadman, Murugan used the vel to defeat all the forces of Surapadman. When a complete defeat for Surapadman was imminent, the asura transformed himself into a huge mango tree to evade detection by Murugan. Not fooled by asura's trick, Murugan hurled his vel and split the mango tree into two halves, one becoming a rooster ( ta, சேவல், lit=Cēval), and the other a peacock ( ta, மயில், lit=Mayil). Henceforth, the peacock became his vahana or mount, and the rooster became the emblem on his battle flag. Vel, as a symbol of divinity, is an object of worship in the temples d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Old Tamil
Old Tamil is the period of the Tamil language spanning from 300 BCE to 700 CE. Prior to Old Tamil, the period of Tamil linguistic development is termed as Pre Tamil. After the Old Tamil period, Tamil becomes Middle Tamil. The earliest records in Old Tamil are inscriptions from between the 3rd and 1st century BCE in caves and on pottery. These inscriptions are written in a variant of the Brahmi script called Tamil Brahmi. The earliest long text in Old Tamil is the ''Tolkāppiyam'', an early work on Tamil grammar and poetics, whose oldest layers could be as old as the mid 2nd century BCE.Zvelebil, K. ''The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South '' p.XX Old Tamil preserved many features of Proto-Dravidian, the earliest reconstructed form of the Dravidian including inventory of consonants, the syllable structure, and various grammatical features. History According to Bhadriraju Krishnamurti, Tamil, as a Dravidian language, descends from Proto-Dravidian, a proto-language. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Velir
The Velir (also known as Vellalar) were a royal house of minor dynastic kings and aristocratic chieftains in Tamilakam in the early historic period of South India. They had close relations with Chera, Chola and Pandya rulers through ruling and coronation rights. Sangam literature and inscriptions claim that they belong to the Kshatriya dynasty of Yadu (legendary king). Origin According to the '' Tholkappiyam'', the earliest work of Tamil literature, eighteen clans of the Velirs came from the city of '' Tuvarapati'' under the leadership of the sage Agastya.Pivot politics: changing cultural identities in early state formation processes By M. van Bakel page 165: "The Velir were an instrusive group in South India... It is now suggested that (...) may have been associated with the Yadava of Dvaraka../ref> The legend goes that all the gods and sages went to the Himalayas to attend the marriage of Shiva, Siva with Parvati due to which the earth started tilting to one side. Agas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prakrit
The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, excluding earlier inscriptions and the later Pali. ''Prākṛta'' literally means "natural", as opposed to ''saṃskṛta'', which literally means "constructed" or "refined". Prakrits were considered the regional spoken (informal) languages of people, and Sanskrit was considered the standardized (formal) language used for literary, official and religious purposes across Indian kingdoms of the subcontinent. Literary registers of Prakrits were also used contemporaneously (predominantly by śramaṇa traditions) alongside Classical Sanskrit of higher social classes. Etymology The dictionary of Monier Monier-Williams (1819–1899), and other modern authors however, interpret ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
