When will DMK’s Raja condemn Tamil icons celebrating Sanatana Dharma?

Dear Mr Raja,

You have gained publicity, nay, notoriety, for expressing hatred towards Sanatana Dharma and everything else associated with it. You have made known your contempt for Hinduism. Your supporters perhaps believe that you have shown remarkable courage.

Now, will you show similar ‘courage’ in condemning the Tamil icons who celebrated our Sanatana culture? Can you? Let us see, for instance, if you can speak a word against the Vaishnavite saint and poet, Nammalwar?

In his Tiruvaymoli, Nammalwar sings praise to Lord Krishna in the following words: ‘The Gods that ye fix in your minds, in His name do they grant you deliverance. Even thus to immortality did the sage Markanda attain. Let none be offended, but there is no other God but Krishna. And let all your sacrifices be to them who are but his forms… In all these rising worlds they have thronged and wide they spread, those beauteous forms of Krishna—the unclad Rudra is there, Indra, Brahma, all. The Iron Age shall cease to be—do ye but unite and save them.’ (The Coming Age: Collected English Writings, by C Subramania Bharati.)

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Despite your contempt for Sanatana Dharma and its followers, you must be knowing that Nammalwar is one of the twelve much-revered Alvar saints of Tamil Nadu, whose verses contain praise of 108 temples considered as divine, or the Divya Desams. Nammalwar is held as the most prominent of those twelve saint-poets, and his literary output comprises more than 1,300 stanzas of a total of around 4,000 in the Naalayira Divya Prabandam.

Your arrogance, Mr Raja, arrogance reminds one of a story associated with Nammalwar. A Pandya king, who then ruled the region, had passed an edict that all literary works ought to be submitted to his council headed by the court poet, for approval. Nammalwar had not bothered to follow the instruction. As a result, the king’s men asked the saint’s disciple, Madhurakavi Alwar, to bring Nammalwar to the court. The disciple refused, saying that his master would not budge an inch from where he was seated. Instead, he gave them a palm leaf on which one of the hymns of the great poet was inscribed. It said: ‘Kannan-kazhal inai nannu manam udayir ennum tiru-naman tinnam naraname’ (Those whose hearts are in love with the lotus feet of Lord Krishna, take this mantra for meditation; it is indeed the holy name of the Lord). The court stood humbled.

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You may have no love for the deities of Sanatana faith and do not wish to be at Lord Krishna’s lotus feet, but that does not give you the right to insult those who believe.

And, Andal, that great Vaishnavite poetess, a gem of Tamil culture—surely you have heard of her? One of the twelve Alvar saints, the only woman saint among them, she was posthumously considered an avatar of no less than goddess Bhudevi. To this day, in millions of Tamil homes, her works, such as Tiruppavai and Nachiya Tirumoli, are recited. She is remembered for her love and devotion to Lord Vishnu, and saw herself as a gopi who had surrendered herself at the feet of her Lord. It is said that she went through a symbolic marriage with Sri Ranganatha, Lord Vishnu, in Srirangam, and merged in the image of the Lord. You are a Tamil, Mr Raja, and should know that that event is celebrated even today with pomp and gaiety.

Have you forgotten that Hinduism, of which you are so contemptuous, finds its earliest mention in Tamil literature as back as the fifth century BCE? Or that the religious history of Tamil Nadu, of the Dravida people, has been deeply influenced by the Sanatana faith since ages? In fact, the Alvar saints, to whom I referred earlier, were the pioneers of the Bhakti tradition in not just south India, but across the country as well (which picked pace especially during the 15th century CE).

The great Tamil kings, the Pandya, the Chera and the Chola, were ardent devotees of Sanatana Dharma, and grand temples came up during their reigns. The magnificent Brihadishvara Temple in Thanjavur and the temple in Gangaikonda-Cholapuram (less than 30 km from Kumbakonam) are but two examples dating to the Chola time. The Pandya rulers paid special attention to the gateways of the temples, making them architectural wonders. And, indeed, can anyone miss out on the Ranganathaswamy Temple, dedicated to Lord Vishnu? It was first built by a Chola ruler, Dharmavarma, and after it faced destruction due to a natural calamity, was rebuilt by other Chola king. Archaeological evidence tells us that the Ranganathaswamy Temple premises in Srirangam is one of the oldest surviving active temple complexes in all of south India.

And, what words of ridicule would you have, Mr Raja, for C Subramania Bharati, the biggest name in modern Tamil literature?  Hailed as Maha Kavi, or the Great Poet, he has, with an ardent passion that comes from immersion in the Bhakti mood, not only translated verses of Andal and Nammalwar but also translated into English his own writings (originally in Tamil) in praise of the Divine. Sample his following expression of love for Lord Krishna: ‘Always and in all places, my work shall be to sing of the bounteous love of my Mother. (The author refers to the deity as his ‘mother.’)

You may believe that misleading and insulting remarks about Hinduism, Lord Rama and the Ramayana suit your political needs, and the needs of your party, the DMK. But, Mr Raja, more than that, they reflect the pathetic depths you have plunged to claim public attention.

I ask you: Can you say, ‘_Ch_i! Idiot!’ to the likes of Nammalwar, Andal, the illustrious Tamil kings, and Maha Kavi Bharati?

The writer is an author and a public affairs analyst. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.