From: selvakum@watserv1.uwaterloo.ca (C.R.Selvakumar - Electrical Engineering)
Subject: Re: pahavan in kuRaL no 1.
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1992 20:28:23 GMT

In article <kat.712420520@vash>, kat@doe.carleton.ca (Kathiravan Krishnamurthi) writes:
>   Some time ago there was a talk about the pahavan in kuRaL no1.
> namely,
> 
>   akara muthala ezhuthellam aathi
> pahavan muthaRe ulaku.
> 
> 
>      A lot of scholars took pahavan as the Sanskrit BHAGWAN.
> 
> KaNNadhasan says,"PariMezhakar is wrong".
> 
> He says pahavan=pagal+an. This is kathiravan in Tamil.
  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

     I think this is not correct. First, pakavaan can not be split as
     pahal+an ( since it will be pahalan and the Tamil word for sun
     using the tamil word "pakal" meaning daylight is pakalavan which
     is extensively used. Devaneya paavaanar says pakavaan = paku + aan
     where "paku" means to divide or "dispense" and God is referred in
     many religions as the "Great Dispenser" ; note he is often said
     as "padi aLappavan" (= one gives the right amount) and also note
     the vazhakku " aandavan aattukku vaalai aLandhuthan vaiththirukkiraar"
     = The God has given a goat a right length of tail often meaning
     everybody gets the right "dispensation"; another common notion is
     "aandavan vakuththa vazhi" or "kadavuL vakuththa vazhi" where we
     clearly get the connection "vaku" = split, divide, design etc.


     Thus pakavaan is a pure Tamil word according to DevanEya paavaaNar
     and means "The Great Dispenser" "padi_aLappaan". On a philosophical
     sense I would add that pakavaan can literally mean one who can 
     "release" or "liberate" if you carefully look at the semantic root
     meanings of numerous descriptive words for Siva ; all these words 
     give you the meaning of killer because he kills the "I" or "naan"
      and thus liberates and I think because of this he is referred in
      Sanskrit literature as a "Samhaara" kadavuL = "azhippavar" .
     ( some of the words for Siva  "pignagan" = one who will separate or 
      remove , often wrongly said as a killer, or one who carries out the
      death sentence given by a King, "piththan" = mad, whose mind is 
     split etc..)

      There is a also arguement that "aadipakavan" is a name of the famous
      first teacher of Jain religion known as "aadinaath"

      I think the word "aadi_pakavaar" refers to the God the "Foremost
      First Cause". 

      I have often wondered why ThiruvaLLuvar (TK) who was so revolutionary
      in praising "mazhai" did not give an equal place to "sun" which is
      one of the prime first natural "element"s. I know there are some fishes
      deep in the sea which do not require "sun" light but it seems like a 
     puzzle !

      Selva Selvakumar


> If one takes pahavan as sun then the meaning of the kuRaL is
> "Reading and writing (they start in "a" akaram in most languages)
> start only after the daylight on the earth."
> During those days it was true.
> 
> He argues that if one takes pahavan as BHAGWAAN then everybody
> including Buddha, Mahaveera and even Rajneesh will have to
> be included."
> 
> Kathiravan
>