namaste smt. HappyHindu.
1) Does the Tholkappiyam text use the term "varna"?
2) Did Tholkappiyam designate social divisions "fixed by birth", meaning does it disallow mobility across the varnas?
3) Were slaves and untouchables mentioned in Tholkappiyam? [I have never found untouchability a sin when practiced within homes and outside homes for a valid reason. But telling a man that he is untouchable because of his birth does not go well with me..i cannot imagine labelling a new born child an untouchable by birth].
4) Was the use of force against any social grouping permitted / mentioned in Tholkappiyam?
varNa and jAti in ancient Tamizh social setup: some evidences
TolkAppiyam, as you are aware, is a work of Tamizh grammar and not a collection of poems like the other Sangham works. According to many scholars, TolkAppiyam pre-dates the third Tamizh Sangham held at Madurai. Of its three adhikArams--ezhutthu--alphabet, sol--word, and poruL--content--in poruLadhikAram, it talks about the social set up as it existed in the Tamizh lands. The verse "aRuvakappaTTa pArppanap pakkamum" that I have quoted in my post no.105, speaks about the four varNas and three occupational classes. In the verse, the term pakkam--part, is the contextual equivalent of the Sanskrit term varNa.
We should note that the Tamizh country then was divided into five tiNais--regions, based on their geographical formation, which decided the life and occupation of the majority public who inhabited the regions. Kings and chieftains ruled these regions and periodically warred with each other, so public life, especially of a young couple who were married or ready to marry each other, was sung in two tiNais--aham, their internal life of love and separation, and puram--their external life, wherein the young man often went to join the king's army in a war, or ventured into other lands in search of fortune and fame.
In these circumstances, it was their jAti/kulam--occupational caste, and kuDi--family lineage, which were the visible marks of their social set up, and the four varNas that TolkAppiyam defines was only an overall, inclusive classification, which could mean that there were no people who were explicitly considered as shUdras or untouchables. As for inter-varNa movement, it seems that this movement did take place among the three other varNas than the brAhmaNa varNa. In my recent limited acquaintance with Tamizh literature, I am yet to find a mention of a person who did not belong to the brAhmaNa varNa, seeking to become a brAhmaNa, and granted such status (as in the case of SatyakAma).
One reason could be the prescription of education for the other varNas, as given in the TolkAppiyam verse I have quoted. The education of the people of the fourth varNa was prescribed as 'vedam ozhinda kalvi'--education sans the Vedas, while the eligibility of the people of kShatriya and vyshya varNas to study the Vedas, probably excluding their performance of the veda yajnas, except in the capacity of a yajamAna.
Since family occupation was mostly practised, it seems jAti devolved by birth, although there could have been exceptions. There was no discrmination or hostility among the jAtis, whose economic levels could have widely varied. People who were well educated, irrespective or their varNa and jAti, were highly respected by all other people.
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Following are some sample quotes from the Sangham literature about jAti, kuDi, kulam and varNa and the fact that nobility can be found in all varNas and jAtis:
puRa~nAnURu 183: education is the key to respect
வேற்றுமை தெரிந்த நாற்பா லுள்ளும்
கீழ்ப்பா லொருவன் கற்பில்
மேற்பா லொருவனும் அவன்கட் படுமே
--புறநானூறு, 183
vERRumai teri~nda ~nARpA luLLum
kIzhppA loruvan kaRpil
mERpA loruvanum avankaT paDumE
Of the four differentiated varNas, if a man of a lower varNa is well educated, a man of a higher varNa would approach him to learn without entertaining any difference in status, and respect him.
pazhamozhi ~nAnURu 21: family occupation is a natural vocation
உரை முடிவு காணான் இளமையோன் என்ற
நரை முது மக்கள் உவப்ப நரை முடித்து
சொல்லால் முறை செய்தான் சோழன்--குல விச்சை
கல்லாமல் பாகம் படும்
urai muDivu kANAn iLamaiyOn enRa
~narai mudu makkaL uvappa ~narai muDitthu
sollAl muRai seydAn chOzhan--kula vichchai
kallAmal pAkam paDum
'One who is not filled with the knowledge to find the right justice for a case, and one who is young'--thus the elders in the court jeered at him, but to their delight, the young Chozha king, came under the disguise of an old man and dispensed the right justice using their own words. Thus, the family occupation comes naturally to a man without learning it.
In this verse, the author refers to how the ancient
Chozha king KarikAl PeruvaLatthAn (450-380 BCE) disguised, who ascended to the throne in young age, disguised himself as an old man to give verdict to a dispute.
avvaiyAr's mUDurai 4: nobility shines in poverty
அட்டாலும் பால்சுவையிற் குன்றா தளவாய்
நட்டாலும் நண்பல்லார் நண்பல்லர்
கெட்டாலும் மேன்மக்கள் மேன்மக்களே--சங்கு
சுட்டாலும் வெண்மை தரும்
aTTAlum pAlsuvaiyiR kunRA daLavAy
~naTTAlum ~naNballAr ~naNballar
keTTAlum mEnmakkaL mEnmakkaLE--sa~ggu
suTTAlum veNmai tarum
Milk, even if it is heated, will not be devoid of its taste.
Those who don't have the quality of friend in them,
even if they mix with the nobles and becomes friends,
and the nobles come to penury by their company,
they would still remain as nobles, with their distinct qualities.
For the conch becomes whiter when it is heated up.
avvaiyAr's ~nannUl 12: farmers are matchless ever
ஆற்றங்கரையின் மரமும் அரசறிய
வீற்றிருந்த வாழ்வும் விழுமன்றே--ஏற்றம்
உழுதுண்டு வாழ்வதற்கு ஒப்பில்லை கண்டீர்
பழுதுண்டு வேரோர் பணிக்கு
ARRa~gkaraiyin maramum arasaRiya
vIRRiru~nda vAzhvum vizhumanRE--ERRam
uzhuduNDu vAzhvadaRku oppillai kaNDIr
pazhuduNDu vErOr paNikku
The tree that is on the banks of the river,
and the king who rules today with all glory
won't they fall one day?
There is no match in loftiness for living by cultivating the land,
any other job has its shortfalls.
perungkathai canto 3, ch.4: description of a city
தேவ குலனுந் தேசிகப் பாடியும்
மாவுந் தேரு மயங்கிய மறுகும்
காவுந் தெற்றியுங் கடவுட் பள்ளியும்
தடவளர் செந்தீ முதல்வர் சாலையும்
வேண்டிடந் தோறுங் காண்டக நெருங்கி
ஆதி யாகி யமந்தவனப் பெய்தி
மயங்கிய மாந்தர்த்தாகி யார்க்கும்
இயங்குதற் கின்னாப் புறம்பணைச் சேரியும்
அந்தண் பாடியு மணுகி யல்லது
வெந்திறல் வேகமொடு விளக்குதற் கரிய
ஐங்கணைக் கிழவ னமர்ந்து நிலைபெற்ற
எழுதுவினைத் திருநக ரெழிலுற வெய்தி
dEva kulanu~n dEsikap pADiyum
mAvu~n tEru maya~ggiya maRukum
kAvu~n theRRiyu~g kaDavuT paLLiyum
taDavaLar se~nthI mudalvar sAlaiyum
vENDiDa~n thORu~g kANDaka ~neru~ggi
Adi yAki yama~ndavanap peydi
maya~ggiya mA~ndartthAgi yArkkum
iya~ggutaR kinnAp puRambaNaich chEriyum
a~ndaN pADiyu maNugi yalladu
ve~nthiRal vEgamoDu viLakkudaR kariya
ai~ggaNaik kizhava namar~ndu ~nilaipeRRa
ezhuduvinait tiru~naga rezhiluRa veydi
The beautiful city had a temple,
and a dEsikach chEri, where merchants from other countries reside,
streets mingled with the three armies of elephants, horses and chariots,
flower gardens, and public platforms,
residences of the ascetics,
the vELvich chAlai--yajna maNdapas, of pArppAns--brAhmaNas,
who raise the three fires in the yajna-kuNDam,
all well set in their assigned areas, spectacular and crowded,
with throngs of people all around that made passage difficult;
with the chEris of (other) communities,
and the andhaNpADi--streets of brAhmaNas, nearby.
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The impression I get when I read verses like the above, is that the ancient Tamizh society certainly was based on the four varNas and numerous jAtis, with movement from the jAtis of the fourth varNa upwards, except for the vedic tasks of the brAhmaNa varNa, which tradition was well respected and fostered.
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