Durga is Sumero-Tamil - Part 1

Durga is Sumero-Tamil




1. The Woman , the Sakthi 


Priestess and Women Mystics and Philosophers 


One of the Sumerian texts that I have been studying with immense interest is that of EnHudu Anna, the eldest daughter of Sargon the Great ( 2200 B.C.) and also the head of a Temple, transliterated and translated by Hallo and Van Dijk , that they baptized as The Exaltation of Inanna but which I have called "Sirbiyam" a word taken from Sulgi's Hymn B. 

Certainly this Sirbiyam is philosophically the most magnificent text to come down in good shape from the Third Millennium showing that it was very widely known and appreciated as so many copies of it were found in many ancient collections and libraries.

The worship of Mother Goddess is very ancient not only among the Tamils but also many people in the world and continues to this day despite many attempts by some of the later religions to wipe it out and along with that the place of leadership of women in religious culture. However in Tamil culture , in the Fourth millennium itself we find in Sumeria women contributing significantly to temple building, showing that they had independent financial means as well as political rights to participate in social activities of the community. 

Their names include the suffix 'ama' ( Tamil amma: woman) . 

One of the words coming down from this earlier period and as part of the proper name is ' anna" as in the name of Enhudu Anna that literally means the Divine ( eeN> veeN= veeL) star ( Ta. udu: star) of the heavens ( anna ; Tamil. vaanam). However it may be possible that the Su. anna as it occurs in proper names is the archaic form of Ta. aNNaa ( or Ta. annai: mother) a name still retained but more among the Tamil Brahmins of Tamilnadu where to this day the ladies refer to their husband as 'aNNaa" meaning someone lofty and great i.e. Ta. aNNal. 

Interestingly enough this suffix 'ana/anna' is also mentioned in BrihadaaaNyaka Upanishad when in the sixth brahmaNa, the line of teachers and pupils are listed. We have names such as Gaupavana, PaaraasaaryaayaNa, AsurayaNa , Baijavaapaayana and so forth. Even the name Sayanna/Sayana, the famous commentator on the Vedas, contains this suffix. I also understand that it is still retained in proper names of people in Karnadaka to this day. We can also find many names like this in the Sumerian documents. 

It all just go to prove that there were some connections between authors of the Upanishads and the Sumerians ( perhaps also the brahmans of the South)

What is however relevant to the present study is that in the line of teachers some names that are feminine are also included: Kausikaayani, TraivaNi , Aupajandhani and so forth where the suffix -ani, -aNi still remains indicator of the feminine gender in Tamil ( perhaps also all over India). Thus it appears that this Sumerian tradition of Women Mystics or Philosophers was alive and active in the Indian soil even during the Upanisadic period ( ~ 8th- 6th cent. B.C.) and which may account for the presence of women mystics in TamilNadu such as Kaaraikkaal Peyar Sri Andal and so forth and Mira Bai in Maratta. 


The Sakti as Light 


The exordium begins with these arresting lines the substance of which is still retained as part of Saiva metaphysical thinking. 


1. nin-me-sar-ra ( Lady of al the me's) u-dalle-ea (resplendent light)

*Ta. N*in mey carva uL theLLiya ( " )

நின் மெய் சர்வ உள் தெள்ளிய

2. mi-zi (righteous woman) me-lam gu-ru Clothed in radiance) ki-aga-an-uras-a ( beloved of Heaven and Earth)

*Ta. mai cii meeLam kuuRu kaangkai vaan uurattiya ( " )
மைஜீ மேளம் கூரு காம வான் ஊரஸ்ய

3. nu-gig-an-na ( Hierodule of An) suh-kesda-gal-gal-la ( (you) of all the great ornaments)

* Ta. nangkai ANNa cikai kaddu kaLkaLa ( The beloved of An with magnificent head gear)

நங்கை அண்ணா சிகை கஷ்ட்டு கள்கள்ள


The "nin" here which also means 'sister" is to be derived from Ta. nim, niv(ar) nil etc. and simply means something tall and high and hence lofty. The Su. me corresponds to both Ta. mey ( truth) as well as Ta. mey, moy meaning power or strength as in mey-kirrti and so forth. The sar-ra is better retained in Sk as sarva ( but note the adjectival formant, -a) and perhaps linked with Ta. aayiram.

But what is unmistakable is u dalla-e-a which is certainly Ta. uL teLLiya, radiant Light . Thus we have in the first line itself the Woman who is the Holder of all powers ( mey, moy) also discloses Herself as Pure Light , a notion that is still retained to this day where the WOMAN is described as paraaparai : Transcendent Light.

The description "clothed in radiance" ( me-lam gu-ru: meeLam kuuRu) is also significant for it has been noted by mystics all over the world ( including Prophet Mohamed Nabi (sal) ) that BEING hides Himself in the form of Light, that it is HIGHEST possible witnessing of BEING. However while they may NOT describe it as WOMAN the the Saivites do as they do not any contempt for the Feminine. They see that BEING Himself the Female ( peN taan aana Pemmaan :Samabantar)

This WOMAN is not only described as mai-cii ( mi-zi) , the most beautiful ( zi= cii) woman ( mi, Ta. mai) but also THE woman ( nu-gig , Ta, nangkai) of An, the Ta. aaN from which we have the current word aaNdavan but still retained as aaN in Cangkam classics as PatiRRup Pattu. In the term aNNamalai, the Hill of aNNa we may have another retention of this ancient term.

The ki-aga i.e. kaangkai meaning "hot" exists now as kaamam, sexual desires or simply an alluring quality ( Ta. kaamar: beautiful). The "an-ur" is what is renderednow as maNNum viNNum, the earth and the sky. The grammatical "-as-a" is better retained in SK as 'asya" but only as "attu-a" in Tamil where 'attu' is said to be caariyai.

However the metaphysical meaning is clear: BEING possesses qualities that are desired by all and that this quality, because of its endearing and aesthetically appealing nature, is seen as FEMININE. And also , it appears , the manifest world as the WOMAN ( nangkai) of BEING where the whole world , the heaven and earth , the manifest world is captured in the metaphor of a Woman with brilliant headgear. 



Loganathan Krishnan @ Ullaganar