Recently a biologist remarked that even if life forms are found in outer space, they are sure to be males and females whatever physiognomy they assume. This shows a grasp of a fundamental kind belonging to Natural Metaphysics.
The Sumerians seem to have noted this but with their characteristic plunge into the metaphysical depths they also saw BEING to be androgynous to account for the fact that in nature we find everywhere the creatures being born as males and females . BEING has to be one half male and one half female for there to be biological forms organized as males and females. . So it was a pleasant surprise for me to locate the following line in the Temple Hymn 16 of En Hudu Anna, the daughter of a Sumerian mother and an Akkadian father, the Sargon the Great (c.2300 BC) who ruled for the first time both the Akkadian Uruk and the Sumerian Ur.
This metaphysical insight into the essence of BEING has been retained by the Tamils to this day where in every Siva Temple you can see such an icon
The line that excited me so much is the following:
>>>>>>>>>>7(205)
munus-ra se-er-ka-an-di nita-ra sag-tug dul-la ( Who adores the woman, who covers (the head of) the man with a helmet)Tamil ( Ta ): manusinRa seerkaNdi naatanRa saan-tukil toolla ( Who wears the woman�s necklace and a man�s head cover)
munus: Ta: manusi : woman
Se-er-ka-an-di : Ta: seerkaNdi > sir-kaNdi : a beautiful necklace? > See Ta: kaNdam : the throat, neck etc.
nita : Ta. naatan : the male lord
sag-tug : Ta. tukil: garments. Also Ta. tookai : feathers, . Perhaps here a head dress of feathers peculiar to the males at that time.
Notes. We may have here the description of BEING as Male-Female , the androgynous reality that is retained in Saivism to this day
dul-la Ta. tool: skin, that which covers the body
>>>>>>>>>>>>The meaning of the key terms and their Tamil shapes are very clear. The �munus� is Tamil >manusi (woman) and �nita� is Ta. naatan ( the male , lord etc) The se-er-ka-an-di is Ta. siirkaNdi, a kind of necklace and �sag-tug� is Ta. saan-tukil a kind of head-dress and which at that time was peculiar to the males.
What we have here is clearly In-Anna just like Siva during the historical period disclosing Herself as an androgynous reality and which icon form is celebrated to this day among the Tamils. From CaGkam times through the Bakti period( 4th cent AD to 11th Cent AD) there does not exist one major Sacred Tamil that fails to mention BEING as Siva-Sakti, one half male and one half female. BEING is Ammai-Appar, the Mother-Father and as such the powers that give birth to the whole of the cosmos ( ammai-apparee ulakiRku ammai-appar - Tiruvuntiyaar, 12th cent)
The following verse is just one of the hundreds that you can find in Tamil and quite easily:
>>>>>>>>71.
idappaala vaanattu ezumatiyai niiyoor
madappaavai tannarukee vaittaal - idappaakaG
koNdaaL malaippavai kuuRonRuG kaNdilaG kaaN
kaNdaayee mukkaNNaay kaN!Meaning:
O Lord! You have placed as worth placing on your head the Moon that arises in the sky and next to the Ganges. Now because of this I am confused as to how these are related to the essence of the Woman whom you have placed as your equal half and on the left side. With my fleshy eyes I cannot see any features of this Woman on them. But perhaps, you the Three Eyed can see. Perhaps it is this Third Eye is the real eye!
>>>>>>>>>>>
This verse not only shows that BEING-as-Siva holds as His equal half the Madappaavai, the eternally young woman but also the Moon, the Sumerian Iti and Ganges, the Sumerian Amaru or apa both forms of In-anna. To this we can certainly add the SNAKE that Punitavati mentions in so many verses and En Hudu Anna also describes as Usumgal, the large dragon... The Devaram corpus is full of terms describing these aspects quite eloquently and which also have entered their metaphysical thinking.
The Third Eye:In the verse above also by a woman Punitavati ( 4th-5th cent AD) there is mention of the Third Eye, the metaphysical eye that remains CLOSED for the ordinary individuals but opened up for the Njaanies. This is the Metaphysical Eye and Punitavati says effectively such visions are possible only by those who are blessed by the visions of the Third Eye, the transductive perceptions. It belongs to transductive perception to SEE the metaphysical Moon, Snake, Ganges and so forth as forms of In-anna, the Madap paavai here, the eternally youthful WOMAN
There are many lines in Sumeria literature that alludes to this vision that it is a kind of dream experience but different from the typical dreams where these visions are had while awake as belonging to Yogak Kaadci ( yogic visions)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>3(200)
an-sa-ta e-de es gu-de du-a ( Descending from the midst of heaven, shrine built for the steer)Ta. vaan-saay-tta ezittee iisu koodee edu-a ( (Temple) that has descended from the heavens and built for the Bull)���. ����� ������ �� ����.� ��-�
an-sa-ta : Ta. vaan-saaytta : an > ta. aan, vaan : sky. Heavens etc. sa ; Ta/ saay: depression, the inside. The �ta� is �t-a� where the �a� is locative case marker with �t� as sound filler .
e-de: Ta. izittee � Ta. izi ; to fall down, descend. This word is also used to describe the flood coming down from the hills. See
9( 207)
nin-gal an-ki-a (d) inanna-ke ( The great queen of heaven and earth, Inanna)Ta. niiGkaL vaan-kiiza (d) iinannakkee ( �)����� ��� ��� (���) ��������
nin-gal : Here the use of �gal� as signifying something great and honorific is still available in the use of �kaL� as is �niiGkaL� ( yourself (hon), taaGakL ( you (hon) etc.
an-ki-a : Ta. vaan-kiiz-a : lit the sky and the earth below but in meaning the whole of the cosmos, including the metaphysical realms. It can also be understood as the metaphysical ( vaan) and physical ( kiiz) realms
>>>>>>>>Here the crucial term is �an-sa-ta e-de� 3 which means � descending from the inside the heavens. The �heaven� here is also described as �an� ( > T. vaan) but not meaning the sky but the Metaphysical Space, the DEPTHS from which emerge all and where reside the gods. The term �an-ki-a � (Ta. vaan kiiz-a) and also� an-ur-a� (> Ta. vaan-uura) elsewhere all mean the same - the phenomenal and noumenal reality - the cosmic reality with both the visible Surface Structure (SS) and invisible Deep Structure.(DS)
Now in describing in-Anna as the Queen of this kind of Cosmic Reality, she implies that what she says is a matter of transductive perception a vision of the fleshy eyes that sees the sensible , the SS as well as the metaphysical eye that sees the DS
It must be the case that this understanding was not only retained by the Tamils but also articulated as the vision of the Third Eye and linked with Sivayoga such as that of the Siddhas in later times.
ULLAGANAR
( 11-1-2005, AT )
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