Kumari Kandam - Part 3 (Submergence of Kapatapuram)

Lost History of Ancient Tamils / Tamizhs - Submergence of Kapatapuram

            In Continuation from the Part 2 of Kumari Kandam
https://divinediyaas.blogspot.com/2019/12/kumari-kandam-ancient-tamilakam-part-2.html

      From the last two parts of Kumari Kandam, it is evident that Pandyan King Satyavrata headed as Vaivasvata Manu with the help of Matsya Avatar of Lord Vishnu and Adisesha. Saptarishis were also migrated along with the King to the Bharata Kandam. This post will elaborate details about submergence of Second Tamizh Sangam at Kapatapuram.

         Kumari Kandam contains 49 territories which were grouped as seven lands (Ezhuthangu nadu)

1. Seven Coconut Lands [Elu thenga nadu]
2. Seven Mango Lands [Elu maturai nadu]
3. Seven front sandy lands [Elu munpalai nadu]
4. Seven Back sandy lands [Elu pinpalai nadu]
5. Seven Dwarf palm lands [Elu kurumpanai nadu]
6. Seven Eastern Coastal lands [Elu kunakarai nadu]
7. Seven Hilly lands [Elu kunra nadu]

         In Kanyakumari district, there is a coastal place called 'Thengapattnam', which is named after dense coconut groves. 

        There were 72 kings of Pandyan empire who ruled Kumari kandam for more than 10,000 years. When their capital cities ThenMadurai and Kapatapuram was lost, some of the Pandya Kings have migrated towards North of Tamizhagam and some of them moved towards East and explored many countries. There are many places in the world, ruled by Pandyas which were named in the memory and honor of Kumari Kandam (which will be covered in subsequent parts).

   

he Pandya kings were said to have belonged to the Lunar race. They claimed Pururavas and Nahusha as ancestors. Pururavas is listed as one of the ancestors in the Velvikudi inscription of Nedunchadaiyan Varagunavarman.

The Pandya kings were said to have belonged to the Lunar race. They claimed Pururavas and Nahusha as ancestors. Pururavas is listed as one of the ancestors in the Velvikudi inscription of Nedunchadaiyan Varagunavarman.

he Pandya kings were said to have belonged to the Lunar race. They claimed Pururavas and Nahusha as ancestors. Pururavas is listed as one of the ancestors in the Velvikudi inscription of Nedunchadaiyan Varagunavarman.

        It is mentioned in the ancient book Kandapuranam that Kumari Kandam covers the land of 700 Kavatam from Pahruli river in the north to the Kumari river in the south. Kavatam is a measuring unit in Tamil, which is still unknown to all. 

Kavadapuram / Kapatapuram - The capital city of Pandyas during Second Tamil Sangam around 5500 BCE during Treta Yuga. It was situated at the northern side of Kumari kandam. It was a port city, originally located near Thoothukudi, which is now submerged under sea.

Kavatai - refers to a type of rich pearls, meaning grabbing. As the oyster grabs the pearls in the mouth, it was termed as kavatai. In Arthasastra, Chanakya refers to the Pearls from "PandyaKapatam".  
     
    Around 57 early Pandya Kings ruled Kapatapuram as their capital for 3700 years. Tolkappiyam was composed during the time of Second Tamizh Sangam at Kapatapuram / Kavadapuram. Several seals discovered in the Indus valley site mentioning about certain religious traditions cited in Tolkappiyam. This proves that Tolkappiyam belonged to the age of the last phase of the Indus valley civilization i.e. 1500 B.C. Almost all Tamil scholars agree that Tolkappiyam belonged to the last phase of the Second Tamil Sangam held at Kapatapuram, which was engulfed by the sea around 2000 B.C.E.

        Therefore, we may safely conclude that Tolkappiyam was written before the submergence, i.e before 2000 B.C.E. The social and cultural history of the Tamils in the ancient Tamil Land were portrayed in Tolkappiyam and it's been validated on the basis of the artifacts and other materials discovered from the megalithic sites in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

       The first phase of Second Tamizh sangam was dated between 5500 bce - 5000 bce, as 2000 bce was the last phase of second tamizh sangam. So, 5000 B.C.E has been fixed as the date of Kapatapuram, the second capital of the ancient Pandyas. The famous urn burial site Adichanallur is located 21 kms from Korkai. The ancient Korkai port was also called as 'Pandya Kavada' mentioned in 'Kallithogai'. Because this port was once located at the banks of Tamiraparani river near the seacoast and it was part of Kavadapuram / Kapatapuram. The capital city Kapatapuram was originally located near Thoothukudi, which is now submerged under sea. 

        In the last 2000 years, due to the excessive sedimentation, the sea has receded about 6km from Bay of Bengal, which pushed Korkai inland today, that is before the delta of Tamiraparani River. Also, in the course of time, Tamiraparani River has shifted its course towards East and South, earlier it used to mix with the sea near Thoothukudi. 

     The ancient site at Korkai was first excavated in 1827 by R. Caldwell, who found a few urns of giant size. Next, during 1968-69 a team of archaeologists led by R. Nagasamy conducted excavations at Korkai. They discovered a number of inscribed potsherd with Tamil scripts, various objects of copper and iron, perforated terracotta tiles, beads of crystal, conch shells, and pearl-oysters.

        Therefore, we may conclude that the Adichanallur which is 15km from Korkai port, was flourished along with the Kumari Land with its culture and even after the submersion of the latter by the sea.

First Kumari kandam was lost, then Kapatapuram was submerged. What was the reason for subsequent Mega Tsunamis ?? 

Here you go -  it's due to impact of Burckle Crater. A large asteriod / comet which was 29km in diameter, that could kill quarter of world's population smashed into Indian Ocean producing mega Tsunami of 600 feet high. 

        This impacted Indian Ocean around 3000–2800 BCE (around 5000 years ago). This has hit the ocean floor with subsequent mega tsunamis for 4000 years and it was the major reason for the mysterious collapse of major civilization in Asia and Europe during that time period. The waves carried huge amount of sedimentation to the land. Currently, this is lying 12,500 feet below the surface in Indian Ocean. 

     Based on some of the Tamil literatures, Second Tamizh Sangam of kumari kandam was destroyed and submerged by a meteorite impact. So, it is evident from Burckle crater that the event of mega tsunamis and flood were common in all these coastlines. 

       

 This crater has triggered many tsunamis and destruction of land along the coastal lines of India. One of the major such event is destruction and submergence of ancient city Dwaraka. Dwarka was also destroyed by mega Tsunami caused by the impact of this crater in Indian Ocean. Submergence of Dwarka and submergence of Kapatapuram has happened during the same time period 1500 - 2000 BCE, i.e 4000 years before (at the end of Dwapara Yuga).

    Unfortunately, the Early Pandyan capitals Thenmadurai and Kapatapuram, were violently hit by successive tsunamis and engulfed by the sea. The first Tamil Sangam functioned at Thenmadurai, the second at Kapatapuram, the third and the last sangam at the modern Madurai.

        Therefore, the Pandyas have  shifted their capitals first from the Thenmadurai to Kapatapuram and then from Kapatapuram to the present- day Madurai. As a result of this shifting, the Pandyas had three capital cities-Thenmadurai, Kapatapuram and modern Madurai and consequently by the assembly of poets also met in the Pandyan courts in these three places, which leads to the formation of three Tamizh Sangams.  

--To be continued...

- Aarthi Thiyagarajan