Kurma Avatar - The Second Avatar of Lord Vishu

KURMA AVATAR OF LORD VISHNU  

        During Satya Yuga, Lord Vishnu took his second avatar called as 'Kurma' / 'Korma' avatar, Kurma meaning tortoise. Lord Vishnu took a form of tortoise to save Devas and humans from fiercely Asuras. This incarnation of Vishnu is also described in story called 'Samudra Manthan'.  'Samudra' means ocean, Manthan means Churning, Mathanam means 'to churn' .

        In Lord Vishnu's 'Dasavatar' (Ten Avatars), First Avatar is - Matsya Avatar. Lord Vishnu took a form a Dolphin, saved the Earth from great deluge and established Satyavrata, a Pandya King as next manu - Vaivasvata Manu. To know more about Matsya Avatar of Lord Vishnu, reach out to

https://divinediyaas.blogspot.com/2020/05/pandya-king-satyavrata-and-matsya.html

Kurma Avatar - This is the second avatar and the story about his kurma avatar is mentioned in many puranas such as Vishnu Purana, Bhagavad Purana, Padma Purana, Agni Purana, Mahabharata and Ramayana. 

Kurma Avatar

            Lord Vishnu incarnated as giant turtle to save earth from great destruction. This story is about getting 'Amrit' (Nectar of immortality) and winning good over evil. Devas (Gods) and Asuras (Demons) fight with each other to get the nectar of immortality - Amrit.

        The story of Kurma Avatar / Samudra Manthan, starts from 'Durvasa Maharishi', the great legendary Rishi and Indra, King of devas, God of rain, lighting and thunder. 

        Once Indra Deva was riding on his white elephant 'Airavata', he came across the Great Sage Durvasa Muni and the sage offered him a garland given by Lord Shiva. Indra accepted the garland and placed on his elephant's truck.

         But Airavata elephant crushed the garland by stomping on it. Enraged Sage became furious and cursed Indra that all the devas will lose their immortality, fortune and power. Due to the sage's curse, devas became weaker and lost the battle with asuras with asura king Bali, then asuras took control of all the three worlds. Due to  supremacy gained in all the three worlds, asuras in arrogance caused numerous destructions everywhere which was leading to great danger for Earth.

            Devas ran to Lord Vishnu, the preserver to help them from the curse of the sage Durvasa. Lord Vishnu offered a solution for the curse "To defeat Asuras, you will have to strive hard and obtain Amrit (Nectar of immortality) by churning the Ocean and Amrit will give back your lost power and becoming immortal". 

        On hearing this, Indra asked Lord Vishnu that how could to churn the milky ocean ? 

        Lord Vishnu replied, "Churn the milky ocean by adding herbal plants and grasses, to get Amrit. Use Mandara Mountain (Meru Mountain) as churning dasher and serpent king Vasuki as rope to churn the ocean. In tamil, it is called as 'Mathu' / 'Mathanam'. Now, you all got to know source of these words 'Samudra Manthan' !!

        To obtain 'Amrit' and to regain the power, devas needs to churn the ocean of milk. But devas were very weak to churn the ocean with huge mountain as churner. So they asked Lord Vishnu about this, Vishnu replied, " Take help of Asuras and use them to achieve your goal. REMEBER TO BE CAREFUL !  You must not desire to have any of the priceless things that comes out of the Ocean and not to vent out anger if those were forcibly taken by Asuras." 

      Indra asked "But what about Amrit ? What if the Asuras took that from us?". Lord Vishnu assured Devas that Asuras will not get the nectar.  Indra agreed to Lord Vishnu and went to meet Asura King Bali. He convinced Asura king Bali that if they offer help to churn the ocean, they can share the amrit as a result of their help. 

Asura King Bali

        Devas and Asuras tried hard in uprooting Mandara mountain and carrying it to the milky ocean 'Paar Kadal', the place where Lord Vishnu reclines on Shesha Naga along with his consort goddess Lakshmi. Devas and asuras started to churn the ocean to get the amrit, using huge mountain Mount Meru / Mandara as churning dasher. But, when the churner entered into the water, it kept sliding into the depth of the ocean. As there was no support at the bottom of the mountain, it started to sink by crushing large number of Devas and Asuras under it. On seeing this, Indra prayed to Lord Vishnu for help.

        Lord Vishnu said, "I'll take a form of Kurma (Tortoise) and hold Mandara mountain on my back until the milky ocean is fully churned and nectar is obtained". 

         To balance the churner into the ocean, Lord Vishnu came into rescue and took 'Kurma' avatar (tortoise form), upon which mount Meru is placed to balance it. Lord Vishnu asked five headed Vasuki, the King of serpents, which is around Lord Shiva's neck, "Play your role and you shall receive your share of nectar. Mount Mandara will not hurt you". Thus, Vasuki snake was used as rope around the mountain to churn. 

             Lord Vishnu had a plan and suggested Indra to tell asuras to hold the tail and devas will hold head of Vasuki serpent. Asuras got insulted as they have been told to hold tail and also suspected a foul play, so they readily walked towards Vasuki's head and held the head for churning process.  Lord Vishnu's reverse psychology worked, he intentionally asked gods to say like that as the Vasuki's head portion will be heavy to churn and importantly Vasuki will spit fire venom, which will be hard to withstand.  

      With full of anticipation and joy, Devas at the tail side and Asuras at the head side started churning the ocean. Soon, Asuras learned that they have been deceived by Devas, as the poison coming out from Vasuki's mouth was weakening them. So, to save themselves from the poison,  they rigorously churned the mountain , vasuki serpent vomited enormous amount of powerful venom in the ocean and it formed like thick foam layer. 

        This HALAHAL venom is very poisonous, it's the concentrate of all the impurities from the ocean. The Poisonous fumes  choked Devas , Asuras and Humans, it will kill all the living beings in the ocean and it can cause for the end of the world as well. So, they were all  scared and ran to Lord Shiva at Mount Kailash for help. 

         Only Lord Shiva, the Supreme being can survive the power of poison and save the world. So, he took the venom on his conch and drank it up completely. Goddess Parvati witnessing this situation and pressed Shiva's throat with her hands so that the poison will not go into his stomach. Thus all the venom stayed there in his throat causing blue colour, so he is called as 'Neel Kanthan' (Neel - blue and Kanth - Throat).

       

        

        Once all the poison was removed from the ocean, Devas and Asuras started to churn the ocean again. While churning the ocean, first 13 Ratnas were emerged from the ocean, these gems were accepted by Lord Shiva for consuming the poison. Followed by Goddess Lakshmi emerged from the ocean, Lord Vishnu accepted Goddess Lakshmi, the god of fortune and wealth, as his consort. 

 Followed by  

        
 Apsaras (Divine Nymphs) - like Ramba, Menaka are emerged from the ocean, accepted by various demi gods (Gandharvas) as their consort.

 Varuni -  accepted by Varuna, God of water.

 Kamadhenu - the divine wish granting cow, taken by Lord Vishnu and gave it to sages. The ghee which comes out of her milk will be used for Yajnas.

Airavata - White elephant, taken by Deva King Indra

Ucchaishravas - Seven headed horse, taken by Asura King Bali.

Kaustubha - the most valuable and precious ratna (gem) in the world, as the devas and asuras started fighting for this jewel, Lord Vishnu worn that as an adornment on his chest.

Parijat - a divine flowering tree, Parijat flower gives out sweet perfume which will never fade and has medicinal properties - taken by Devas to Indraloka (abode of Indra)

Sharanga - a divine bow emerged from the ocean, symbolic of weapons - taken by asuras.

Kalpavriksha - a divine, movable wish granting tree, which has numerous medicinal properties, taken by Gods to Indraloka.

Chandra - the moon, adorns Lord Shiva's head 

Shankha - a divine conch, taken by Lord Vishnu

Jyestha - goddess of misfortune, opposite of Lakshmi, taken by asuras.

    

        Both Devas and Asuras were losing their patience in churning the ocean, then finally emerged God 'Dhanwantri' with a pot of nectar in his hand. This was celebrated as 'Dhanteras' as God Dhanwantri has emerged from the milky ocean, but in today's world it's been twisted to celebrate for Wealth. There is no relation between wealth and Dhanteras. For more about Dhanwantri - God of Ayurveda, reach out to

https://divinediyaas.blogspot.com/2019/07/dhanwanthri-god-of-ayurveda.html

       On Seeing God Dhanwantri with Amrit on his hand, Asuras ran towards the god and grabbed the pot of nectar from him. Asuras were fighting among among themselves for the possession of that pot. Devas watched this in dismay, as they have accepted Lord Vishnu's command that they neither vent out anger nor quarrel for things coming out from the ocean.

    Now, Lord Vishnu's vahana, the divine eagle 'Garuda' which is bigger in size, snatched the pot from asuras and flew away. While flying 4 drops fell on 4 places of earth, Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik. However, asuras got hold of the vessel again.

        Lord Vishnu pacified Devas, "Don't be dejected, the greed of Amrit has already divided Asuras and now I shall charm them with mu power and will give you the nectar". 

          Lord Vishnu incarnates himself as 'Mohini' avatar, a supreme beautiful lady, danced and distracted asuras. 

"Who are you beautiful lady", asked Asura King Bali.

Mohini smiled and replied, "I'm Mohini. I have come to distribute the Amrit among all of you and you must do as I ask you to do". 

Mohini suggests asuras that she will divide the drink equally between devas and asuras. Mesmerized asuras entrusted Mohini and gave the jar of Nectar to her.

      Asuras agreed to her proposal. Mohini then asked Devas and Asuras to take bath and assemble in a row, Asuras in one row and Devas in another row. When they all had assembled in a row, Mohini had began to serve the Amrit to Devas first. Upon seeing this, Asuras got anger but thought that Mohini will be displeased if we unnecessarily create an issue and object her. So, they kept quiet.

        Mohini distracted the asuras using Maya (illusion so that she swaps the vessel every time when she serves demon) and distributed among devas, they drank the Amrit. Mohini kept Asuras under her spell. But one of Asura Swarbhanu found this as fishy. He quietly sneaked into the rows of Devas using illusion by disguising himself as Devas and received his share of Amrit. But, before he could gulp it down completely Surya (Sun god) and Chandra (Moon god) identified him and shouted to Mohini.

        Lord Vishnu in the form of Mohini used Sudharshan Chakra (Spinning disc) and cut his head in one shot before he complete it. But, by the time Lord Vishnu cut his head, he has already become immortal as he drank few drops of the nectar. Therefore by achieving immortality, he became two beings, his head as RAHU and his body as KETU. After finishing this task, Lord Vishnu flew away on his Garuda.

        Asuras were so surprised and shocked to see Mohini as Lord Vishnu and no nectar was left for them. Devas were filled with energy and the curse of Sage Duvasa was lifted. Furious Asuras declared war with Devas. As Devas regained their lost power, they won the battle effortlessly and drove the asuras away.

           Since the Rahu and Ketu were deprived of Amrit, they developed strong enmity against Sun and Moon. The nodal points of Moon is called as Rahu and Ketu. Rahu is north lunar node and Ketu is South lunar node causing Solar and Lunar eclipses, as they developed enmity against these two gods. 

        Ketu deals with past and present karma, while Rahu deals with future. Sun, Moon and Earth are highly influential in the life of a Humans. Moon have direct impact on the neurons of our body, the interaction between mind and Body. It also controls our stress levels and blood circulation in the body.

        In Hinduism, before starting anything good will check Rahu Kalam, we won't start / do any auspicious things during that time. Will write a separate post about Rahu and Ketu.

              In this avatar Lord Vishnu revived the lost glory of Devas and saved Devas, Earth and Humans from the destructions caused by Asuras. He has helped devas twice, first as Kurma avatar which supported as a base for Mandara mountain to churn. Next, he disguised as 'Mohini', a beautiful young lady to take of nectar (Amrit) and to serve among Devas and Asuras. Those who sought refugee in Vishnu they will be protected and saved.

         This story is also representing multiple symbolic messages like Good over evil, Like Devas and asuras (Positive and negative cosmic forces) churned the ocean to get Amrit, we humans vibrate our soul and body in same frequency to get higher consciousness and self realization is the ultimate goal of consciousness. 

Kurma Avatar at Srirangam Temple

Vittala temple

        This Samudra Manthan story is depicted in sculptures at many places all over the World such as  Angkor Wat temple of Cambodia, temples of Indonesia, Thailand and many other ancient places.

Angor Wat Temple, Cambodia

        The significance of nine planets, Navagraha that were identified and worshipped by ancient sages, detailed information about Rahu and Ketu will be written in different posts.

- Aarthi Thiyagarajan

Kumari Kandam - Part 4 (Expansion across Eastern and Western side of Bharat)

Lost History of Ancient Tamizh people - Expansion of Pandyas across India

        From the last 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 with the King to the Bharata Kandam. This post is going to prove that Aryan Invasion theory is a myth and people weren't migrated from North to South and it was vice versa. 

         From Kumari Kandam, when Kapatapuram / Kavadapuram was in danger and slowly facing destruction due to numerous mega tsunamis, some of the Pandya kings has migrated towards Eastern side of Bharat and reached West Bengal, Odisha and Bangladesh. Pandyas has ruled West bengal before the start of Treta Yuga and from there they have slowly occupied from Eastern side to Northern side of India. 

In Tamil, Bay of Bengal is called as 'Vanga Kadal', 

Kadal means - Ocean and 

Vanga has several meanings - Gigantic Ship, White, Pure. Here it refers to white ocean.

        As West Bengal was the prominent port city of Pandyas, they have named it as 'Vanga'. Here, Vanga meaning 'Ship', that were sailing through the white ocean 'Vanga Kadal'. This is indicating that there were huge volumes of maritime trade that has happened several thousand years ago.

        So, in Tamil they have named West Bengal as 'Vanga Desam' and the people who lived there were called as Vanga tribes. Before the period of Mahabharata, this place was named as Vanga and in that epic Kunti's son Karna has ruled Vanga and Anga during his reign.

        In recent times, V was interchanged into B and it's then called as 'Bengal'. The word 'Vanga' was also mentioned in Tamil Sangam literatures, Pura Nanoru and Andal's Thirupaavai. The seafaring vessels were called as 'Vangam'. Also, there is bird species called as 'Vangaa' mentioned in Tamil verses, which are found only in Madagascar and it's islands. 

         'Vanga' was then transformed as 'Bengal' during the reign of Britishers.  Also, Pandyas have named their capital as 'Tamralipti',  referring to 'Tamaraparani' River which was flowing in Kumari Kandam. This river is still actively flowing now in Tamil Nadu, but it has changed its course of direction in the last 2000 years.

        Early Pandya Kings have named many places in Tamil in West Bengal, Odisha, Maharastra, Karnataka, Goa, Nepal, Assam etc... How can it be Pandyas ? Weren't they Cholas / Cheras / Pallava Kings ? 

     Here you go !! In memory of their mother land, some of the famous cities of Kumari Kandam has been used to name the places in West Bengal, Odisha, Maharastra, Nepal, Assam. In this course of 7000 years, many of those names were forgotten, some names got changed and some names are still in use. 

         In Kumari Kandam, there were two main notable rivers, which were Parali and Kumari Rivers, also there was a famous Kumari mountain at the south of Kumari Kandam.

     The same river and mountain names can be found in West Bengal and Odisha. There is a famous TaraTarini temple situated at the Kumari Hills of Odisha. Kumari is a proper Tamizh name.

        Cholas and Cheras haven't seen or ruled Kumari Kandam, Pallavas were later kings in the history of Tamil Nadu. So, this was named by early pandya king.

Also, near to this temple, there is village named 'Kurunjipur'. What is the meaning of Kurunjipur ?? Kurunji is a Tamil word. According to Tamil Sangam literatures, geographical landscapes were divided into 5 categories 

1. Kurunji - Mountains and it's associated regions, 
2. Mullai - Forests and it's associated regions, 
3. Marudham - Agriculture and crop lands, 
4. Neidhal - Sea shore and coastal areas
5. Pallai - Desert area. 

    There is also a place named 'Kurunji' in Maharastra, which is near Mahabaleshwar and there is also a place with same name in Kerala as well.  The famous Shri Vaijnath Shiva Temple in Maharastra is situated at the place called Parli (Parali River of Kumari kandam). It is an ancient Shiva Temple.

River Kumari flowing in the Purulia district of West Bengal. 

Kumari River

      Also, there is a proto historic civilization discovered at the valley of Ajay, Kunoor and Kopai at West Bengal. Kunoor , Kopai ?? These are Tamil names. Kopai means cup, Kunoor - place in Tamil Nadu near Ooty. 

        Pandu Rajar Dhibi is an archealogical site at West Bengal, which is dated as chalcolithic site near the banks of Ajay and Kopai rivers.  Pandu Rajar is not Pandu of Mahabharata, it's Pandya Raja of Early pandya, because the remains from that place were dated aback to Chalcolithic age. Early Pandyas were dated corresponding to Satya Yuga and Treta Yuga.

        Also scholars mentions that excavation from Pandu Rajar Dhibi reveals that it has connection to Crete and Mediterranean lands and they were sea explorers. In my previous posts, i have mentioned that early Pandyas were the First sea explorers and they followed the direction of sea turtles for the navigation. Pandya kingdom had the First and Strong Navy Force, to explore and to expand their Rajya. 

        Early Pandyas and Tamizh people were migrated to the Eastern side of Akand Bharat. Once, there was a famous and powerful Pandya king named 'Kulasekhara Pandyan'. He had ruled the entire South India and Eastern side of India (Not to confuse with the later pandya king in the same name). There are many places in India which were named after him.

        Like Kanya Kumari in Tamil Nadu, there are also some places where Kumari is being worshiped. In Nepal there is place called as 'Kumari Temple'. Kumari is a Tamil name. In Nepal, now the practice of worshipping Kumari were subjected to change by the conquest of many Mughal rulers and Britishers.

Kumarikata place in Assam

     In Nepal, there are also places called 'KumarKhod', 'Kumari' etc. There is a holy river called 'Kankai' river flowing through Nepal, it's also called as golden river. In Tamil, 'Kanaka' means - Gold, there is flower named 'Kanakambaram' meaning Golden fire flower, which grows only in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

     Pandya Kings have also spread across eastern side of Bharat and ruled Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. There are many places in Eastern side of India named in Tamil. Also, they have expanded their kingdom in all sides of India. (Separate post will be published for the same).

In the map below, Kaptai name was given to a place and lake in Bangladesh. It was named in memory of 'Kapatapuram', in short it was called as 'Pandya Kavada / Kapata' as per Chanakya's Arthasastra.

Madaripur - present day Madurai in Tamil Nadu, which served as capital of Pandyas

Kawadi - Kavada / Kavadapuram, which was a port city of Pandyas. Pearls from this place were pure and priced highly.

Places in Maharastra

Nerur - meaning water place. 'Ner' meaning water in tamil, 'or' / 'ur' meaning place in Tamil. 

Kavathi - Kavadapuram

Parule - Paruli river of Kumari kandam 

Places in Goa

Sanguem - refers to Sangam of Tamil Nadu. In this district, there are ancient petroglyphs of 20,000 years old were identified at Usgalimal. Currently, it us under the ASI.

There are engravings of Bull (Symbol and flag of Pandyas), labyrinths and human figures on laterite stone at that site. 

        During the reign of early Pandyas, these places such as Madurai, Kavadapuram / Kapatapuram, Kavadai, Korkai, Kayalpatinam, Adichanallur, Kudal / koodal, Kanya kumari etc were prospered with great wealth and much fame.

Kayalpada in Odisha - Kayalpattinam in Tamil Nadu. In Tamil, Kayal means - Fish, Carp type fish, 

Pattinam  means - City

        Chinese traveler Xuangzang mentions about a kingdom further south from Kanchipuram, a kingdom named 'Malakutta', identified with Madurai of Tamil Nadu.

Also Madure in Karnataka

    Not only these places, Tamil Pandyas has ruled many places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sindhu province, Iran and Turkey. 

        

        The Indus Valley Civilization was FIRST ruled by Early Pandya Kings and it was flourished during their reign. There were no ARYAN INVASION happened, it was Tamizh Pandya Kings who ruled the entire Akhand Bharat and all around the World. The language and the inscriptions of Indus valley civilization is still not deciphered and linguists are relating it to Proto - Dravidian language, the early form of Dravidian language, in short the early form of Tamizh, which is also called as 'Tamizhi'. The ancient Indus Valley Civilization and it's Truth about Tamizh Pandya Kings will be explained in my next post.

 
       Another set of Pandyas from Kumari Kandam didn't migrate towards India, they have traveled towards Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and expanded their kingdom. It will be explored more in the subsequent parts of Kumari Kandam.

--to be continued...

- Aarthi Thiyagarajan

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