TAMIZHKUDI 

HINTS OF ASTROLOGY IN THE TAMILS:

It is shocking to see how they crossed seas when there were no compasses or maps. Investigators suggest that they could have used the position of the sun during the day and the movement of stars during the night. To be exact, they used astronomy. And to use anything that would risk their life, the user must have a good apprehension of that which is being used.

During that period, astronomy and astrology were interconnected. So, it is only logical that they had a deep understanding of the heavenly bodies. One can say that there must have been at least two or three millennia for studying the stars and outer planets before such expeditions were to be made. This easily puts their practice of astrology around 4th - 5th millennium BC.

TAMIL PEOPLE/SETTELEMENT

Now that we have seen the history of astrology outside of India, let us see the history having to do with the Tamil people of prehistoric and ancient old India.

Acheulean technology that involved handcrafted stone weapons were discovered in modern North Tamilnadu, making it the earliest known evidence that prove for the presence of hominins in India. These belonged to the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) period - c. 150,000 BC - 100,000 BC. Paleolithic industries belonging to c. 30,000 were found in the same period. Pre-pottery and micro lithic industries were excavated and dated back to c. 8,000 BC to 3,000 BC.

"The first people who roamed with weapons before the time of mountains and farming were the Tamils"

This is a translated small section from Purapporul Venpa Maalai (9th century AD). The Tamil people were not only great hunters but were also the first civilization and the first refined one to have existed. Long before the arrival of Aryans, the Pandya Kings ruled Kumarikandam (Prehistoric continent of South India) with South Madurai (now Kanyakumari) as its capital. Pre-Sangam, Sangam and Post Sangam periods were all located in this city. Ancient books and poems state that the peak of the old civilizations was lost to the sea.

In order to regain the lost lands, the Pandya kings stretched their regime into the Chera's and Cholas'. After seizing of enough lands, the capital was changed to North Madurai (Now Madurai) and the Pandya kings ruled like how they used to, before the sea stole more than half of their homeland. Unfortunately, there are no solid artifacts to prove its existence. Another important aspect to notice here is the mind boggling sea trade between the Tamils and the outer world, usually the Greek before the time of Aryans.

It might be hard to believe this but there are songs in Rig Veda that indicate the trade between the Tamils and the West. Considering the time period of the scriptures to be somewhere between 1700 BC and 1200 BC, it is highly possible that the trading was still in practice well before the Aryan immigration. The Veda also states the Dravidians (ancient Tamil folk) had trade route from the North to foreign lands via Indus River.

It is also probable that the knowledge of the Tamils reached the Greeks who developed it and then transferred it to the Persians, who in turn settled in India as Aryans and shared said knowledge with Tamils some few centuries later. Also, it is probable that the Knowledge of the Greeks reached the Tamils before the Indo-European's arrival.

With trade successfully growing roughly around four thousand years before today, the Greeks and the Tamils shared their cultures, ideologies, beliefs and traditions with each other. Along with said traditions, products like incense, silk, ghee, rare minerals, etc., were shared, traded, and sold as the Tamils climbed aboard wooden ships and sailed towards their trade partners across thousands of kilometers away.

Trivia:
Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Adharvana Veda contain concepts like acute angle, triangle and hexagons. These might be imparted from the Greeks and if not, it is simply a reflection of their knowledge in math and geometry.

Legends in Astrology

THE LEGEND

The great sage Agathiyar used to go to Thiruchendur in order to understand the meanings of Tamil works. On one such occasion, he suddenly wanted to learn about the working of things in every world through astrology. He immediately prayed to Lord Murugan to appear before him and teach what he wished to know. Lord Murugan is known to have soothsaid the future of his father, Lord Shiva, by looking at the planets, which as legend has it, came to be true.

The God heard him and graced the mortal with his divine presence. As he began to recite the sashtras of astrology, the sage noted down every word. These notes were compiled to a book. The book later came to be known as the prominent scripture Kumaraswamiyam

The famous 18 siddhas who came after him read this book and wrote many books of their own, which is thought to have helped grow and spread astrology in the very ancient old KumariKandam. It is believed by many that only through the old Tamils must the West have known about this art.

The transition period from civilization to the period of ideology was from 4th century AD to 12th century AD. The father of Indian astronomy, Aryabhatta, was born in 5th century. He was responsible for the booming growth in astronomy, mathematics, and astrology in his time. His works were highly famous and important in the Golden Islamic age also.

After Aryabhatta, it was Varahamihira who excelled in the three fields and caused a rapid growth in each of them. He is regarded as the father of Indian astrology. His discoveries and mathematical ways of doing things were an advantage to astrologers everywhere. Varahamihira's son Prithuyasas carefully studied the books written by the 18 siddhas and wrote the famous Hora Sara which consisted of his own ideas and changes of that written in the Siddhas' works.

This way astrology developed and changed with time in its own way in the Indian subcontinent.