Firstly, though the tradition of employing archaeological evidences in historical studies is in effect for a long time in Sri Lanka, there has been a tendency to associate the archaeological emblems pertaining to Tamils with the Tamils from Tamil Nadu who used visit Lanka occationally rather than relating them with the Tamils living in Lanka. This tendency could be ascribed to the strong belief regarding the ancient history of Lankan Tamils narrated in the mythical stories found in Pali texts. It is a bitter fact that the account of the traditional history of Lankan Tamils based on this belief failed to recognize the distinct traditional history of Lankan Tamils to the extent that it helped to glorify Tamil Nadu. But this belief and the earlier historical perspective have become weakened and there has been a growing awareness to treat the archaeological findings traced in Lanka as evidence from ancient times.
Secondly, while these archaeological findings serve to endorse that the traditional history of Lankan Tamils was subjected to the influence of Tamil Nadu and evolved, they help to prove that a distinctive culture of theirs originated and flourished in Lanka. Thus it can be concluded that a genuine traditional history of Lankan Tamils can be written only on the basis of the study of the said archaeological evidences. The historical facts supposed to be derived through this study will not deviate from the ancient worshipping norms of the Lankan Tamils. This study is intended to establish these facts based on the recently discovered archaeological artifacts, particularly the numismatic ones.
Among the historical sources which have received less attention from historians numismatics is one. For a study of the Kushana, Satavahana and Cankam age, numismatics has received adequate attention. It is the case with the different parts of South Asia, particularly Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. In this paper an attempt is made to evaluate the significance of numismatics in the context of religious cults in Lanka. Among the religions of Lanka, e.g Saivism, Vaisnavism, Buddhism, etc., the various sects of Hinduism found a place in the island affairs from about the 3rd century BCE. Earlier evidences of cult orientation in the from of graffiti marks, terracotta figurines, linga artifacts and metallic images have been discovered since the megalithic period (ca. 800 BCE) or even earlier in Lanka. With the introduction of Buddhism in the 3rd century BCE the religious history of the island took a new course. By the lapse of time the heterodox sects commanded wider range of followers among the masses but at the same time, Hinduism and its sectarian groups did not disappear but received the patronage of people especially the Tamils of the island. Even though the Pali literary sources (e.g. Dipavamsa, Mahavamsa, Culavamsa) exalt the place of Buddhism, the due place for the Hindu religious sects is not given (Mahavamsa X: 102, XIX: 37, XXI: 1-21, XXII: 3-4). In this respect the numismatic sources play a vital role. This paper takes into account the facets of Kaumara (i.e. Skanda) or the Tamil Murukan cult as reflected in the coinage of the island. It is doubly significant because a new light is thrown, based on the data from the much-neglected numismatic sources.
The Europeans first employed the utilization of numismatics as a source for historical research in the 18th century CE. The European officers who were in change of the Archaeological Survey of India and the civil service and other employed it in India in the 19th century took interest in the collection and study of coins.
In Sri Lanka, numismatics received wider attention in the mid-20th century. As important as epigraphical data is, numismatics is restricted in its content as few names or words and certain symbols in figurative form or forms appear in them. They are much valuable to reconstruct the history of a particular dynasty and its chronology.
Evidence of the coins issued by the Lankan Tamils is also now available. Their period ranges from the 3rd century BCE. to the 17th century CE. These throw a flood of light on various aspects such as the ancient language, script, geneses of kingdoms, settlements of peoples, commerce, foreign relations and so on. The graffiti marks, letters (Brahmi or Tamil), symbols or emblems, figure of gods or goddesses, name of deities, etc, are very helpful in the reconstruction of historical currents of events. Besides the other factors of history such as political and socio-cultural, the coins are very important to trace the religious history. The available data has much to say on the history of the cult of Murukan in the island. Murukan's vahana (vehicle), ayudhas (weapons), symbols and his epithets are carved on the coins. These help to trace the history of Murukan worship in Lanka.
Besides Skanda-Karttikeya cult of Aryan group, the Tamils cherished the worship of Murukan from time immemorial. During the Cankam age Murukan was the presiding god of the tinai (tract land), called kurinci (hills and its surrounding (Kalidas 1976:58). Ample literary sources are available to spell out the epithets by which the Lords were known. He was called Murukan (Akananuru 22:11, Purananuru56:11, Narrnai 47:10), Cevvel (Maturaikkanci 1.611, Narrnai 24, Kuruntokai 53:3), Mannaiyan (Tirumurukarruppatai 1.201), Viramayilmel Nayiru 'the sun mounted on peacock' (Paripatal 18:25) and so on (Kalidas 1999:73-90). The Tamil Murukan cult had an interaction with the Sanskritic Skanda-Karttikeya (e.g. Kalidasa's Kumarasambhava) as depicted in Tamil literary works (e.g.Tirumurukarruppatai) where the fusion of Northern Skanda and Tamil Kantan is traced and highlighted by scholars like Kamil Zvelebil, Fred Clothey and Raju Kalidos.
The Murukan cult in Lanka is as old as the tradition from the Tamil Nadu and is sure to have derived inspiration from Tamil mainland and in the subcontinent. Prehistoric artifacts of the cult in Tamil Nadu have been unearthed from Aticcanallur. This type of material remains are found in Sri Lanka at various places; e.g Pomparippu, Anuradhapura, Pinveva, Kantarotai and Punakari. The artifacts pertain to symbolic attributes of Murukan such as Vel (Shakti Ayudha) and Ceval (cock). Sitrampalam 1995:182, Pushparatnam 1991:38).
Pali literature of the post 5th century CE. provides evidence of the names of dignitaries as they as well appear in Brahmi inscriptions in the island. Professor Y. Subbarayalu (1989: 92-103) finds a close link between the names of persons and those of gods since naming an individual in the Indian tradition is after some established conventions of which religion is one. Professor S. Paranavitana isolates the personal names found in Lankan Brahmi inscriptions related to Murukan, the best example being Vel (Paranavitana 1970:). Even today in India and Sri Lanka it is not uncommon to come across a person name, e.g. Velappan which is rooted in the ancient name Velan appearing in Cankam literature (of Kalidas supra). Definitely it is a pointer of Velan cult.
Due to the impact of Sanskritic tradition of Skanda cult, new names such as Kumara, Mahasena and Vishakha (all epithets of Skanda, noted in the Amarakosha, cited in Kalidos 1999) had come into vogue. The Tamil form (of Sanskrit Vishakha) Vicaka appears as the name of a merchant, in an inscription of the 2nd century BCE from Periyapuliyankulam in northern Lanka (Paranavitana 1970: nos. 356-357). A synonymous name has been reported from the graffiti marked on a mud pot, which was discovered during the Kodumanal excavation, conducted by the Tamil University (cf. Rajan 1994:82). According to Paranavitana (1970: CXXII) these are evidences of Murukan-Skanda cult.
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| Figure 1: A coin from Akkurugoda in southern Sri Lanka registers the figure of a mayil (Skt. mayura) 'peacock' on obverse and the name mahacattan in Brahmi character on reverse. |
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| Figure 2: A coin dated in the 2nd century BCE from Kantarotai in Northern Sri Lanka registers the Shrivatsa on obverse and the name Uti(ha)pan in Tamil Brahmi on the reverse. |
The Shrivatsa and mayil emblems are reflections of Tamils' religious belief. It is a well known fact that the mayil is the vehicle of Murukan for which ample evidences are found in Cankam literature (Puranaru 65, Tirumurukarruppatai 1.201). So the popularity of Murukan as a god is proved by numismatic sources.
During the 2nd-5th century CE a rare type of rectangular coin was in circulation in Lanka. These contain the pranava (sacred om syllable), Shrivatsa, Laksmi, elephant, lotus, trishula, bull, Sivalinga, and so on (Parker 1981: 461-482, Peries 1919: 40-67, Bopearachchi 1999, Sitrampalam 1992: 151-158, Sivasamy 1970:1-10, Pusparatnam2001: 90-100). These are reflections of the religious tenor of Lankan Tamils. The coins with mayil, vel, and ceval are the surest clues of the Murukan cult.
Contemporaneously few of the epithets of Skanda-Murukan also appear in coins of the Indian subcontinent (Gupta 1966:187). Tamil literary sources note the epithets of Murukan such as Vativelan (Cilappatikaram 1:2, 49-50) and Velvelan (Kalittokai 28: 26). Even though the ceval is considered to be the outcome of Aryan interaction, it appears in Tamil tradition of early times yore (Gandhidasan 1988:120).
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| Figure 3: Coin issued by the Tamil rulers of Nallur in Jaffna who ruled during 13th-17th century CE. The obverse shows the figure or head of a king and the reverse illustrates a Nandi (bull vehicle of Siva) with a peacock facing the Nandi and the word setu, appearing below the bull. |
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| Figure 4: In some coins the figure of Murukan replaces the peacock. |
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| Figure 5: Coin on the observe illustrates a moon above with a peacock facing to the right below. The reverse shows in addition to the letters 'kan' the emblem of javelin and the feet of a man. |
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| Figure 6: Coin showing a snake along with the peacock, both emblems of Murukan. The human figure may indicate the donor-king or Murukan himself. |
The letter 'kan' and 'a' and the peacock with snake are clear pointers of the fact that the evidences are sufficient enough to establish the popularization of Murukan cult based on numismatic sources. Jnanacampantar around the 7th century CE noted Murukan with the name Kantan (Tevaram 1.19). At about the same time there was a Tamil king of Jaffna who took the royal title Kantarmalaimalaiyariyarkon (Pathmanathan 1980:409-417). It is quite likely that it is he who appears as 'kan' and 'a' in the coins discussed here. He treated himself as an aryacakravarti king of the Jaffna kingdom. This may be denoted by the letter 'a'. Again the names Kantan and Murukan were very popular in Tamil tradition since time immemorial , at least the Cankam age (Kalidos 1999). Further supports are the emblems, peacock, snake and vel.
The foregoing study based on numismatics provides substantial evidences for the popularity of Murukan worship in Lanka from the ancient period to the 14th century CE. Later developments of the cult in the island are proved by some great centers of Murukan cult in Lanka as at Kataragama where not only Hindus but Buddhists also visit. The different religious groups of Hindus and Buddhists worshipping at Kataragama is a symbol of religious harmony and unity in diversity. The Kantacastikavacam refers to the Lord at Kataragama with the invocation 'Katirkamatturai katirvel Murukan' (thanks to Prof. Raju Kalidos who added this note).
The hymns of Arunagirinathar (15th century CE) note three centers of Murukan cult in Lanka. They are Kataragama in the South Trincomalee in the East and Jaffna in North. The temples of Murukan in Lanka are generally called Kantan-alayam (alayam = kovil 'temple'). Coins bearing the name of kan (tan) seem to be much older in Lanka than in Tamil Nadu. Though Lanka owed much of its culture to the Indian heritage, the island in course of time developed its own religious and cultural characteristics and contributed to its own growth of south Asian civilization. The cult of Murukan is a good example in this context.
References