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Wednesday 5 October 2011

bodhi darmar an pallava mannar

Bodhidharma

BodhidharmaYoshitoshi1887.jpg
Bodhidharma, woodblock print by Yoshitoshi, 1887.
Names (details)
Known in English as: Bodhidharma
Tamil: போதிதர்மன்
Telugu: భోధిధర్మా
Sanskrit: बोधिधर्म
Persian: بودی‌دارما
Simplified Chinese: 菩提达摩
Traditional Chinese: 菩提達摩
Chinese abbreviation: 達摩
Hanyu Pinyin: Pútídámó
Wade–Giles: P'u-t'i-ta-mo
Tibetan: Dharmottāra
Korean: 달마 Dalma
Japanese: 達磨 Daruma
Malay: Dharuma
Thai: ตั๊กม๊อ Takmor
Vietnamese: Bồ-đề-đạt-ma
Bodhidharma (Tamil: போதிதர்மன்) was a Buddhist monk who lived during the 5th/6th century and is traditionally credited as the leading patriarch and transmitter of Zen (Chinese: Chán, Sanskrit: Dhyāna) to China. According to Chinese legend, he also began the physical training of the Shaolin monks that led to the creation of Shaolinquan. However, martial arts historians have shown this legend stems from a 17th century qigong manual known as the Yijin Jing.
Little contemporary biographical information on Bodhidharma is extant, and subsequent accounts became layered with legend, but most accounts agree that he was a Tamil prince from southern India's Pallava Empire.[1] Scholars have concluded his place of birth to be Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
After becoming a Buddhist monk, Bodhidharma traveled to China. The accounts differ on the date of his arrival, with one early account claiming that he arrived during the Liú Sòng Dynasty (420–479) and later accounts dating his arrival to the Liáng Dynasty (502–557). Bodhidharma was primarily active in the lands of the Northern Wèi Dynasty (386–534). Modern scholarship dates him to about the early 5th century.[10]
Throughout Buddhist art, Bodhidharma is depicted as a rather ill-tempered, profusely bearded and wide-eyed barbarian. He is described as "The Blue-Eyed Barbarian" in Chinese texts.[11]
The Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (952) identifies Bodhidharma as the 28th Patriarch of Buddhism in an uninterrupted line that extends all the way back to the Buddha himself. D.T. Suzuki contends that Chán's growth in popularity during the 7th and 8th centuries attracted criticism that it had "no authorized records of its direct transmission from the founder of Buddhism" and that Chán historians made Bodhidharma the 28th patriarch of Buddhism in response to such attacks.[12]

Contents

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Biography

Part of a series on Chinese Buddhism
Feilai Feng grottos.jpg
History














Contemporary accounts

There are two known extant accounts written by contemporaries of Bodhidharma.

Yáng Xuànzhī

A Dehua ware porcelain statuette of Bodhidharma, from the late Ming Dynasty, 17th century
The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang (洛陽伽藍記 Luòyáng Qiélánjì), was compiled in 547 by Yáng Xuànzhī 楊衒之, a writer and translator of Mahāyāna Buddhist texts into the Chinese language.
At that time there was a monk of the Western Region named Bodhidharma, a Persian Central Asian. He traveled from the wild borderlands to China. Seeing the golden disks [on the pole on top of Yǒngníng's stupa] reflecting in the sun, the rays of light illuminating the surface of the clouds, the jewel-bells on the stupa blowing in the wind, the echoes reverberating beyond the heavens, he sang its praises. He exclaimed: "Truly this is the work of spirits." He said: "I am 150 years old, and I have passed through numerous countries. There is virtually no country I have not visited. Even the distant Buddha-realms lack this." He chanted homage and placed his palms together in salutation for days on end.[13]
Broughton (1999:55) dates Bodhidharma's presence in Luoyang to between 516 and 526, when the temple referred to—Yǒngníngsì (永寧寺)—was at the height of its glory. Starting in 526, Yǒngníngsì suffered damage from a series of events, ultimately leading to its destruction in 534.[14]

Tánlín

The second account was written by Tánlín (曇林; 506–574). Tánlín's brief biography of the "Dharma Master" is found in his preface to the Two Entrances and Four Acts, a text traditionally attributed to Bodhidharma, and the first text to identify Bodhidharma as South Indian:
The Dharma Master was a South Indian of the Western Region. He was the third son of a great Indian king of the Pallava Dynasty. His ambition lay in the Mahayana path, and so he put aside his white layman's robe for the black robe of a monk [...] Lamenting the decline of the true teaching in the outlands, he subsequently crossed distant mountains and seas, traveling about propagating the teaching in Han and Wei.[15]
Tánlín's account was the first to mention that Bodhidharma attracted disciples,[16] specifically mentioning Dàoyù (道育) and Huìkě (慧可), the latter of whom would later figure very prominently in the Bodhidharma literature.
Tánlín has traditionally been considered a disciple of Bodhidharma, but it is more likely that he was a student of Huìkě, who in turn was a student of Bodhidharma.[17]

Later accounts

Dàoxuān

In the 7th-century historical work Further Biographies of Eminent Monks (續高僧傳 Xù gāosēng zhuàn), Dàoxuān (道宣; 596-667) possibly drew on Tanlin's preface as a basic source, but made several significant additions:
This Japanese scroll calligraphy of Bodhidharma reads “Chán points directly to the human heart, see into your nature and become Buddha”. It was created by Hakuin Ekaku (1685 to 1768)
Firstly, Dàoxuān adds more detail concerning Bodhidharma's origins, writing that he was of "South Indian Brahman stock" (南天竺婆羅門種 nán tiānzhú póluómén zhŏng).[18]
Secondly, more detail is provided concerning Bodhidharma's journeys. Tanlin's original is imprecise about Bodhidharma's travels, saying only that he "crossed distant mountains and seas" before arriving in Wei. Dàoxuān's account, however, implies "a specific itinerary":[19] "He first arrived at Nan-yüeh during the Sung period. From there he turned north and came to the Kingdom of Wei".[18] This implies that Bodhidharma had travelled to China by sea, and that he had crossed over the Yangtze River.
Thirdly, Dàoxuān suggests a date for Bodhidharma's arrival in China. He writes that Bodhidharma makes landfall in the time of the Song, thus making his arrival no later than the time of the Song's fall to the Southern Qi Dynasty in 479.[19]
Finally, Dàoxuān provides information concerning Bodhidharma's death. Bodhidharma, he writes, died at the banks of the Luo River, where he was interred by his disciple Huike, possibly in a cave. According to Dàoxuān's chronology, Bodhidharma's death must have occurred prior to 534, the date of the Northern Wei Dynasty's fall, because Huike subsequently leaves Luoyang for Ye. Furthermore, citing the shore of the Luo River as the place of death might possibly suggest that Bodhidharma died in the mass executions at Heyin 河陰 in 528. Supporting this possibility is a report in the Taishō shinshū daizōkyō stating that a Buddhist monk was among the victims at Héyīn.[20]

Epitaph for Fărú

The idea of a patriarchal lineage in Chán dates back to the epitaph for Fărú (法如 638–689), a disciple of the 5th patriarch Hóngrĕn (弘忍 601–674), which gives a line of descent identifying Bodhidharma as the first patriarch.[21]

Yǒngjiā Xuánjué

According to the Song of Enlightenment (證道歌 Zhèngdào gē) by Yǒngjiā Xuánjué (665-713)[22]—one of the chief disciples of Huìnéng, sixth Patriarch of Chán—Bodhidharma was the 28th Patriarch of Buddhism in a line of descent from Śākyamuni Buddha via his disciple Mahākāśyapa, and the first Patriarch of Chán:
Mahakashyapa was the first, leading the line of transmission;
Twenty-eight Fathers followed him in the West;
The Lamp was then brought over the sea to this country;
And Bodhidharma became the First Father here
His mantle, as we all know, passed over six Fathers,
And by them many minds came to see the Light.[23]
The idea of a line of descent from Śākyamuni Buddha is the basis for the distinctive lineage tradition of the Chán school.

Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall

In the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall (祖堂集 Zǔtángjí) of 952, the elements of the traditional Bodhidharma story are in place. Bodhidharma is said to have been a disciple of Prajñātāra,[2] thus establishing the latter as the 27th patriarch in India. After a three-year journey, Bodhidharma reaches China in 527[2] during the Liang Dynasty (as opposed to the Song period of the 5th century, as in Dàoxuān). The Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall includes Bodhidharma's encounter with Emperor Wu, which was first recorded around 758 in the appendix to a text by Shen-hui (神會), a disciple of Huineng.[24]
Finally, as opposed to Daoxuan's figure of "over 150 years,"[25] the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall states that Bodhidharma died at the age of 150. He was then buried on Mount Xiong'er (熊耳山 Xióngĕr Shān) to the west of Luoyang. However, three years after the burial, in the Pamir Mountains, Sòngyún (宋雲)—an official of one of the later Wei kingdoms—encountered Bodhidharma, who claimed to be returning to India and was carrying a single sandal. Bodhidharma predicted the death of Songyun's ruler, a prediction which was borne out upon the latter's return. Bodhidharma's tomb was then opened, and only a single sandal was found inside.
Insofar as, according to the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall, Bodhidharma left the Liang court in 527 and relocated to Mount Song near Luoyang and the Shaolin Monastery, where he "faced a wall for nine years, not speaking for the entire time",[26] his date of death can have been no earlier than 536. Moreover, his encounter with the Wei official indicates a date of death no later than 554, three years before the fall of the last Wei kingdom.

Dàoyuán

Subsequent to the Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall, the only dated addition to the biography of Bodhidharma is in the Jingde Records of the Transmission of the Lamp (景德傳燈錄 Jĭngdé chuándēng lù, published 1004 CE), by Dàoyuán (道原), in which it is stated that Bodhidharma's original name had been Bodhitāra but was changed by his master Prajñātāra.[27]

Modern scholarship

Bodhidharma's origins

Though Dàoxuān wrote that Bodhidharma was "of South Indian Brahman stock," Broughton (1999:2) notes that Bodhidharma's royal pedigree implies that he was of the Kshatriya warrior caste. Mahajan (1972:705–707) argued that the Pallava dynasty was a Tamilian dynasty and Zvelebil (1987) proposed that Bodhidharma was born a prince of the Pallava dynasty in their capital of Kanchipuram.
Yáng Xuànzhī's eyewitness account identifies Bodhidharma as a Persian (波斯國胡人 bō-sī guó hú rén) from the Western Regions (西域 xī yù, usually referring to Central Asia), and Broughton (1999:54) notes that an Iranian Buddhist monk making his way to North China via the Silk Road is more likely than that of a South Indian master making his way by sea.[28] Broughton (1999:138) also states that the language Yang uses in his description of Bodhidharma is specifically associated with "Central Asia and particularly to peoples of Iranian extraction" and that of "an Iranian speaker who hailed from somewhere in Central Asia". However, Broughton 1999:54 notes that Yáng may have actually been referring to another monk named Boddhidharma, not related to the historical founder of Chan Buddhism.[29]

Bodhidharma's name

Bodhidharma was said to be originally named Bodhitara. His surname was Chadili. His Dhyāna teacher, Prajnatara, is said to have renamed him Bodhidharma.[30]
Faure (1986) notes that "Bodhidharma’s name appears sometimes truncated as Bodhi, or more often as Dharma (Ta-mo). In the first case, it may be confused with another of his rivals, Bodhiruci."
Tibetan sources give his name as "Bodhidharmottāra" or "Dharmottara", that is, "Highest teaching (dharma) of enlightenment".[31]

Practice and teaching

Meditation

Tanlin, in the preface to Two Entrances and Four Acts, and Daoxuan, in the Further Biographies of Eminent Monks, mention a practice of Bodhidharma's termed "wall-gazing" (壁觀 bìguān). Both Tanlin[32] and Daoxuan[33] associate this "wall-gazing" with "quieting [the] mind"[16] (安心 ān xīn). Elsewhere, Daoxuan also states: "The merits of Mahāyāna wall-gazing are the highest".[34] These are the first mentions in the historical record of what may be a type of meditation being ascribed to Bodhidharma.
Bodhidharma seated in meditation before a wall; ink painting by Sesshū
In the Two Entrances and Four Acts, traditionally attributed to Bodhidharma, the term "wall-gazing" also appears:
Those who turn from delusion back to reality, who meditate on walls, the absence of self and other, the oneness of mortal and sage, and who remain unmoved even by scriptures are in complete and unspoken agreement with reason.[35]
Exactly what sort of practice Bodhidharma's "wall-gazing" was remains uncertain. Nearly all accounts have treated it either as an undefined variety of meditation, as Daoxuan and Dumoulin,[34] or as a variety of seated meditation akin to the zazen (坐禪; Chinese: zuòchán) that later became a defining characteristic of Chán; the latter interpretation is particularly common among those working from a Chán standpoint.[36] There have also, however, been interpretations of "wall-gazing" as a non-meditative phenomenon.[37]

The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra

The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, one of the Mahāyāna Buddhist sūtras, is a highly "difficult and obscure" text[38] whose basic thrust is to emphasize "the inner enlightenment that does away with all duality and is raised above all distinctions".[39] It is among the first and most important texts in the Yogācāra, or "Consciousness-only", school of Mahāyāna Buddhism.[40]
One of the recurrent emphases in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra is a lack of reliance on words to effectively express reality:
If, Mahamati, you say that because of the reality of words the objects are, this talk lacks in sense. Words are not known in all the Buddha-lands; words, Mahamati, are an artificial creation. In some Buddha-lands ideas are indicated by looking steadily, in others by gestures, in still others by a frown, by the movement of the eyes, by laughing, by yawning, or by the clearing of the throat, or by recollection, or by trembling.[41]
In contrast to the ineffectiveness of words, the sūtra instead stresses the importance of the "self-realization" that is "attained by noble wisdom"[42] and occurs "when one has an insight into reality as it is":[43] "The truth is the state of self-realization and is beyond categories of discrimination".[44] The sūtra goes on to outline the ultimate effects of an experience of self-realization:
[The Bodhisattva] will become thoroughly conversant with the noble truth of self-realization, will become a perfect master of his own mind, will conduct himself without effort, will be like a gem reflecting a variety of colours, will be able to assume the body of transformation, will be able to enter into the subtle minds of all beings, and, because of his firm belief in the truth of Mind-only, will, by gradually ascending the stages, become established in Buddhahood.[45]
One of the fundamental Chán texts attributed to Bodhidharma is a four-line stanza whose first two verses echo the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra's disdain for words and whose second two verses stress the importance of the insight into reality achieved through "self-realization":
A special transmission outside the scriptures,
Not founded upon words and letters;
By pointing directly to [one's] mind
It lets one see into [one's own true] nature and [thus] attain Buddhahood.[46]
The stanza, in fact, is not Bodhidharma's, but rather dates to the year 1108.[47] Nonetheless, there are earlier texts which explicitly associate Bodhidharma with the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. Daoxuan, for example, in a late recension of his biography of Bodhidharma's successor Huike, has the sūtra as a basic and important element of the teachings passed down by Bodhidharma:
In the beginning Dhyana Master Bodhidharma took the four-roll Laṅkā Sūtra, handed it over to Huike, and said: "When I examine the land of China, it is clear that there is only this sutra. If you rely on it to practice, you will be able to cross over the world."[48]
Another early text, the Record of the Masters and Disciples of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra (楞伽師資記 Léngqié shīzī jì) of Jìngjué (淨覺; 683–750), also mentions Bodhidharma in relation to this text. Jingjue's account also makes explicit mention of "sitting meditation", or zazen:[49]
For all those who sat in meditation, Master Bodhi[dharma] also offered expositions of the main portions of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, which are collected in a volume of twelve or thirteen pages,[50] [...] bearing the title of Teaching of [Bodhi-]Dharma.[51]
In other early texts, the school that would later become known as Chán is sometimes referred to as the "Laṅkāvatāra school" (楞伽宗 Léngqié zōng).[52]

Legends

In Southeast Asia

According to Southeast Asian folklore, Bodhidharma travelled from south India by sea to Sumatra, Indonesia for the purpose of spreading the Mahayana doctrine. From Palembang, he went north into what are now Malaysia and Thailand. He travelled the region transmitting his knowledge of Buddhism and martial arts[53] before eventually entering China through Vietnam. Malay legend holds that Bodhidharma introduced preset forms to silat.[53]

Encounter with Emperor Xiāo Yǎn 蕭衍

The Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall tells us that in 527 during the Liang Dynasty, Bodhidharma, the first Patriarch of Chán, visited the Emperor Wu (Emperor Xiāo Yǎn 蕭衍 (posthumous name Wǔdì 武帝) of Liáng 梁 China), a fervent patron of Buddhism. The emperor asked Bodhidharma, "How much karmic merit have I earned for ordaining Buddhist monks, building monasteries, having sutras copied, and commissioning Buddha images?" Bodhidharma answered, "None. Good deeds done with worldly intent bring good karma, but no merit." The emperor then asked Bodhidharma, "So what is the highest meaning of noble truth?" Bodhidharma answered, "There is no noble truth, there is only void." The emperor then asked Bodhidharma, "Then, who is standing before me?" Bodhidharma answered, "I know not, Your Majesty."[54]
From then on, the emperor refused to listen to whatever Bodhidharma had to say. Although Bodhidharma came from India to China to become the first patriarch of China, the emperor refused to recognize him. Bodhidharma knew that he would face difficulty in the near future, but had the emperor been able to leave the throne and yield it to someone else, he could have avoided his fate of starving to death.
According to the teaching, Emperor Wu's past life was as a bhikshu. While he cultivated in the mountains, a monkey would always steal and eat the things he planted for food, as well as the fruit in the trees. One day, he was able to trap the monkey in a cave and blocked the entrance of the cave with rocks, hoping to teach the monkey a lesson. However, after two days, the bhikshu found that the monkey had died of starvation.
Supposedly, that monkey was reincarnated into Hou Jing of the Northern Wei Dynasty, who led his soldiers to attack Nanjing. After Nanjing was taken, the emperor was held in captivity in the palace and was not provided with any food, and was left to starve to death. Though Bodhidharma wanted to save him and brought forth a compassionate mind toward him, the emperor failed to recognize him, so there was nothing Bodhidharma could do. Thus, Bodhidharma had no choice but to leave Emperor Wu to die and went into meditation in a cave for nine years.
This encounter would later form the basis of the first kōan of the collection The Blue Cliff Record. However that version of the story is somewhat different. In the Blue Cliff's telling of the story, there is no claim that Emperor Wu did not listen to Bodhidharma after the Emperor was unable to grasp the meaning. Instead, Bodhidharma left the presence of the Emperor once Bodhidharma saw that the Emperor was unable to understand. Then Bodhidharma went across the river to the kingdom of Wei.
After Bodhidharma left, the Emperor asked the official in charge of the Imperial Annals about the encounter. The Official of the Annals then asked the Emperor if he still denied knowing who Bodhidharma was? When the Emperor said he didn't know, the Official said, "This was the Great-being Guanyin (i.e., the Mahasattva Avalokiteśvara) transmitting the imprint of the Buddha's Heart-Mind."
The Emperor regretted his having let Bodhidharma leave and was going to dispatch a messenger to go and beg Bodhidharma to return. The Official then said, "Your Highness, do not say to send out a messenger to go fetch him. The people of the entire nation could go, and he still would not return."

Nine years of wall-gazing

Failing to make a favorable impression in Southern China, Bodhidharma is said to have traveled to the northern Chinese kingdom of Wei to the Shaolin Monastery. After either being refused entry to the temple or being ejected after a short time, he lived in a nearby cave, where he "faced a wall for nine years, not speaking for the entire time".[26]
The biographical tradition is littered with apocryphal tales about Bodhidharma's life and circumstances. In one version of the story, he is said to have fallen asleep seven years into his nine years of wall-gazing. Becoming angry with himself, he cut off his eyelids to prevent it from happening again.[55] According to the legend, as his eyelids hit the floor the first tea plants sprang up; and thereafter tea would provide a stimulant to help keep students of Chán awake during meditation.[56]
The most popular account relates that Bodhidharma was admitted into the Shaolin temple after nine years in the cave and taught there for some time. However, other versions report that he "passed away, seated upright";[26] or that he disappeared, leaving behind the Yi Jin Jing;[57] or that his legs atrophied after nine years of sitting,[58] which is why Japanese Bodhidharma dolls have no legs.

Bodhidharma at Shaolin

Some Chinese accounts describe Bodhidharma as being disturbed by the poor physical shape of the Shaolin monks, after which he instructed them in techniques to maintain their physical condition as well as teaching meditation. He is said to have taught a series of external exercises called the Eighteen Arhat Hands (Shi-ba Lohan Shou), and an internal practice called the Sinew Metamorphosis Classic.[59] In addition, after his departure from the temple, two manuscripts by Bodhidharma were said to be discovered inside the temple: the Yijin Jing (易筋經 or "Muscle/Tendon Change Classic") and the Xi Sui Jing. Copies and translations of the Yi Jin Jing survive to the modern day, though many modern historians believe it to be of much more recent origin.[57] The Xi Sui Jing has been lost.[30]
Both the attribution of Shaolin boxing to Bodhidharma and the authenticity of the Yi Jin Jing itself have been discredited by some historians including Tang Hao, Xu Zhen and Matsuda Ryuchi. This argument is summarized by modern historian Lin Boyuan in his Zhongguo wushu shi as follows:
As for the "Yi Jin Jing" (Muscle Change Classic), a spurious text attributed to Bodhidharma and included in the legend of his transmitting martial arts at the temple, it was written in the Ming dynasty, in 1624, by the Daoist priest Zining of Mt. Tiantai, and falsely attributed to Bodhidharma. Forged prefaces, attributed to the Tang general Li Jing and the Southern Song general Niu Gao were written. They say that, after Bodhidharma faced the wall for nine years at Shaolin temple, he left behind an iron chest; when the monks opened this chest they found the two books "Xi Sui Jing" (Marrow Washing Classic) and "Yi Jin Jing" within. The first book was taken by his disciple Huike, and disappeared; as for the second, "the monks selfishly coveted it, practicing the skills therein, falling into heterodox ways, and losing the correct purpose of cultivating the Real. The Shaolin monks have made some fame for themselves through their fighting skill; this is all due to having obtained this manuscript." Based on this, Bodhidharma was claimed to be the ancestor of Shaolin martial arts. This manuscript is full of errors, absurdities and fantastic claims; it cannot be taken as a legitimate source.[57]
The oldest available copy was published in 1827[60] and the composition of the text itself has been dated to 1624.[57] Even then, the association of Bodhidharma with martial arts only becomes widespread as a result of the 1904–1907 serialization of the novel The Travels of Lao Ts'an in Illustrated Fiction Magazine.[61]

Teaching

In one legend, Bodhidharma refused to resume teaching until his would-be student, Dazu Huike, who had kept vigil for weeks in the deep snow outside of the monastery, cut off his own left arm to demonstrate sincerity.[62]

After death

Three years after Bodhidharma's death, Ambassador Song Yun of northern Wei is said to have seen him walking while holding a shoe at the Pamir Heights. Song Yun asked Bodhidharma where he was going, to which Bodhidharma replied "I am going home". When asked why he was holding his shoe, Bodhidharma answered "You will know when you reach Shaolin monastery. Don't mention that you saw me or you will meet with disaster". After arriving at the palace, Song Yun told the emperor that he met Bodhidharma on the way. The emperor said Bodhidharma was already dead and buried, and had Song Yun arrested for lying. At the Shaolin Temple, the monks informed them that Bodhidharma was dead and had been buried in a hill behind the temple. The grave was exhumed and was found to contain a single shoe. The monks then said "Master has gone back home" and prostrated three times.
For nine years he had remained and nobody knew him;
Carrying a shoe in hand he went home quietly, without ceremony.

Thursday 18 August 2011

potaot electricity


Potato Power: Teacher's Guide

Introduction

In this activity, you will learn how to build a battery from potatoes. Along the way, you will answer the following questions:

  1. How does a battery work?
  2. What is current?
  3. What is voltage?
  4. What happens when you put two batteries in series?
  5. What happens when you put two batteries in parallel?

You will then use what you have learned to design a potato battery to light two LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). I will tell you now, the two LEDs need 1.6 volts and 2 milliamps. What does that mean?! You will find out...

Background

The battery was invented around 1800 by Alessandro Volta in Italy. It has become an indispensable part of modern life. Wherever you look, you�ll find devices that use batteries.

Why are batteries so useful? Because they convert chemical energy into electrical energy. You can use this electrical energy to light a flashlight, to start a car, or to listen to your favorite music.

You can make a simple battery by placing a zinc strip and a copper strip in an acid. At the zinc strip, the acid dissolves the zinc freeing electrons. At the copper strip, the acid uses those electrons to form hydrogen gas. Because the zinc strip frees electrons and the copper strip uses electrons, if you put a wire between the two strips, then electrons will flow from the zinc to the copper. This is electrical energy.



Pre-Activity

Done before the class as an introduction to batteries and the chemical reactions going on.

Need two 500 mL beakers, vinegar, 2 copper strips, 2 zinc strips, and low current LED. Hook up the beakers and strips as 2 batteries in series and attach the LED. Half fill the beakers with water. Show that the LED is dimly lit. Add vinegar, representing free protons, to the beakers and show that the LED is now brightly lit.

Materials

  • metal strips: copper, aluminum, zinc (galvanized steel)
  • potatoes (at least 4)
  • multimeter (volts, milliamps)
  • wire clips
  • steel wool (to clean the metal strips)

Simple Potato Battery

  1. Select two different metal strips and one potato.
  2. Carefully place the metal strips into the potato.

Congratulations! You have just made a battery! Simple, yes? Now you will learn about your battery.

At this point, you may be wondering, What is the acid in the potato? What is causing a chemical reaction? The explanation is:
1. the potato has a mild phosphoric acid content H3PO4
2. reduction at Cu (copper) electrode:
2H+ + 2e- -> H2 gas
3. oxidation at Zn (zinc) electrode:
Zn -> Zn++ + 2e-

The H3PO4 acid puts the hydrogen ions in solution. So basically, the phosphoric acid in the potato acts like the acetic acid (vinegar) that we used in the pre-activity.

Voltage

  1. Set the meter to "DC Volts" and make sure the probes are plugged into the correct jacks. Also make sure that the scale is correct. All multimeters are different, but there should be a low scale, something like 2V, or 6V.
  2. Attach wires from the meter's probes to the metal strips.
  3. What does the meter read? (enter on the worksheet)

Remember that in a battery, one metal strip is becoming positive and the other negative. Voltage is a measure of this charge difference. It is measured in units called "volts", named after the inventor of the battery.

Voltage is a lot like a hill. A hill is due to a height difference. Voltage is due to a charge difference. Say you roll a ball down a hill. The higher the hill, the faster the ball will go. A ball rolling down a high hill has more energy than a ball rolling down a low hill. In the same way, an electron going across a large voltage has more energy than an electron going across a small voltage.

Current

  1. Set the meter to "DC milliamps" and make sure the probes are plugged into the correct jacks. (Use the smallest setting on the multimeter.)
  2. Attach wires from the meter's probes to the metal strips.
  3. What does the meter read? (enter on the worksheet) (You may notice that the current decreases. As the current decreases, you are draining the battery. So take your measurement, then disconnect the wires.)

Remember that in a battery, electrons are leaving one metal strip and flowing to the other strip. Current is a measure of how many electrons are flowing in time. It is measured in units called "amps", but because our currents are so small, we use milliamps (1/1000 of an amp).

Electron current is a lot like a stream. A stream is the flow of water. Electron current is the flow of electrons.

Different Metals

Now that you know how to make a potato battery, and know what voltage and current are, you will try to make a better battery.

Some metals make better batteries than others. You will try to find the combination of metals that gives the most voltage and current.

What combination of metals made the most voltage and current together? (circle it on the worksheet)

From now on, use this best combination of metals in making batteries.

Potatoes in Series

  1. Make another potato battery.
  2. Wire up the two potatoes in series, as shown below.
  3. Think about voltage as the height of a hill. What do you predict the total voltage will be? (What would the total height be if you put two hills in series?) (enter on worksheet)
  4. Measure the voltage of the two potatoes in series. (enter on worksheet)
  5. How does this voltage compare to the voltage produced by just one potato?
  6. Think about current as a stream. What do you predict the total current will be? (What would the total current be if you put two streams in series?) (enter on worksheet)
  7. Measure the current of the two potatoes in series. (enter on worksheet)
  8. How does this current compare to the current produced by just one potato?

Potatoes in Parallel

  1. Wire up the two potatoes in parallel, as shown below.
  2. Think about voltage as the height of a hill. What do you predict the total voltage will be? (What would the total height be if you put two hills in parallel?) (enter on worksheet)
  3. Measure the voltage of the two potatoes in parallel. (enter on worksheet)
  4. How does this voltage compare to the voltage produced by just one potato?
  5. Think about current as a stream. What do you predict the total current will be? (What would the total current be if you put two streams in parallel?) (enter on worksheet)
  6. Measure the current of the two potatoes in parallel. (enter on worksheet)
  7. How does this current compare to the current produced by just one potato?

Light the LEDs

Now you are qualified to be a battery engineer! Your job is to design a more complicated potato battery to light two LEDs.

Two LEDs need 1.6 volts and 1 milliamp to light brightly. The more current, the brighter the light. By putting potatoes in series and parallel, design a battery to do this:

Now test your battery with the LEDs. LEDs are special lights that have a positive side (red wire) and negative side (black wire). Make sure you attach the positive side of your battery to the red wire and the negative side to the black wire.

Notes

  • The best combination of metals should be copper and zinc.
  • The LEDs used here are special low current LEDs, rated for 1.8 V and 1 mA, but they will fire at about 1.6 V and .2 mA.
  • One LED should fire with 2 potatoes in series (this barely produces the needed 1.6 V), but you may need 3.
  • The 2 LED eyes are wired in parallel. Four potatoes should brightly light the eyes: two pairs in series, those pairs in parallel.
  • The zinc used here is really galvanized steel, meaning zinc coated steel. Zinc is dissolved from the strips in the battery, so the metal strips have a finite lifetime.
  • Do not eat the potatoes afterwards!













Make a Battery from Potato
Introduction:
Batteries generate electricity through a chemical reaction between two different electrodes and one electrolyte. Use of Copper and Zinc electrodes and Sulfuric acid as electrolyte is a proven method for this process. We are wondering if we can use any other liquid as electrolyte? This gave us the idea of using a potato as electrolyte. After all a fresh potato has a lot of juice that may serve our purpose as electrolyte.
Problem:
Can Potato be used to generate electricity?
Hypothesis:
Potato juice contains many water soluble chemicals that may cause a chemical reaction with one or both of our electrodes. So we may get some electricity from that.
 
Material:
For this experiment we use:
  • A fresh potato
  • Copper Electrode
  • Zinc Electrode
  • A Digital or Analog Multimeter to measure Voltage or Current of produced electricity.
  • Alligator clips/ Leads

Procedure:
We insert copper and zinc electrodes in to the potato, close but not touching each other. We use Clip leads to connect our electrodes to the Multimeter to measure voltage between two electrodes or current passing through the multimeter. For this experiment we removed the shell of a broken AA battery for our Zinc electrode. (Make sure to test your multimeter by connecting its Positive and Negative wires to each other that should show no current and no voltage).
 
 Record And Analyze Data:
A digital multimeter showed 1.2 volts between the electrodes, but the analog multimeter showed a much smaller value. In other words even though the voltage between electrodes is 1.2 Volts, the speed of production of electricity is not high enough for an analog multimeter to show the exact voltage. (Analog multimeter gets its power from our potato to show the voltage, but digital Multimeter gets its power from an internal battery and does not consume any of the electricity produced by our potato, that is why it shows a larger and more accurate value).
We repeated this experiment with some other fruits and all resulted almost the same. In all cases the produced voltage is between 1 and 1.5 volts, and in all cases they do not produce enough current to turn on a small light.
 Another thing that we learned from this experiment is that creating electricity and making a battery is easy, the main challenge is producing a battery that can continue to produce larger amount of electricity for larger amount of time.
By connecting multiple potato batteries you can make enough electricity to light-up a super bright light emitting diode (Included in the kit)

Tuesday 16 August 2011

ஊழல் ஒழிப்பில் உங்கள் பங்கென்ன? தினமலர் வாசகர்களே ஆதரவு கரம் கொடுப்பீர்

வல்லரசு என்ற வானளாவிய சிகரத்தை எட்டுவதற்கான நம் பயணத்தில், மாபெரும் தடைக்கல்லாய் எழுந்து நிற்கிறது ஊழல். கையூட்டு, லஞ்சம், ஊழல் என வெவ்வேறு வடிவங்களில் சுற்றிச் சுழன்று நம்மை வீழ்த்தும் இந்த காரணிகளிலிருந்து நம் தேசத்தைக் காக்க வேண்டிய மகத்தான கடமை, நமக்கிருக்கிறது. அதிலும் நம் தமிழகத்துக்கு இப்போது அந்தப் பொறுப்பு, ரொம்பவே அதிகரித்திருக்கிறது; அதற்காக ஒரு வாய்ப்பும் கிடைத்திருக்கிறது. பிரதமர் மற்றும் அமைச்சர்கள் மீதான ஊழல் குற்றச்சாட்டுகளை விசாரிப்பதற்கான லோக்பால் மசோதாவை உடனடியாக நிறைவேற்றக் கோரி, காந்திய தொண்டர் அன்னா ஹசாரே டில்லியில் துவக்கியுள்ள அகிம்சைப் போராட்டத்துக்கு, தேசம் முழுவதும் ஆதரவு அலை பெருகி வருகிறது. தமிழகத்திலிருந்தும் ஹசாரேக்கு ஆதரவாக பல கோடி கரங்கள் நீள்கின்றன.
நாட்டையே தூய்மைப்படுத்தும் இந்த போராட்டத்தில் உங்கள் பங்‌கென்ன? தினமலர் வாசகர்கள் தங்கள் பகுதியில் நடைபெறும் ஊழல் எதிர்ப்பு போராட்டம் தொடர்பான செய்திகளை ஆங்கிலத்திலோ தமிழிலோ எழுதி புகைப்படத்துடன் அனுப்பினால் அதை வெளியிடத் தயாராக இருக்கி‌றோம். பூனைக்கு மணி கட்டுவது யார் என்ற கேள்விக்கு இப்போது விடை கிடைத்துள்ளது. இந்த போராட்டத்தை உங்கள் பகுதியில் நடத்த ஏற்பாடு செய்யுங்கள். அது குறித்து எங்களுக்கு தெரிவியுங்கள். ஊழல் ஒழிப்பிற்கு நம்மால் இயன்ற கட‌மையைச் செய்வோம்.

anna hazare




The Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's ombudsman Bill) is a draft anti-corruption bill drawn up by prominent civil society activists seeking the appointment of a Jan Lokpal, an independent body that would investigate corruption cases, complete the investigation within a year and envisages trial in the case getting over in the next one year.

Drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde (former Supreme Court Judge and former Lokayukta of Karnataka), Prashant Bhushan (Supreme Court Lawyer) and Arvind Kejriwal (RTI activist), the draft Bill envisages a system where a corrupt person found guilty would go to jail within two years of the complaint being made and his ill-gotten wealth being confiscated. It also seeks power to the Jan Lokpal to prosecute politicians and bureaucrats without government permission.

Retired IPS officer Kiran Bedi and other known people like Swami Agnivesh, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Anna Hazare and Mallika Sarabhai are also part of the movement, called India Against Corruption. Its website describes the movement as "an expression of collective anger of people of India against corruption. We have all come together to force/request/persuade/pressurize the Government to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill. We feel that if this Bill were enacted it would create an effective deterrence against corruption."

Anna Hazare, anti-corruption crusader, went on a fast-unto-death in April, demanding that this Bill, drafted by the civil society, be adopted. Four days into his fast, the government agreed to set up a joint committee with an equal number of members from the government and civil society side to draft the Lokpal Bill together. The two sides met several times but could not agree on fundamental elements like including the PM under the purview of the Lokpal. Eventually, both sides drafted their own version of the Bill.

The government has introduced its version in Parliament in this session. Team Anna is up in arms and calls the government version the "Joke Pal Bill." Anna Hazare declared that he would begin another fast in Delhi on August 16. Hours before he was to begin his hunger strike, the Delhi Police detained and later arrested him. There are widespread protests all over the country against his arrest.        

The website of the India Against Corruption movement calls the Lokpal Bill of the government an "eyewash" and has on it a critique of that government Bill.

A look at the salient features of Jan Lokpal Bill:

1. An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up

2. Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.

3. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.

4. The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.

5. How will it help a common citizen: If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.

6. So, you could approach Lokpal if your ration card or passport or voter card is not being made or if police is not registering your case or any other work is not being done in prescribed time. Lokpal will have to get it done in a month's time. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal like ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads been constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off. Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years.

7. But won't the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? That won't be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.

8. What if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt? The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.

9. What will happen to existing anti-corruption agencies? CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.

10. It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption

Sunday 14 August 2011

மதுரை திருமலைநாயக்கர் மகால்


மதுரை திருமலைநாயக்கர் மகாலில் சூட்டிங் நடத்த தடை

தற்போதைய செய்தி
மதுரை திருமலைநாயக்கர் மகாலில் சினிமா சூட்டிங் நடத்த இடைக்கால தடைவிதித்து மதுரை ஐகோர்ட் கிளை உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது. கோயில் நகரான மதுரைக்கு பல்வேறு சிறப்புகள் ஒன்று. அவற்றுள் மதுரை திருமலைநாயக்கர் மகாலும் ஒன்று.
மன்னர் திருமலைநாயக்கரால் கட்டப்பட்ட இந்த அரண்மனை, ஆண்டுகள் பல கடந்து இன்றும் அதன்பெருமையை பறைசாற்றி வருகிறது. இந்நிலையில் சமீப காலமாக தொடர்ந்து இங்கு நடந்து வரும் சினிமா சூட்டிங் மற்றும் சரியான பராமரிப்பு இல்லாதது போன்ற காரணங்களால் மகால் பொலிவிழந்து காணப்படுகிறது.
இதனை எதிர்த்து மதுரை அண்ணாநகரை சேர்ந்த, முத்துக்‌குமார் என்பவர் பொதுநல வழக்கு ஒன்று தொடர்ந்து இருந்தார். இந்த வழக்கு மீதான விசாரணை இன்று (11.08.11) நடந்தது. இதில் மகாலில் சினிமா சூட்டிங்கை நடத்த தற்காலிக தடைவிதிப்பதாகவும், மேற்கொண்டு மகாலை பராமரிக்கவும், பாதுகாக்கவும் சம்மந்தப்பட்ட அதிகாரிகள் உடனடியாக நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும் என்று உத்தரவிடப்பட்டுள்ளது

தமிழ்மொழியின் சிறப்புகள்


தமிழ்மொழியின் சிறப்புகள்


தமிழால் வளர்ந்தேன் - தாய்மொழி தமிழின் சிறப்புகள்

இன்று உலக தாய்மொழி தினம் .என் தாயின் மொழி செம்மொழி   தமிழால் வளர்ந்தேன் .என் தாயின் மொழியின் பெருமை கூறுவது என் தாயின் பெருமை கூறுவது போலாகும் .

தமிழின்  சிறப்பென்றால் அனைவர் எண்ணங்களில் முன்வருவது அதன் லகர ழகரங்கள் ,வாழ்க்கையில் எப்படி வாழவேண்டும் வாழக்கூடாது என்று கூறும் நூல் திருக்குறள் மற்றும்  உச்சரிப்பு இனிமை போன்ற கருத்துக்கள் தான் .

தமிழ் எனும் சொல்லின் பொருள் இனிமை ,எளிமை ,நீர்மை என்பதாகும் .

தமிழில் பகுபதம் ,பகாப்பதம் என இரண்டு வகை உண்டு .அவை  பிரித்துப்பார்க்க வேண்டியவை ,பிரித்துப்பார்க்க கூடாதவையாகும் . 

உதாரணமாக கடவுள்(கட + உள் ) என்ற சொல்லின் பொருள் எல்லாவற்றையும் கடந்து உள்ளிருப்பவன் என்பதல்ல . நீ ஆசைகளை ,பந்த பாசங்கள்  எல்லாவற்றையும் கட உனக்குள் கடவுள் இருப்பான் என்பதாகும் .

எண்கள் என்றால் அரேபியர்களை தான் கூறுகின்றனர் ஆனால் அவர்களுக்கு அது பற்றி ஒன்று தெரியவில்லை .கேட்டால் இந்தியர்களிடம் இருந்து வந்தது என்கின்றனர் .வட இந்தியனை கேட்டால் அவனுக்கு ஒன்றும் தெரியாது .இந்திய அரேபிய குழப்பத்தில் இருக்கும் எண்களை தமிழ் கல்வெட்டுகளில்  பாருங்கள் .உங்களுக்கே புரியும் .


இது சிறிய அளவின்  பிரிவுகள் .

1/102400 - கீழ்முந்திரி
1/2150400 - இம்மி
1/23654400 - மும்மி
1/165580800 - அணு --> ≈ 6,0393476E-9 --> ≈ nano = 0.000000001
1/1490227200 - குணம்
1/7451136000 - பந்தம்
1/44706816000 - பாகம்
1/312947712000 - விந்தம்
1/5320111104000 - நாகவிந்தம்
1/74481555456000 - சிந்தை
1/489631109120000 - கதிர்முனை
1/9585244364800000 - குரல்வளைப்படி
1/575114661888000000 - வெள்ளம்
1/57511466188800000000 - நுண்மணல்
1/2323824530227200000000 - தேர்த்துகள்

இந்த இம்மியளவும் அசையாது என்று நம்  பேச்சு  வழக்கில்  பேசும் சொல்.

தமிழை அழகு தமிழ் ,இசைத்தமிழ் ,அமுதத்தமிழ் என மேலும் பல பெயர்கள் உண்டு .பட்டியலை பார்க்க 

தமிழ் எழுத்துக்களின் ஒலி வடிவம் இனிமையானதொடு மட்டும்மல்லாது அதை உச்சரிக்கும் போது குறைந்தளவு காற்றே வெளியேறுகிறது .இது மொழியியலார்களின் ஆராய்ச்சி முடிவு .

உலகில் இருக்கும் எந்த மொழிகளின் இலக்கியத்தையும் உணர்ச்சி, பொருள், நயம், வடிவம் குன்றாமல் மொழி பெயர்த்து விடலாம் .ஆனால் தமிழை அப்படியே பிரதிபலிக்க வேறு எந்த மொழிகளாலும்  முடியாது . 

ஏன் உங்கள் காதலிக்கு உங்கள் காதலை கூட சரியாக மனதில் உள்ள எண்ணங்களை அப்படியே வெளிப்படுத்த தமிழால் மட்டுமே முடியும் .

உதாரணமாக ஆங்கிலம் மற்ற மொழிகளை கடன் வாங்கி வளர்ந்ததால் அதன் சொல் உச்சரிப்புக்கும் எழுத்து உச்சரிப்புக்கும் சம்மந்தமே இருக்காது  .

தமிழில் அன்பை இப்படி பிரிக்கலாம் . அ + ன்+ பு(ப் +உ) இந்த எழுத்துக்களை தனித்தனியே எப்படி உச்சரித்தாலும் அதே  சொல் தான் . LOVE உச்சரித்தால் எல்ஒவிஇ என்று தான் வரும் . 

ற,ன,ழ,எ,ஒ ஆகிய ஐந்து எழுத்துக்களும் தமிழின் சிறப்பு எழுத்துக்கள்  எனலாம் . அதிலும் ழ உலகமொழிகளில் பிரெஞ்சில் மட்டும் தான் காணப்படுகிறது . (நற்றமிழ் இலக்கணம்:டாக்டர் சொ.பரமசிவம்).தமிழுக்கே சிறப்பான ழகரம் உச்சரிப்புக்கள் எத்தனை பேர் சரியாக உச்சரிக்கிறார்கள் என்பது தான் கவலை . உச்சரித்து பாருங்கள் .அல்லது பாடி பாருங்கள் அதன் இனிமை உணர்வீர்கள் . 

டாக்டர்  கால்ர்டு வேல் போப் என்பவர்கள் தமிழை கற்று திருக்குறள் ,திருவாசகத்தை மொழிபெயர்த்தவர்கள் ஆவார்கள் .கலப்பில்லாத தூய தமிழ் என போப் தான் இறந்த பிறகு கல்லறையில் ஒரு தமிழ் மாணவன் என பொறிக்க சொன்னார் .

முக்கியமாக இந்த "கற்க்க கசடற கற்பவை கற்ற பின் நிற்க்க அதற்க்கு தக "எனும் குரல் கிட்டத்தட்ட 3000 வருடங்கள் முன் எழுதியது . இது இப்போது படித்தாலும் சாதாரண மனிதனுக்கே விளங்கும் .

3000 வருடங்களுக்கு முன்னர் இப்படி தமிழில் எழுதும் அளவுக்கு (இரண்டு வரியில் இவ்வவளவு அர்த்தம் ) மொழி அப்போதே வளர்ச்சி அடைந்திருக்கிறது  என்றால் அது எவ்வளவு காலத்திற்கு முதல் தோன்றியிருக்க வேண்டும் என சிந்தித்து பாருங்கள் . 

சீனன் சீன மொழியில் பேசினான் சீனா வளர்ந்தது , பிரான்ஸ் நாட்டுக்காரன் பிரெஞ்சு  மொழியில் பேசினான் பிரான்ஸ் வளர்ந்தது. தமிழன் ஆங்கிலத்தில் பேசினான் அமெரிக்கா  வளர்ந்தது .

முக்கியமாக சீனாவின் துயரம் மஞ்சள் நதி ,இந்தியாவின் துயரம் பிராமணர்கள் என்று புதுதாக சேர்த்துள்ளனர் சிலர் அதே போல....

தமிழர்களின்/தமிழின் துயரம்:- 
அரசியல் 
சினிமா 
மதம்/ஜாதி    

மேலே உள்ள தமிழ் மொழியின் சிறப்புகள் நம் முன்னோர்கள் புத்திசாலிகள் என்பதை காட்டுகிறது .ஆனால் நாம் ? 
"யாதும்  ஊரே யாவரும்  கேளிர்" என்ற உலக பொது நியதியை கொண்ட ஒரே மொழி இத்தகைய தமிழில் பிறந்து தமிழால் வளர்ந்ததை நினைத்து பெருமை கொள்வோம் 


உலகமொழிகள் ஏறத்தாழ மூவாயிரம் (2795) என தமிழ் வரலாறு எனும் நூலில் மொழிஞாயிறு ஞா.தேவநேயப் பாவாணர் குறிப்பிட்டுள்ளார். அவற்றுள் இயல்பாகத் தோன்றிய இயன்மொழியான நம் தமிழ் மொழிக்குப் பதினாறு பண்புகள் உள்ளன. நம் தமிழ் மொழி பல்வகைச் சிறப்புகளை ஒருங்கேயுடையது என்கிறார் பாவாணர்.

தொன்மை, முன்மை, எளிமை, ஒண்மை, இளமை, வளமை, தாய்மை, தூய்மை, செம்மை, மும்மை, இனிமை, தனிமை, பெருமை, திருமை, இயன்மை, வியன்மை
- ஞா.தேவநேயப் பாவாணர்

உலக மொழிகள் பலவற்றுக்கு எழுத்து, சொல், யாப்பு, அணி ஆகியன உண்டு ஆனால் தமிழ் மொழிக்கு மட்டும்தான் பொருளுக்கு இலக்கணம் உண்டு. ஆகையால்தான் தமிழை ஐந்திலக்கணம் என்றனர். பொருளிலக்கணம் பிறந்த முறையினை ‘இறையனார் அகப்பொருள்’ எனும் நூல் வழி அறியலாம். மேலும் அகத்திண ஏழும் புறத்திணை ஏழும் பகுத்துத் தந்தது தமிழ்.

அக்கால மக்கள் வீர வாழ்க்கையையும் கொடைச் சிறப்பையும் கொண்டிருந்தனர் என்பதற்குச் சான்றாக திகழ்வது பத்துப்பாட்டும் எட்டுத் தொகையுமாகும். பிற மொழிகளில் இல்லாத அளவிற்கு தமிழில் மலையளவு அறநூல்கள் உள்ளன. ஆழ்ந்து அகன்று தேடினாலும் திருக்குறள் போல் வேறு மொழிகளில் அறநூலுண்டோ?.

மனத்தை நெகிழ்வித்து உருக்குவதற்குத் தேனூறும் தேவார திருவாசகம் தமிழில் வைரமாக ஒளிர்கின்றன. வேற்று மொழிகளில் இல்லாத அளவிற்கு தொல்காப்பியம் தொடங்கி பன்னூறு இலக்கிய இலக்கண நூல்கள் தமிழுக்கு வளம் சேர்த்திருக்கின்றன. இன்றைய உலக மொழியான ஆங்கிலத்தில் கி.பி.14-ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில்தான் இலக்கியங்கள் தோன்றி இலக்கிய வளம் ஏற்பட்டது.

‘இனிமையும் நீர்மையும் தமிழென லாகும்’ - பிங்கலந்தை என்னும் நிகண்டு நூல்

‘தமிழ்’ என்னும் சொல்லின் பொருள் இனிமை, எளிமை, நீர்மை என்பதாகும். பெரும்பாலான வட இந்திய மொழிகளில் க,ச,ட,த,ப என்னும் ஐந்து வருக்கங்களில் ஒவ்வொரு ஒலிக்கும் நான்கு நான்கு எழுத்துகள் இருக்கின்றன. மேற்கூறப்பட்ட எழுத்துகளுள் தமிழில் ஒவ்வொன்றிற்கும் ஒரே எழுத்துதான். ஒலி வேறுபட்டபோதும் எழுத்து ஒன்றுதான். அதிக எழுத்துகளை நினைவில் வைத்துக் கொள்ளத் தேவையில்லை என்பதால் தமிழைக் கற்பது மிக எளிமையாகிறது

தமிழ் எழுத்துகளின் ஒலிகள் மிக இயற்கையாக எளிமையாக அமைந்திருப்பதால் எவ்வித இடர்பாடுமின்றி ஒலிகளை ஒலிக்க இயலும். தமிழைப் பேசும்போது குறைந்த காற்றே வெளியேறுகிறது. எடுத்துக் காட்டாக சமஸ்கிருத மொழியை பேசும் பொழுது அதிகமான காற்று வெளியே செல்வதால் உடல் உறுப்புகளுக்கு அதிக தேய்மானம் ஏற்படுவதாக மொழியியலர் கூறுகின்றனர். இதைச் சோதனையாக சமஸ்கிருத மொழியை கற்கும்போது அனுபவித்து உணர்ந்தவர் மறைமலையடிகள்.

தமிழில் ற,ன,ழ,எ,ஒ ஆகிய ஐந்து எழுத்துகளையும் சிறப்பெழுத்துகள் என நற்றமிழ் இலக்கணம் எனும் நூலில் டாக்டர் சொ.பரமசிவம் குறிப்பிடுகிறார். இவ்வைந்து எழுத்துக்களைத் தவிர்த்து தமிழிலுள்ள பிற எழுத்துகள் வட மொழியிலும் உள்ளவை; இரண்டிற்கும் பொதுவானவை.

ற,ன,ழ,எ,ஒ ஆகிய ஐந்து எழுத்துகளூள் ‘ழ’வைத் தவிர்த்து பிற நான்கும் பிற திராவிட மொழிகளிலும் உலக மொழிகளிலும் காணப்படுகின்றன. ‘ழ’ கரம் தமிழைத் தவிர்த்து திராவிட மொழியான மலையாள மொழியிலும் உலக மொழிகளுள் பிரெஞ்சு மொழியிலும் மட்டுமே உள்ளது.

பிற திராவிட மொழிகளான கன்னடம், தெலுங்கு, மலையாலம், துளு ஆகிய மொழிகள் வட மொழியின் துணையின்றி தனித்தியங்கும் வல்லமை கிடையாது. அம்மொழிகளில் வட மொழியினை நீக்கிவிட்டால் அம்மொழிகள் உயிர் அற்றதாகிவிடும். வட மொழியின் அடிப்படையிலே அவை கட்டப்பட்டுள்ளன. திராவிட மொழிகளில் தமிழ் மட்டும்தான் வட மொழியின் துணையின்றி தனித்து இயங்கவல்லது

“தமிழ் வடமொழியின் மகள் அன்று; அது தனிக்குடும்பத்திற்கு உரியமொழி; சமஸ்கிருதக் கலப்பின்றி அது தனித்தியங்கும் ஆற்றல் பெற்ற மொழி; தமிழுக்கும் இந்தியாவின் பிற மொழிகளுக்கும் தொடர்பு இருக்கலாம்.” - டாக்டர் கால்டுவெல்

உலகில் ஒரு மொழியில் இருக்கின்ற இலக்கியத்தை வெவ்வேறு மொழிகளில் உணர்ச்சி, பொருள், நயம், வடிவம் ஆகியவை குன்றாமல் மொழி பெயர்த்திட இயலும். ஆனால் தமிழ் இலக்கியத்தைப் பிற மொழிகளில் இந்நான்கும் குன்றாமல் மொழி பெயர்க்க முடியாது. எனவே தமிழ் இலக்கியத்தின் உயிர்ப் பொருளை பிற மொழிகளில் மொழி பெயர்க்க இயலாதது; முடியாதது.

தொன்மை மொழிகளான இலத்தீன், கிரேக்கம், எபிரேயம் ஆகியன பேச்சு வழக்கிழந்து ஏட்டளவில் மட்டுமே வாழ்கிறது. சமஸ்கிருதமோ ஏட்டளவிலும் குறைந்த எண்ணிக்கையினர் பேசுகின்ற கோயில் மொழியாக இருக்கின்றது. கடினமான மொழியான சீனம் ஒரே எழுத்துரு கொண்டிருப்பினும் பல்வேறு கிளைமொழிகளாகப் பிரிந்து விட்டது.

தமிழ்மொழி இன்றளவும் பேச்சளவிலும் ஏட்டளவிலும் உள்ள கன்னித் தமிழாக அழியாமல் இருக்கின்றது. தமிழின் இனிமையை பாராட்டாத இலக்கியங்களே இல்லை. கம்ப இராமாயணம்,
“ என்றுமுள தென்தமிழ்
இயம்பி இசை கொண்டான் ”

“ எத்தி றத்தினும் ஏழுல கும்புகழ்
முத்தும் முத்தமி ழும்தந்து முற்றலால்”
என்று புகழ்கின்றது.

தமிழ் விடுதூது,
“ இருந்தமிழே யுன்னால் இருந்தேன் இமையோர்
விருந்த மிழ்தம் என்றாலும் வேண்டேன்”
என்று வானோர் அமிழ்தத்தைவிடச் சிறந்தது தமிழே என்றுரைக்கின்றது.


தற்கால தமிழ் இலக்கியத்தின் முன்னோடியான பாரதி இவ்வாறு தமிழைப் புகழ்ந்துரைக்கின்றார்.
“ யாமறிந்த மொழிகளிலே தமிழ்மொழிபோல்
இனிதாவது எங்கும் காணோம்”
பாரதிதாசன்,
“ தமிழுக்கும் அமுதென்று பேர்- அந்தத்
தமிழ் இன்பத் தமிழெங்கள் உயிருக்குநேர்”

என்று நெஞ்சார நெகிழ்கிறார்.

தமிழின் சிறப்பை உணர்ந்த மேலைநாட்டறிஞர் டாக்டர் ஜி.யு.போப், தமிழை நன்கு கற்று அதன் சிறப்பினை உணர்ந்ததால் தமது கல்லறையில் ‘ஒரு தமிழ் மாணவன்’ என்று பொறிக்கச் செய்தார்.

திராவிட மொழிகளின் பழம் பெருமைக்கும், கலப்பில்லாத தூய மொழிவளம், இலக்கிய வளம், பண்பாட்டு வளம் ஆகியவற்றுக்கும் ஒரு சேம அருங்கலச் செப்பமாக விளங்குவது தமிழே.
- பன்மொழிப்புலவர் கா.அப்பாதுரையார்

ஒவ்வொரு மொழியும் தனிச்சிறப்பினை கொண்டிருக்கும். ஆங்கிலம் வாணிக மொழியென்றும், இலத்தீன் சட்ட மொழியென்றும், கிரேக்கம் இசை மொழியென்றும், பிரெஞ்சு தூது மொழியென்றும், தமிழ் பத்தி மொழியென்றும் உலகோரால் வழங்கப்படுகின்றது. தமிழில்தான் பத்திச் சொற்களும், பத்தி பாடல்கல்ளும் அதிகம்.

ஒன்றை நினைவில் கொள்ளுங்கள். உலகில் மற்ற மொழிகளெல்லாம் வாயினால் பேசப்பெற்றுச் செவிக்குக் கருத்தை உணர்த்த வல்லவை; ஆனால் தமிழ் மொழி இதயத்தால் பேசப்பெற்று இதயத்தால் உணரவைக்கும் மொழியாகும்

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