The sky movement and Tamil thinking in Pattupattu

Abstract

We could see the rise and set of the planets starting with the Sun. Tamil had many thoughts and opinions on the rise and set of those planets. They had calculated not only Sun’s orbit but also various other stars, planets and their orbital relations as well. Through Sangam literature, one could know that there were experts in calculating the celestial bodies. Subbu Reddiyar explains the poem from ‘puRanaanuuRu’ that there were people who had mastered for years and could tell the everyday measures of ‘the law of the sun and its movement, the orbit surrounding by its movement, the direction of the wind and the sky without an axile’ (puRam 30). Thus, it could be understood that the ancient Tamils were capable of measuring not only the sky but also the movements of Sun and the celestial bodies. That is how he poem mention details about the moon, stars and the movement of the Sun.