Tantrism in Tamil Nadu

In his 'History of Hindu Chemistry',while commenting on the Tantriks, P.C. Ray observes:

'Indian alchemy very largely derives its colour and flavour from it[Tantrism].' The Tantrik cult, according to Ray,is 'a curious mixture of alchemical processes on the one hand and grotesque and obscene and sometimes revolting rites on the other.'

The most important Tantrik text from the point of view of alchemical knowledge was Rasaratnakara but there were many others and Ray has given us a complete list of two dozen names.

The development of Tantrik mysticism in South India has some special importance, according to the book 'History of Chemistry in Ancient and Medieval India'(HCAMA); i give below a rough paraphrase primarily from what this book tells us (pg 125-6), together with some information gleaned from a few other sources:

First, Tamil Literature preserves for us a considerable body of poetical works attributed to the great South Indian Tantriks of the time. In Tamil, these Tantriks were called the sittars (cf. Sanskrit siddhas, the perfect ones i.e. the great adepts in Tantrism).

Of the eighteen sittars mentioned in these Tantrika works, one had the name Bogar in Tamil. A considerable number of medical and alchemical works are attributed to him. According to these sources, Bogar was originally a Chinese who came to India in the third century A.D.To begin with, he spent some time in Patna and Gaya before moving down south where he got himself initiated in Tantrism by the Tamil sittars. Eventually, he himself acquired the status of a sittar and by all means a foremost one. He not only wrote his treatises on alchemy and medicine; it is also believed that the South Indian sittars learnt a lot about these subjects from him as well. I quote from the book(HCAMA, pg 326):

"He[Bogar] is said to have visited Arabia and then returned to his country. It is further believed that some of his Tamil disciples accompanied him to China and after learning some mechanical arts returned to Tamil Nad."

Bogar was not the only Chinese among the South Indian sittars. We know of another Chinese sittar, called Pulipani in Tamil. It is said that he came to India along with Bogar and settled in Tamil Nadu. Evidently, like Bogar, Pulipani too worked his way up the status of a sittar in a similar manner. A considerable number of works on magic, medicine, and alchemy bear the name of Pulipani. These are all in Tamil, and of course, written from the Tantrik point of view.

The special interest of the works of the Tamil sittars is twofold. First, these indicate some kind of exchange of scientific or proto-scientific ideas and techniques between India and China. Of the eighteen South Indian sittars known to us, at least two were definitely Chinese.

Secondly, the evidence of the Tamil sources indicates that this interchange of scientific knowledge took place through the medium of Tantrism. The natural presumption is that there was something inherent in Tantrism that favoured the growth of the scientific trend.

Incidentially, the Tamil sittars were strongly opposed to the ultra idealistic philosophy known as the Advaita of Adi Sankar. Besides the zeal for direct observation and experimentation [which is at variance with the world denying philosophy called Advaita], the concept of liberation here is purely physical.

To the Tantrikas, liberation meant perfection and development of the body i.e. unlike the followers of the idealistic systems of Indian philosophy--the Advaita Vedantists and the Mahayana Buddhists--who belittled the importance of the body and dreamt of the liberation of the soul, the Tantrikas, with their supreme emphasis on the material human body (dehavada), conceived liberation only in terms of the development and culture of the body (kaya sadhana).

This is the reason why the Tantrikas were so concerned with concrete material measures that could ensure the development and preservation of the body itself. This explains also their contribution to alchemy and medicine. In short, the proto-materialism of the Tantrikas was the clue to their proto-scientific tendencies.


Some quotes may be given from a few authentic Tantric texts to demonstrate the zeal for scientific experiments in these people:

Said the Rudrayamala Tantra:

"I have performed the aforementioned experiments with my own hands and have seen them with my own eyes. They are not recorded from mere hearsay or from the dictation of a teacher. These are being promulgated for the benefit of mankind."

Similarly, the Rasendracintamani observes:

"I shall give publicity only to such processes as I have been able to verify by my own experiments...Those mercurial operations alone have found a place in my book, which I have been able to put to tests. Those who teach without being able to perform experiments labour in vain."

Most of the works of the Tamil Sittars still remain scattered over various manuscript libraries and monastaries of South India. When properly edited and analysed, these will give us rich material for reconstructing the history of Indian science.