On Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 1:00 PM, Venkat Mangudi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote:
> Udhay Shankar N wrote: > > In the rich tradition of silken thread drift, I wonder if someone can > > explain the special significance of the numbers 108 and 1008 in Tamil > > tradition. > > > Is there a traditional significance? I just thought that it rolled off > the tongue pretty easily that saying 10[1-7,9]. But I might be very wrong. > > Venkat > > No, no...as *I* see it, 3 is a mystic number (trinity etc), and so is 9 which is thrice three (all the TVS family members, please note, even today have car number plates which total up to 9) and 12 times 9 is 108...this is also Sanskrit tradition, not only Dravidian. The "names of God/Goddesses" that are enumerated during worship are referred to as "shatha nAma" (hundred names) and "sahasra nAma" (thousand names) but are actually always 108 and 1008 in number. The mystic significance of numbers in religion (eg 786 is a sacred number for Muslims) is a fascinating subject for me, and I would love it if someone would explain the 1008. For a long time, people who gave cash at weddings, etc would never give just a hundred-rupee note, but add a one-rupee coin to it, there seems to be some avoidance of a number ending in "shoonyam" (zero, but which also means "vacuum" or "emptiness") which is not considered auspicious. And if someone can explain the 786 significance, too, I would be full of grate. Whenever I ask a Muslim, the answer I get is that it *IS* a sacred number...but *why* no one has explained yet. This list is Orrible. I have a LOT of work to do and instead of writing about the Bangalore cyclists' Tour of Nilgiris, I caught sight of this thread, and am now happily occupied with IT...er, Irrelevant Trivia. But then, Kalyan, who is probably the lurkiest person I know on this list, said at his closing keynote speech at Foss.in, that to be curious was one of the principles of both Foss and photography.... Cheers, Deepa.
