Saturday, April 18, 2009

Tortoise and Siva

there is a slogam in second Thirumurai by Gnasambander
204. Kadambhur-slogam 732

Aravinodu Aamaiyum poondu amthughil vaenghai adhalum
Viravum thirumudi thanmael venn thinghal soodi virumbhip
Paravum thanik kadambhuril paing ghann vellaettrannall paadham
Iravum Paghalum paniya inbham namak kadhuvaamae

Meaning goes like this: Lord Siva has tortoise also along with snake as ornament;

when i analysed there was no direct reference to Siva associated with Tortoise;
one thing that fasicinated me was that tortoise never hatches its eggs;
Female tortoises dig nesting burrows in which they lay from one to thirty eggs.Egg laying typically occurs at night, after which the mother tortoise covers her clutch with sand, soil, and organic material. The eggs are left unattended, and depending on the species, take from 60 to 120 days to incubate.The size of the egg depends on the size of the mother and can be estimated by examining the width of the cloacal opening between the carapice and plastron. The plastron of a female tortoise often has a noticeable V-shaped notch below the tail to facilitate passing the eggs. Upon completion of the incubation period, a fully-formed hatchling uses an egg tooth to break out of its shell. It digs to the surface of the nest and begins a life of survival on its own. Hatchlings are born with an embryonic egg sac which serves as a source of nutrition for the first 3 to 7 days until they have the strength and mobility to find food. Juvenile tortoises often require a different balance of nutrients than adults, and therefore may eat foods which a more mature tortoise would not. For example, it is common that the young of a strictly herbivorous species will consume worms or insect larvae for additional protein.

given the above conditions survival of tortoise is just a miracle.
so the master miracle-maker might have thought to take the rare thing-favourite as his ornament.

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