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Manabharana Is Not Malay (Manabharana Bukan Melayu)

In recent times, an alarming narrative has emerged within the Malaysian blogosphere, suggesting a historical event that appears to be a misinterpretation or perhaps a deliberate misinformation campaign. The claim revolves around a so called Malay prince named Manabharana from Srivijaya, purportedly attacking and conquering the Chola kingdom. This misleading story has gained traction and is spreading like wildfire across various social media platforms. The need to address and rectify such inaccuracies is crucial not only for the sake of historical accuracy but also for fostering a responsible and informed online community. To delve into the matter, it is essential to clarify that historical records reveal the existence of multiple individuals named Manabharana throughout history. However, a nuanced understanding reveals that all these figures were Tamils (Damila) hailing from the Pandya kingdom, with references to their exploits documented in Tamil inscriptions and Sri Lankan chronicles...
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What Is Shiva?

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Śivarātri, the night of Śivā (shi-vaa) occurs every month. The śivarātri that happens during the month of Māgha or Māsi is the greatest of all śivarātris. Hence, it is called as the Mahāśivarātri. While Brahmā creates and Viṣṇu preserves, Śivā in the form of Rudra, destroys. Although these three are represented as three separate deities, they are actually three activities of the eternal cosmic cycle. 

The earliest reference to the word Śivā can be found in the Vēdas especially in the Yajurvēda. There are hymns requesting the blue throated Rudra to show his benevolent form as Śivā. The word Śivā here can mean to represent auspiciousness. It is synonymous with the word maṅgalam.

We get the following from Yajurvēda:

ōm namō bhagavatē̍ rudrā̠ya
nama̍stē rudra ma̠nyava̍ u̠tōta̠ iṣa̍vē̠ nama̍ḥ
nama̍stē astu̠ dhanva̍nē bā̠hubhyā̍mu̠ta tē̠ nama̍ḥ
yā ta̠ iṣu̍-śi̠vata̍mā śi̠vam ba̠bhūva̍ tē̠ dhanu̍ḥ
śi̠vā śa̍ra̠vyā̍ yā tava̠ tayā̍ nō rudra mṛḍaya
yā tē̍ rudra śi̠vā ta̠nūraghō̠rā-'pā̍pakāśinī
tayā̍ nasta̠nuvā̠ śanta̍mayā̠ giri̍śantā̠bhichā̍kaśīhi
yāmiṣu̍-ṅgiriśanta̠ hastē̠ bibha̠r​ṣyasta̍vē
śi̠vā-ṅgi̍ritra̠ tā-ṅku̍ru̠ mā hig̍ṃsī̠ḥ puru̍ṣa̠-ñjaga̍t
śi̠vēna̠ vacha̍sā tvā̠ giri̠śāchchā̍ vadāmasi
yathā̍ na̠-ssarva̠mijjaga̍daya̠kṣmagṃ su̠manā̠ asa̍t 

Translation: Oh! Rudra Deva! My salutations to your anger and also to your arrows. My salutations to your bow and to your two hands. Oh! Rudra! By favour of your arrow, bow, and quiver, which have shed their anger and turned auspicious, please render us happy. Lord Rudra, who confer happiness, by that form of yours which is not terrible, which will not injure us, and which is highly auspicious, behold and illuminate us. My Lord who dwells on Mount Kailas and confers gladness to all! You, who fulfills your vow of protecting all who serve you and take refuge in you; that arrow of yours which you hold ready to let fly, withhold it and make it tranquil and auspicious. Lord of Mount Kailash of the Vedas! We pray to attain you by our auspicious words. We ask that for all our days, this entire world will be free from ills and discord, and that we may live in amity and concord.

Towards the end of this first anuvaka, we get the following declaring Rudra as Sadāśi̠vā:

nama̍stē astu bhagavan-viśvēśva̠rāya̍ mahādē̠vāya̍ tryamba̠kāya̍ tripurānta̠kāya̍ trikāgnikā̠lāya̍ kālāgniru̠drāya̍ nīlaka̠ṇṭhāya̍ mṛtyuñja̠yāya̍ sarvēśva̠rāya̍ sadāśi̠vāya̍ śrīman mahādē̠vāya̠ nama̍ḥ

Translation: Let my salutations be to that great God who is the Lord of the universe; the great God who has three eyes and who destroys Tripura, the three Asura cities. To that God who is the Dandhya time when the three sacred fires are lit; who is Rudra the fire that consumes the universe; whose throat is blue; who has conquered death; the Lord of all; the ever auspicious one; salutations to that glorious and great God.

The earliest reference for the most popular five syllable Śivā mantra, known as namaśivāya (pronounced as na-ma-shi-vaa-ya) is also from the Yajurvēda. 

nama̍stā̠rāya̠
nama̍śśa̠mbhavē̍ cha mayō̠bhavē̍ cha̠
nama̍śaṅka̠rāya̍ cha mayaska̠rāya̍ cha̠
nama̍śi̠vāya̍ cha śi̠vata̍rāya cha̠

Translation: Salutations to Him who is the Pravana mantra; Om. Salutations to Him who is the source of happiness here and hereafter. Salutations to Him who is inherently of the nature of conferring happiness directly in this world and the world hereafter. Salutations to Him the auspicious one, who is more auspicious than all others.

The nama̍śi̠vāya̍ which is seen here occurs in the 8th anuvaka. It is right in the middle of the Yajurvēda. The Yajurvēda is in the middle of the Vēda compilation; rig, yajur, sāma. Atharva was added later. This shows that nama̍śi̠vāya̍ is the core of the Vēdas, the very foundation itself from where the rest of the Vēdas sprung from. 

Since Śivā means auspicious, it is also used in mantras of other deities such as Durgā who is also known as Caṇḍī. Devī Māhātmyam which is also known as Durgā Saptashatī is a compilation of 700 verses of mantras taken from the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa. It usually begins with the recitation of a mantra armour known as Caṇḍī Kavaca. The armour is said to confer many benefits if recited with full devotion. 

prāpnōti puruṣō nityaṃ mahāmāyāprasādataḥ
labhatē paramaṃ rūpaṃ śivēna saha mōdatē 

The final verses of this kavaca is given above. It states that by the grace of Mahāmāyā (Durgā), a person who recites would attain the highest place that is inaccessible even to the gods and is eternally blissful in the company of śi̠va.

We also find the following popular verse in the Devī Māhātmyam where Durgā, also called as Gauri and Nārāyaṇi is addressed as the auspicious one, śivē, that provides all goodness:

sarva maṅgala māṅgalyē śivē sarvārtha sādhikē
śaraṇyē tryambakē gauri nārāyaṇi namōstutē

In order for something to be considered as auspicious, there should be goodness in it. There should be love. Tirumūlar has given a beautiful explanation about the state of śi̠va in his Tirumantiram:

aṉpu civam iraṇṭu eṉpar aṟivilār
aṉpē civamāvatu ārum aṟikilār
aṉpē civamāvatu ārum aṟintapiṉ
aṉpē civamāy amarntiruntārē.

Translation: Love, Shivam - There are two, so say the fools ! Love itself is Shivam - This nobody knows ! Love itself is Shivam - when one gets to know this, Love itself as Shivam, the person sits (lives).

On this Mahāśivarātri day, lets invoke the Śivā in us for the benefit of everyone. May everyone attain the state of Śivā that leads to eternal bliss.

Wishing everyone a blessed Mahāśivarātri!

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