Hindus invented the Calling Bell !
Who invented the Calling Bell? My research shows that Tamil Hindus have invented it 2000 years ago. We have two stories to confirm my finding. Though encyclopaedias give names of different inventors for mechanical and electrical bells at door steps, the idea came from Tamil Hindus according to the available literary evidence.
Many of us know that a 500 year old Tamil bell was discovered in New Zealand. It is now in Te Papa Museum in Wellington, New Zealand. William Colenso, A missionary, had found this bell used by Maori tribes as a cooking vessel. When the inscription was read by Tamils, it said Mohideen Buk ship’s bell. A Tamil Muslim trader had used it in his ship. From the orthography of the inscription we came to know it must be 500 year old.
Palace Bell Miracle
Manu Neethi Cholan was a famous Choza king who ruled from Tiruvarur in Tamil Nadu. Manu Neethi Cholan means a Chola who followed Manu Smriti, the Hindu law maker. Lot of Tamil epigraphs and copper plate inscriptions also praised Tamil kings as strict followers of Manu Smriti. This Chola was so just he even killed his own son on the basis of a complaint from a COW!
Manu Neethi Chola hung a Calling Bell at the entrance of his palace. Anyone who had a grievance can go to the palace and ring the calling bell. But nobody used the bell for long, because the king was so just and there were no grievance at all. One day the prince went through the streets in his chariot. He was careless in his driving and he ran over a calf and killed it. The mother of the calf ran to the palace and rang the bell! Immediately the king and ministers came out and found out what happened. The king killed his son under the chariot to punish his son and himself by Putra soham (bereavement through the loss of a son). This was the first use of calling bell in history.
This story has been repeated in Tamil literature in several books from the days of Silappadikaram. We hear this incident for the first time from the mouth of Kannaki in Silappadikaram, then in Mahavamsam, Pazamozi 400, Periapuranam and later day Sthala Puranas. Tamil epic Silappadikaram is variously dated but all agree the epic story happened in the Second Century AD. This shows that Manu Neethi Cholan lived before this period. A similar story is narrated in Mahavamsam, A Sri Lankan chronicle, attributing the incident to Elara, a just Tamil king who may have ruled in the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] century BC.
Picture: Manu Neethi Cholan statue at Madras High Court.
Divine Calling Bell in the Heaven
The reason I am attributing the invention of calling bell to Tamil Hindus is another story found in Thevaram hymns which is at least 1300 years old. Dr R Nagasamy, famous archaeologist and historian of Tamil Nadu, has written about Manu Neethi Cholan and heavenly divine bell in his book Poyyili Malai (Page 107, titled Kadai Thoongu Mani):
“ In the Shivaloka, Lord Shiva hung a bell so that the Devas who have grievances can easily approach him. The idea is that Shiva will hear the bell and respond immediately. But this bell was not used for long and got the name Sleeping Bell (Thoongu Mani). But Dr Nagasamy also explained Thoongu may mean hanging as well. One day the Devas rang the bell and surprised Lord Shiva. They complained about the demons that have flying metal forts. (I have already described them as space ships made up of copper, gold and silver which were burnt down with a laser weapon in my earlier post GOD WITH A LASER WEAPON: swami). The Thevaram hymn says that even before the bell sound subsided Shiva burnt down the three metal forts by his Third Eye. This was sung by Appar alias Thirunavulkkarasu. He was the contemporary of Pallava king Mahendra Varman.
Appar praised Shiva as an embodiment of mercy. Even before the grievances were said, he helped his devotees, Appar says in his verse. The Tamil reference is given for the Tamil readers at the end.
My interpretation: I consider these two anecdotes are evidence of Calling Bell in India. Later this idea was adapted to smaller homes. Discovery of electricity helped to devise the modern calling bells. But the concept is Hindus’. Since there was no reference in Sanskrit scriptures I think the credits go to Tamil Hindus.
Appar Thevaram
மூவா உருவத்து முக்கண் முதல்வ மிக்கூர் இடும்பை
காவாய் எனக் கடைத் தூங்கு மணியைக் கையால் அமரர்
நாவாய் அசைத்த ஒலி ஒலிமாறியதில்லை அப்பால்
தீயாய் எரிந்து பொடியாய் கழிந்த திரிபுரமே.
