Great Epics of Tamil Literature
The epic trio of Cilappatikāram, Manimēkalai and Cīvaka Cintāmani gives a full account of Tamil concept of womanhood by powerfully and poignantly delineating the character of a chaste wife Kannagi, a brave and dutiful daughter Manimekalai and an affectionate mother in Vijayai, mother of Jivakan in the three epics respectively. Cilappatikāram explains the inexorable working of fate where in spite of being innocent, the hero Kovalan gets punished and the queen of Pandya loses her life along with the king when the king realises his mistake of punishing Kovalan. Kannagi is regarded as a symbol of chastity and she is always
associated with chasteness in Tamil literature across ages. In Maniṇmēkalai, the protagonist, Manimēkalai is instructed in the various truths expounded by the teachers of different faiths. Cīvaka Cintāmani is adopted from Sanskrit Mahapurana, is predominantly sensuous, though Jain philosophy is brought to practical aspects of life.
Cilappatikāram (“The Tale of an Anklet”) depicts the life of Kannagi, a chaste woman who lead a peaceful life with Kovalan in Puhar (Poompuhar), the then-capital of the Chola dynasty. Her life later went astray by the association of Kovalan with an unchaste woman Madhavi. The duo started resurrecting their life in Madurai, the capital of Pandyas. Kovalan went on to sell the anklet of Kannagi to start a business, but was held guilty and beheaded of stealing it from the queen. Kannagi went on to prove the innocence of her husband and believed to have burnt the entire city of Madurai by her chastity. Apart from the story, it is a vast treasure of information of music and dance, both classical and folk.
Manimekalai is a 5th-century Buddhist epic created by Sithalai Sathanar during the 5th century. It is believed to be a followup of Cilappatikāram with the primary character, Maṇimēkalai being the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi. It contains thirty cantos describing the circumstances in which Maṇimēkalai renounced the world and took the vows of Theravada sect of Buddhism, which is followed in Burma and Sri Lanka. Apart from the story of Maṇimēkalai and her Buddhist inclination, the epic deals with a great deal with Buddha's life, work and philosophy.
Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi, an epic of the 10th century CE was written by Thiruthakka Thevar, a Jain monk. It narrates the romantic exploits of Jeevaka and throws light on arts of music and dance of the era. It is reputed to have been the model for Kamba Ramayanam. The epic is based on Sanskrit original and contains the exposition of Jain doctrines and beliefs. It is a mudi-porul-thodar-nilai-seyyul, a treatise of the fourfold object of life and aim of literary work of virtue, wealth, pleasure and bliss. It is in 13 books or illambagams and contains 3147 stanzas. It is noted for its chaste diction and sublime poetry rich in religious sentiments and replete with information of arts and customs of social life. There are many commentaries on the book, the best on the work is believed to be by Naccinarkiniyar.
Kuṇṭalakēci is now lost, but quotations from it and found from references used by authors who had access to the classic. The poem demonstrated the advantage of Buddhism over Shrauta and Jainism. The Jain in reply wrote Nilakesi which has opposing views to the ideologies in Kuṇṭalakēci. Kuṇṭalakēci was a Jain nun who moved around India, expounding Jainism and challenged anyone who had alternate views. Sāriputta, a disciple of Gautama Buddha, took up the challenge one day and defeated Kuṇṭalakēci in debates. She renounced Jainism and became a Buddhist. The author is believed to be Nagaguttanar. The record of culture and Buddhist views during the era were lost with the book.
Vaḷaiyāpati is another lost work, although it is unclear whether it is a Buddhist or Jain. Some scholars believe it is a Buddhist work and base their claims on the quotations of Vaḷaiyāpati found in other literary works. The author of Vaḷaiyāpati quotes from Tirukkuṟaḷ and it is possible that he took inspiration from it.
| No | Name | Author | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cilappatikāram | Ilango Adigal | Non religious work of 1st century CE |
| 2 | Manimekalai | Sīthalai Sāttanār | Buddhist religious work of 1st or 5th century CE |
| 3 | Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi | Tirutakkatevar | Jain religious work of 10th century CE |
| 4 | Valayapathi | Unknown Jain ascetic | Jain religious work of 9th century CE |
| 5 | Kundalakēci | Naguthanar | Buddhist religious work of 5th century CE |
associated with chasteness in Tamil literature across ages. In Maniṇmēkalai, the protagonist, Manimēkalai is instructed in the various truths expounded by the teachers of different faiths. Cīvaka Cintāmani is adopted from Sanskrit Mahapurana, is predominantly sensuous, though Jain philosophy is brought to practical aspects of life.
Cilappatikāram (“The Tale of an Anklet”) depicts the life of Kannagi, a chaste woman who lead a peaceful life with Kovalan in Puhar (Poompuhar), the then-capital of the Chola dynasty. Her life later went astray by the association of Kovalan with an unchaste woman Madhavi. The duo started resurrecting their life in Madurai, the capital of Pandyas. Kovalan went on to sell the anklet of Kannagi to start a business, but was held guilty and beheaded of stealing it from the queen. Kannagi went on to prove the innocence of her husband and believed to have burnt the entire city of Madurai by her chastity. Apart from the story, it is a vast treasure of information of music and dance, both classical and folk.
Manimekalai is a 5th-century Buddhist epic created by Sithalai Sathanar during the 5th century. It is believed to be a followup of Cilappatikāram with the primary character, Maṇimēkalai being the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi. It contains thirty cantos describing the circumstances in which Maṇimēkalai renounced the world and took the vows of Theravada sect of Buddhism, which is followed in Burma and Sri Lanka. Apart from the story of Maṇimēkalai and her Buddhist inclination, the epic deals with a great deal with Buddha's life, work and philosophy.
Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi, an epic of the 10th century CE was written by Thiruthakka Thevar, a Jain monk. It narrates the romantic exploits of Jeevaka and throws light on arts of music and dance of the era. It is reputed to have been the model for Kamba Ramayanam. The epic is based on Sanskrit original and contains the exposition of Jain doctrines and beliefs. It is a mudi-porul-thodar-nilai-seyyul, a treatise of the fourfold object of life and aim of literary work of virtue, wealth, pleasure and bliss. It is in 13 books or illambagams and contains 3147 stanzas. It is noted for its chaste diction and sublime poetry rich in religious sentiments and replete with information of arts and customs of social life. There are many commentaries on the book, the best on the work is believed to be by Naccinarkiniyar.
Kuṇṭalakēci is now lost, but quotations from it and found from references used by authors who had access to the classic. The poem demonstrated the advantage of Buddhism over Shrauta and Jainism. The Jain in reply wrote Nilakesi which has opposing views to the ideologies in Kuṇṭalakēci. Kuṇṭalakēci was a Jain nun who moved around India, expounding Jainism and challenged anyone who had alternate views. Sāriputta, a disciple of Gautama Buddha, took up the challenge one day and defeated Kuṇṭalakēci in debates. She renounced Jainism and became a Buddhist. The author is believed to be Nagaguttanar. The record of culture and Buddhist views during the era were lost with the book.
Vaḷaiyāpati is another lost work, although it is unclear whether it is a Buddhist or Jain. Some scholars believe it is a Buddhist work and base their claims on the quotations of Vaḷaiyāpati found in other literary works. The author of Vaḷaiyāpati quotes from Tirukkuṟaḷ and it is possible that he took inspiration from it.
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