The AIN-PERUN-KAPPIYAM --- the five major epics are : SILAPPADIKARAM , MANIMEKALAI, JIVAKA CHINTAMANI , VALAYAPATI and KUNDALAKESI . A pleasing fancy based on their names conceives these works as ornaments worn by TAMIL-ANANGU--the Tamil Muse -- the tinkling anklet, the gem-studded waist girdle, the gem on the chaplet, the bangles, and ear-pendants. The last two works are entirely lost to us. `A brief sketch of the other three works is given below:-
Silappadikaram Ilango-Adigal is the celebrated author of the Silappadikaram. He was the second son of king Cheralatan reigning in the city of Vanji the capital of the then Cheran Senguttuvan. On this account, he was called Ilango-adigal after he became an ascetic.
This epic, according to its PAYIRAM ( prefatory verses), shows Dharma wreaking vengence on those who failed in their kingly duties; sings the priases of the virtuous wife; and illustrates the recoil of one's actions.
The story is simple and is as follows:--
In Kavirippumpattinam the capital of the Cholas, there lived a wealthy merchant whose son Kovalan was married to a virtuous and devoted lady Kannaki by name. Being a wealthy young man, Kovalan took active interest in the fashionable amusements of the day. He fell in love with a beautiful young dancing girl Madhavi by name, wasted all his wealth on her and neglected his devoted wife.When at last he had become poor and he
thought that Madhavi's love towards him had cooled, he became disgusted. Returning home, he realised his mistakes and resolved to follow the career of a merchant. The same night he left for Madurai with his wife Kannaki.
He had nothing to fall back upon except her jewels. She placed one of her costly anklets willingly at his disposal. He took it to the jeweller's market to effect a sale. As misfortune would have it, the queen had lost an anklet and Kovalan was arrested as the thief of hate royal jewel. The king, without inquiring into the facts of the case, summarily ordered his execution.This was done. Poor Kannaki, when she came to know of this, became distraught. She went before the king and proved her husband's innocence beyond the shadow of a doubt.The Pandyan king, Nedunjeliyan, realised his guilt. He fell down from his seat broken-hearted and died. Still Kannaki could not control herself and in a fit of rage, cursed that the whole city be consumed by flames. And so it happened. Kannaki then proceeded westwards to the Malainadu (Hill country) and continued to do penance at the foot of a Vengai tree in the Neduvelkunram, a hill near Kodungolur (Cranganore) according to Adiyarkunallar.
Manimekalai
This is a sequel to SILAPPADIKARAM. But while the story of SILAPPADIKARAM is of such varied interest and is presented with dramatic vividness, MANIMEKALAI is an aimless narrative of the adventures of a Buddhist Bhikshuni (nun).
Madhavi, on hearing the death of Kovalan, renounced the world, and became a Buddhist nun. She had a daughter named Manimekalai by Kovalan. She too became a nun. Once Udayakumaran,the son of the reigning king, saw her, fell in love with her and pursued her, but in vain. She was then taken by a goddess to Manipallavadvipa where were enshrined the feet of the Buddha. Here she was told that the prince was her husband in a previous birth. Through the grace of the deity she got possession of a bowl which would be ever full and never empty. She then returned to Kavirippumpattinam and became fully engrossed in doing selfless service assuming the disguise of one Kayasandikai. But Udayakumaran came to know that Manimekalai had assumed this disguise. One day the real Kayasandikai herself appeared in the garden and the prince ran after her. This was noticed by her husband, who in a fit of jealous fury, killed the prince. The king had Manimekalai arrested and imprisoned but at the request of the queen, she was soon released. She then wandered through the land visiting several holy places. At last she settled at Kanchi performing penance and listening to discourses in a Buddhist nunnery. The author of this epic, Sittalai Sattanar, is known also as Kulavanikan Sattanar.
Jivaka-Chintamani
The author of this work is Thirutthakka Thevar. He was born at Mailapur, and was a Jain. His fame rests on JIVAKA-CHINTAMANI, which contains an exposition of Jain doctrines and beliefs Its other title, MUDI-PORUL-THODAR-NILAI-SEYYUL , suggests that it treats of the fourfold ends of life viz, virtue, wealth, pleasure, and freedom.It is the story of Jivaka from his birth to the attainment of beatitude, and has a commentary by Nacchinarkiniar. It is in 13 books or ILAMBAKAMS and contains 3145 stanzas. It is noted for its chaste diction and sublime poetry, rich in religious sentiment, full of reflections on the grounds of human action, and replete with information about the arts and social customs of the period. It will, therefore, interest the scholar, the poet, and the antiquary: and there is a tradition that Kamban's RAMAYANAM owes many of its beauties to his study of this Epic.
The Period of Religious Revival
The next period in Tamil literature, i.e. from the 6 to the 10 century A.D. is what may be called the period of Religious Revival when great singer-saints uttered their love of God in soul-stirring song offerings. The outstanding works of literature of this period are the TIRUVASAGAM , the TEVARAM ,and NALAYIRAM . The Saiva and Vaishnava singer-saints belong to this period. Karaikal Ammaiyar seems to be the earliest of the Saiva humanists. More than 16000 stanzas in praise of God were composed in these five centuries.
The Saiva saints called the Nalvar - the four - are Manikkavasagar, Tirujnana- Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar (Tirunavukkarasu).
Manikkavasagar :-- The life of this saint is to be traced from myths and legends which have grown around his name. The dispute about his date is still unsettled, some assigning him to the third century A.D. and others to the ninth. His chief works are TIRUVASAGAM and TIRUKKOVAI .
Tiruvasagam :-- This may be taken as an autobiographical account of the stages of his spiritual life and experience which culminated in the attainment of bliss ineffable. This torrential outflow of ardour and rapture in the sweetest of melodies can be regarded as a perfecth andbook on mystical theology. It is the spontaneous outpouring of ecstatic feelings and takes the foremost place among the accredited devotional works in Tamil. Dr. G.U. Pope and several others have translated this work into English. For a parallel to this work in a European language one has to turn to the IMITATION OF CHRIST by Thomas A. Kempis. One is struck again and again by the similarity of thought and even expression -- why, even whole sentences -- between the two works.
What the four Saiva saints did to the Saiva religion the twelve Alwars did for the Vaishnava faith. Of the 4,000 making up the Vaishnava collection, the First thousand (really 947), known as TIRU-MOLI , comprises the hymns of Perialwar, Andal, Kulasekhara, Tirumalisai, Thondaradippodi,Tiruppan, and Madurakavi: the Second thousand (really 1351), known as PERIA-TIRUMOLI , was the work of Tirumangai; the Third thousand (really 817), called IYAL-PA , was the contribution of Poygai, Bhudam, Pey, the first three Alwars, Tirumalisai, Nammalwar, and Tirumangai; and the Fourth thousand (really 1102), called TIRUVAYMOLI, was entirely the work of Nammalwar.
The first Alwars witnessed no jarring alien faiths in their time; Tirumalisai, Tirumangai and Thondaradippodi had to oppose Saivism, Jainism and Buddhism alike. Nammalwar lived at a time when the land was almost freee from alien religious influences and when the Vaishnavas and Saivas were at peace.
These songs in praise of Vishnu, which make up the NALAYIRA-DIVYA- PRABHANDAM
, are esteemed by the Vaishnavas as the second Veda. They stand on the same footing of sanctity as the Tevaram of the Saiva saints. Every one of the Alwars had personal, intuitive experience of the Divine Presence.
The hymns sung by the Alwars were collected and arranged in order by St. Nathamuni into one volume entitled the Nalayira Divya Prabhandam or the `Book of Four Thousand Hymns'. Nathamuni was a contemporary of Nambi-andar-nambi ,-- the compiler of the Tirumurais -- and was inspired by the latter to do a like service to the Vaishnava hymns.
Period of Literary Revival
The next period in the history of Tamil Literature was one of literary fervour. The great trio of this period were Kamban, Otta-kuttan and Pugalendi. Kamban, the author of the Ramayana in Tamil, lived in the 9 century A.D. He was a devotee of Nammalwar. The Ramayana composed by him was, according to the procedure of those days , recited for approval to an audience of the literary elite- a sort of academy of letters - assembled in Srirangam in the month of Panguni ( March - April) of the year 807 of the Salivahana Sakabda (885 A.D.) on the full moon day when the star Uttaram was in the ascendent. Kamban was then acclaimed by the assembly as Kavi Chakravarthy - the Emperor of the Realms of Poesy.
Ottakuttan was a contemporary of Kamban and his Uttarakandam winds up the Ramayanam of Kamban. He wrote the EETTI-ELUPATHU and the THAKKA-YAGA-PARANI and the three ULAS on Rajaraja, Vikrama , and Kulottunga Cholas. Ottakuttan was a severe critic of others' poetry and an expert in ANTADI , KOVAI AND ULA ( various types of metrical compositions).
Puhalendi was a contemporary of Ottakuttan and was famous for his mastery of the Venba. His best work is the charming NALAVENBA - the story of Nala and Damayanti.
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