This post is part of the Tamil Heritage Month Initiative. Tamil Heritage Month seeks to celebrate Tamil heritage, culture, and history. Throughout this month and January, we will be providing you with educational material and poetry that seeks to help us celebrate and understand our culture, roots and heritage.
By: Rumya Nithiananthan
From the outset, the name Iymperumkaapiyangal denotes to the five great historical legends which provide the conceptual framework to understanding ancient Tamil Sangam literature –and to be specific, the 5 narratives include Silappathikaaram, Manimekalai, Civaka Cinthamani, Valaiyapathy and Kundalakesi. The first reference to the saga was seen Mayilainathars’ text Nannul, from 14th century CE. However the actual titles of the tales were only cited in the work Thiruthanikaiula. The great 5 epics delve deeply into the themes crucial to the life of the individual – Aram (Ethics), Porul (Meaning), Inbam (Pleasure) and Veedu (Household). Hence, through an examination of the way of life of historic Tamil populations, the legends contain morals and philosophies of life to guide an individual towards a virtuous, just life.
Interestingly, it is presumed that Tamil literature personifies as a young woman, while the Iymperumkaapiya narratives are analogous to the articles of jewellery that give beauty to this young woman. On that note, the following looks at the five narratives in detail and their significance to understanding Tamil heritage and culture.
Silappathikaaram: Silappathikaaram has the word Silambu meaning “anklets” in its origin. Thus, the text Silappathikaaram is to represent the anklets that give beauty to the young women of Tamil literature. Written by Illango Adiygal in the 1st century CE, this non-religious text is written in a monologue-poetic form having 5270 lines.
Silappathikaaram deals with the story of Kannagi, a young virtuous and just woman. To begin, Kannagi lived with her husband Kovalan in the city of Poomboohaar (Puhar) of the Chola dynasty. Kovalan, after meeting Madhavi, he had an extramarital affair with her and ended up spending his wealth on her. After having realized his mistake, he returned to Kannagi with only a pair of anklets (Silambu) and the couple decided to move to Madurai, in an effort to start a new life. In Madurai, while trying to sell the anklets for cash, Kovalan was accused of stealing the anklets of the Queen and was held captive by the Pandya kings’ authorities. Unfortunately, Kovalan gets persecuted by the authorities. In a fit of rage, Kannagi set off to the king’s palace to show that the Silambu of the kings was of Pearls while the one of Kovalan had been of gems. Kannagi, after proving the innocence of her husband, set the city of Madurai on fire.
Based on the various settings of the text, Silappathikaaram is divided into 3 main sections –Puhaarkaandam, Maduraikaandam and Vanchikaandam. The Puhaarkaandam, set in the territory of the Chola Empire, contains 10 Kaathais or portions while Maduraikaandam includes 13 Kaathais and Vanchikaandam consists of 7 Kaathais.
Kovalan and Kannagi reside in the Chola city of Poomboohaar, then pursue economic activity in Madurai and then at last Kannagi finds her place with her gods in the Chera city of Vanchi. Thus, Silappathikaaram confirms the existence of the Chera, Chola and Pandya dynasties in Tamil history, in using these dynasties as the historical backdrop to the story. Moreover, the literary work, describes the 5 geographic regions which existed throughout the Sangam period. Silappathikaaram also addresses the folklore traditions, songs as well as the different traditional dance forms which existed and were highly valued by the Tamils of this era.
Manimekalai: Manimekalai, in its name contains the root word Mani which refers to bells or embellishments of some sort. Hence, the text Manimekalai is to symbolize the Ottiyaanam or the waist chain that gives attractiveness to the feminine Tamil literature. Nevertheless, Manimekalai written by Scholar Seethalai Saathanar in 6th century CE, this epic is the sequel to Silappathikaaram. Like Silappathikaaram, Manimekelai is composed of 30 Kaathais.
In the epic Manimekalai, the main protagonist Manimekalai was the daughter of Kovalan and Kannagi. Manimekelai, loved by Udayakumaaran (the Prince of the Chola dynasty), was actually keen on pursuing a monastic, religious life. Suddenly, she then encountered Manimekala Devi, the goddess of the sea with whom Manimekalai arrives on the island Manipallavam. Manimekalai, in this island then comes to learn about the power of the Dharma seat – a devotee of the Dharma seat is able to know about the events which may have taken place in their past life. Manimekelai worshipped the Dharma seat and in return DeevaTeevalakai, the goddess of the Dharma seat gave Manimekalai a bowl of an extraordinary type called the Amuta Surabi. The Amutha Surabhi possessed the capability of providing an infinite amount of food. After having received the Amutha Surabi, Manimekelai set off to see Aravana Adigal in Kaveripattinam, who explained to Manimekelai the purpose of life and existence. Finally, with all this new wisdom and knowledge, Manimekalai decided to convert to the Buddhist religion to become a Buddhist monk.
Through the story of Manimekelai, one is able to see the influence of Buddhism in shaping Tamil culture and arts in 6th century CE. In addition, Manimekelai takes place in the setting of Kaveripattinam which includes the region of Northeastern Jaffna as well as the city Poomboohar – this address the idea of how Tamils once lived together historically before political and national borders were drawn.
Civaka Cinthamani: Civaka Cinthamani epitomizes the bindi or the pottu that gives refinement to the ladylike Tamil literature. Thiruthakka Thevar’s work, Civaka Cinthaamani, set in 10th century CE, exists in a series of 13 books – the work is composed of 3147 verses.
Civaka Cinthaamani deals with the adventures of Civakan and his efforts to reclaim his entitled throne. Long ago, there was a king by the name of Sachchanthan who was engulfed in the sexual pleasure from his wife to the point that he gave his kingdom to be ruled by his evil minister Kattiyangkaran. Kattiyangkaran in return attempted to kill Sachchanthan. As a result, Sachchanthan then sent his pregnant wife on a peacock as he tried to defeat Kattiyangkaran. Landing on a cemetery, the Queen gave birth to Civakan who then grew to become a hero. Civakan then embarked on his mission to defeat Kattiyangkaran and to gain the throne that is rightfully his. He succeeded in his task- only to realize that this life does not confer happiness and he decided to live a monastic, religious life.
Civaka Cinthamani can retain its position as a significant text among the 5 great epics as it was a writing that portrayed the dynamics of the Chola dynasty. Specifically, Civaka Cinthamani was a text that depicted the Cholas’ support in encouraging academics and culture. Through the epic, a great deal of information is learned about a dynasty that was crucial to spreading Tamil pride globally during the golden ages of Tamil heritage.
Valaiyapathy: Valaiyal in Tamil refers to a set of bangles and so Valaiyapathy is the bangle-like-literary work that provides the gracefulness to mother Tamil literature. The author of Valaiyapathy still remains unknown however it is said that Valaiyapathy was written in 10th century CE. As it stands, there are 72 verses which are present of the initial version of the tale.
Valaiyapathy is the story of Navakodi Narayanan a local merchant and how he rejoins with his spouse. To start, long ago there lived Navakodi Narayanan, a merchant who married a woman of a different cultural sect. Furious over the act committed by Narayanan, Narayanan was ostracized by his own parents. As a result, Narayanan left his pregnant wife and went abroad. Finally, Narayanans’ son saw his father in Puhar and reunited his parents together.
Valaiyapathy, in its discussion of the main characters, it often refers to clauses from the Thirukural. In addition, by discussing things like family and marriage, there is quite bit of stress on the importance of family, marriage as the highly valued virtues in the Tamil culture. Moreover, family and marriage are values held to the highest standards for the reason that Tamil cultural events are grounded in the idea of about bringing two people or two sets of families together.
Kundalakesi: With the word Kundalam (meaning a large earring), there is no doubt that Kundalakesi represents the earring that gives charm to Tamil literature. Kundalakesi, authored by Naathakutthanaar, was set in 7th century CE.
Kundalakesi revolves around the central character Kundalakesi and her relationship with Saathuvaan (or Kaalan), a thief in the village in which Kundalakesi resided in. Long ago there lived Saathuvaan, a petty thief in the village who was arrested by the Kings’ authorities. Kundalakesi, who encountered Saathuvaan at a street parade, fell in love with Saathuvaan. Kundalakesi then encouraged her father to use all his wealth to get him released. Upon Saathuvaans’ release, Kundalakesi was married off to Saathuvaan. Kundalakesi then one night brought up Kaalans’ past as being a thief, outraged by this Kaalan planned to murder Kundalakesi. One morning, Kaalan, as per his plans, took Kundalakesi up a mountain top. Just as he attempted to push Kundalakesi from the top, Kundalakesi requested Kaalan to fulfill her last wish which was to go around her husband three times. He complied and just as Kundalakesi completed her third turn, she pushed Kaalan off the cliff and Saathuvaan was murdered. After the death of her husband, Kundalakesi decides to become a Buddhist monk and a preacher of Buddhist philosophy.
While only certain verses remain of the original tale Kundalakesi, the legend is still a tale that ceases to exist in Tamil literature. This once again reinforces the importance of the dark ages in Tamil literature in where many of the literary works produced in Tamil disappeared as a result of imperial forces and natural disasters. Despite so, Kundalakesi is still valued as an important tale because it had been this tale which caused the birth of the new tale, Neelakesi. On this note, one can say that Kundalakesi still remains as a source of influence for present day Tamil literary pieces.
The summaries of Silappathikaaram, Manimekelai, Civaka Cinthamani, Valaiyapathi and Kundalakesi summaries give a snapshot of the stories of each legend. However to fully grasp the morals and lessons put forward by each legend, it is recommended that one reads the original texts for many reasons. The 5 great epics are written using rich, complex vocabulary, stylistic literary devices and so gaining exposure of such linguistics elements can broaden ones’ knowledge of the language. More importantly, the epics provide a detailed examination of the way of life of ancient Tamils and so this allows for comparisons to be made on how Tamil culture and heritage has changed throughout time. Finally, these literary pieces, which have been preserved after having faced the threat of extinction, provide insights and philosophies on various themes and elements to humankind which can infact make us better as humans. As so, as we celebrate Tamil heritage month, let us reflect back on ancient literary works and celebrate the epics for the contribution they have made to Mother Tamil literature.
