Cilappatikaram and the Tamil Epic Tradition
Tamil, amongst the Indian languages, is the foremost non-Sanskrit, classical language that boasts of an uninterrupted continuity in its spoken and written, oral and literary usage and distinct tradition. A huge corpus of poetry with more than 2000 extant poems testifies to a period of literary composition and royal patronage.
Sangam Literature and Its Legacy
Three distinct academies or sangams are said to have flourished in ancient Tamil country. The dating of sangam poetry varies widely amongst scholars. (see Pg of worldview) Apart from poetry, sangam literature has given us a treatise that outlines an indigenous poetics embedded in a unique worldview. Tholkappiyam (Ancient treatise) often attributed to the second sangam era by scholars, is a grammatical treatise that goes far beyond grammar (dated century BCE – century BCE). It codifies Tamil poetics, offers a linguistic analysis, a critique of poetry, a prescriptive manual for poetry, a classification of form and content of poetry and indicates a unique way of life and worldview. Tholkappiyam is attributed to Tholkappiyar (author), possibly a Jain who was evidently drawing from earlier sources in his codification of Tamil poetics.
Tholkappiyam and Tamil Poetics
According to Tholkappiyam, the subject matter of poetry is categorized under two heads: Akam and Puram. The two categories are enunciated in relation to each other. Akam stands for the interior, the inner, the individual and the various phases of love. Puram stands for the exterior, the outer, the world, war, heroic valour or simply the non-akam. While the private and public domain, the erotic and heroic are thus delineated, what is interesting and distinctive about their enunciation in Tholkappiyam is the fact that they are further located within an overarching matrix permeating landscape, flora and fauna, seasons, time, situation, occupations of the community, musical instruments, water bodies etc.
Akam and Puram domains
These encapsulate the entire gamut of human experience in historical time and place. Akam poems depict various phases of and situations in love. Women’s voices are predominantly heard though they remain anonymous. In fact, in Akam poetry, speakers are predominantly heard identified only by their relationship. No proper names are mentioned or indicated. Hence, we witness the girl, her friend, mother, foster mother, the lover, the husband, the concubine, the wife addressing each other or speaking within earshot of the other. The poems are short, pithy, moving dramatic monologues that manage to pierce through the listener’s and the reader’s heart.
Features of Classical Tamil Poetry
The akam/puram notions of Tamil poetics form a distinctive, non-Sanskritic, indigenous conceptualization. The core of this structure rests on suggestion, an unravelling of images and the attempt to link them to ideas and human relationships. Far from being a rigid mechanism, this literary convention is an enabling, creative aid to the poet and the reader alike.
Ilango Adigal’s Contribution to Tamil Literature
Ilanko Adigal employs the conventions of Akam and Puram poetry in his Cilappatikaram. His work combines prose, verse and narrative to create an epic vision of Tamil life, its myths, legends, its attainments in music, dance, varied musical instruments and folk arts to depict diverse communities inhabiting a pluralist society where multiple religions is the norm. Although Cilappatikaram comes close to western conceptualization of an epic, it follows a different, indigenous module in terms of form, structure, characterization and narrative.
The Five Great Tamil Epics
There are five major epics / aimperum kappiyam in Tamil:
- Cilappatikaram
- Manimekalai
- Civakacintamani
- Valayapathi
- Kundalakesi
Cilappatikaram and Manimekalai: The Twin Epics
Cilappatikaram and Manimekalai are termed the twin epics as Manimekalai depicts the spiritual trials of the daughter of Kovalan and Matavi, named Manimekalai. The young girl renounces worldly pleasures and chooses to be a Buddhist nun.
The Four Goals of Human Life in Tamil Epics
The four goals of human life – Aram (Duty/Dharma), Porul (Wealth), Inbam (Desire) and Vidu (Liberation/Moksha) are exemplified in the Indian epics. While Cilappatikaram depicts the first three goals, the last one emerges as the central focus of Manimekalai. Hence the two, although self-sustained, are invariably interlinked and studied together.