Iymperumkaapiyangal: The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature

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.

SilapathikaramSilappathikaaram: 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 kings 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.

manimegalaiManimekalai: 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.

civakaCivaka Cinthamani: Civaka Cinthamani epitomizes the bindi or the pottu

that gives refinement to the ladylike Tamil literature. Thiruthakka Thevars 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.

valayapathiValaiyapathy: 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.

kundalakesiKundalakesi 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.