Shilappadikaram

ஐம்பெரும் காப்பியங்கள்

by Ilango Adigal, Alain Daniélou (Translator)

Shilappadikaram or the Ankle Bracelet is one of the five major epics of Tamil literature. It was composed as a verse romance in Tamil by Ilango Adigal, a Jain prince who lived in the second century ad and was one of the most renowned classical poets of ancient India.
Shilappadikaram is a tale of wonders and misfortunes, of hapless mortals and capricious deities, of magic and heroism in a bright but also cruel world in which the law of karma rules and where ‘actions committed in past lives must always bear fruit’. Thus the peerless young Kovalan will leave his loyal wife Kannaki for the courtesan Madhavi and though he returns to her, still meets his death because of her ill-omened ankle bracelet. It has been called an epic and even a novel, but it is also a book of general education. Ilango packed his story with information: history merging into myth, religious rites, caste customs, military lore, descriptions of city or country life. And four cantos are little anthologies of the poetry of the period (seashore and mountain songs, hunters’ and milkmaids’ songs), thereby giving us a vivid picture of early Indian life in all its aspects.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, India, Fiction, Literature, Indian Literature, Epic

191 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1892

About the author

Ilango Adigal (இளங்கோ அடிகள்) is traditionally credited as the author of Silappatikaram, one of the Five Great Epics of Tamil literature. In a patikam (prologue) to the epic poem, he identifies himself as the brother of a famous Chera king Ceṅkuṭṭuvan (Senguttuvan). This Chera king, states Elizabeth Rosen, ruled over his kingdom in late 2nd or early 3rd century CE. However, this is doubful because a Sangam poem in Patiṟṟuppattu – the fifth ten – provides a biography of Ceṅkuṭṭuvan, his family and rule, but never mentions that he had a brother who became an ascetic or wrote one of the most cherished epics. This has led scholars to conclude that the legendary author Ilango Adikal myth was likely inserted later into the epic. In a 1968 note, Kamil Zvelebil suggested that, "this [Adigal claim] may be a bit of poetic fantasy, practised perhaps by a later member of the Chera Dynasty [5th or 6th century] recalling earlier events [2nd or 3rd century]"

Reviews

[Peiman E iran · Rating 3 out of 5]

‎دوستانِ گرانقدر، این رمان به قلمِ شاهزاده <ایلانگو آدیگال> در پایان سدهٔ دوم میلادی و آغاز سدهٔ سوم، نگاشته شده است.... عنوانِ این رمان "خلخال" است، البته برخی آن را با نامِ "شیلاپاندی کارام" میشناسند ... داستان به صورتِ شعرگونه بیان شده است که زبانِ بنیادیِ آن، "زبان تمول" میباشد... شاهزاده ایلانگو آدیگال، از سلسلهٔ "چرا" بوده است .. پادشاهانِ سلسلهٔ "چرا" در سرزمینِ "مالابار" در جنوبِ غربی هندوستان، فرمانروایی میکردند... شاهزاده ایلانگو، هیچگونه دلبستگی به قدرت و فرمانروایی نداشت، از همین روی، تخت و تاج پادشاهی را به برادرش بخشید و گام در گذرگاهِ فلسفه و نویسندگی نهاد و توانست آئینی به نامِ "جاینا" را پایه گذاری کند
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‎عزیزانم، این داستان با عشقِ دو جوانِ دلداده به یکدیگر آغاز میشود... <کاتاکی> دخترِ <مانیکان> فرمانروایِ بخشنده و مهربان است.. از سویِ دیگر <کُوالان> پسرِ شاهزاده ای ثروتمند به نامِ <ماشاتوان> میباشد ... این دختر و پسر، عاشقِ یکدیگر میشوند و سرانجام پیمانِ زناشوئی میبندند
‎همه چیز خوب پیش میرود، تا آنکه کُوالان در بندِ هوس رانی و سست نهادی، گرفتار شده و دل به رقاصه ای بد نهاد به نامِ <مادهاوی> بسته و روز به روز بیشتر از همسرِ مهربانش دوری میجوید... مادهاوی این مردِ زودباور را فریب داده و ثروت و داراییِ او را به چنگ می آورد... کُوالان که از همه جا رانده و وامانده شده است، با سرافکندگی به سویِ همسرش کاتاکی بازگشته و با یکدیگر به شهرِ "مادور" که پایتختِ سرزمینِ همسایه است، سفر میکنند.... در آن شهر زندگی برایِ این مرد و زن، بسیار دشوار میشود... نداری و تنگدستی سبب میشود تا کُوالان "خلخالی" که به پایِ همسرش بسته شده است را باز کرده و برایِ فروش به بازار میبرد ... ولی از بدشانسی، جواهر فروش به او بدگمان گشته و او را دزد مینامد.... خلاصه با این بهانه که او جواهرِ ملکه را دزدیده است، وی را دادگاهی کرده و به دار می آویزند..... کاتاکی زمانی که خبرِ کشته شدنِ شوهرِ بی گناهش را میشنود، تصمیم میگیرد تا از کسانی که پدیدآورندگانِ این تبهکاری بیدادگرانه میباشند کینخواهی کرده و تاوانِ خونِ شوهرش را از آنها بگیرد... دوستانِ گرامی، بهتر است خودتان این داستان را بخوانید و از سرانجامِ آن آگاه شوید
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‎جالب است بدانید که <کاتاکی> به عنوانِ یکی از الهه هایِ وفاداری در زناشوئی و همسرداری شناخته میشود
‎نویسنده در مورد این کتاب مینویسد: عشق و سرود و نبرد و پایکوبی و پیمان شکنی و شرمساری، با این داستانِ عاشقانه در هم آمیخته شده است
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‎امیدوارم این ریویو در جهتِ شناختِ این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
‎<پیروزباشید و ایرانی>

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Shilappadikaram is the story of a doomed young couple. The husband abandons his wife for a dancer. He squanders his fortune on his mistress, breaks up with her over a somewhat petty tiff and then goes back to his wife, who naturally accepts him. Broke and disgraced, he drags her on an arduous trek to Madurai, where, using his wife's gold anklets as capital, he will start afresh. Unfortunately, in Madurai, the queen has just lost a gold anklet, so he is captured and executed while trying to pawn his wife's anklet. His wife, in a frenzy of grief, confronts the king, who, learning of this miscarriage of justice, dies of shame. Then, the girl wanders around, rips off her right breast and causes the city of Madurai to burned down in divine retribution. We are told that it is all because of past life sins - the standard Hindu explanation for anything and everything.

I really don't care much for the central story.

What I did love were the numerous vivid descriptions of *everything* - from the tuning of a musical instrument to the many weird and wonderful magical creatures and places along the way to things like the layout of the city of Madurai and the weapons and torture instruments kept at the sentry posts in its walls. No one in this story can carry on a conversation with anyone else without telling a dozen or so apropos anecdotes, and these stories-within-the-stories are a treasure trove of morally edifying and quaint folk tales. There are several interludes of song and dance where the words of all the songs everyone sings are written down, and these passages often achieve a high degree of beauty, even in a translation that seeks to preserve neither meter nor rhyme.

The translation I have is the one made by Alain Danielou for Penguin. It is full of anachronistic words, such as genii, fairies, Eros and so on, when it would have been more accurate to use the appropriate Indian word, whether it was apsara, rakshasa and so forth and footnote it the first time. Theis use of words from completely different traditions was extremely dissonant. I could also have done with more comprehensive introductory material, putting this work in better context, exploring tropes and storytelling devices, and with some amount of annotation - this translation has none at all.

All in all, a fascinating book for all the peripheral detail even I didn't care much for the main story.

[Madhupria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I am torn as to how to rate this epic. On the one hand, we have a bizarre plot that reinforces a misogynistic idea of chastity. Not to mention the unrelated plot point of the ego-maniac Cenkuttuvan (although some scholars say the prologue and the Book of Vanci might be a later interpolation).

On the other hand, Cilappatikaram is a record of the ancient Tamil life. It details all aspects of culture and lifestyle. It describes city life and its shops and various urban activities. It richly furnishes details of the five geographical areas, mountains, forest, agricultural field, seaside and deserts, and the people’s livelihoods related to each these areas. It features a non-sectarian, religiously eclectic society, and the multiple ways people worship their gods and the kinds of festivals they celebrate. With regard to arts, there are details of how to set a stage, types of music, and 11 different types of dances. You can find vivid descriptions of the flora and fauna and rivers and waterfalls. The plot almost seems only an excuse to depict, through poetry that induces vivid imagery, all aspects of a civilization to its fullest extent.

[dely · Rating 2 out of 5]

Italian
Questo è un libro interessante perché racconta la storia di Kannaki e di come da moglie fedele e devota al marito diventa la divinità della castità e della fedeltà. Si ha anche uno spaccato sulla storia del Tamil Nadu e le tre importanti dinastie dell'epoca: i Pandya, i Chora e i Chela; si legge anche di come fosse una regione prospera e ricca in cui gli abitanti vivevano felici, dedicandosi a molti piaceri, e protetti da re equi e giusti. Vengono analizzate minuziosamente le tre arti (canto, musica e danza) e c'è una lunga spiegazione sulle note, sul come accordare gli strumenti musicali e sui diversi tipi di danze.
Questo poema epico ha anche insegnamenti morali. Parla del dharma, l'importanza di essere giusti, e del karma, ovvero che ogni azione ha una sua conseguenza.

Il voto basso è dovuto a diverse cose tra cui la traduzione. L'edizione italiana non è stata tradotta dall'originale tamil, ma da una traduzione inglese e il testo ne risente. Le divinità indù hanno molti nomi che variano a seconda degli attributi o dell'aspetto. Ogni volta che viene nominata una divinità c'è un elenco lunghissimo di tutti i suoi attributi, sicuramente per far capire a quale forma del dio ci si riferisce. Shiva, per esempio, può essere chiamato anche Nataraja, Pashupati, Rudra ecc, in base al suo aspetto. Ecco, nell'edizione italiana c'è scritto Shiva e poi un elenco interminabile di attributi. Non so com'è scritto nell'originale, ma in italiano ne uscivano elenchi lunghi e ripetitivi. Va bene, non conosco tutti i nomi di tutte le divinità quindi avrei fatto fatica a capire a quale aspetto del dio ci si riferiva, però suona meglio leggere il nome originale e poi magari aggiungere una nota. Anche altre parole che potevano rimanere nell'originale sono state tradotte e non avevano molto senso. Si parla di "genio", ma il genio non fa parte della cultura indù, bensì di quella medio-orientale, musulmana. Leggendo che Indra viene chiamato "genio" ho storto un po' il naso. Ho anche incontrato Eros (o Cupido, ora non ricordo) che non hanno nulla a che fare con il panteon induista.
Un'altra cosa che mi ha fatto tribolare, sono tutti i dettagli sulle tre arti. Sono descritte nei minimi dettagli ed erano francamente troppi.
Nel testo ci sono anche degli inni o delle canzoni in versi. Per me, che non amo la poesia, è stata una fatica leggerli.
È comunque un libro che mi sento di consigliare a chi è interessato ad approfondire la conoscenza del Tamil Nadu. Magari altri lettori, al contrario di me, non hanno problemi con spiegazioni lunghe e dettagliate e con le canzoni in versi.

English
This is an interesting book for who wants to deepen his knowledge of Tamil Nadu. This epic talks about the story of Kannaki and how she became the goddess of chastity and loyalty. But we have also an inside in Tamil history and culture of ancient times. We come to know about the three dynasties of that time (the Pandya, the Chora and the Chela) and how people lived happy in this region that at that time was prosperous and ruled by right kings. We have very detailed explanations of the three arts (dance, music, songs) and about how to tune a musical instrument, all the notes of a song and the various types of dance. There are also moral teachings about dharma, how to live always in a righteous way, and about karma, how every action has his good or bad consequence.

The low rating is due to the translation because the Italian edition has been translated from the English translation and not from the original Tamil and so there are many things that don't make sense. Other things that I didn't like are the too long descriptions of the three arts and that there are many songs and hymns in verses. I don't like poems so I had a hard time to read these.
I would however recommend this book to who is interested in Indian and, above all, Tamil literature.

[Jeyasri Ramesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ancient Tamil literature never ceases to amaze me!

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The narrative of the Cilappatikaram (or, the Epic of the Anklet), the ancient text was written in verse. This text is attributed to Prince Ilango Adigal and considered dated as having been written around 1,600 years ago.

The poet brings an impassive sensuality and across-the-board humanity to his saga of a woman's retribution.

The written version has its origin from the oral traditional tales spoken by people from the village of Tamil Nadu and it is said that Prince Ilango Adigal wrote down the events of the story as they were told to him by eye-witnesses.

In any case, the anecdotal details of the diverse versions as we get to see, tell us about people's unusual perceptions of the story. The additional episodes that revolve round the main stories portray the versions from different regions of the state

The whole poem revolves around the value of chastity. Also it is a fine amalgamation of ‘mood poetry’ in an ancient Tamil Sangam tradition and the rhetoric of Sanskrit poetry, including the dialogues of Kalit tokai (poems of unrequited or mismatched love), chorus folk songs, descriptions of city and village, lovingly technical accounts of dance and music, and strikingly dramatic scenes of love and catastrophic death.

One of the enormous achievements of the Tamil genius, the Cilappatikaram is a comprehensive poetic witness to Tamil culture, its varied religions; its town plans and city types, and Tamil people, and their arts of dance and music.

The epic consists of around 5000 verses and is considered as a long poem that describes the achievements of Kannaki, the heroine and of a Pandya and a Chera King, who are considered as the heroes of the epic.

Three story elements that are found here are:

1) A king punishes himself or his family members for transgressions
2) A woman is astoundingly served by nature due to her self-sacrificing devotion (her chastity) in relation to her husband
3) A woman in fury gets justice and becomes a goddess

What according to the poet was the purpose of this Epic Poem? In the ‘Pathigam’, the prologue to the book, Adigal gives the reader the substance of the book with the précis of the story.

He also lays the objectives of the book, saying:

“We shall compose a poem, with songs,
To explain these truths: even kings, if they break
The law, have their necks wrung by dharma;
Great men everywhere commend
Wife of renowned fame; and karma ever
Manifests itself, and is fulfilled.
We shall call the poem
The Cilappatikaram, the epic of the anklet
Since the anklet brings these truths to light…..”

The poet emphasizes the significance of ingenuous and honest service of a king towards his subjects. He portrays the detail that a King's power is not prosperity but commitment to his people.

Simultaneously the exposure of truth can convert a mortal soul into a deity of truth and sacrifice.

In ‘The Cilappatikaram: The Tale of an Anklet’, the following themes get manifested very distinctly:

**Ordinary folks as heroes and heroines: At a time when it was routine to make the King or some other patron as the male protagonist, Ilango had made the ordinary folks the key figures in his drama - Kannaki and Kovalan along with Madhvi. In addition to the main characters, he had created two more individuals to the cast - the first was a woman ascetic, Kavunthi, who, every once in a while, reiterated the principles of virtue. The other was a learned brahmin, Madalan, whose role was to construe the traits attributed to each character in the proper outlook with respect to social and religious contextualisation.

**Fine arts: Ilango imparted the values of virtue to the common folk by taking up two moral principles -- chastity and virtue -- and incorporated them into a theatrical style episode so that everyone in the society will get the message of virtue. The poetic skills of the writer in capturing human sentiments have made it an exceptional literary piece.

**Women's status and value of chastity: Though Kovalan is supposed to be the hero; the author in his inimitable style has elevated the two women characters, Kannaki and Madhavi, to the highest status in the eyes of the society everlastingly.

Kannaki's adulation as the Goddess of chastity was indisputable, the repentance and renunciation of Madhavi, after realizing her mistakes, made her no less noble and virtuous.

A timeless classic.

[Shayantani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cenkuttuvan is this combination of Salman Khan and any RSS politician. Kannaki/Pattini is their equivalent of the cow, very conveniently subsumed for his agenda.
The translation was just ghastly.

[s · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting epic, different in kind from the RY/MBh though sharing with them thick description of a society already steeped in Vedic ritual and Puranic cosmology. One central difference is in perspective: this is fundamentally and explicitly a Jain story about the inexorable march of karma. Gods and goddesses mostly watch things unfold, at best able to explain events in retrospect. Everything is internal to earthly conduct. Also a rich picture of Tamil antiquity, full of details about village and urban life, maritime trade, the living quarters of Greco-Roman merchants, the habits of Buddhist and Jain monks, and local goddess cults that are as yet not in the Brahminical fold.

Daniélou's translation felt mostly competent but often sort of awkward, for example when he writes "Yama, king of Hades". Someday I will read it in the original!

[Prashasti Aryal · Rating 3 out of 5]

(excerpts for uni)

[Cayali Gnanapragasam · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book took me forever to read. The translation was horrible. It was accurate, sure, but it was translated in the academic sense meaning that normal people like myself have to struggle through it. If you are trying to read silapathikaram find another translation.

[Manish · Rating 3 out of 5]

The gist of the epic poem is more or less straight forward - A husband and wife live blissfully until the husband falls for the charms of a courtesan and walks out of the marriage. A subsequent bout of jealousy drives him back to his wife, this time leaving the courtesan in distress and an illegitimate daughter to fend for herself. The 'magnanimous' wife welcomes her husband back and decides to leave the town with him in search of greener pastures. This leads them to Madurai where the hubby gets accused of possessing an anklet of the queen, when it actually belonged to the wife. His eventual murder now transforms the wife into a raving and ranting maniac who tears away her breast and curses the city. The king dies, the queen follow suit and finally the wife gets united with her husband in heaven. The epic ends with the consecration of a temple in honour of the wife who is none other than Kannagi.

But what made the Cilappatikaram such a fascinating read were the details that get so vividly described - be it the science of music, the geography of South India, the flora and fauna of the land, the economy of the time or the military might of the kings in an era that was 1500 years before our time.

[Marcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parthasarathy's introduction to this book-length, epic poem grounds readers quite well in the historical and literary context of the text. I learned a great deal about how the Cilappatikaram came into being and its geographical, historical, and political aspects. What is quite unique and quite intriguing about this text is that there is a female heroine who is quite radical in some ways. Kannaki goes up against the king and even tears off one of her breasts, which becomes a bomb she drops on the city of Maturai in revenge. These aspects are quite interesting for a poem that was composed in the 5th century. The language and imagery are quite beautiful as well. A wonderful addition to Tamil literature in translation.

[Poornachandra Upadhya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding Translation

I had read Kannagi's story as a child. Recently I became interested in Sangam literature and based on various reviews, I chose the English translation by Alain Danielou. This translation takes one back in time and presents the richness and splendour of ancient Tamil Nadu. It provides plenty of information on the various states in India, social structure, the political climate and religious outlook of those times. I loved the book so much that I have gone ahead and purchased the next part - Manimekhalai.

[Anitha Ponraj · Rating 4 out of 5]

புத்தகம்: சிலப்பதிகாரம்
ஆசிரியர்: இளங்கோவடிகள்
உரை ஆசிரியர்: கோமதி சங்கர் ஐயா

தலைப்பு: பழந்தமிழ் இலக்கியங்கள்

ஐம்பெரும் காப்பியங்களில் முதற்காப்பியமாக கருதப்படும் முத்தமிழ்க்காப்பியமான சிலப்பதிகாரத்தை !

"நெஞ்சை அள்ளும் சிலப்பதிகாரம் என்றோர் மணியாரம்”

என்று முண்டாசுக் கவிஞன் வியந்து புகழந்த புரட்சிக்காப்பியத்தை !!

தன் வாழ்நாளில் வாசிக்க முடியாமல் போனதற்காக பண்பாட்டு ஆய்வாளர் தொ.பரமசிவன் வருந்திய உரையிடையிட்ட பாட்டுடைச் செய்யுள் காவியத்தை வாசிப்பை நேசிப்போம் குழுவின் முன்னெடுப்பு இல்லாமல், கோமதி சார் அவர்களின் வழிநடத்துதல் இல்லாமல் 82 நாட்களில் வாசிப்பது கண்டிப்பாக சாத்தியப்பட்டிருக்காது.

அதுவும் குழுவில் வாசிக்கும் போது எத்தனை புதிய தகவல்கள்?
எத்தனை விதமான புரிதல்கள்? எத்தனை மாறுபட்ட கண்ணோட்டங்கள்?

சிறுவயதில் மாறுவேடப்போட்டிக்காக பேசிய கண்ணகியின் வசனங்களை இத்தனை வருடங்கள் கழித்து காப்பியத்தில் செய்யுளாக வாசித்த போது ஏற்பட்ட புழங்காகிதம் !!

ஒற்றுமைக்காப்பியம், மூவேந்தர்காப்பியம், தமிழின் தேசியக்காப்பியம் என்றெல்லாம் அழைக்கப்படும் இந்த அருங்காப்பியம்
சோழ, பாண்டிய, சேர நாடு என்னும் மூன்று நாடுகளில் மூவேந்தரின் தலைநகரங்களிலும் நடந்த நிகழ்ச்சிகளை புகார்க் காண்டம், மதுரைக் காண்டம், வஞ்சிக் காண்டம் என்று அழைக்கிறது.

3 காண்டங்கள், 30 காதைகள் , 5001 வரிகள்(இசைப்பாடல்) கொண்டது இந்நூல். புகார்க்காண்டம் -10 காதைகள்
மதுரைக்காண்டம் – 13 காதைகள்
வஞ்சிக்காண்டம் – 7 காதைகள்
என்பது இதன் அமைப்பு.

கோவலன் கண்ணகி என்ற வணிகக் குடும்பத்தைச் சார்ந்த சாதாரண மக்களை காப்பிய நாயகர்களாகக் கொண்டதால் இது குடிமக்கள் காப்பியம் என்று கொண்டாடப்படுகிறது.

“அரசியல் பிழைத்தோர்க்கு அறம் கூற்றாவது ;
உரைசால் பத்தினியை உயர்ந்தோர் ஏத்துவது ;
ஊழ்வினை உருத்து வந்து ஊட்டும்”

என்ற மூன்று உண்மைகளை மூலமாக வைத்து இக்காவியம் இயற்றப்பட்டுள்ளது.

சிலம்பு ஒரு பயண நூல் என்று தொ.ப குறிப்பிட்டதை வாசித்த போது உணர்ந்து கொள்ள முடிகிறது.

புகார் நகரில் செல்வச் சீமாட்டியாக பிறந்து வளர்ந்த கண்ணகி, கோவலனை மணந்து தன் இல்வாழ்க்கையை அழகாக தொடங்குகிறாள்.

அவனோ மாதவியின் கலை மேல் மையல் கொண்டு அவளைப் பிரிந்து சென்று மாதவியோடு வாழந்து மணிமேகலை என்னும் குழந்தைக்கு தந்தையாகிறான்.

ஒரு ஊடலில் மாதவியைப் பிரிந்து, புத்தி தெளிந்து, தன் செல்வத்தை எல்லாம் இழந்து தன் வாழ்க்கையை மீண்டும் தொடங்க கண்ணகியோடு மதுரை நகர் நோக்கி பயணிக்கிறான். வழியில் கவுந்தி அடிகளின் வழிகாட்டுதல் அவர்களுக்கு துணை வருகிறது.

கண்ணகியின் காற்சிலம்பை விற்று வர மதுரை நுழைபவன் ஊழ்வினையால் கள்வன் என்று குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டு விசாரணையின்றி கொல்லப்படுகிறான்.

அதற்கு நீதி கேட்டு அரசவை செல்லும் கண்ணகி முன் தான் ஆராயாமல் தவறிழைத்ததை உணர்ந்து பாண்டிய மன்னன் உயிர்துறக்கிறான்,கூடவே அவன் அரசியும்.

நீதி தவறிய அந்நகரை தண்டிக்க தன் முளை கிள்ளி எறிந்து மதுரையை எரியூட்டுகிறாள் கண்ணகி. ஆனால் அந்நகரில் தவறிழைத்தவர்களை மட்டுமே அழிக்க அவள் ஆணையிட்டால் என்பதை இப்போது அறிந்து கொண்டேன்.

இறுதியில் மதுரா தெய்வம் அவளை ஆற்றுப்படுத்த, சேர நாட்டில் ச��ன்று சொர்க்கம் புகுகிறாள். அந்த பத்தினி தெய்வத்துக்காக வடக்கே படையெடுப்பு நடத்தி எடுத்து வந்த கல்லில் கோவில் எழுப்புகிறான் சேரன். பின் அவள் புகழ் பிற இடங்களில் பரவி பல நாட்டு மன்னர்களும் அவளை வழிபடுகிறார்கள்.

இது தான் கதை என்றாலும், மூவேந்தர்களையும் அவர்கள் அருமை பெருமைகளையும் உவமைகளாக செய்யுள்களில் காண முடிகிறது.

அந்த காலத்து நகரங்களையும், மக்கள் வாழ்க்கையையும் கொண்டாட்டங்களையும் காப்பியம் நெடுக காண முடிகிறது.

வேறு பெண்ணை நாடிச் சென்ற கணவன் தவறானவன் என்று நினைக்காமல், அவனை மன்னித்து ஏற்று அவனுக்காக ஒரு நகரையே எரியூட்டியது தவறு என்று கண்ணகியைக் காட்டாமல்,

பாண்டியன் அறம்பிழைத்தான் என்ற போதும், தன் பிழையை உயிர் கொடுத்து சரி செய்தான் என்று அவனையும் விட்டுக் கொடுக்காமலே ஆசிரியர் எழுதியுள்ளார்.

அனைவரின் தவறுகளையும் எல்லாம் வினைப் பயன் என்ற ஒரு வரியில் அடக்கி விட முடிகிறது. அரசனானாலும், சாதாரண குடிமகன் ஆனாலும்!!!

அதுதான் காப்பியம் போல…

“திங்களைப் போற்றுதும்! திங்களைப் போற்றுதும்!!”

என்று தொடங்கும் மங்கல வாழ்த்துப் பாடல் தமிழ் நிலத்தில் சந்திர வழிபாடே முதன்மையானதாக இருந்ததை உணர்த்துகிறது.

சிலம்பு வாசித்த சமயத்தில் வாசித்த தொ.ப மற்றும் மயிலை சீனி வேங்கடசாமி அவர்கள் புத்தகங்கள் காவியத்தை ஆழமான புரிந்து கொள்ளவும் அது சார்ந்த நிறைய தகவல்களை அறிந்து கொள்ளவும் உதவியது.

இப்பெருங்காப்பியத்தை வாசித்து அதை புரிந்து கொண்டது ஒருவித சாதனை செய்த மனப்பான்மையைக் கொடுக்கிறது.

சிலம்பு போற்றுதும் !!
சிலம்பு போற்றுதும் !!!

[Vinay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kingdoms come & go,
Emotions rise & fall,
Characters enter & exit.

This is the way of life.

Kannaki's life might have been tragic but it is a fierce warning against excess indulge. In fact, Silappadikaram is a fantastic parable similar to great tragedies like the Oedipus cycle and Shakespeare's Hamlet. It's a tale of two cities: Puhar(Chola) & Madurai(Pandayan). One in its nascent stage of corruption, while the other is at the verge of collapse. It serves as a warning to the Cera king, who decides to build a shrine for Kannaki(Pattini) as a goddess of Chastity.

Ramaswamy Dikshitar's translation is a little dated but his footnotes, introduction, and appendices are excellent scholarship. He manages to transport you to a distant land & culture. He translates the epic with fine details of flora-fauna, music, dance, and drama without losing the track of the plot. The introduction focuses on the kingdoms of Tamil Nadu, the appendix turn the focus towards
1. Usage of Sanskrit words.
2. Dating of the text.
3. Music in Silappadikaram
4. Pattini cult through the ages.
and finally, the footnotes add context to superstitions and folklore. For example,
1. "The invisible deity[of Puhar] guarding the place would make the thief go round and round the open plain, with a heavy burden on his head but would not permit him to pass away from there."

This premonition foreshadows the psychological state of the Pandyan king. Who steals the life of Kovalan from Kannaki and instantly pays for it with his life.

2. "Tradition affirms that every palace had such a bell in front of it, for the use of people and even animals whenever injustice was done to them by the state, so as to bring it to the king's notice."

When Madurai is up in flames, The deity of Madurai says to Kannaki that she hasn't heard it been rung till now. She pleads her to forgive the injustice done to her.

3. Ashtadiggajas:
"Legend has it that the universe lies balanced on the tusks of elephants, each elephant supporting a quarter of the world."

Here it alludes to the extensive conquest of the Cera King. Cera king upon hearing Kannaki's story decides to embark on a campaign to acquire a stone slab from the Himalayas. On his march, he battles and wins over those who oppose him.

Ilango Adigal(the author) juxtaposes nature along with human emotions. For example, Madavi's song at the seashore causes Kovalan's latent emotions to surface. Thus, making him realize his mistake. Beautiful descriptions of nature also anchor the readers among the turmoils of the story. The author also manages to show the cohabitation of Jains, Hindus, and Buddhist philosophies. The way he manages to create aesthetics is astonishing. The only thing that is hard to comprehend is the musical & theatrical aspects of the play.

Regards,
Vinay A

You have entered the Zone (Inadequately researched Madman's rambling):

Tamil poetry is comprised of four major meters characteristic of the Varna system.

1. Venpa/Venba (Brahmin)
They don't permit the usage of other meters.

2. Aciriyam (Kshatriya)
Similar to Venpa but allows other meters to be combined, Sweet sounding and great for longer poems.

3. Kali(Merchant)
Similar to Acriyam, but more flexible in the usage of other meters.

4. Vanci(Farmers)
Shorter lines compared to other meters.

This epic was composed using Aciriyam, maybe it was the intention of the author to signify its target audience?

Dikshitar highlights stanzas where the meter changes.

[Teesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

" A chaste women is all-powerful "
Silappadikaram - the tale of an anklet, provides an introduction to sangam literature , is one of the five great epics according to ancient Tamil literary tradition . The others being Manimekalai ,
Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi , Valayapathi and Kundalakesi. An epic by its nature is product of a culture and its inherent value system.
Ilango Adigal , is believed to have been a Jain monk , a Chera prince , and a poet, credited as the author of Silappadikaram.
The epic has been dated to likely belong to the beginning of common era , therefore it beautifully weave the story around the ancient Tamil culture and their ideology . Unlike other epics , Silappadikaram is about ordinary men and women at the centre , and it is important to note that the protagonist of this epic is a woman. The story is setup in three Tamil Kingdoms of the ancient era : Chola , Pandyan , and Chera dynasties, and the three books of the epic relate to the incidents in the three dynasties respectively. Silappadikaram is the only epic considered to be non-religious in its stance, but it is definately moralistic. It is majorly upon Akam poetry , i.e. it represents the scenes of domesticity, individual strife , personal relationships , and also emotions that include the phases of love and erotic impulses. It is important to take note of the fact that Silappadikaram belongs to the oral tradition , and therefore , as it passed on from one generation to another , it added many new interpretations and subtractions to its storyline. The story reveals the journey of the female protagonist - kannaki , from a human being to the "goddess of chastity" .
It gives a love triangle of kannaki-kovalan-madavi , including both the bhavas of shringar rasa - sanyog and viyog , which have been portrayed with supereme artistic style of poetry.
One of my favourite scenes from the epic is the wrath of kannaki. It will surely give you goosebumps ,as she walked around the city of madurai , and called for Agni - the god of fire , to burn the city ! This will surely evoke the 'raudra ras' in the minds of readers as felt by kannaki during her seperation from kovalan.
Like other epics , Silappadikaram also shows that ,how a personal issue is developed into a public social issue . The major themes of the storyline are - justice , authority , destiny & fate , morality and chastity.
I would recommend everyone to read Silappadikaram ,even if one haven't have any knowledge about Tamil culture . It would be an easy and quick read , as well as it will provide you a glimpse of our ancient culture and ideologies.

[Madeline]

I'm not going to rate this because what is the point. It is a tragic love story that fully commits to the tragic love story, and also takes that tragic love story to suggest a critique of tragic love stories.

I think if you are reading it today, it's for the undeniable badassery of the climax: Kannaki, having finally reclaimed her husband for herself and gone on a pilgrimage with him, finds out the Pandya king has killed her husband. The force of her righteous anger and evidence of his own wrongdoing causes the king to drop dead on the spot. Then Kannaki rips off her left breast and the city burns down.

There's a lot of poetry along the way (my translation was into prose, except for the songs), and after. It seems a little bit of a shame that Kannaki is deified for her wifely devotion rather than her purifying anger (which everyone seems to recognize: Madurai burns and they're all like, "well, she has a point").

The most interesting thing about the poem for me, though, is the textured description it gives of the world in which it takes place. The cities are BUSTLING, the villages are full, there's always something happening in the forest.

I also have the sequel, Manimekalai - the Buddhist epic, not the Jain one. It's too bad Kundalakesi is mostly lost, because it sounds wild.

[Mayank · Rating 2 out of 5]

An epic tale ruined by pathetic translation by Alain Danielou.

The brilliance of original text is greatly overshadowed by uninspired translation. Terms like genii, Eros, Poseidon, Hades have no background in Tamil sangam or culture and their usage only deviates from the context. For instance, the translator repeatedly calls Manimekalai as "precious girdle". I get it that "precious girdle" is the literal translation, but for god's sake Manimekalai is the name of Madhavi's daughter. Why on earth would you translate name of a person??!!!??

I understand that Tamil verse is beautiful, especially for the description of tamil country and customs. None of it reflected in the Aleph publication's version.

To conclude 2/5 stars rating reflect shortcomings of translation, and only positive is the beauty of original text which even the miserable, lamentable translation could not hide completely.

[Nebi'S Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had the most enchanting verses. The vivid description caught my attention. And the use of landscape to describe human emotions added beauty to the poem. The story of Kannaki was interesting and worth the time. The addition of choruses added more flavor to the poem. The first two books kept me interested till the end. But the last book, the book of Vanci, was slowly and steadily making me lose focus. Overall, the book and the story was amazing. It was a great depiction of the old India. With its lustrous nature, architecture and views. It also had a very authentically precise views of people or characters.
All in all this book is definitely worth a read. For the beautiful writing style and narration.

[Raghuveer Parthasarathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ancient Tamil epic (which I read first about 20 years ago and am revisiting now) is a tough one to assess. On the one hand, it’s often very beautiful, and it gives a glimpse into a very different world, one in which, at least for the wealthy protagonists, the pursuit of pleasure and aesthetics is the only real goal. On the other hand, the story really drags in the last third, which seems there only for the sake of including all three ancient Tamil kingdoms and extolling their valor. As others have noted, the story is very strange, but this is neither good nor bad; it is what it is. The explanatory material at the end is great.

[Taylor Swift Scholar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly I probably bumped this up a full star because a woman rips her boob off and throws it at a corrupt king, burning down his entire city. An epic with a woman as the protagonist is pretty cool, although she does get her power mainly from chastity and standing by her cheating spouse.

The beautiful love poetry in the beginning of the book was the highlight of the book for me, much more so than the epic plot. This was my first introduction to Tamil love poetry and I am looking forward to reading more.

[Gayathri (books_and_lits) · Rating 4 out of 5]

இப்புத்தகம்,இல்லை இல்லை,இக்காப்பியம்(அட!நா ஒரு காப்பியத்தையேவா வாசிச்சுட்டேன்!!நானா எங்க வாசிச்சேன்😅வாசிப்பை நேசிப்பவர்கள் வாசிக்கல்ல வெச்சாங்க🥹🙏🏻)வாசித்த அனுபவத்தை,”என்னனு சொல்ல!?அட!நா எப்படிச் சொல்ல?!”என்று பிரபுவை போல பாட தான் வேண்டும்.நான் தான் இதை முழுமையாக வாசித்து விட்டேனா என்னும் இன்ப அதிர்ச்சியில் இருந்தே நான் இன்னும் மீளவில்லை🥹

Read more…

https://www.instagram.com/p/DJBJjO9zI...

[Manasvini Narayanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful Tamil epic that I have been wanting to read about for a while. Cilappatikaram stands apart from traditional Indian classics by centering a human female protagonist, Kannagi, whose journey from wronged wife to vengeful goddess is both heartbreaking and electrifying. Highly recommended for anyone interested in epic poetry, South Asian literature, or stories of women who refuse to be silenced.

[Arun · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonable translation, but not the same quality as AK Ramanujan's translations of Sangam era poems. Nothing particularly great about the novel or the themes explored. It's a fairly straightforward tale with very little of the moral complexity and ambiguity of greater epics. By our standards today, highly male chauvinist, but l say that as an observation, not as a criticism here.

[Ramya Chandran · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautiful book but ridiculous translation. Unfortunately my tamizh is slow so I had to resort to this. If you can read tamizh or can find a better translation to English, please take my advice and don’t choose this.

[Abhishek Bhatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kannagi undoubtedly is a strong female protagonist. I absolutely love the story ( especially in the end when she barges in the palace to confront the Pandya ruler). A few years back saw a theatrical production of this opus, where Kannagi holding her anklet was a force to be reckoned with.

[Kaavya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a beautiful read and probably the longest bit of poetry I have ever read. For someone who usually does not read poetry, this was super easy to follow. While this is a translation, the language and imagery are beautiful.

[Dany · Rating 4 out of 5]

“If you wish to know of deeds done in the past, do you not look for them in the present birth?”

[Kamesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

தமிழில் உள்ள ஒரு சிறந்த நூல். இக்காப்பியமானது நீதியை பற்றி விவரிக்கிறது.

[Siddhant Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great translation of a classic, good read if you want to read authentic texts on Indian mythology.. Shows the intricate society of the past accurately..