Elelasingan ( ta, ஏலேலசிங்கன்) ( 2nd or 1st century BCE), also known as Elelasingan Chettiyar, Elela and Alara, was a
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
merchant who lived in
Mylapore
Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the cel ...
, by the shores of the
Pallava Kingdom
The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as fe ...
, trading between
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. He is best known as the contemporary, friend, and disciple of the celebrated
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
poet and philosopher
Valluvar
Thiruvalluvar (Tamil language, Tamil: திருவள்ளுவர்), commonly known as Valluvar, was a celebrated Tamil people, Tamil poet and philosopher. He is best known as the author of the ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'', a collection of coup ...
.
Biography
It is said that Elelasingan is mentioned as
Elaela and Alara in
Ceylon history, who lived between 144 BCE and 101 BCE.
M. S. Purnalingam Pillai
Munnirpallam Sivasubramaniam Purnalingam Pillai (25 May 1866 – 6 June 1947) was a Tamil language-writer and Dravidologist.
Early life
Purnalingam Pillai was born on 25 May 1866 to Sivasubramaniam Pillai at Munnirpallam in Tinnevely district ...
cites that, according to
Mahavamso tradition, Elelasingan ruled Lanka as Ellalan with his capital at
Annuradhapura between 205 BCE and 161 BCE. However, given the fact that Elelasingan was a contemporary of Valluvar and with the date of Valluvar remaining dubious, it is still under debate whether Elaela of Cylone was the same person as Elelasingan. According to T. S. Srinivasan, Elela Singhan was a prince who lived in the first century CE and was a friend of Valluvar.
Elelasingan belonged to the
Karaya or
Parava community and was a merchant by profession. He was also the chief of the townsmen at Mylapore. He was wealthy and is said to have owned vessels and had trade with foreign countries, chiefly
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. He also sold thread to Valluvar, who earned a living by engaging in his occupation as a weaver. Over the years, Elelasingan became a close friend and a disciple of Valluvar.
Elelasingan and his wife had been without a child for years. One day when visiting the local
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
temple, they found a baby lying beside a cow. The couple adopted the baby as their own and named it Arlyakananthar. It is believed that it was none other than Arlyakananthar who requested Valluvar to "write an ethical treatise for the world's good." Valluvar acceded and eventually authored the
Kural text
The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' ( ta, திருக்குறள், lit=sacred verses), or shortly the ''Kural'' ( ta, குறள்), is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or kurals, of seven words each. The text ...
. Elelasingan, along with other friends, advised Valluvar to travel to
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
and present his work at the
Pandiyan King's court. When Valluvar did so and returned triumphantly, Elelasingan and others welcomed him and celebrated the happening.
According to legend, at the point of Valluvar’s death, Elelasingan expressed his intention to place Valluvar's corpse in a golden coffin and place it in a monumental grave. Valluvar, however, politely refused and instead requested Elelasingan to tie his corpse with cords and throw it among the bushes outside the town so that scavenging animals can feed on it. Elelasingan obeyed and soon observed that the crows and other animals that fed on his corpse "became beautiful as gold." He soon built a
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
on the spot where Valluvar's corpse had lain and instituted worship. It is believed that the
present temple of Valluvar at Mylapore is built on the site of this ancient temple.
Legacy
Elelasingan is traditionally remembered for his faithful following of the philosophy of Valluvar. The old Tamil maxim "ஏலேலசிங்கன் பொருள் ஏழுகடல் போனாலும் திரும்பும்" (literally "The goods of Elelasingan make a safe return albeit crossing seven seas") and the
work songs
A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a form of work, either sung while conducting a task (usually to coordinate timing) or a song linked to a task which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song.
Definitions and ...
of "Elelo elavali" and "Elelo aylasa", which are traditionally sung by hard laborers of the Tamil land during their toil at work to mitigate their drudgery, remain embedded in the Tamil culture as the sole surviving legacy of Elelasingan.
See also
*
Valluvar
Thiruvalluvar (Tamil language, Tamil: திருவள்ளுவர்), commonly known as Valluvar, was a celebrated Tamil people, Tamil poet and philosopher. He is best known as the author of the ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'', a collection of coup ...
*
Vasuki
Vasuki (IAST: ) is the second king of the nagas in Hinduism. He is described as having a gem called ''Nagamani'' (serpent's ornament) on his head. Adishesha, the first king of the serpents and the mount of Narayana, is his elder brother, and ...
*
Thiruvalluvar Temple, Mylapore
The Ekambareswarar–Kamakshi Temple, commonly known as the Thiruvalluvar Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the poet-saint Thiruvalluvar, Valluvar in the neighborhood of Mylapore in Chennai, India. The shrine is located within the Ekambareswa ...
Citations
References
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{{Tirukkural, state=collapsed
Tirukkural
People from Tamil Nadu