Paridhi (c. 11th century CE), also referred to as Paridhiyaar, 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, nativ ...
literary commentator known for his
commentary
Commentary or commentaries may refer to:
Publications
* ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee
* Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...
on the ''
Thirukkural
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 ...
''.
He was among the canon of
ten medieval commentators
The Ten Medieval Commentators (Tamil: உரையாசிரியர்கள் பதின்மர்) were a canonical group of Tamil scholars whose commentaries on the ancient Indian didactic work of the Kural are esteemed by later schol ...
of the Kural text most highly esteemed by scholars.
He was also among the five ancient commentators whose commentaries had been preserved and made available to the
Modern era
The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...
, the others being
Manakkudavar
Manakkudavar (c. 10th century CE) was a Tamil language, Tamil scholar and commentator known for his Literary criticism, commentary on the Tirukkural. His is the earliest of the available commentaries on the Kural text, and hence considered to bea ...
,
Pari Perumal
Pari Perumal (c. 11th century CE), also known as Kaviperumal, was a Tamil scholar and commentator known for his commentary on the ''Thirukkural''. He was among the canon of Ten Medieval Commentators of the Kural text most highly esteemed by schol ...
,
Kaalingar
Kaalingar ( ta, காலிங்கர்) (c. 12th century CE), also known as Kalingarayar, was a Tamil scholar and commentator known for his commentary on the ''Thirukkural''. He was among the canon of Ten Medieval Commentators of the Kural te ...
, and
Parimelalhagar
Parimelalhagar ( ta, பரிமேலழகர்) (), sometimes spelled Parimelazhagar, born Vanduvarai Perumal, was a Tamil poet and scholar known for his commentary on the ''Thirukkural''. He was the last among the canon of ten medieval co ...
.
Early life
Paridhi is also referred to as Parudhi in olden manuscripts. From the works of Tudisai Kilar, Paridhi's home town is known to be Tirupparudhi Niyamam, a town located near Uloor, between
Thanjavur
Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the Gr ...
and
Orathanad in the present-day
Tanjavur district
Thanjavur District is one of the 38 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur. The district is located in the delta of the Cauvery River and is mostly agrarian. As of 2011, Thanjavur district h ...
,
where the presiding deity is Parudhiyappar (hence the name Parudhi).
He belonged to the
Saivite
Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...
sect of the
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
caste. He is believed to have lived around the 11th century CE. Kalpana Sekkilar claims that Paridhi lived around early 13th century.
He lived before
Parimelalhagar
Parimelalhagar ( ta, பரிமேலழகர்) (), sometimes spelled Parimelazhagar, born Vanduvarai Perumal, was a Tamil poet and scholar known for his commentary on the ''Thirukkural''. He was the last among the canon of ten medieval co ...
.
Paridhi had a scholarly knowledge in
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
and Tamil and possessed a good worldly knowledge. He is believed to have written the commentary in his old age.
Religion
Paridhi belonged to the Saivite sect. This is evident from several usages he employed in his commentary. In the invocatory chapter of the Kural text, he explains the terms நற்றாள், இறைவன் பொருள்சேர் புகழ், and அறவாழி அந்தணன் as "the divine feet of
Lord 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 ...
," "Shiva kirti," and "the virtuous ocean called Lord Parameshwara," respectively. In chapter "Not lying," he interprets the term எல்லா அறமுந் தரும் (Kural 296) as "obtaining the blessings of Lord Shiva." In Kural 388, he elaborates the term மக்கட்கு இறை as "Lord Parameshwara, the saviour of the world". In Kural 310, he interprets the term துறந்தார் as "those who renounced from the body the ninety-six principles." He has also explained the term எண்குணத்தான் (Kural 9) in Shivite terms.
Commentary on the Kural text
Of all the ten medieval commentaries of the Kural text, Paridhi's commentary is the simplest in form and presentation. The commentary appears more or less in a colloquial style, without losing the beauty of the language and ease of comprehension. It has more Sanskrit terms compared with other medieval commentaries. In some places, it appears like a discourse in written form. Yet in some other places, the explanation is shorter than the Kural couplet upon which it elaborates. In still other places, the commentary appears long winded.
According to Dhandapani Desikar, "connecting and integrating the meaning of the Kural couplets by means of Paridhi's commentary is analogous to crossing the
Cauvery
The Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicized name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri river rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri (hill), Karnataka, Brahmagiri range in th ...
by means of a rope bridge."
For Kural couplets 161, 166, 167, 191, and 194, Paridhi’s commentary is similar in meaning to that of Kaalingar’s. For couplet 1126, it strikes a similarity with that of Parimelalhagar’s.
G. P. Chellammal notes that Paridhi employs storytelling in several places to elucidate the meaning of a given Kural couplet. He uses simply language and focuses solely on getting the point across to common audience, without employing complicated grammatical constructions or showing eloquence.
Variations in ordering of the Kural verses
The following table depicts the variations among the early commentators in ordering, for example, the first ten verses of the Tirukkural. Note that the ordering of the verses and chapters as set by Parimelalhagar, which had been followed unanimously for centuries ever since, has now been accepted as the standard structure of the Kural text.
Comparing the verse ordering by various ancient commentators with that of Manakkudavar, the first of the ancient commentators whose commentary is available, it can be reckoned that Paridhi's commentary follows closely Manakkudavar's, save for a few variations. The modern chapters 10, 13, 17, 18, and 19 appearing under the subsection "Domestic virtues" of the Kural text appear as chapters 26, 27, 30, 31, and 32, respectively, under the subsection "Ascetic virtues" in Manakkudavar's commentary. Similarly, the modern chapters 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, appearing under the subsection "Ascetic virtues" appear as chapters 19, 20, 10, 16, 17, 18, respectively, under the subsection "Domestic virtues" in Manakkudavar's work. Nevertheless, being the earliest available commentary of the Tirukkural, Manakkudavar's work is considered to bear the closest semblance with the original work of the Kural text by
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 ...
.
The following table shows the numbering of variations found in the ordering of the Kural verses by various ancient commentators with respect to the commentary by Manakkudavar.
Publication
According to M. V. Aravindan, Paridhi's commentary was first published in 1935.
S. Meiyappan records that the commentary was published again in 1938 by Thudisai Kilar.
C. Dandapani Desikar, who published ''Tirukkural Uraivalam'', a compendium of early Kural commentaries including that of Paridhi, said that the palm-leaf manuscript for Paridhi's commentary was provided by V. R. Deivasikamani Goundar.
Paridhi's commentary is unavailable for 22 couplets.
Of the available commentaries for the remaining 1308 couplets, the commentary differs from other medieval commentaries in 21 places.
Other works
Following the
Purushartha elements from the
Indian religious schools of thoughts, Paridhi went on to write an exegesis for the
Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai
__NOTOC__
''Tirumurukātṟuppadai'' ( ta, திருமுருகாற்றுப்படை, meaning ''Guide to Lord Murugan'') is an ancient intensely devotional Tamil poem in the Sangam literature genre entirely dedicated to god ...
, one of the works of the
Ten Idylls
The Ten Idylls, known as Pattuppāṭṭu ( ta, பத்துப்பாட்டு) or Ten Lays, is an anthology of ten longer poems in the Sangam literature – the earliest known Tamil literature. They range between about 100 and 800 lin ...
, after completing his Kural exegesis.
Following Paridhi, Parimelalhagar and Nacchinarkkiniyar also wrote commentaries to Tirumurugarttrupadai.
See also
*
Ten Medieval Commentators
The Ten Medieval Commentators (Tamil: உரையாசிரியர்கள் பதின்மர்) were a canonical group of Tamil scholars whose commentaries on the ancient Indian didactic work of the Kural are esteemed by later schol ...
*
Commentaries in Tamil literary tradition
Commentaries to literary works remain one of the most important and telling aspects of the Tamil literary tradition. Commentaries to ancient Tamil works have been written since the medieval period and continue to be written in the modern era. Many ...
Citations
References
*
Further reading
* M. Arunachalam (2005). Tamil Ilakkiya Varalaru, Padhinaindhaam Nootraandu
istory of Tamil Literature, 15th century
* D. M. Vellaivaaranam (1983). Tirukkural Uraikotthu. Thiruppananthal Shri Kasimadam Publications.
*
{{authority control
Tirukkural
Tamil poets
Tirukkural commentators
Ten medieval commentators
Medieval Tamil poets
Tamil-language writers
Tamil scholars
Scholars of Hinduism
Scholars from Tamil Nadu
11th-century Indian scholars