Vaiyāvik Kōpperum Pēgan 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 ...

Vēlir The Velir (also known as Vellalar) were a royal house of minor dynastic kings and aristocratic chieftains in Tamilakam in the early historic period of South India. They had close relations with Chera, Chola and Pandya rulers through ruling and ...

king and one of the

kadai ezhu vallal Kadai may refer to: *Karahi, also known as Kadai, a cooking utensil used mainly in Indian cooking *Kra–Dai languages, also known as Kadai or Tai–Kadai, a language family of Southeast Asia *Gedai, Bushehr, also known as Kadā’ī and Kedā’ī ...

of arts and literature during the Sangam era.''Historical heritage of the Tamils, page 263'' He was the lord of the Āviyar clan of Vēls, a contemporary of poet Paranar, and was known for his lavish gifts and kindness.''The Four Hundred Songs of War and Wisdom, page 90'' The Āviyar line of Vēls ruled over the area around

Palani Palani ( or ''Palni'' as in British records, is a town and a taluk headquarters in Dindigul district of the western part of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is located about south-east of Coimbatore and north-west of Madurai, from Kodaikanal ...

hills and bore the title ''Vēl Āvi''.''A handbook of Kerala, page 115''

An act of kindness

According to tradition, once when Pēkan was going around his country, he sees a peacock shivering in the rain and cloaks it with his gold laced silk robe;''Volume 3 of Encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature, page 143'' (''

Purananuru The ''Purananuru'' (, literally "four hundred oemsin the genre puram"), sometimes called ''Puram'' or ''Purappattu'', is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (''Ettuthokai'') in the Sangam literatu ...

, song 145 of Paranar''):

Squanderer of wealth but a warrior nevertheless

Pēkan was a patron of not only bards but was known to bestow lavish gifts on just about anyone who visited his court. This incited his court poet Paranar who mocks that his patron was ignorant to the point of being foolish when it came to giving away gifts but at the same time was not so ignorant in battle; (''

-song 142''):

Infidelity

Pēkan was a philanderer and was unfaithful towards his virtuous wife who is often compared to

Kannaki Kannagi ( ta, கண்ணகி) sometimes spelled Kannaki, is a legendary Tamil woman who forms the central character of the Tamil epic ''Cilappatikaram''. Kannagi is described as the chaste woman who stays with her husband despite his unfai ...

, the goddess ''pattini'' of Silapathikaram. He indulges in dancing women in Nallur(near present day

Tuticorin Thoothukudi (formerly Tuticorin) is a port city, a municipal corporation and an industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The city lies in the Coromandel Coast of Bay of Bengal. Thoothukudi is the capital and he ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

) and abandons his wife at which point the latter seeks the help of various poets to bring him back home. Even though he was king, the poets rally behind his wife and question his actions while urging him to return home: *

, an excerpt of song (143) by Kapilar: *

, an excerpt of song (145) by Paranar: *

, an excerpt of song (146) by AricilKilār: *

, an excerpt of song (147) by PerunkunrurKilār: Even though tradition paints a rosy picture that Pēkan finally came to his senses, in reality there is no evidence that the king corrected his erring ways and returned to his virtuous queen.''The Chronology of the Early Tamils, page 127''

Notes

References

* Historical heritage of the Tamils By Ca. Vē Cuppiramaṇiyan̲, Ka. Ta Tirunāvukkaracu, International Institute of Tamil Studies * The Four Hundred Songs of War and Wisdom: An Anthology of Poems from Classical Tamil, the Purananuru By George L. Hart, Hank Heifetz * A handbook of Kerala By T. Madhava Menon, International School of Dravidian Linguistics * Volume 3 of Encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature, Institute of Asian Studies (Madras, India) * The Chronology of the Early Tamils - Based on the Synchronistic Tables of Their Kings, Chieftains and Poets Appearing in the Sangam Literature By Sivaraja Pillai {{DEFAULTSORT:Pekan, Vaiyavik Kopperum Tamil monarchs Indian philanthropists Year of death unknown Kadai ezhu vallal Year of birth unknown

An act of kindness

Squanderer of wealth but a warrior nevertheless

Infidelity

See also

Notes

References