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Five Great Epics
The Five Great Epics ( ta, ஐம்பெரும்காப்பியங்கள் ''Aimperumkāppiyaṅkaḷ'') are five Tamil language, Tamil epics according to later Tamil literary tradition. They are ''Silappatikaram, Silappatikāram'', ''Manimekalai'', ''Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi'', ''Valayapathi'' and ''Kundalakesi, Kuṇṭalakēci''. Three of the five great epics of Tamil literature are attributed to Tamil Jains, while two are attributed to Tamil Buddhism, Tamil Buddhists. ''Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi'', ''Silappatikaram, Cilappatikāram'', and ''Valayapathi'' were written by Tamil Jains, while ''Manimekalai'' and ''Kundalakesi, Kuṇṭalakēci'' were authored by Buddhists. The first mention of the ''Aimperumkappiyam'' (lit. Five large epics) occurs in Mayilainathar's commentary of ''Nannūl''. However, Mayilainathar does not mention their titles. The titles are first mentioned in the late-18th-to-early-19th-century work ''Thiruthanikaiula''. Earlier works like the 17th-c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tamil Literature
Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from Tamil people from South India, including the land now comprising Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Eelam Tamils from Sri Lanka, as well as the Tamil diaspora. The history of Tamil literature follows the history of Tamil Nadu, closely following the social, economical, political and cultural trends of various periods. The early Sangam literature, dated before 300 BCE, contain anthologies of various poets dealing with many aspects of life, including love, war, social values and religion.Akananuru (1, 15, 31, 55, 61, 65, 91, 97, 101, 115, 127, 187, 197, 201, 211, 233, 251, 265, 281, 311, 325, 331, 347, 349, 359, 393, 281, 295), Kurunthogai (11), and Natrinai (14, 75) are dated before 300 BCE. This was followed by the early epics and moral literature, auth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sīthalai Sāttanār
Satthanar or Chithalai Satthanar ( ta, சாத்தனார் or சீத்தலைச் சாத்தனார், ''cītalai cāttanār'') was the Tamil poet who composed the epic Manimekalai. A total of 11 verses of the Sangam literature have been attributed to Satthanar, including verse 10 of the Tiruvalluva Maalai. Etymology Pronounced ''Sa-tha-naar,'' the name is derived from ( ta, சாத்து, ''sāttu'') meaning Buddhist monk. Applying this principle to the name Maturai Kulavāṇikan Cāttan, the author of Manimekalai, we see that the two appellations Maturai and Kulavanikan were prefixed to his name in order to distinguish him from another poet of Maturai with the same name and from a third who lived elsewhere. Several examples could be cited of this system of nomenclature which prevailed during the early days. Biography Satthanar hailed from a place known as Seerthandalai, later came to be known as Seethalai. He was a grain merchant at Madurai and hen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neelakesi
Neelakesi ( ta, நீலகேசி, lit=Woman with blue hair, translit=Nīlakēci) is an epic of Jainism. Tamil literary tradition places it among the five lesser Tamil epics, along with ''Naga kumara kaviyam'', ''Udhyana kumara Kaviyam'', ''Yasodhara Kaviyam'' and ''Soolamani''. It is a polemical work written as a Jain rebuttal to the Buddhist criticism in the Great Tamil epic ''Kundalakesi''. It tells the story of the Jain nun of the same name who was a rival of the Buddhist protagonist of the ''Kundalakesi''. According to the epic, when animal sacrifices of a temple of the Kali in Panchala were stopped due to the influence of the Jains, the Goddess dispatched the local deity Nīli to seduce and destroy the monk responsible for it. However, Nīli herself is converted to Jainism by the monk. Nīlakēci, as she is renamed, travels the country indulging in philosophical debate with rhetoricians of other religions. She debates and defeats several Buddhist rhetoricians like Ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kāvya
Kāvya (Devanagari: काव्य, IAST: ''kāvyá'') refers to the Sanskrit literary style used by Indian court poets flourishing between c.200 BCE and 1200 CE. This literary style, which includes both poetry and prose, is characterised by abundant usage of figures of speech such as metaphors, similes, and hyperbole to create its characteristic emotional effects. The result is a short lyrical work, court epic, narrative or dramatic work. Kāvya can refer to the style or the completed body of literature. Aśvaghoṣa (c. 80–150 AD), a philosopher and poet considered the father of Sanskrit drama, is attributed with first using the term. Early kāvya Although very little literature in the kāvya style written before the time of Kālidāsa (5th century CE) survives, it can be assumed from quotations in Patañjali's grammatical treatise the Mahābhāṣya (2nd century BCE), as well as from poems written on various inscriptions of the 4th to 6th centuries CE, that it dates back ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being Rishabhadeva, whom the tradition holds to have lived millions of years ago, the twenty-third ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha, whom historians date to the 9th century BCE, and the twenty-fourth ''tirthankara'' Mahavira, around 600 BCE. Jainism is considered to be an eternal '' dharma'' with the ''tirthankaras'' guiding every time cycle of the cosmology. The three main pillars of Jainism are ''ahiṃsā'' (non-violence), ''anekāntavāda'' (non-absolutism), and '' aparigraha'' (asceticism). Jain monks, after positioning themselves in the sublime state of soul consciousness, take five main vows: ''ahiṃsā'' (non-violence), '' satya'' (truth), '' asteya'' (not stealing), '' brahmacharya'' (chastity), and '' aparigraha'' (non-possessiveness) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being Rishabhadeva, whom the tradition holds to have lived millions of years ago, the twenty-third ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha, whom historians date to the 9th century BCE, and the twenty-fourth ''tirthankara'' Mahavira, around 600 BCE. Jainism is considered to be an eternal '' dharma'' with the ''tirthankaras'' guiding every time cycle of the cosmology. The three main pillars of Jainism are '' ahiṃsā'' (non-violence), '' anekāntavāda'' (non-absolutism), and ''aparigraha'' (asceticism). Jain monks, after positioning themselves in the sublime state of soul consciousness, take five main vows: '' ahiṃsā'' (non-violence), '' satya'' (truth), ''asteya'' (not stealing), '' brahmacharya'' (chastity), and ''aparigraha'' (non-possessiveness) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nirvana (Buddhism)
Nirvana (Sanskrit: निर्वाण, '; Pali: ') is "blowing out" or "quenching" of the activities of the worldly mind and its related suffering. Nirvana is the goal of the Hinayana and Theravada Buddhist paths, and marks the soteriological release from worldly suffering and rebirths in '' saṃsāra''. Nirvana is part of the Third Truth on "cessation of '' dukkha''" in the Four Noble Truths, and the "'' summum bonum'' of Buddhism and goal of the Eightfold Path." In the Buddhist tradition, nirvana has commonly been interpreted as the extinction of the "three fires", or "three poisons", greed ('' raga''), aversion ('' dvesha'') and ignorance ('' moha''). When these ''fires'' are extinguished, release from the cycle of rebirth ('' saṃsāra'') is attained. Nirvana has also been claimed by some scholars to be identical with '' anatta'' (non-self) and '' sunyata'' (emptiness) states though this is hotly contested by other scholars and practicing monks. ; ; In time, with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 unfaithfulness, their attempt to rebuild their marriage after her husband had lost everything but repented, how her husband is falsely framed then punished without the due checks and processes of justice. Kannagi proves and protests the injustice, then curses the king and city of Madurai leading to the death of the unjust Pandyan King of Madurai, who had wrongfully put her husband Kovalan to death. The society that had made her suffer, suffers in retribution as the city Madurai is burnt to the ground because of her curse. In the Chera (Kerala) and Tamil tradition, Kannagi has been deified as the symbol – sometimes as goddess – of chastity, with sculptures or reliefs in Hindu temples iconographically reminding the visitor of her breaking he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic ( sa, śramaṇa). After leading a life of begging, asceticism, and meditation, he attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya in what is now India. The Buddha thereafter wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching and building a monastic order. He taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to Nirvana, that is, freedom from ignorance, craving, rebirth, and suffering. His teachings are summarized in the Noble Eightfold Path, a training of the mind that includes meditation and instruction in Buddhist ethics such as right effort, mindfulness, and ''jhana''. He die ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silappadikaram
''Cilappatikāram'' ( ta, சிலப்பதிகாரம் ml, ചിലപ്പതികാരം, IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, ''lit.'' "the Tale of an Anklet"), also referred to as ''Silappathikaram'' or ''Silappatikaram'', is the earliest Tamil epic. It is a poem of 5,730 lines in almost entirely ''akaval'' (''aciriyam'') meter. The epic is a tragic love story of an ordinary couple, Kannaki and her husband Kovalan. The ''Silappathikaram'' has more ancient roots in the Tamil bardic tradition, as Kannaki and other characters of the story are mentioned or alluded to in the Sangam literature such as in the ''Naṟṟiṇai'' and later texts such as the ''Kovalam Katai''. It is attributed to a prince-turned-monk Iḷaṅkõ Aṭikaḷ, and was probably composed in the 5th or 6th century CE. The ''Silappatikaram'' is set in a flourishing seaport city of the early Chola kingdom. Kannaki and Kovalan are a newly married couple, in love, and living in bliss. Over time, Ko ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indra
Indra (; Sanskrit: इन्द्र) is the king of the devas (god-like deities) and Svarga (heaven) in Hindu mythology. He is associated with the sky, lightning, weather, thunder, storms, rains, river flows, and war. volumes/ref> Indra's myths and powers are similar to other Indo-European deities such as Jupiter, Perun, Perkūnas, Zalmoxis, Taranis, Zeus, and Thor, part of the greater Proto-Indo-European mythology. Indra is the most referred deity in the ''Rigveda''. He is celebrated for his powers, and as the one who killed the great evil (a malevolent type of asura) named Vritra, who obstructed human prosperity and happiness. Indra destroys Vritra and his "deceiving forces", and thereby brings rains and sunshine as the saviour of mankind. He is also an important deity worshipped by the Kalash people, indicating his prominence in ancient Hinduism. Indra's significance diminishes in the post-Vedic Indian literature, but he still plays an important role in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Cholas
The Early Cholas were a Tamil kingdom of the pre and post Sangam period (600 BCE–300 CE). It was one of the three main kingdoms of South India. Their early capitals were Urayur or Tiruchirapalli and Kaveripattinam. Along with Pandyas and Cheras, Chola history goes back to the period when written records were scarce. Sources Ancient Tamil Nadu contained three monarchical states, headed by kings called ''Vendhar'' and several chieftaincies, headed by the chiefs called by the general denomination ''Vel'' or '' Velir''. Still lower at the local level there were clan chiefs called ''kizhar'' or ''mannar''. The Tamil area had an independent existence outside the control of these northern empires. The Tamil kings and chiefs were always in conflict with each other mostly over property. The royal courts were mostly places of social gathering rather than places of dispensation of authority; they were centres for distribution of resources. The names of the three dynasties, Cholas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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