Iniyavai Narpathu () a classic
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
poetic work of
didactic
Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasises instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is a conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to explain.
...
nature belonging to the
Eighteen Lesser Texts
The Eighteen Lesser Texts, known as the Patiṉeṇkīḻkaṇakku () in the literature, is a collection of eighteen poetic works mostly created during the 'post Sangam period' (between 100 and 500 CE). The poems of this collection differ from t ...
(''Pathinenkilkanakku'') anthology of
Tamil literature
Tamil literature includes a collection of literary works that have come from a 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 T ...
. This belongs to the post
Sangam period
The Sangam literature ( Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' ( Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ''), connote ...
corresponding to between 100 and 500 CE. ''Iniyavai Narpathu'' is a collection of 40 poems written by the poet
Putham Sernthanar describing the most desirable things in life. The poems of '' Iniyavai Narpathu'' are written in the
Venpa
Venpa or Venba ('' வெண்பா'' in Tamil) is a form of classical Tamil poetry. Classical Tamil poetry has been classified based upon the rules of metric prosody. Such rules form a context-free grammar. Every venba consists of between tw ...
meter.
This collection is very similar to ''
Inna Narpathu'', which deals with the forty things one should avoid. ''Iniyavai Narpathu'' includes four categories of things one should seek in life: learning even at the expense of begging, the advice of learned persons, healthy children, strength to not covet other's spouse.
''Iniyavai Narpathu'', together with ''Inna Narpathu'' spells out in simple and succinct terms moral codes essential for daily life of the individual and for the society. They both emphasise the importance of education and individual responsibility in society.
References
* Mudaliyar, Singaravelu A., Apithana Cintamani, An encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature, (1931) - Reprinted by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi (1983)
* http://tamilnation.co/literature/
* http://projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/utf8/pmuni0025.html ''Iniyavai Narpathu'' eText at
Project madurai
Sangam literature
{{India-lit-stub