Paḻamoḻi Nāṉūṟu (Tamil: பழமொழி நானூறு) is a

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' corresponding to between 100 and 500 CE. ''Paḻamoḻi Nāṉūṟu'' contains 400 poems written by the poet Munrurai Araiyanaar, a Jain. The poems of ''Paḻamoḻi Nāṉūṟu'' 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. ''Paḻamoḻi Nāṉūṟu'' employs old Tamil

proverb A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...

s to illustrate its messages. The following poem uses the adage that it is impossible to straighten the tail of a dog, as it impossible to control the unchaste mind of a girl by throwing her in prison. நிறையான் மிகுகலா நேரிழை யாரைச்
சிறையான் அகப்படுத்தல் ஆகா - அறையோ
வருந்த வலிதினின் யாப்பினும் நாய்வால்
திருந்துதல் என்றுமே இல்.

References

* Mudaliyar, Singaravelu A., Apithana Cintamani, An encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature, (1931) - Reprinted by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi (1983) * http://tamilnation.org/literature/ * http://tamilnation.org/literature/pathinen/pm0036.pdf ''Paḻamoḻi Nāṉūṟu'' eText at Project madurai Sangam literature Jain texts {{India-lit-stub

See also

References