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The '''''Paripādal''''' ({{lang-ta|பரிபாடல்}}, meaning ''the paripadal-metre anthology'') is a classical [[Tamil language|Tamil]] poetic work and traditionally the fifth of the [[Eight Anthologies]] (''Ettuthokai'') in the [[Sangam literature]].{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=123–124}} It is an "akam genre", odd and hybrid collection which expresses love in the form of religious devotion ([[Bhakti movement|Bhakti]]) to gods and goddesses, according to [[Kamil Zvelebil]], a Tamil literature and history scholar.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=123–124}}<ref name="Ramanujan1">{{cite book|author=A.K. Ramanujan|title=Hymns for the Drowning|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9pa7-h0jhB0C |year=2005|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-400010-4|pages=109–110}}</ref> This is the only anthology in the Eight Anthologies collection that is predominantly religious, though the other seven anthologies do contain occasional mentions and allusions to gods, goddesses and legends, along with invocatory poem to [[Shiva]].{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=31–33, 47, 53, 55, 57, 60, 87, 99, 123–124}}<ref>{{cite book|author1=V.N. Muthukumar|author2=Elizabeth Rani Segran|title=The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnwruNVgFUkC |year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-81-8475-694-4|pages=1–17}}</ref>
The '''''Paripādal''''' ({{langx|ta|பரிபாடல்}}, meaning ''the paripadal-metre anthology'') is a classical [[Tamil language|Tamil]] poetic work and traditionally the fifth of the [[Eight Anthologies]] (''Ettuthokai'') in the [[Sangam literature]].{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=123–124}} According to [[Tolkappiyam]], Paripadal is a kind of verse dealing only with love (''akapporul'') and does not fall under the general classification of verses. It has a minimum of 25 lines and a maximum of 400 lines.{{citation needed|date=March 2023}} It is an "akam genre", odd and hybrid collection which expresses love in the form of religious devotion ([[Bhakti movement|Bhakti]]) to gods and goddesses predominantly to [[Maha Vishnu]] and [[Murugan]]. According to [[Kamil Zvelebil]], a Tamil literature and history scholar.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=123–124}}<ref name="Ramanujan1">{{cite book|author=A.K. Ramanujan|title=Hymns for the Drowning|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9pa7-h0jhB0C |year=2005|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-400010-4|pages=109–110}}</ref> This is the only anthology in the Eight Anthologies collection that is predominantly religious, though the other seven anthologies do contain occasional mentions and allusions to gods, goddesses and legends.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=31–33, 47, 53, 55, 57, 60, 87, 99, 123–124}}<ref name="Penguin Books">{{cite book|author1=V.N. Muthukumar|author2=Elizabeth Rani Segran|title=The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnwruNVgFUkC |year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-81-8475-694-4|pages=1–17}}</ref>

== Date ==
According to Prof S. Vaiyapuri Pillai, former Reader of the University of Madras, has stated that Paripadal may belong to the 3rd or 4th century period as Madurai was called Nan-Mada-k-koodal during the reign of Abisheka Pandya, who ruled the Pandya country in the 3rd or 4th century A.D. Hence, Paripadal which praises Koodal ([[Koodal Azhagar temple]]) may belong to the 3rd or 4th century A.D.<ref name="Penguin Books"/>

== Contents ==
''Paripāṭal'' currently has 24 survived and in that seven are dedicated to [[Maha Vishnu]], eight to [[Murugan]] and nine to [[Vaigai]]. The poems of [[Vishnu]] show his supremacy, and gives him the status [[Para Brahman]]. He is regarded to be the only deity who enjoyed the status of Paramporul (achieving a oneness with [[Paramatma]]) during the [[Sangam age]]. He is also known as Māyavan, Māmiyon, Netiyōn, and Māl in Sangam literature. A reference to "Mukkol Pakavars" in [[Sangam literature]] indicates that only [[Vaishnava]] saints were holding Tridanda and were prominent during the period. [[Tirumal]] was glorified as "the supreme deity", whose divine lotus feet could burn all evil and grant [[Moksha]]. During the post-Sangam period, his worship was further glorified by the poet-saints called the [[Alvars]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ramesh |first=M. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dAdJAQAAIAAJ&q=perumal+paramporul |title=108 Vaishnavite Divya Desams |date=1997 |publisher=T.T. Devasthanams |pages=152 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Nagendra Kr |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uec1E8DpiH8C&dq=Perum%C4%81l+Tirum%C4%81l&pg=PA34 |title=Encyclopaedia of Oriental Philosophy and Religion: A Continuing Series-- |last2=Mishra |first2=A. P. |date=2005 |publisher=Global Vision Publishing House |isbn=978-81-8220-072-2 |pages=34 |language=en}}</ref>


== Description ==
== Description ==
The Tamil tradition believes that the ''Paripāṭal'' anthology originally contained 70 poems, of which 24 have survived in full and few others have survived in fragments into the modern era as evidenced by the quotes in the ''Tolkappiyam'' and the ''Purattirattu''. Of the 24 full poems that have survived, 7 are dedicated to [[Thirumal|Tirumal]] (Krishna, Vishnu), eight to [[Murugan]], and nine to river goddess [[Vaigai River|Vaikai]].{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=123–124}}<ref name="rdb2004p235">{{cite book|author1=A. K. Ramanujan|author2=Vinay Dharwadker|author3=Stuart H. Blackburn|title=The collected essays of A.K. Ramanujan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2waAQAAIAAJ |year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-566896-4|page=235}}, Quote: "seventy poems dedicated to gods Tirumal (Visnu), Cevvel (Murukan) and the goddess, the river Vaiyai (presently known as Vaikai)."</ref> The nine river-related poems mention bathing festivals ([[Magh Mela]]),{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=123–124}}<ref>The festive bathing month is called ''Tai'' per the Tamil calendar (= Magh in northern Hindu calendar, January/February), particularly at the end of month Markali, and the poem also alludes to rebirths and merits in previous lives; ''Pari. 11:88–92'', {{cite book|author1=V.N. Muthukumar|author2=Elizabeth Rani Segran|title=The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnwruNVgFUkC&pg=PT104 |year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-81-8475-694-4|pages=103–105 with notes on "Lines 184–91"}}</ref> as well as water sports, offerings of prayers at the river banks, playful lover's quarrel where the wife accuses her husband of bathing with his mistress.<ref>{{cite book|author1=V.N. Muthukumar|author2=Elizabeth Rani Segran|title=The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DnwruNVgFUkC |year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-81-8475-694-4|pages=3–11}}</ref>


The compilation is attributed to 13 poets, and each poem has a notable colophon. In these colophons, in addition to the poet's name is included the music and tune (melodic mode, ''raga'') for the poem, as well as the composer of that music.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=123–124}} The ''Paripatal'' poems are longer than the poems in other major [[Sangam literature|Sangam]] anthologies. The typical poems have 60 lines, and the longest surviving poem has 140 lines. Like the ''[[Kalittokai]]'' anthology, this collection also includes dialogue-based poems.<ref name="Segran2012p1">{{cite book|author1=V.N. Muthukumar|author2=Elizabeth Rani Segran|title=The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnwruNVgFUkC |year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-81-8475-694-4|pages=1–7}}</ref> Beyond the 24 surviving poems, from the fragmentary records about the other 46 original poems, 1 additional poem was to Tirumal, 23 more to [[Kartikeya|Murugan]], 1 to [[Korravai|Kottravai]], 17 more to [[Vaigai River|Vaikai]] and 4 to [[Madurai]]. The Tirumal devotional poems <ref>{{cite book|author=Kamil Zvelebil|title=Tamil Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OQ33i496MsIC&pg=PA48 |year=1974| publisher =Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-01582-0|pages=48–49}}</ref>
The Tamil tradition believes that the ''Paripāṭal'' anthology originally contained 70 poems, of which 24 have survived in full and few others have survived in fragments into the modern era as evidenced by the quotes in the ''Tolkappiyam'' and the ''Purattirattu''. Of the 24 full poems that have survived, 7 are dedicated to [[Thirumal|Tirumal]] (Krishna, Vishnu), eight to [[Murugan]], and nine to river goddess [[Vaigai River|Vaikai]].{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=123–124}}<ref name="rdb2004p235">{{cite book|author1=A. K. Ramanujan|author2=Vinay Dharwadker|author3=Stuart H. Blackburn|title=The collected essays of A.K. Ramanujan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j2waAQAAIAAJ |year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-566896-4|page=235}}, Quote: "seventy poems dedicated to gods Tirumal (Visnu), Cevvel (Murukan) and the goddess, the river Vaiyai (presently known as Vaikai)."</ref> The nine river-related poems mention bathing festivals ([[Magh Mela]]),{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=123–124}}<ref>The festive bathing month is called ''Tai'' per the Tamil calendar (= Magh in northern Hindu calendar, January/February), particularly at the end of month Markali, and the poem also alludes to rebirths and merits in previous lives; ''Pari. 11:88–92'', {{cite book|author1=V.N. Muthukumar|author2=Elizabeth Rani Segran|title=The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnwruNVgFUkC&pg=PT104 |year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-81-8475-694-4|pages=103–105 with notes on "Lines 184–91"}}</ref> as well as water sports, offerings of prayers at the river banks, playful lover's quarrel where the wife accuses her husband of bathing with his mistress.<ref>{{cite book|author1=V.N. Muthukumar|author2=Elizabeth Rani Segran|title=The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=DnwruNVgFUkC |year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-81-8475-694-4|pages=3–11}}</ref>

The compilation is attributed to 13 poets, and each poem has a notable colophon. In these colophons, in addition to the poet's name is included the music and tune (melodic mode, ''raga'') for the poem, as well as the composer of that music.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=123–124}} The ''Paripatal'' poems are longer than the poems in other major [[Sangam literature|Sangam]] anthologies. The typical poems have 60 lines, and the longest surviving poem has 140 lines. Like the ''[[Kalittokai]]'' anthology, this collection also includes dialogue-based poems.<ref name="Segran2012p1">{{cite book|author1=V.N. Muthukumar|author2=Elizabeth Rani Segran|title=The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnwruNVgFUkC |year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-81-8475-694-4|pages=1–7}}</ref> Beyond the 24 surviving poems, from the fragmentary records about the other 46 original poems, 1 additional poem was to [[Vishnu|Tirumal]], 23 more to [[Kartikeya|Murugan]], 1 to [[Korravai|Kottravai]], 17 more to [[Vaigai River|Vaikai]] and 4 to [[Madurai]]. The [[Vishnu|Tirumal]] devotional poems are the earliest and described in most Poetic terms.<ref>{{cite book|author=Kamil Zvelebil|title=Tamil Literature|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OQ33i496MsIC&pg=PA48 |year=1974| publisher =Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-01582-0|pages=48–49}}</ref>


The ''Paripatal'' manuscripts suggest that it was not purely an abstract literary work, rather a guide for devotional songs to be sung. The poems also mention temples and shrines, thereby suggesting that the Tamil people had already built temples for Vishnu, Murugan and other deities in the Sangam era.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=124–125}} The ''Paripatal'' anthology is likely a late Sangam literature, states Zvelebil, separated from the earliest Sangam work by at least three centuries. This is evidenced by the linguistic and grammatical innovations, and its mention of mural paintings in temples and other cultural innovations.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=124–125}} Takanobu Takahashi concurs that this is a late Sangam work, and adds that the poems were likely composed over several generations over 100–150 years (3rd century CE).{{sfn|Takanobu Takahashi|1995|pp=17–19}} [[A. K. Ramanujan]] suggests this Sangam anthology may be from about the 6th century.<ref name="Ramanujan1"/> The poems allude to many pan-Indian legends, such as the ''samudra manthan'' (churning of cosmic ocean), Vishnu devotee Prahlada's struggle, Shiva and Murugan legends. The ''Paripatal'' collection may be the early buds of transitional poems that flowered into the Bhakti movement poetry.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=124–125}}<ref name="Prentiss2000p52">{{cite book|author=Karen Pechilis Prentiss|title=The Embodiment of Bhakti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vu95WgeUBfEC |year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-535190-3|pages=52–55}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=David N. Lorenzen|title=Religious Movements in South Asia, 600-1800|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cAoAAAAYAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-566448-5|pages=48–49, 67–70}}</ref>
The ''Paripatal'' manuscripts suggest that it was not purely an abstract literary work, rather a guide for devotional songs to be sung. The poems also mention temples and shrines, thereby suggesting that the Tamil people had already built temples for [[Vishnu]] and [[Murugan]] in the Sangam era.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=124–125}} The ''Paripatal'' anthology is likely a late Sangam literature, states Zvelebil, separated from the earliest Sangam work by at least three centuries. This is evidenced by the linguistic and grammatical innovations, and its mention of mural paintings in temples and other cultural innovations.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=124–125}} Takanobu Takahashi concurs that this is a late Sangam work, and adds that the poems were likely composed over several generations over 100–150 years (3rd century CE).{{sfn|Takanobu Takahashi|1995|pp=17–19}} [[A. K. Ramanujan]] suggests this Sangam anthology may be from about the 6th century.<ref name="Ramanujan1"/> The poems allude to many pan-Indian legends, such as the ''samudra manthan'' (churning of cosmic ocean), Vishnu devotee Prahlada's struggle, Shiva and Murugan legends. The ''Paripatal'' collection may be the early buds of transitional poems that flowered into the Bhakti movement poetry.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=124–125}}<ref name="Prentiss2000p52">{{cite book|author=Karen Pechilis Prentiss|title=The Embodiment of Bhakti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vu95WgeUBfEC |year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-535190-3|pages=52–55}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=David N. Lorenzen|title=Religious Movements in South Asia, 600-1800|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0cAoAAAAYAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-566448-5|pages=48–49, 67–70}}</ref>


According to V. N. Muthukumar and Elizabeth Rani Segran, the [[Vishnu]] devotional poems in the ''Paripatal'' are some of "earliest and finest representations of devotional genre", while the poems dedicated to Vaikai (Vaiyai) river are "unbriddled celebration of sensuality and love".<ref name="Segran2012p1">{{cite book|author1=V.N. Muthukumar|author2=Elizabeth Rani Segran|title=The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnwruNVgFUkC |year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-81-8475-694-4|pages=1–7}}</ref> The first Tamil edition of ''Paripatal'' from palm-leaf manuscripts discovered in 19th century was published by [[U. V. Swaminatha Iyer]] in 1918.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|p=124}} A French translation was published in 1968 by François Gros.<ref>{{cite book|author= François Gros|title=Le Paripatal| year=1968|publisher= Institut Francais D'Indologie|isbn= 978-8-18996-8359}}</ref> English translations of the collection has been published by Seshadri, Hikosaka et al in 1996,<ref>{{cite book|author1=Shu Hikosaka|author3=John Samuel|author2=K.G. Seshadri|editor= P. Thiagarajan and K. G. Seshadri|title=Paripāṭal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7HxkAAAAMAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Institute of Asian Studies}}</ref> as well as partly by Muthukumar and Segram in 2012.<ref>{{cite book|author1=V.N. Muthukumar|author2=Elizabeth Rani Segran|title=The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnwruNVgFUkC |year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-81-8475-694-4|pages=15–16}}</ref>
According to V. N. Muthukumar and Elizabeth Rani Segran, the [[Vishnu]] devotional poems in the ''Paripatal'' are some of '''"earliest and finest representations of devotional genre"''', while the poems dedicated to Vaikai (Vaiyai) river are "unbriddled celebration of sensuality and love".<ref name="Segran2012p1"/> The first Tamil edition of ''Paripatal'' from palm-leaf manuscripts discovered in 19th century was published by [[U. V. Swaminatha Iyer]] in 1918.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|p=124}} A French translation was published in 1968 by François Gros.<ref>{{cite book|author= François Gros|title=Le Paripatal| year=1968|publisher= Institut Francais D'Indologie|isbn= 978-8-18996-8359}}</ref> English translations of the collection has been published by Seshadri, Hikosaka et al. in 1996,<ref>{{cite book|author1=Shu Hikosaka|author3=John Samuel|author2=K.G. Seshadri|editor= P. Thiagarajan and K. G. Seshadri|title=Paripāṭal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7HxkAAAAMAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Institute of Asian Studies}}</ref> as well as partly by Muthukumar and Segram in 2012.<ref>{{cite book|author1=V.N. Muthukumar|author2=Elizabeth Rani Segran|title=The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnwruNVgFUkC |year=2012|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-81-8475-694-4|pages=15–16}}</ref>


==Examples==
==Examples==
{{See also|Vaishnavism in Ancient Tamilakam}}
There are two poems depicted as example, one in the praise of [[Maha Vishnu]] and other of [[Murugan]]
To Tirumal ([[Vishnu]]):
To Tirumal ([[Vishnu]]):
{{Verse translation|italicsoff=y|
{{Verse translation|italicsoff=y|
Line 47: Line 57:


To [[Murugan]]:
To [[Murugan]]:
{{Quote|
{{Blockquote|
<poem>
<poem>
We pray you not for wealth,
We pray you not for wealth,

Latest revision as of 01:49, 11 November 2024

Topics in Sangam literature
Sangam literature
Agattiyam Tolkāppiyam
Eighteen Greater Texts
Eight Anthologies
Aiṅkurunūṟu Akanāṉūṟu
Puṟanāṉūṟu Kalittokai
Kuṟuntokai Natṟiṇai
Paripāṭal Patiṟṟuppattu
Ten Idylls
Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai Kuṟiñcippāṭṭu
Malaipaṭukaṭām Maturaikkāñci
Mullaippāṭṭu Neṭunalvāṭai
Paṭṭiṉappālai Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai
Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai Ciṟupāṇāṟṟuppaṭai
Related topics
Sangam Sangam landscape
Tamil history from Sangam literature Ancient Tamil music
Eighteen Lesser Texts
Nālaṭiyār Nāṉmaṇikkaṭikai
Iṉṉā Nāṟpatu Iṉiyavai Nāṟpatu
Kār Nāṟpatu Kaḷavaḻi Nāṟpatu
Aintiṇai Aimpatu Tiṉaimoḻi Aimpatu
Aintinai Eḻupatu Tiṇaimālai Nūṟṟaimpatu
Tirukkuṟaḷ Tirikaṭukam
Ācārakkōvai Paḻamoḻi Nāṉūṟu
Ciṟupañcamūlam Mutumoḻikkānci
Elāti Kainnilai
Bhakti Literature
Naalayira Divya Prabandham Ramavataram
Tevaram Tirumuṟai
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The Paripādal (Tamil: பரிபாடல், meaning the paripadal-metre anthology) is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the fifth of the Eight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) in the Sangam literature.[1] According to Tolkappiyam, Paripadal is a kind of verse dealing only with love (akapporul) and does not fall under the general classification of verses. It has a minimum of 25 lines and a maximum of 400 lines.[citation needed] It is an "akam genre", odd and hybrid collection which expresses love in the form of religious devotion (Bhakti) to gods and goddesses predominantly to Maha Vishnu and Murugan. According to Kamil Zvelebil, a Tamil literature and history scholar.[1][2] This is the only anthology in the Eight Anthologies collection that is predominantly religious, though the other seven anthologies do contain occasional mentions and allusions to gods, goddesses and legends.[3][4]

Date

[edit]

According to Prof S. Vaiyapuri Pillai, former Reader of the University of Madras, has stated that Paripadal may belong to the 3rd or 4th century period as Madurai was called Nan-Mada-k-koodal during the reign of Abisheka Pandya, who ruled the Pandya country in the 3rd or 4th century A.D. Hence, Paripadal which praises Koodal (Koodal Azhagar temple) may belong to the 3rd or 4th century A.D.[4]

Contents

[edit]

Paripāṭal currently has 24 survived and in that seven are dedicated to Maha Vishnu, eight to Murugan and nine to Vaigai. The poems of Vishnu show his supremacy, and gives him the status Para Brahman. He is regarded to be the only deity who enjoyed the status of Paramporul (achieving a oneness with Paramatma) during the Sangam age. He is also known as Māyavan, Māmiyon, Netiyōn, and Māl in Sangam literature. A reference to "Mukkol Pakavars" in Sangam literature indicates that only Vaishnava saints were holding Tridanda and were prominent during the period. Tirumal was glorified as "the supreme deity", whose divine lotus feet could burn all evil and grant Moksha. During the post-Sangam period, his worship was further glorified by the poet-saints called the Alvars.[5][6]

Description

[edit]

The Tamil tradition believes that the Paripāṭal anthology originally contained 70 poems, of which 24 have survived in full and few others have survived in fragments into the modern era as evidenced by the quotes in the Tolkappiyam and the Purattirattu. Of the 24 full poems that have survived, 7 are dedicated to Tirumal (Krishna, Vishnu), eight to Murugan, and nine to river goddess Vaikai.[1][7] The nine river-related poems mention bathing festivals (Magh Mela),[1][8] as well as water sports, offerings of prayers at the river banks, playful lover's quarrel where the wife accuses her husband of bathing with his mistress.[9]

The compilation is attributed to 13 poets, and each poem has a notable colophon. In these colophons, in addition to the poet's name is included the music and tune (melodic mode, raga) for the poem, as well as the composer of that music.[1] The Paripatal poems are longer than the poems in other major Sangam anthologies. The typical poems have 60 lines, and the longest surviving poem has 140 lines. Like the Kalittokai anthology, this collection also includes dialogue-based poems.[10] Beyond the 24 surviving poems, from the fragmentary records about the other 46 original poems, 1 additional poem was to Tirumal, 23 more to Murugan, 1 to Kottravai, 17 more to Vaikai and 4 to Madurai. The Tirumal devotional poems are the earliest and described in most Poetic terms.[11]

The Paripatal manuscripts suggest that it was not purely an abstract literary work, rather a guide for devotional songs to be sung. The poems also mention temples and shrines, thereby suggesting that the Tamil people had already built temples for Vishnu and Murugan in the Sangam era.[12] The Paripatal anthology is likely a late Sangam literature, states Zvelebil, separated from the earliest Sangam work by at least three centuries. This is evidenced by the linguistic and grammatical innovations, and its mention of mural paintings in temples and other cultural innovations.[12] Takanobu Takahashi concurs that this is a late Sangam work, and adds that the poems were likely composed over several generations over 100–150 years (3rd century CE).[13] A. K. Ramanujan suggests this Sangam anthology may be from about the 6th century.[2] The poems allude to many pan-Indian legends, such as the samudra manthan (churning of cosmic ocean), Vishnu devotee Prahlada's struggle, Shiva and Murugan legends. The Paripatal collection may be the early buds of transitional poems that flowered into the Bhakti movement poetry.[12][14][15]

According to V. N. Muthukumar and Elizabeth Rani Segran, the Vishnu devotional poems in the Paripatal are some of "earliest and finest representations of devotional genre", while the poems dedicated to Vaikai (Vaiyai) river are "unbriddled celebration of sensuality and love".[10] The first Tamil edition of Paripatal from palm-leaf manuscripts discovered in 19th century was published by U. V. Swaminatha Iyer in 1918.[16] A French translation was published in 1968 by François Gros.[17] English translations of the collection has been published by Seshadri, Hikosaka et al. in 1996,[18] as well as partly by Muthukumar and Segram in 2012.[19]

Examples

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See also: Vaishnavism in Ancient Tamilakam

There are two poems depicted as example, one in the praise of Maha Vishnu and other of Murugan

To Tirumal (Vishnu):

To Murugan:

We pray you not for wealth,
not for gold, not for pleasure;
But for your grace, for love, for virtue,
these three,
O god with the rich garland of kaṭampu flowers
with rolling clusters!

– Pari. v.: 78–81[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Kamil Zvelebil 1973, pp. 123–124.
  2. ^ a b A.K. Ramanujan (2005). Hymns for the Drowning. Penguin Books. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-0-14-400010-4.
  3. ^ Kamil Zvelebil 1973, pp. 31–33, 47, 53, 55, 57, 60, 87, 99, 123–124.
  4. ^ a b V.N. Muthukumar; Elizabeth Rani Segran (2012). The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal. Penguin Books. pp. 1–17. ISBN 978-81-8475-694-4.
  5. ^ Ramesh, M. S. (1997). 108 Vaishnavite Divya Desams. T.T. Devasthanams. p. 152.
  6. ^ Singh, Nagendra Kr; Mishra, A. P. (2005). Encyclopaedia of Oriental Philosophy and Religion: A Continuing Series--. Global Vision Publishing House. p. 34. ISBN 978-81-8220-072-2.
  7. ^ A. K. Ramanujan; Vinay Dharwadker; Stuart H. Blackburn (2004). The collected essays of A.K. Ramanujan. Oxford University Press. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-19-566896-4., Quote: "seventy poems dedicated to gods Tirumal (Visnu), Cevvel (Murukan) and the goddess, the river Vaiyai (presently known as Vaikai)."
  8. ^ The festive bathing month is called Tai per the Tamil calendar (= Magh in northern Hindu calendar, January/February), particularly at the end of month Markali, and the poem also alludes to rebirths and merits in previous lives; Pari. 11:88–92, V.N. Muthukumar; Elizabeth Rani Segran (2012). The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal. Penguin Books. pp. 103–105 with notes on "Lines 184–91". ISBN 978-81-8475-694-4.
  9. ^ V.N. Muthukumar; Elizabeth Rani Segran (2012). The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal. Penguin Books. pp. 3–11. ISBN 978-81-8475-694-4.
  10. ^ a b V.N. Muthukumar; Elizabeth Rani Segran (2012). The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal. Penguin Books. pp. 1–7. ISBN 978-81-8475-694-4.
  11. ^ Kamil Zvelebil (1974). Tamil Literature. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-3-447-01582-0.
  12. ^ a b c Kamil Zvelebil 1973, pp. 124–125.
  13. ^ Takanobu Takahashi 1995, pp. 17–19.
  14. ^ Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2000). The Embodiment of Bhakti. Oxford University Press. pp. 52–55. ISBN 978-0-19-535190-3.
  15. ^ David N. Lorenzen (2004). Religious Movements in South Asia, 600-1800. Oxford University Press. pp. 48–49, 67–70. ISBN 978-0-19-566448-5.
  16. ^ Kamil Zvelebil 1973, p. 124.
  17. ^ François Gros (1968). Le Paripatal. Institut Francais D'Indologie. ISBN 978-8-18996-8359.
  18. ^ Shu Hikosaka; K.G. Seshadri; John Samuel (1996). P. Thiagarajan and K. G. Seshadri (ed.). Paripāṭal. Institute of Asian Studies.
  19. ^ V.N. Muthukumar; Elizabeth Rani Segran (2012). The River Speaks: The Vaiyai Poems from the Paripatal. Penguin Books. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-81-8475-694-4.
  20. ^ a b Kamil Zvelebil (1974). Tamil Literature. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 49. ISBN 978-3-447-01582-0.
Bibliography
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