 An extract from thePatirruppattu | |
| Author | Multiple poets of the post-Sangam era |
|---|---|
| Working title | Pathitrupathu |
| Language | Old Tamil |
| Series | TheEight Anthologies, part of theEighteen Greater Texts |
| Subject | Puram (public life)[1] |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Set in | Post-Sangam era (2nd to 5th centuries CE)[2][3][4] |
| Publication place | India |
| Sangam literature | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eighteen Greater Texts | ||||
| ||||
| Related topics | ||||
| Eighteen Lesser Texts | ||||
| Bhakti Literature | ||||
ThePatiṟṟuppattu (lit.Ten Tens, sometimes spelledPathitrupathu,[5]) is a classicalTamil poetic work and one of theEight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) inSangam literature.[1] Apanegyric collection, it containspuram (war and public life) poems. TheChera kings, known as the Cheramal, are the centre of the work. Itsinvocatory poem is aboutMayon, orPerumal (Vishnu).[6]
ThePatiṟṟuppattu originally contained ten sections of ten poems, each section dedicated to a decade of rule in ancientKerala (Cerals,Chera); the first and last sections have been lost.[7][8] Of the surviving poems, the second-to-sixth-decade-related poems are about the three generations of rulers from theImayavaramban dynasty. The remaining poems are about the three generations of rulers from the Irumporai dynasty.[7] In thePatirruppattu's palm-leaf manuscripts, each decade ends with apatikam (a verse epilogue followed by a prosecolophon. According toU. V. Swaminatha Iyer (who rediscovered the Sangam manuscripts), a commentary was written in or after the 13th century.[9]
ThePatiṟṟuppattu was written by several male poets and one female poet, indicating that women could play a scholarly role in ancientSouth India. The poems praise rulers and heroes inHagiographical form, with a core seemingly rooted in history.[7] They mention the Hindu deitiesVishnu,Shiva,Murugan andKorravai (Uma, Durga), and their worship by warriors and the king.[10][11] The poems, epilogues, and colophons are significant in studies of ancient culture and sociology. The poetry probably relies on olderoral traditions shared by post-Sangam Tamil epics.[7]
Czech scholarKamil Zvelebil wrote that thePatirruppattu was probably composed over a period of time: the first layer sometime between the 2nd and 4th centuries CE, and the second layer between the 3rd and 5th centuries.[2][3][4] Its poems andpatikams are of significant historical importance.[9] According toT. P. Meenakshisundaram, thePatiṟṟuppattu is the "only available book of ancient Chera history".[12]
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The ten verses in each of the eight tens now available have a common structure. Each verse has a title or caption, a catchy phrase found in the text of the verse. The text of the verse follows the caption or title. At the end of each verse is information about the poetic theme referred to with the Tamil term துறை (turai), rhythm with the Tamil word வண்ணம் (Vannam), metre (தூக்கு, Thookku) and the name of the verse, known as பெயர் (peyar). This type of information is rarely found in other classical Tamil literature. An epilogue (patikams)is at the end of each ten. The theme, rhythm, metre, name and epilogues were added by the authors of thepatikams at a later date, before the commentaries were written; thepatikams, as well as the verses, have been annotated.
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ThePatirruppattu is about ten decades of Chera kings. Its second, third, fourth and fifth ten describe the Imayavaraman dynasty, and the sixth, seventh and eighth ten deal with the Irumporai dynasty. These are called the Ceral (plural Ceralar).[13]
Each decade has 10 poems; each poem has an average length of 21 lines, and the entire decade averages 211 lines. The shortest verse (verse 87) is five lines long, and the longest (verse 90) is 57 lines in length. The supplementalpatikams at the end of each decade vary in length from 10 to 21 lines.[14] The poems include graphic details of war and violence.[15]
Each verse of thePatirruppattu's extant eight tens ends with apatikam, supplementary information about the decade. Thesepatikams were added to the tens at a later date, before the medieval commentator Atiyarkkunallar, who wrote a commentary onSilappatikaram quoting thepatikams.[16]
| Chera dynasty |
|---|
  |
Early Historic Cheras
|
Medieval Cheras (Karur)
|
Medieval Cheras (Mahodayapuram)
|
These poems have been lost.
These ten poems were written by Kumattur Kannan about the Cheral kingNedum Cheralathan.
Palyanai Sel Kelu Kuttuvan, Nedum Cheralathan's brother, is the hero of thePatiṟṟuppattu's third ten. Palyanai helped his brother conquer the northernMalabar Coast, at least part of which came under Chera rule. In later life, Palyanai retired from the military life and devoted himself to the arts, letters, philanthropy and helpingBrahmins.[17]
Poet Kappiyatru Kaapiyanaar composed these poems about Chera prince Narmudi Cheral, receiving four million gold coins.[17] Narmudi had a series of victories, but was generous to those he defeated. In the battle of Vakaiperumturai, He defeated and killedNannan of Ezhimalai, and annexed Puzhinadu.[17]
Paranar composed these ten poems about theChera kingCenkuttuvan.[18] According to Kamil Zvelebil, the Paranar poems are probably thePatiṟṟuppattu's best examples of the heroic genre.[9]
This section is notable for dating the earliest Tamil epic,Silappatikaram. Although it includes details about Ceṅkuṭṭuvan's family and rule, it does not mention that he had a brother who became an ascetic and wrote a cherished epics.[19] This has been a reason to consider legendary author Ilango Adikal a mythological figure later extrapolated into the epic, ruling out the epic as part of Sangam literature.[19][20]
Adu Kottu Pattu Cheralathan, a crown prince for 38 years who never became king, is the hero of the sixth ten. A patron of commerce, letters and the arts, he is described as giving a village in Kuttanad toBrahmins.[21]
The poetKapilar composed these poems about Cheran Celvakkadungo Vazhi Aathan.
The Cheral king Perunceral Irumporai is the subject of these ten poems.
These poems were written about the Cheral king Perunceral Irumporai, possibly the brother of the king in the previous ten.[contradictory]
These poems have been lost.