Valayapathi

For the film, seeValayapathi (film).

Valaiyapadhi(Tamil:வளையாபதி,romanized:Vaḷaiyāpati,lit. 'Unbending Man';transl. Strong Man), also spelledValayapathi,is one of thefive greatTamilepics,but one that is almost entirely lost.It is a story of a father who has two wives, abandons one who gives birth to their son, and the son grows up and seeks his real father.The dominant emotion of this epic is love, and its predominant object is the inculcation ofJainprinciples and doctrines.

Palm-leaf manuscripts of the epic likely existed until the 19th-century, but presently only uncertain fragments of the epic are known from commentaries and the 14th-century anthologyPurattirattu.Based on these fragments, the epic appears to be the story of a merchant with an overseas trading business who married two women.He abandoned one, who later gives birth to his son. He has children with the other wife too. The abandoned son is bullied by overseas kids for not knowing the name of his father.His mother then discloses the father's name. The son travels and confronts his father, who first refuses to acknowledge him. Then, with the aid of a goddess, he brings his mother whose presence proves his claim. The father accepts the boy, and helps him start his own merchant business.

The surviving stanzas of the epic, and the commentaries that mentionValayapathi,suggest that it was partly a text that was disputing and criticizing other Indian religions,that it supported the ideologies found in earlyJainism,such as asceticism, horrors at meat-eating (Non-violence), and monastic aversion to women (Celibacy).It is therefore "almost certain" to be a Jain epic, written by a TamilJainascetic, states Kamil Zvelebil – a Tamil literature scholar.According to Zvelebil, it was probably composed in or about the 10th-century CE.

Sources

Of the five great epics,ValayapathiandKundalakesiare not available in full. Only fragments quoted in other literary works and commentaries have survived. The loss of the epic happened as recent as late 19th century CE. Tamil scholar and publisher of classical literature,U. V. Swaminatha Iyermentions in his autobiography that he once saw a palm leaf manuscript ofValayapathiin theThiruvaiyarulibrary of his teacher, Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai. However, when he later searched for it for publication, it had disappeared. Another Tamil scholar V. Subramania Mudaliar has also written about seeing a palm leaf manuscript ofValayapathi.The epic has been mentioned by name in theParimelalagar'scommentary (14th century CE) ofTirukkuṛaḷand a 12th-century commentary ofOttakoothar'Thakkayagaparani.Currently, 72 stanzas of the epic have been recovered from various secondary sources. Fragments have been found in commentaries ofYapperungala Viruthi CeyyulandIlampuranar'sandNachinarkiniyar'scommentaries ofTolkāppiyam.Adiyarkkunallar'scommentary onCilappatikaramand an anonymous commentary ofYapperungalamcontain 3 and 2 stanzas of the epic respectively. Three stanzas have been found in. Majority of the currently available verses (66 of them) are found in the 14th century anthologyPurathirattu.

Content

Valayapathi'sstory cannot be discerned from the currently available fragments of the epic. However, some scholars contend that the epic's story has been retold in the 35th chapter ofVanikapuranamwritten by Chintamani Pulavar in 1855. Chintamani Pulavar describes the chapter as the story of "Vaira Vanikan Valayapathi" (Valayapathithe Diamond merchant) of theAimperumkaappiyam(five great epics). But the text itself does not contain the wordValayapathi.Tamil scholars M. Arunachalam andKamil Zvelebilconsider this hypothesis as doubtful. The content of the recovered verses are consistent with the ideals ofJainismand have led to the conclusion that this epic is a Jain religious work. Rejection of worldly pleasures, advocation of asceticism, misanthropy and praise for chastity, horror at meat-eating, the vision of constant change and transiency all point to the epic's author being aJainmonk. The 345th verse ofTirukkuṛaḷis quoted in the epic.

According to Tamil scholarS. Vaiyapuri Pillai,Valayapathiis one of the earliest works done in theVirutthammetre. The quality and beauty of the epic has been praised byAdiyarkkunallarwho quotes from it and praises its quality of poetry in his commentary ofCilappatikaram.

Time period

Valayapathihas been dated to the early 10th century CE by Vaiyapuri Pillai, while Arunachalam has dated it to the early 9th century.

Genre

Tamil literary tradition placesValayapathiamong thefive great epics of Tamil literature,alongside such works asSilappatikaram,Manimegalai,Civaka CintamaniandKundalakesi.It is called a "Aimperumkappiyam"(lit. Five large epics), a genre that is first mentioned in a later century Mayilainathar's commentary ofNannūl.Mayilainathar does not mention the names of the five epics. The names of the epics are first mentioned in the late 18th century - early 19th century workThiruthanikaiula.Earlier works like the 17thcentury poemTamil vidu thoothumention the great epics asPanchkavyams.

See also

• Tamil literature
• Five Great Epics

References

• Krishna Murthy, K. (1987).Glimpses of art, architecture, and Buddhist literature in ancient India.Abhinav Publications. p. 103.ISBN978-81-7017-226-0.
• Mukherjee, Sujit (1999).A Dictionary of Indian Literature: Beginnings-1850 Vol.1.Orient blackswan. p. 416.ISBN978-81-250-1453-9.
• Pillai, M. S. Purnalingam (1904).A Primer of Tamil Literature.Madras: Ananda Press.
• Pillai, M. S. Purnalingam (1994).Tamil Literature.Asian Educational Services. p. 115.ISBN978-81-206-0955-6.
• Zvelebil, Kamil(1992),Companion studies to the history of Tamil literature,BRILL, p. 73,ISBN978-90-04-09365-2
• Zvelebil, Kamil(1974).A History of Indian literature Vol.10 (Tamil Literature).Otto Harrasowitz.ISBN3-447-01582-9.

External links

• Recovered Stanzas from Valayapathi at chennailibrary