Page:Cilappadikaram The Earliest Tamil Epic.pdf/10

Rh intelligible only after repeated readings. We come across such passages, which nevertheless appeal to us by their poetical texture, in Canto XIII (11. 48 to 51) containing a pun on the word Mathavi, Canto XIII (11. 87-92) containing two epistles in one, Canto XIII (11. 184-188) containing a pun (ciledai) bearing on the words "Kannir" (meaning tears and water from the plant) and "Kal" (leg and wind), and Canto XIII (11. 151-170) describing the majestic flow of the river Vaiyai.

Cilappadikaram is Virgilian in character in another respect also. It contains a wide sweep of history, philo- sophy, religion and ethics. It contains accounts of the relationship between the Chola, the Pandya and the Chera kings of the Tamil country. It narrates how one king succeeded another in the Chola region and in the Pandya kingdom. (vide Canto XXVII Nirpadai-11. 118-123; ibid. 11. 159-171; ibid. 127-138). It points out that the Chola king was reckoned as the first and foremost citizen of the Chola state (Canto I-11. 31-32). It states how the Chera king Chenkuttuvan viewed kingship, how he wished to be loved by his subjects, how his sole desire was to bring happiness to them, how he scorned the idea of ever being cruel to them, how he regarded kingship as an office full of thorns but nevertheless a great opportunity given to him to serve the people. (vide Canto XXVI (Kal Kōl) 11. 16-18; Canto XXV (Katchi) 11. 100-104).

Philosophy is conveyed through the characters. Kaunthi Adigal and Madalan. Kaunthi Adigal says to Mankattu Brahman that it is not impossible for man to achieve anything under the sun if he is true unto himself and to the world, and if he loves his neighbours as he loves himself (Canto XI). Madalan exhorts King Chenkuttuvan to do acts of charity. "Youth is evanescent wealth rotates, the body is mortal. The world is a stage where we are actors; we pass from one birth to anothe just as actors change from one make-up to another. We will be judged only by our actions; we will receive