Page:Cilappadikaram The Earliest Tamil Epic.pdf/12

Rh Just as Virgil bears the stamp of the Caesarean and the Augustan ages, Ilanko exemplifies a transitional stage in the development of the Tamil country; he stands between what is called the Sangam age when the pure, undefiled Tamil civilisation existed and the post-Sangam period which came to be engrossed more and more with matters religious, consequent on sectarian religious conflicts. Also like Virgil, Ilanko on the one hand glorifies the conquering spirit of the Tamils as pictured in the conquests of Chenkuttuvan, while on the other hand, through the words of Madalan addressed to Chenkuttuvan, he indicates the futility of mere military successes, when more important duties await the king.

Ilanko's heroes again are partly Homeric and partly Virgilian. Kannaki's revenge on the citizens of Madurai for an unjust act committed by their king is not an example to be followed. But her ideals of true love, fortitude and courage stand out prominently, as worthy of admiration and emulation. As Dryden says, the design of an epic is to form the mind to heroic virtue by example. Under circumstances similar to those which happened to Kannaki, some women would have paid unkindness with unkind- ness, some would have retaliated against their husbands and some would have deserted the home of their husbands when forsaken. But Kannaki was of a different mettle and chose a more difficult course of action; hence she is remembered by posterity.

Romance and supernatural elements also find a place in the epic. There are fabulous and incredible elements of wonderland in Canto XI (Kadu Kan). The under- ground passages and corridors alluded to by Varottamai read like a romance. Ilanko makes this account both fantastic and lively. The episode of Vana devathai, trying to seduce Kovalan, is delightful, though at the super- natural level. We are reminded of Homer's elements of the Fairyland and Virgil's transformation of Aenea's ships into nymphs, when we read the account of a mischievous,