Page:The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago.djvu/161



Far more interesting than the Muppal, are the epic poems Chilapp-athikaram and Mani-mêkalai, which contain very full and vivid accounts of ancient Tamil Society. The Chilappathikaram relates the tragic story of Kovilan and his wife Kannaki, and the Mani-mêkalai gives a romantic account of Kovilan’s daughter who became a Buddhist nun. The story of the Chilapp-athikaram may be briefly told as follows :—

One of the most flourishing of the ancient cities of Jambudvipa was Pukâr or Kâvirip-paddinam, the great sea-port at the mouth of the river Kâviri. It was a mart of many nations. Caravans from inland cities; far and near, thronged its thoroughfares; and merchant vessels from distant lands, whose people spoke strange tongues, crowded its harbour. Among the merchant princes of this city there was one noted for his deeds of charity, Mânâykan, whose daughter Kannaki was warmly praised by all who knew her, for the charms of her person, and the purity of her mind. In the same city, lived another merchant Mâchâttuvan, master of untold wealth, whose son Kovilan was a most accomplished youth, gay and handsome as the God of War. The two merchants having agreed to unite their children in marriage, the wedding of Kannaki and Kovilan was performed with such pomp as was rarely seen even in the proud city of Pukâr. Shortly after their marriage, the young couple were installed by their parents in a spacious mansion furnished with every luxury that wealth could command. A numerous suite of attendants served them, and ministered to their comforts. Kovilan loved his young wife, and called her his darling and his beauty, his peerless pearl and priceless gem. He vowed that she was more graceful than the peacock, that she stepped more prettily than the playful swan ever did, and that her voice was sweeter than that of any parrot. He chided her servant maids for adorning her with