Kalittokai ( Tamil : கலித்தொகை meaning the kali-metre anthology ) is a classical Tamil poetic work and the sixth of Eight Anthologies ( Ettuthokai ) in the Sangam literature . It is an "akam genre – love and erotic – collection par excellence", according to Kamil Zvelebil – a Tamil literature and history scholar. The anthology contains 150 poems and was compiled by one of the authors named Nallantuvanar. The collection has a different tone, metre and style than earlier Sangam literature, evidence that it is a late Sangam work, likely from the 3rd-century CE or after. Naccinarkiniyar , a Tamil scholar who lived during the 14th-century CE, has commented on this work.
40-597: It is unclear whether the Kalittokai was authored by more than one author. Some scholars attribute the collection to five authors, including one by the famed Sangam poet Kapilar . Others, such as S.V. Damodaram Pillai and K.N. Sivaraja Pillai consider it the work of one poet. The Kalittokai anthology uses the kali metre of varied length. This metre is more advanced and complex than the akaval metre found in earlier Sangam poetry. The kali metre combines aciriyam and venpa , creating opportunities to set dialogues within
80-508: A defeat. Although we know very little about the circumstances leading to this battle, there can be no doubt that it marked the turning point in Karikala's career, for in this battle he broke the back of the powerful confederacy formed against him. Besides the two crowned kings of the Pandya and Chera countries, eleven minor chieftains took the opposing side in the campaign and shared defeat at
120-502: A few centuries later. The copper-plate charters and stone inscription of the 10th and 11th centuries also mention two different Karikala thus unable to determine his exact reign. Based on the literature, epigraphic evidence, and copper plate increptions, below are the various dynasties who clamed descendants of Karikala Chola, and few used the title Lord of Uraiyur , which was a capital ruled by Karikala. Kapu (caste) in Andhra
160-790: A large army, invaded the island and took away 12,000 Sinhalese men to work as slaves to build the Kaveri Dam. Later Chola kings attributed the building of dikes along the banks of the Kaveri to Karikala. The raising of the banks of the river Kaveri by Karikala is also mentioned by the Malepadu plates (seventh century CE) of the Telugu Chola sovereign of Renadu, Erigal -Mutturaju Punyakumara, who claims descent from Karikala: karuna – saroruha vihita – vilochana – pallava – trilochana pramukha kilapritvisvara karita kaveri tira (he who caused
200-820: A number of kings such as Agudhai, Irungovel, Selva Kadungo Vazhiyadhan, Cheramaan Maandharancheral Irumborai, Ori, Nalli, Malayamaan Thirumudikkaari, Malayan, Vichikkon, Vaiyavi Koperum Pegan, Vel Pari. Kapilar has sung on King Selva Kadungovaliyadhan , which appears as the seventh group of verses in the Pathitrupathu . The king honoured Kapilar with 100,000 gold coins and a country under his control. Kapilar remained close with other contemporary poets such as Avvaiyar and Paranar . The three crowned Tamil kings Cheras , Cholas and Pandyas expanded their kingdoms ruthlessly and turned their attention towards independent Vēlir Kings thus turning them into subordinates or eliminating them to annexe their kingdoms. They laid siege to
240-652: Is also notable for including allusions and references to pan-Indian love and moral legends found in Epics– and Puranas–genre Sanskrit texts. According to Zvelebil, some examples in the Kalittokai include Krishna , an avatara of Vishnu killing his uncle Kamsa in poems 134 and killing a group of people called the Mallars, Shiva invoked in poem 1 and 2 who is praised by the Brahmins and the Vedas, Duryodhana's evil plans to kill
280-416: Is attributed to the kurinji , Ilanaagan the marutam songs, Nalluruthiran the mullai songs and the poet Nallanthuvan the neithal songs. The Kalittokai poems are notable for the relatively higher number of Sanskrit loan words, lexical and structural innovations, the practice of quoting lines of earlier poems such as Kuṟuntokai 18.5 , and the lack the names of chieftains, kings or poets. The anthology
320-474: Is helping one in distress; Support is not deserting one who is dependent; Culture is to act in unison with the ways of the world; Love is not surrendering ties with one’s kin; Wisdom is to ignore the advice of the ignorant; Honesty is not to go back on one’s words; Integrity is to ignore others’ faults; Justice is awarding punishment without partiality; Patience is to suffer the ill-disposed. Kapilar Kapilar or Kabilar ( Tamil : கபிலர்)
360-685: Is mixed with legend and anecdotal information gleaned from Sangam literature . The period covered by the extant literature of the Sangam is not easy to determine with any measure of certainty. Paṭṭiṉappālai , Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai and a number of individual poems in the Akanaṉūṟu and Purananuru have been the main source for the information that is attributed to Karikala. There are many inscriptions and records found both in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh which mentions Karikala and his conquests and
400-430: Is not fit for cultivation. So, Karikala destroyed the forests and planted many villages. One of the villages is Pottapi, which was the most important village and hence the whole locality acquired in course of time the name Pottapi Nadu. Unlike Trilochana Pallava, Karikala Chola donated lands not only to Brahmins but also to the cultivators. Sometime between the reign of Sinhalese monarch Vankanasika Tissa , Karikala, with
440-596: The Eight Anthologies series of sangam literature. Kapilar used unique metaphors that show the interior landscape using the objects seen in the 'Kurinchi' landscape. 'Veral veli' written by Kapilar is considered as one of the master pieces. Kapilar is believed to have accompanied Valluvar in his journey to the Madurai College of scholars to present the latter’s work, the Tirukkural . Verse 5 of
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#1732776365539480-616: The Eighteen Greater Texts anthology in Tamil literature containing 261 lines of poems in the Achiriyappa meter written by Kabilar. An ancient note states that Kapilar wrote this to explain the beauty of Tamil poetry to a north Indian king names Brhadatta. Kurincippattu describes the kurinchi landscape of the mountainous terrain and mentions almost 100 different plant names. Kabilar also contributed to Puṟanāṉūṟu in
520-623: The Pandava brothers and how they escape from the Lakshagriha in poem 25, the battle of Murugan and Surapadma in poem 27, An event mentioned in the epic Ramayana , of Ravana lifting the Kailasha is described in the Poem 139 of Lines 33 to 37, Bhima killing Duryodhana in poem 52, the love stories of Urvashi and Tilottama in poem 109, among others. The poems of Kalittokai show evidence of
560-531: The Tiruvalluva Maalai is attributed to Kapilar. He opines about Valluvar and the Kural text thus: Valluvar’s Cural is short in words, but extensive in sense, even as in a drop of water on the blade of the millet might be seen reflected the image of the tall palmyra-tree. [Emphasis in original] Karikala Chola Karikala ( Tamil : Karikāla Chōḻaṉ ), often referred to as Karikala
600-755: The ancient music of the Tamil people with its rhythmic phrases. O dwarf, standing piece of timber, you've yet to learn the right approach to girls. Humans do not copulate at noon: but you come now to hold our hand and ask us to your place. – Kalittokai 94 (partial), Translator: A.K. Ramanujan ஆற்றுதல்' என்பது, ஒன்று அலந்தவர்க்கு உதவுதல்; போற்றுதல்' என்பது, புணர்ந்தாரை பிரியாமை; பண்பு' எனப்படுவது, பாடு அறிந்து ஒழுகுதல்; அன்பு' எனப்படுவது, தன் கிளை செறாஅமை; அறிவு' எனப்படுவது, பேதையார் சொல் நோன்றல்; செறிவு' எனப்படுவது, கூறியது மறாஅமை; நிறை' எனப்படுவது, மறை பிறர் அறியாமை; முறை' எனப்படுவது, கண்ணோடாது உயிர் வௌவல்; பொறை' எனப்படுவது, போற்றாரை பொறுத்தல். Goodness
640-433: The battle of Venni , Karikala had other opportunities to exercise his arms. He defeated the confederacy of nine minor chieftains in the battle of Vakaipparandalai. Paranar, a contemporary of Karikala, in his poem from Agananuru mentions this incident without giving any information on the cause of the conflict. According to legends Karikala was one of the few Chola kings who won the whole of Ceylon (Lanka). The Grand anicut
680-676: The Chola ministers sent a state elephant to look for the prince. The elephant finds the prince hiding in Karuvur (modern day Karur in Tamil Nadu ). His political opponents arrested and imprisoned him. The prison was set on fire that night. Karikala escaped the fire and, with the help of his uncle Irum-pitar-thalaiyan, defeated his enemies. Karikala's leg was scorched in the fire and from thence Karikala became his name. Old Sangam Age inscriptions and also sthala puranam of great ancient Saiva shrine at Parasalur, near Mayavaram says that in order to escape
720-789: The Great , was a Tamil Emperor of the Early Cholas of the Chola dynasty who ruled ancient Tamilakam (Modern day Tamil Nadu in Southern India ) from Uraiyur . He is credited with the construction of the flood banks of the river Kaveri and conquest of Tamilakam , Andhra and Sri Lanka . He is recognised as the greatest of the Early Cholas. In Thiruvalangadu plates of Rajendra Chola I , Medieval Tamil Cholas listed Karikala Chola as one of their ancestors. The story of Karikala
760-537: The Pandya’s strength to give way…". Based on numerous village records and Telugu Chola inscriptions found in Andhra, Karikala seems to have battled against a Pallava king named Trilochana Pallava or Mukhanti Pallava or Mukhanti Kaduvetti and captured Tondainadu , leaving the southern Telugu country to the Pallava king. The Pallava king who had Kanchi as his capital moved the capital to Kalahasti after losing Kanchi in
800-400: The back-formed origin legend of this incident as follows: The king of Uraiyur ( Tiruchirappalli ) Ilamcetcenni married a Velir princess from Azhundur and she became pregnant and gave birth to Karikala. Ilamcetcenni died soon after. Due to his young age, Karikala's right to the throne was overlooked and there was political turmoil in the country. Karikala was exiled. When normality returned,
840-636: The banks of the Kaveri to be constructed by all the subordinate kings led by the Pallava Trilochana whose third eye was blinded by his lotus foot). The Grand Anicut , also known as the Kallanai was built by Karikala and is considered one of the oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structures in the world which is still in use. The Kallanai is a massive dam of unhewn stone, 329 metres (1,080 ft) long and 20 metres (60 ft) wide, across
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#1732776365539880-456: The battle. The inscriptions also says that Karikala ordered Trilochana Pallava to come and assist him in building the flood banks along the Kaveri river. But the Pallava king who was ruling from Kalahasti declined to obey which made Karikala to declare war against him. Karikala won the battle and captured the Telugu country. During that time period, southern Andhra was covered with big forests which
920-539: The cage's structure and waited for the guards to grow complacent. Then, with a swift slash of its powerful claws, it tore through the wooden bars, catching the guards off guard. Overpowering them with its newfound strength and skill, it leapt into the jungle and reclaimed its freedom, thriving in its rightful domain. According to the Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai , Karikala Chola fought a great Battle of Venni in which both Pandyan and Cheran king Uthiyan Cheralathan suffered
960-549: The clan of Karikala, who was the Mandara tree on the Mandara mountain, viz., the solar clan; who was the worker of many wonders like controlling the daughter of Kaveri" Karikala was the son of Ilamcetcenni . The name Karikalan has been held to mean "the man with the charred leg" and perpetuates the memory of a fire accident in the early years of his life. Some scholars also hold the view kari and kalan are Tamil words meaning "slayer of elephants". Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai describes
1000-657: The construction of flood banks along the Kaveri river. Many rulers and petty chiefs who came after him claimed him as their ancestor and decorated themselves as belonging to the Chola clan of Karikala and of the Kashyapa gotra . The following lines are taken from the Malepadu plates of Renadu Chola king Punyakumara, "Dinakara-kula-mandar-achala-mandara-padapassya Kavera-tanaya-velollamghanaprasamana-pramukn-adyanak-atisaya-karinah Trairajya-sthitim-atmasat-kritavatah-karikala" The above lines are translated as: "In
1040-528: The family of another Vēlir king Malaiyamaan Kaari . The death of his friend Pāri affected Kapilar and he later took his own life by vadakirrutal , one of the Tamil ways of committing suicide. He sat facing north and starved himself to death in Kabilar Kundru . Kabilar made huge contributions to Tamil literature of Sangam era. Kurincippattu is a poetic work in the Ten Idylls series of
1080-457: The five tinais according to the mood and subject matter conforming to the Sangam landscape . The first part (2-36) deals with palai setting, the second (37-65) with kurinji , the third (66-100) with marutam , the fourth (101-117) with mullai and the fifth (118-150) with neital . These five section were each written by a separate author. Perunkadunkon wrote the palai songs, the poet Kapilar
1120-460: The generosity and virtue of Vēl Pāri , a powerful Vēlir King who ruled over Parambunādu and paid him a visit. He became a friend and confidant of Pāri and stayed with him until the latter's death, serving as the chief poet and minister at the Pāri's court. Kowmareeshwari suggests he was born about mid 1st-century CE, while Martha Ann Shelby states he most likely was born about 140 CE. Kapilar sang about
1160-441: The hands of Karikala. The Chera king, who was wounded on his back in the battle, committed suicide by starvation. Venni was the watershed in the career of Karikala which established him firmly on his throne and secured for him some sort of hegemony among the three crowned monarchs. Venni is also known as Vennipparandalai and now it is known as Kovilvenni and is situated near Needamangalam , 25 km away from Thanjavur . After
1200-471: The heavily fortified country of Parambu, but Vēl Pāri refused to give in and the war dragged for years. Kabilar approached the kings and asked them to turn back describing his patron Pari as an unconquerable warrior (excerpt from Purananuru : song 109): After a long war, Vēl Pāri was killed by treachery. Purananuru , song (112) of Pāri's daughters on his death: Kapilar become the guardian of Pāri's two daughters, Angavai and Sangavai, after Pari's death and
1240-550: The main stream of the Kaveri. A later Chola record from Tiruvaduturai refers to this event that is raising the banks of the Kaveri by Parakesari Karikala Chola. After his victory over the Northern kingdoms of Vatsa, Magadha and Avantika, Karikala returned to Tamil land and worshipped Lord Shiva at the Perur Pateeswarar Temple located at the banks of river Noyyal in present-day Coimbatore . Karikala
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1280-626: The metre. The poets who composed the Kalittokai created what comes across as a "one-act plays", sometimes with "coarse, spicy, racy, rude, bawdy, or humorous" dialogues, states Zvelebil. According to Herman Tieken, these compositions are examples of lasya minor dance scenes as described in the chapters 19 and 31 of the Natyasastra . The kali metre has several structural subtypes, each suited for different literary purposes. The poems include cultured love situations, as well as erotics, folkmotifs and vulgar situations. Its poems are categorised into
1320-483: The murder plot hatched by conspirators Karikal Valavan stayed there in disguise of a vedic and agama sastra lecturer for eight years. Paṭṭiṉappālai , written in praise of Karikala also describes this incident, but without mention of the fable of the burnt limb: Once, in a dense forest, a young tiger cub was captured by hunters and locked in a wooden cage. Inside, it grew quietly, its claws sharpening as its body filled with strength and purpose. Though confined, it watched
1360-480: The three of them left Parambu country. Kapilar unsuccessfully approached different Vēlir kings to find grooms. He would be let down each time as the other Vēlir kings would fear retribution from the three crowned kingdoms. The most notable of these encounters is when he sings to Irunkōvēl and the latter would insult Kabilar. He would finally leave the two princesses in the care of "Andhanars". Later, poet Avvaiyar takes care of them and marries them off successfully into
1400-408: The world outside and learned its captors' routines. One day, a mighty elephant nearby struggled within a deep pit. Using its massive trunk, the elephant pushed against the edges of the trap, bringing the banks down and freeing itself. The tiger watched closely, inspired by the creature's determination and method. Determined to break free as well, the tiger bided its time. It studied the weakness in
1440-547: Was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He is said to have done the Kumbhabhishekham (sanctification ritual) of the temple through hundred golden vessels. A famous text named Perur Puranam was composed by Kachiyappa Munivar in Tamil on the origin of the temple. Karikala Cholan Manimandapam (memorial hall) was built in honour of the king who built the Grand Anicut. The hall designed as per Chola architecture style
1480-480: Was built after his conquest over the Sinhalese kingdom and he used Sinhalese war prisoners for the hard task of moving stones from the mountains to the river bed of the Kaveri. The Pattinappalai also describes the destruction caused by Karikala's armies in the territories of his enemies and adds that as the result of these conflicts, the "Northerners and Westerners were depressed… and his flushed look of anger caused
1520-572: Was built at a cost of ₹ 21 million. It features a bronze statue of the king. According to Nilakanta Sastri Karikala reigned in 190 CE. However, V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar states that the Karikala mentioned in Silappadikaram and the Karikala in Sangam literature are two different kings and the Karikala mentioned in Silappadikaram has nothing to do with Trilocana Pallava and nothing prevents another Karikala having flourished in Puhar
1560-660: Was the close friend, confidant and alleged favorite of Vēl Pāri, one of the Vēlir kings. He was the author of Inna Narpathu , a didactic work of the Sangam literature . Verse 5 of the Tiruvalluva Maalai is also attributed to him. Kapilar was born in Thiruvadhavur in the Pandyan Kingdom . Initially a poet at the Pandyan court , he left Madurai at an early age to travel across various kingdoms. Kapilar heard about
1600-462: Was the most prolific Tamil poet of the Sangam period (c. 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE). He alone contributed some 206 poems, or a little less than 10% of the entire Sangam-era classical corpus by 473 ancient poets. Held in high regard by other poets of the Sangam era, as well as the post-Sangam era, he is variously dated to have lived between c. 50–125 CE, or 140–200 CE. He was a contemporary of Karikala Chola , Irunkōvēl and Vēl Pāri . He
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