Ancient Tamil Poetry and Poetics:
Ettutokai, Pattupattu, Tirkkural and
New Perspectives
Cilappatikaram
By
recognition and to eternal fame is based
Dr.P.Marudanayagam, CICT, Chennai-
on solid grounds.”
2010
Undoubtedly,
Pages: 298+xviii
accomplished this aim in an excellent
ISBN: 978-81-908000-1-3
manner.Deeply delving in a vast ocean
to
international
the
author
has
of classical literatures of Tamil, Sanskrit,
Greek and Latin he has brought out
Introduction
The
author
is
an
erudite
scholar
many new explanations and approaches
acclaimed worldwide for his inspiring
to
research works on Tamilology as well as
uniqueness of our Tamil classics. With a
English literature. His academic pursuits
stupendous
awarded him three postgraduate degrees,
analytical skill, he had rebutted many
Two Ph.D. degrees and a D.Litt. degree.
false theories, which were denigrating
His intellectual thirst impelled him to
and demeaning Tamil classics with an
visit many universities throughout U.S.,
ulterior motive.
Canada and Europe. As a profound
The book consists of many innovative
scholar in Tamil and English literature
insights into Sangam classics through
he had contributed
new approaches to literature like New
many research
understand
the
subtlety
expertise
and
New
and
sharp
articles and books on Tamil literary
Criticism,
theories and Comparative studies.
Deconstruction,
This book under review is yet another
Freudian approach, Archetypal approach
evidence for his admirable critical
and Bakhtinian dialogism.
acumen and astounding scholarship in
It is a compilation of Twenty one
Greek, Latin and Sanskrit classical
research articles presented on various
works in addition to his vast knowledge
occasions. In his preface the author
of Tamil and English.
asserts: “The present volume of essays
The intention of this work, according to
aims at subjecting ancient Tamil poems
the blurb is “to substantiate the view that
to a close scrutiny and at demonstrating
the claim of classics like Tolkappiyam,
how they present a kind of reality to
Feminist
Historicism,
criticism,
1
which readers the world over will give
perennial response.”
In “Is Purananuru Heroic Poetry?” the
The first essay titled” Poetics of the
author asserts that it is not right to claim
Lyric in Greek, Sanskrit and Tamil”
on the basis of the presence of certain
proudly proclaims that the ancient
repeated
Tamils had a poetics of the lyric which
Purananuru is a Heroic poetry.
Elder Olson was looking for but could
The author’s application of the concepts
not find in the well known languages of
of New Historicism on Sangam classics
the world.
is seen in the essay,” The Poetry of
“Poetry of
Indirection:
epithets
and
phrases
that
The Tamil
Paranar; Towards a new historicist
Concept” is the second essay which
study” which is a pioneer effort in such
elaborately
direction.
explains
Tholkappiyar’s
theory of poetry as
expressed in
In another pioneering venture, the author
Porulathikaram and the practice of
has
Sangam poets as evidenced in the
Kurunthokai in Derridean perspective.
Sangam classics. He concludes that the
His
ancient Tamil poets had a very rich and
Kurunthokai: A Derridean delight” is an
highly sophisticated set of notions of
eye-opener for young scholars to apply
poetry which the west could conceive of
deconstructive criticism in the proper
only after numerous experiments and
perspective.
prolonged discussions and debates.
“Art versus pornography: A Bedroom
“Purananuru: Repertoire of poetic forms,
scene from Akananuru” is another
Themes and motifs” shows the author’s
marvelous venture of the author. In this
knowledge of Sanskrit literature and is a
essay he compares the portrayal of
thematological
bedroom scenes in Prakrit, Sanskrit and
survey
of
analyzed
essay”
and
the
The
first
first
reveals
the
poem
poem
of
of
Purananuru.With a genetic approach, the
Tamil
distinction
author illustrates how Purananuru has
between the other and Tamil literatures.
served as a source of poetic forms,
The subtle narration with a mature mind,
themes and motifs to many other Indian
seen in Sangam classics,
literatures as well as to Tamil writings
that succeeded Purananuru.
2
had given us a great poetry whereas the
The belief that some animals and birds
poets of Sanskrit and Prakrit languages
are
had produced pornography.
expressed by some Sangam poets have
A serious attempt at genre criticism is
been discussed in the essay “Emotions in
seen in the essay”Mullaippattu: An essay
animals:
in Genre criticism”
poetry.”
endowed
with
six
Tolkaapiyam
senses
and
as
Cankam
that
“The meaning and end of life: Plato and
kalavumanam a salient feature of Tamil
Thiruvalluvar” is an innovative insight
akam poetry can not be equated with
in Thirukkural and an admirable addition
gandharva marriage depicted in Sanskrit
to the comparative literary pursuits on
classics. The essay “Kurinchippattu:
Thirukkural.The thirst for intellectual
kalavumanam and gandharva marriage”
quest to highlight the paramount place of
essays that the poem Kurinchippattu is a
Thirukkural among the world literature
locus classicus of what Tolkappiam
is not quenched by this article.
defines as arattodu nirral.
“On
“Birth of an Indian epic: From cankam
Thiruvalluvar” adds to the splendid
poems to kumarasambhavam” is yet
efforts of the author, to compare Greek
another essay with genetic approach, in
thinkers’ approaches with Thiruvalluvar,
which the author probes and proves, that
in an aim to illustrate the uniqueness of
the
Thirukkural.
The
author
origins
firmly
of
asserts
the
epic
friendship:
Aristotle
and
kumarasambhavam are found in Sangam
The usage of proverbs in Sangam
classics.
classics,Thirukkural,Civakacintamani
The eleventh poem of Nallanthuvanar
and other literature as well as the
depicts the positions of the planets on
didactic treatise Palamoli Nanuru which
the day when Vaiyai was in flood.
is
Different
discussed
interpretations
given
by
a
compilation
in
the
of
proverbs
essay
are
“Palamoli
various scholars are discussed and an
naanuru:Proverbs as equipments for
objective conclusion is derived by the
living.” We are indebted to the author
author in “Nallanthuvanar’s Horoscope:
for his comparative study of our
The date of Paripatal”
proverbs with the concepts of Kenneth
Burke on English proverbs.
3
“Destiny
in
and
intellectual feast for any inquisitive
Cilappathikaram” and “Cilappathikaram:
reader who wishes to get a clear
A Bhaktnian study” are commendable
understanding of Sangam classics in a
efforts in the field of comparative study
modernist perspective. The uniqueness
of Cilappathikaram.
of Sangam classics and their place in the
The
essay
Antigone
‘Philosophy
as
poetry:
world literature when compared with
Buddhism in Manimekalai” analyses the
Greek, Latin and Sanskrit literatures are
content and narration of the epic in an
vividly described after an objective
attempt to stress the fact that the epic
analysis in this book.
Manimekalai can not be considered a
Approaches,
religious literature in the sense of
Applications and Analysis
devotional poetry like the writings of
In the first essay titled “Poetics of the
Alwars
author
Lyric in Greek, Sanskrit and Tamil” the
succeeds in his effort to convince us that
author describes the arguments put forth
the propagation of Buddhism in this epic
by Elder Olson in his search to find out a
did not cause any damage to the artistic
theory of Lyric. In his analysis of
integrity of the work.
“Sailing to Byzantium” a poem by
“Relations as shackles:A.K.Ramanujan
William
and Cankam Poems” points out how the
categorically states that neither the
Cankam Poems have exerted a strong,
ancients nor the moderns have said much
almost
that is valuable about the nature of a
and
all
Ramanujan’s
Nayanmars.The
pervasive
influence
on
subject,imagery,poetic
Butler
Yeats,
Olson,
lyric.
adds that “In
technique, thought and vision of life.
Prof.Marudanayagam
“Problems of Translating Purananuru”
Sanskrit also, as in Greek and Latin,
enlists the causes of failure of many
there is no single dispassionate work
translations, as identified by Hugh
deals with the lyric comprehensively.”
Kenner and applies them to assess the
After giving an elaborate description of
failure
the theories put forth by Bharatha,
of
some
translations
of
Purananuru.
Bhamaha,
All these twenty one essays compiled
Abhinavaguptha, the author concludes:
together
in
this
book
render
Anandhavardhan
and
an
4
A close study of Sanskrit poetics
organic theory of poetry taking shape
would reveal that there have been
and form.”
attempts at defining poetry in
The very first essay in this volume
terms
or
proves the author’s erudition, scientific
alankara, guna or riti or vakroti
arguments before arriving a conclusion
each
and
of
rasa,
of
the
dhvani
theorists
from
Bharatha to Appayya Diksita
sincerity in
substantiating
his
arguments with proper evidences.
claiming pre-eminence or sole
recognition for his favorite idea.
A poem of indirection, according to the
As a result of the comparative study
author,
undertaken,
craftsmanship, as it yields many layers
the
author
proudly
is
a
product
of
excellent
of meaning. In the essay titled “Poetry of
proclaims:
It is the chief glory of Tamil
Indirection:
The
poetics that it alone has been able
Tolkappiyar’s insistence on the three
to fully identify the salient
aspects, nokku, payan and eccam for a
features of a poem, emphasizing
poetry that works subtly, indirectly and
the importance of the whole and
suggestively is explained.
the interdependence of its parts.
Here the explanation of the author about
special
Tamil
feature
Concept”
The theory of poetics as expounded in
the
Tolkappiam, on close analysis, justifies
Tolkappiyar’s poetics among the world’s
the claim that the ancient Tamils had a
classical
poetics of the lyric which Elder Olson
significance.
treatises
which
is
of
places
special
was looking for but could not find in the
If, by classicism, we mean a
well-known languages of the world.
poetic theory
The author enumerates the Thirty four
tradition,
“limbs of poetry’ or “elements of
restraint,order,propriety,proporti
composition”
on,balance,simplicity and reason,
as
described
in
that respects
insists
on
Tolkappiam.T.P.meenakshisundaran
privileges brain-work over dream
observes as: “Looking deeper into this
work in the poetic process,and,by
enumeration, one finds therein, the
romanticism, a poetic theory that
is
bent
upon
overthrowing
5
tradition, cares for inner voices
The author’s statement, that some of the
as opposed to external authority,
subgenres and motifs which Tamil got
underlines
later spread to other Indian languages
free
play
of
imagination,profusion,mystery
including Sanskrit, has been derived
and
from
rapture
extraordinary
unknown,
and
interest
shows
in
mysterious
his
intensive
learning
and
the
involvement in comparative research.
and
We
are
delighted
to
know
this
fantastic and in the self-assumed
pronouncement and he adds, “as far as
melancholy, then Tholkappiyar’s
Tamil is concerned it has developed sub-
poetics will, by and large, fall
genres like arruppatai, tutu, parani,
under
palliyezuccii.The didactic works and
the
category
of
classicism.”
Bhakthi
writings
are
indebted
to
This long sentence is a condensed
Purananuru.”
monograph which is indicative of the in-
These findings highlight the supreme
depth knowledge of the author. Any
place of Purananuru among Indian
ardent learner of Literary Theories will
literature, which has been marginalized
be surely captivated by this provoking
for long.
explanation which clearly regulates the
The author contends that poems of
limits of classicism and romanticism and
Purananuru which have arasavakai or
informs us the parameters for their
iyalmozi as their thurai “have the
assessment.
characteristic features of meykkirtti.”
“Purananuru: Repertoire of poetic forms,
When he states that “Such pieces in
Themes and motifs” is an exemplary
Purananuru were responsible for the
essay which shows the skill of the author
birth of prasasti kavyas in Prakrit and
at genetic approach. He succeeds in his
Sanskrit.” It echoes as a befitting reply
attempt to enlist and authenticate the
to Sheldon Pollock
fact, that from the poems of Purananuru,
Pollock asserts that inscriptions or
several succeeding generations of poets
prasasti kavya originated in India first in
got numerous literary forms, themes and
Sanskrit
motifs.
followed the trend set by it.
and
the
other
languages
6
When the language of Gods
evidences from Purananuru to emphasize
entered
it as a written literature.
the
world
of
men,
Sanskrit literati invented two
The
closely related cultural forms,
suffering from the Bloomian
kavya
anxiety of influence, did not
and
prasasti.
(Pollock.p.114)
cankam
bards,
never
hesitate to employ the words,
Prof.Marudanayagam quotes a Badami
phrases,
inscription praising Arabhatta as a great
complete sentences already used
hero and reveals the impact of
by their poetic ancestors. They
Avvaiyar’s Purananuru poem in that
were confident that they could
inscription in Kannada.
leave their own stamp upon
With this guidance we can probe the
them.
prasasti in Prakrit, Sanskrit and Kannada
expressions used by Homer serve
to find the impact of Purananuru in them
an altogether different purpose as
and I am sure it will yield a rich data.
required by oral poetry. Phrases
“Is Purananuru Heroic Poetry?” totally
such
denies Kailasapathy’s contention which
“weeping Helen” get repeated
identifies
and
Purananuru
poems
as
a
similes
But
as
on
and
the
“windy
even
formulaic
troy”
certain
and
occasions
“weeping Helen” may not weep
product of the Heroic age of Tamil.
or may even smile! It may not,
Earlier to this, through their articles and
therefore, be right to claim even
publications,T.P.Meenakshisundaran,
on the basis of the presence of
A.K.Ramanujan
have
certain repeated epithets and
in
phrases that Purananuru is a
expressed
their
and
G.L.Hart
unwillingness
accepting Kailasapathy’s ‘finding’ and
heroic poetry.(p.58)
they have cited many examples to
, “The Poetry of Paranar: Towards a new
disprove Kailasapathy’s statement that
historicist study” shows the author’s
Purananuru
passion for new approaches that suit for
is
an
oral
literature
composed and propagated orally by
the
extensive
research
of
Sangam
bards. The author has compiled their
classics to get a wider understanding and
views and he has also cited many textual
new insights.
7
New Historicism is a school of literary
people began to worship her. She was
theory, grounded in critical theory, that
adored as a Goddess throughout the
developed
Kongu region and was called Masani
in
the
1980s,
primarily
through the work of the critic Stephen
(Mayan Sayani)
Greenblatt,
The author quotes some more poems
and
gained
widespread
influence in the 1990s.[ David Mikics,
from
ed. A New Handbook of Literary Terms,
Akananuru which
Yale
deed of Nannan.The author also quotes
University,
2007,
s.v.
"New
historicism".(xi)]
Purananuru,
Narrinai
and
condemn the cruel
six poems of Paranar from Purananuru
Prof.Marudanayagam
insists
the
which belong to makatparkanji a sub
importance to use this critical practice to
genre which in which the hero who
advantage in the Indian context.
seeks to marry one’s daughter is rejected
We have an amazingly rich
an as a result he wages a war to destroy
plural past and at least ten
the city.
ancient
In
literatures
which,
these
poems
the
poet
neither
together, cry for new historicist
condemns the hero who wages a war nor
studies.(p.60)
chides the maid’s father for his adamant
The author explains the link between the
nature. He pities upon the people who
stone inscription of an old temple in
will face a sabotage and havoc.
Anamalai near Pollachi and a poem in
He concludes:
Kurunthokai which narrates the story of
From all these poems emerges
a young maid who was sentenced to
the distinct personality of a poet
death by a Chieftain Nannan.She ate a
who
fruit from a forbidden mango tree which
historical events and personages
came floating down the river in which
than
she was bathing.
concerned
An inscription in the Masani Amman
mankind. (p.66)
is
interested
myths
and
with
the
more
in
extremely
lot
of
temple in Anamalai narrates the plight of
the young maid who was put to death by
Here in this article we get baffled about
Nannan.The statue of the girl was
the intention of the author.
installed at the cremation ground and
8
In
the
introduction
to
The
New
Deconstruction
involves
the
close
Historicism (Routledge, 1989), editor H.
reading of texts in order to demonstrate
Aram
that any given text has irreconcilably
Veeser
assumptions
outlines
that
five
connect
key
both
contradictory meanings,
rather
than
practitioners and critics:
being a unified, logical whole. As J.
1)that every expressive act is embedded
Hillis Miller, the pre-eminent American
in a network of material practices;
deconstructor has explained in an essay
2)that every act of unmasking, critique,
entitled "Stevens' Rock and Criticism as
and
it
Cure" (1976), "Deconstruction is not a
condemns and risks falling prey to the
dismantling of the structure of a text, but
practice it exposes;
a demonstration that it has already
3)that literary and non-literary "texts"
dismantled itself. Its apparently solid
circulate inseparably;
ground is no rock but thin air."
4)that no discourse, imaginative or
According to Derrida, a responsible
archival, gives access to unchanging
reading is one that takes account of the
truths nor expresses inalterable human
‘dominant’ reading while at the same
nature;
time deviating from it in a respectful and
5). that a critical method and a language
critical way.
adequate to describe culture under
Derridean approach is the most confused
capitalism participate in the economy
one among the critical approaches and
they describe.
umpteen numbers of explanations have
To put it brief, New Historicism seeks to
sprung from various corners to confuse
find meaning in a text by considering the
the earnest learners.
work within the framework of the
The
prevailing ideas and assumptions of its
lucidly explains:
opposition
uses
the
tools
author,
Prof.Marudanayagam,
historical era.. Young and emerging
Derrida
contends
scholars should know this and utilize this
deconstruction
approach in the proper perspective. We
destruction nor reconstruction
are thankful to the author for introducing
but that it means that a poem is
this approach.
shown to dismantle itself. The
is
that
neither
author might not have intended
9
his poem to mean what a
The author of the first poem of
deconstructive critic reveals in it
kurunthokai would have meant it
by reading it against the grain.
only as an akam poem or as a
The objective of deconstructive
puram poem would have thought
criticism is to show the poem in a
only kurippeccam or kurreccam.
perspective unknown to itself. It
But the learned commentators
brings to light what is not explicit
have
by examining the relationship
provides
between the linguistic elements
contradicting
which the author can and can not
Their stance is borne out by the
have under his control. (p.74)
present
The author should be congratulated for
this
crystal-clear
explanation
in
demonstrated
scope
that
for
it
multiple
interpretations.
day
deconstructive
criticism.(p.74)
a
coherent passage. As an inquisitive
“Art versus pornography: A Bedroom
reader always gets many perplexing
scene
‘explanations’ in a bewildering syntax,
commendable venture as it highlights the
this explanation will surely be helpful
quintessence
for an ardent reader to understand
portrayed in Sangam classics. Here in
Derrida.
this
The first poem of Kurunthokai is
Akananuru
analyzed in this article.A.K.Ramanujan
Muteyinanar.It gives a verbal picture of
while explaining the poem, has pointed
a flirting of a wedded couple in their
out,akam/puram
as
nuptial bed. He also compares such
inner/outer,self/other,nature/culture,hous
scenes portrayed in Prakrit literature
ehold/wilderness become part of the
Gatasabdasati and Sanskrit literature
form and the content of the poem. The
Amarusataka.He has also taken from
author analyses the explanations given
English literature Donne’s “To His
by Peraciriyar, U.Ve.Ca, R.Raghava
Mistress Going to bed
Iyengar and Naccinarkkiniyar and finally
While the poems in Sanskrit, Prakrit and
contends:
English
contrasts
such
from
essay,
Akananuru”
of
the
Tamil
author
poem
have
by
turned
is
culture
takes
a
as
am
Virrurru
out
as
‘pornography, the Sangam poem is in an
10
excellent form with a splendid way of
must know (to be) the Gandharva rite
expressing things in a dignified manner.
which springs from desire and has sexual
The author delightfully declares:
intercourse for its purpose".
A Sangam poet like Virrurru
Yajnavalkya defines the Gandharva form
muteyinanar, on the other hand
of marriage as a marriage by mutual
can achieve the sublime even
consent and Vijnaneswara adds that
while painting a bedroom scene.
Gandharva marriage takes place through
(p.92)
the mutual love of the parties. On this
The essay “Mullaippattu: An essay in
Balambhatta in his commentary on
Genre criticism” is noteworthy for its
Mitakshara states:
generic approach. While there prevails a
In the case of Gandharva and other rites
confusion
of
of marriage, in order to constitute the
Mullaippattu, the author comes to the
legal status of husband and wife, there
conclusion that
must be performed the ceremonies of
The
about
the
genre
“If in a poem there is a direct or
homa and all the rest up to saptapadi. As
indirect hint that the hero and the
in the Grihya Parisista: The four forms
heroine will get reunited, it has to
of
be considered a mullai poem. If
Paisacha
on the other hand, the feeling of
consummation may have taken place
separation
dominant
before, yet after it the homa ceremony
throughout, it is a neytal poem.
must be performed. If such homa etc.,
(p.103)
ceremonies are not performed, then the
explanations
is
given
marriages,
and
Gandharva,
Asura,
Rakshasa,
though
by
girl so seduced or forcibly taken away
Naccinarkkiniyar, Maraimalaiyatikal and
etc., may be given away in marriage to
T.P.Meenakshisundaran and quoted by
another, according to the following text
the author in this essay provoke us to
of Boudhyayana (iv. i. 15) and of
ponder over the genre mullai and its
Vasishta (XVIII, 73). "If a damsel has
uniqueness.
been abducted by force and not been
The definition of 'Gandharva' marriage
wedded with sacred texts, she may
in Manu Chapter 3-32 is: "The voluntary
lawfully be given to another man; she is
union of a maiden and her lover, one
even like a maiden".
11
We need not go deeper to analyse
Indian epic: From cankam poems to
Gandharva marriage if we had studied
kumarasambhavam”
Shakuntala, where Shakuntala weds
The author adduces ample evidences
King Dushyantha through this type.
from Tirumurukaatruppatai and Paripatal
What happens?The King forgets and
to prove his observation that “So far as
Shakuntala becomes helpless. So it is
the parentage of Skanda is concerned,
meaningless to equate Kalvu with
Kalidasa’s account is closer to the Tamil
gandharva marriage and the author has
version
rightly explained this in detail in the
ones.”(p.126)
essay “Kurinchippattu: kalavumanam
Whereas Vaiyapuripillai argues that
and gandharva marriage.”
Paripatal belongs to the post-Sangam
age,
than
to
the
Sanskrit
Ma.Rasamanikkanar
There can not be two different opinions
refutes
his
when the author argues as:
juxtaposes
argument.
strongly
The
the arguments
author
of these
If the Tamil kalavu manam was
scholars and adds some more evidences
the same or similar to Gandharva
to support the stand of Rasamanikkanar.
wedding, Kapilar could have
The eleventh poem of Paripatal by
easily informed the Aryan king
Nallanthuvanar describes the positions
of it and left it there. But the fact
of the planets on the day when Vaiyai
that he came out with a jewel of a
was in flood. The astrological references
poem illustrating kalavu manam
have been interpreted by P.T.Srinivasa
indicates that the Tamils and
Iyengar, Camikkannu Pillai, Francois
Aryans of his time thought that
Gros and G.Ramachandran.The author
the
supports
Tamil
wedding
practice
the
observation
of
differed radically from every one
G.Ramachandran as per the planetary
of the eight unions of the sexes
position mentioned in Nallanthuvanar
mentioned by maraiyor.(p.106)
Paripatal should belong to 540B.C.
Kalidasa’s borrowings from Sangam
Animal Psychologists
classics are elaborately explained with
research to help animals much in the
evidences in the essay titled “Birth of an
same way that a human psychologist
use scientific
helps people. This is quite a new branch
12
of psychology but it is growing every
Antigone written in 5th century B.C.The
day. Animal Psychologists, who are also
author not only compares but also
called as Animal behaviorists study the
introduces one of the finest Greek
way that animals act in certain situations
tragedies to us through this essay.
in order to learn about our relationship
Mikhail Mikhailovich Bakhtin was a
with the rest of the animal world. The
Russian
essay “Emotions in animals: Tolkappiam
semiotician and scholar who worked on
and Cankam poetry.” is an example for
literary
the authors desire to open new vistas in
philosophy of language. His writings, on
Tamilology so as to throw new light in
a variety of subjects, inspired scholars
Sangam classics.
working in a number of different
“The meaning and end of life: Plato and
traditions
Thiruvalluvar”
structuralism, religious criticism) and in
and
Aristotle
and
excellent
examples
proper
“On
friendship:
Thiruvalluvar”
illustrating
methodology
to
adopt
philosopher,
theory,
literary
ethics,
and
(Marxism,
diverse
the
semiotics,
are
disciplines
the
criticism, history, philosophy, sociology,
in
as
critic,
as
literary
anthropology and psychology.
comparative study. The author is neither
ethnocentric nor Eurocentric but adopts
“Cilappathikaram: A Bakhtinian study”
an objective approach which is essential
attempts to compare the architectonics of
for cultural studies. The arguments and
Cilappathikaram with the ideas of
observations are logical and convincing.
Bakhtin on the epic and the novel.
The didactic work Palamoli Nanuru has
Bakhtin’s ‘Problems of Dostoevsky's
rarely been taken as a subject for
Poetics’ presents the ideas of polyphony
research and the author’s venture in
and
English is a pioneering attempt laudable
Dostoevsky created a new kind of novel
for its comparison with the concept of
by giving each of his characters an
Kenneth Burke.
individual voice unmarked by his own
“Destiny
in
Cilappathikaram”
Antigone
dialogism.
Contending
that
and
beliefs and opinions, Bakhtin believed
compares
that Dostoevsky's work proved that
Cilappathikaram with Sophocles’
authors could escape their own reality in
order to create another. The various
13
voices of the novel together form what
Bakhtinian concept. Is it fair to describe
Bakhtin
the folksongs in Cilappathikaram as of
termed
democratic
"dialogism"—the
and
polyphonic
belonging to “low genres’?
intermingling of "high" and "low" forms
Our Tolkappiam describes a genre
of language and culture that reflects the
‘pulan’ which is composed of popular
heteroglot society at large. The concept
words whose meaning is so clear that
of
there
dialogism
appears
in
most
of
is
no
need
for
Bakhtin's works and forms the basis of
thinking.’(P.S.S.Translation p.208)
many of his literary and cultural
Dr.S.Ilakkuvanar renders the translation
theories. In Rabelais and His World,
for this sutra.553 as: “Pulan”is called by
Bakhtin
and
those who are well versed, as having the
Renaissance European culture through
language of the street, the content being
an
easily understood, without (the need of)
examined
analysis
of
medieval
François
Rabelais's
Gargantua and Pantagruel. Using the
pondering over it.
concepts of carnival and the culture of
Our
laughter—both of which helped the
considered folk songs belonging to a
underclasses
lower genre.
in
medieval
and
grammatical
tradition
never
Renaissance times to parody official
To put our epic within the formula of
languages and established notions of
Bakhtin is it necessary to classify our
high culture, as in, according to Bakhtin,
folk songs like Aycchiyar kuravai,
Rabelais's free display of the human
Kundrakkuravai and vettuva vari as of
body—Bakhtin asserted that the carnival
“low Genre”?
liberated and empowered those in the
This sort of Eurocentric approach may
lower strata of society. The collection of
kindly be avoided. The learned scholar,
essays
entitled
‘The
Dialogic
Prof.Marudanayagam is a rare breed
Imagination’ outlines Bakhtin's theory of
having erudition in both Tamil and
the novel and includes much of his
English. His desire to introduce Bakhtin
language theory, particularly in the essay
may have resulted in this article. But for
"Discourse in the Novel."
this Eurocentric observation, this essay
I am afraid in his effort of comparison
is
the
Cilappathikaram in English prose
author
has
oversimplified
the
a
wonderful
rendering
of
14
The flow of the language, choice of
If such references were made the author
words and the art of narration are
could
amazing. Surely this essay will introduce
observations.
the epic grandeur, with all its subtleties
For example, the author states that the
to non-Tamil readers in a commendable
words
manner.
(Whip)” have been introduced to Tamil
have
“Orai
revised
(Hour)
some
and
of
his
mattikai
by the Greeks. (p.197)Orai and mattikai
Some
suggestions
are not considered as borrowed words.
The author has stated Tirukkral is
While some scholars consider Orai as a
indebted to Purananuru.It is also told by
Greek word Ilakkuvanar refutes this.
some scholars that Tirukkral is called as
(Tolkappiam in English-p.10-11)
Aram in Purananuru.We are baffled and
The fonts may be larger than the present
remain uncertain which precedes the
one on a par with the International
other? This may be clarified in the next
editions.
edition.
Conclusion
The author, a voracious reader, prefers
This magnificent volume is a collection
only to cite a few references at the end
of thought-provoking articles on various
of every essay. It will be helpful for the
topics probing in a scientific manner
inquisitive readers and young scholars if
bringing out a multitude of inferences
he gives the list of all books relevant to
which impart new knowledge.
each essay and in giving the list he may
Essays in the fields of Literary Theory,
give preference only to Primary sources
Thematology, Cultural Studies, New
avoiding secondary and tertiary sources.
Historicism,
Quotations from appropriate experts will
Post-structuralism,
surely enrich the articles. Every writer in
Genetic approach, Animal behaviorism,
Tamilology (especially when the books
Bakhtinian
are for Non-Tamil readers) is an
Religion and Translation are compiled in
ambassador
this volume.
of
Tamil
culture
and
Genre
dialogism,
criticism,
Philosophy,
tradition and so has a duty to introduce
The author’s vast knowledge, enormous
our scholars, who had dedicated their
potential and meticulous work have
lives for ushering a Tamil renaissance.
resulted in bringing a wonderful treatise.
15
His splendid style and flowery flow of
language will surely induce every reader
who opens the book.
CICT can be proud of this book and
author as its goal to propagate Classical
Tamil will surely be attained by such
inspiring works
leading
inquisition, investigation
to
further
and assertion
of Tamil’s antiquity.
16