Ramayana in Tamil literature
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The earliest known written version of Ramayana in the Tamil language, in the 12th century CE, by Kambar as Ramavataram (popularly known as Kamba Ramayanam).
Sangam Literature
The age of Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், caṅka ilakkiyam) refers to the ancient Tamil literature roughly extends between 300 BC and 300 AD, although most of the work is believed to have been composed between 100 CE and 250 CE.[5][6]
Purananuru
The earliest reference to the story of the Ramayana is found in the
Akanaṉūṟu
Akanaṉūṟu, which is dated between 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE, has a reference to the Ramayana in poem 70. The poem places a triumphant Rama at Dhanushkodi, sitting under a Banyan tree, involved in some secret discussions, when the birds are chirping away.[10]
Twin Epics of the Common Era
Cilappatikaram
The
the very city of Puhar of ancient fame has gone mad — like Ayodhya at the separation of the great hero Rama who left it and penetrated the thick jungles saying, ‘To me the kingdom is nothing, but my father’s command is everything’
— Silappadikaram, Book 8, Lines 64-68, translated by V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar[12]
Manimekalai
Manimekalai written as the sequel to the Cilappatikaram by the Buddhist poet Chithalai Chathanar, narrates the tale of Manimekalai, the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi, and her journey to become a Buddhist Bhikkuni. This epic also makes several references to the Ramayana, such as a setu (bridge) being built by monkeys in canto 5, line 37 (however the location is Kanyakumari rather than Dhanushkodi). In another reference, in canto 17, lines 9 to 16, the epic talks about Rama being the incarnate of Trivikrama or Netiyon, and he building the setu with the help of monkeys who hurled huge rocks into the ocean to build the bridge. Further, canto 18, lines 19 to 26, refers to the illegitimate love of Indra for Ahalya the wife of the rishi Gautama (Pandian, 1931, p. 149)(Aiyangar, 1927, p. 28).[13][14][15]
Alvar literature
The Alvars were Vaishnavite Tamil poets -saints of South India who composed literature preaching bhakti (devotion) to the god Vishnu and his avatars. Modern scholars place Alvar literature between the 5th and 10th centuries CE.[16]
Kulasekhara Alvar
Thirumangai Alvar
The Periya Tirumoli, written by Thirumangai Alvar (8th century CE) in verse 8, refers to Guhan, the fisherman king who Rama persuades not to follow him into exile while crossing the Ganges, and Hanuman, the son of the wind god Vayu (Hooper, 1929, p. 41).
Andal
Nammalvar
Nammalvar's Tiruviruttam, verse 36, speaks of the friend of the Alvar who criticises the Lord who once destroyed the crowded halls of Lanka (for the sake of Sita), but fails to relieve the grief of the Alvar (Hooper, 1929, p. 71).[19]
Tamil kingdoms and their belief on Ramayana
The
Another Famous temple of
There are many other temples dedicated to
Rama Natakam
The entire Ramayana was written as an
References
- ^ Political Violence in Ancient India, p. 502, Upinder Singh
- ^ The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse. London. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Ayyangar, C R Sreenivasa (1910). Ramayana Of Valmeeki. Madras, British India: ME Press, ALV Press, Guardian Press. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Ramanujan, Attipate Krishnaswami (1987). "Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation" (PDF). Conference on Comparison of Civilizations, University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ Pillai, M S Purnalingam (1904). A Primer of Tamil Literature. Madras, British India: The Ananda Press. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Zvelebil, Kamil (1973). The Smile of Murugan on Tamil Literature of South India. Leiden, The Netherlands: E J Brill. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ISBN 978-90-04-03591-1.
- ^ Hart, George L; Heifetz, Hank (1999). The four hundred songs of war and wisdom : an anthology of poems from classical Tamil : the Puṟanāṉūṟu. Columbia University Press.
- ^ Kalakam, Turaicămip Pillai, ed. (1950). Purananuru. Madras.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Dakshinamurthy, A (July 2015). "Akananuru: Neytal – Poem 70". Akananuru. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ Dikshitar, V R Ramachandra (1939). The Silappadikaram. Madras, British India: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 22 July 2019.
- ^ https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.201802/page/n207/mode/2up
- ^ Pandian, Pichai Pillai (1931). Cattanar's Manimekalai. Madras: Saiva Siddhanta Works. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Aiyangar, Rao Bahadur Krishnaswami (1927). Manimekhalai In Its Historical Setting. London: Luzac & Co. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ Shattan, Merchant-Prince (1989). Daniélou, Alain (ed.). Manimekhalai: The Dancer With the Magic Bowl. New York: New Directions.
- ^ Andrea Nippard. "The Alvars" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
- ^ "Life of Andal". thiruppavai.org tiruppavai.org. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
- ^ "Andal's Wedding". youtube. Retrieved 20 April 2013.[dead YouTube link]
- ^ Hooper, John Stirling Morley (1929). Hymns of the Alvars. Calcutta: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
- ^ ISBN 9789068317015.
- ISBN 9788120602106.
- ^ Rajagopalan, K.R., “Development of Karnataka Music”, Swami Prajanananda Felicitation Volume, Calcutta (under print)
- ^ Rajagopalan, K. R. (1978). Seerkazhi Arunachala Kavirayar and Rama Natakam. Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi.
- ^ "Drama and Bhakti that keep up with rhythm". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 7 November 2023.