Study of Civakacintamani

SR No.: 001579
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Vijaylaxmi
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad
Publication Year: 1981
Total Pages: 248
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Philosophy, & Epistemology
File Size: 15 MB

Page 121

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Study of Civakacintamani
In these verses, the loosening of hair with the falling flowers and the Jewels dropping from the string are described in the same way. But both in the Kupama. laiyār ilampakam and in the Ilakkanaiyar ilampakam the girls are classified into seven different kinds according to their age and maturity, in accordance with Tamil tradition,
The marriages of Civakan with his eight wives are described. Special attention is paid to the wedding ritual in the marriage of Ilakkaņai.l The marital pleasures of Civakan receive detailed descriptions in several places. It has been claimed that Tēvar shows his knowledge of Sanskrit as well as Tamil works, both Vatsyāyana's Kāmasūtra and the Cankam literature in these descriptions.
The birth of Civakan's children is dealt with in the Muttiyilampakam. 2
Details of battles and descriptions of the counsel held before war3 and the despatch of a messenger 4 have all been included by Tēvar. The descriptions of war contain details about the strength of the army, the valour of the soldiers, their victory etc. The seizure of the cows and their retrieval involve battles, which are set forth in accordance with the Tamil conventions of Vetci 5 and Karantail war in the Kõvintaiyār ilampokam 7 and in the Kanakamālaiyār ilampakam. 8 The final battle between Civakan and Kattiyankāran, and the victory of Civakan in the battle, are elaborately described in the Manmaka! ilampakam..
Thus we see that every opportunity has been used by Tēver to include descriptions as required by the Sanskrit rhetoricians' definition of a mahākāvya. A few words in particular about the several figures of speech used in these descriptions are necessary at this point because the proliferation of figures of speech is one major result of the effort to adopt the Sanskirt pattern. As we have seen, earlier Cankam poetry mainly employs similes, grapbic descriptions and, in the later period, epic similes. One is struck with the purposefulness with which these similes are employed in these poems. They are never used in such a way as to obscure the meaning of the poem. They are precisely phrased and short. The objects of comparison are chosen from everyday experience, and hence illustrate the idea cleariy. Nature serves as a background for depicting human emotions. The kind of simile called Ullurai always suggests some kind of human relationship through the description of nature. This is often used through the address of a friend of the heroine to the hero, suggesting the state of his lover. Mythological allusions were seldom introdnced before the Kalittokai and the Paripāțal. Most of the similes have only one point of comparison.
Thus for example the gems that shine on the girdles of ladies are compared to the dew shining on the boughs of a konrai tree. The teeth of an angry dog are compared to bamboo shoots. 1. This is the tradition followed in the Cilappatikāram and to a lesser extent in the Manimekalai. Sabiālankāras ( embellishments involving sounds) were of relatively rare occurrence and when found were never long
1 Cc. v. 2385 ff. 2 Ibid, vv. 2701-2706. 5 Supra, p. 149. 6 Supra, p. 149. 9 Porunarärruppaļai, lines 327-328.
3 Ibid, v. 2143-2149. 7 Ch. v. 413 ff. 10 Kur incippattu, line 131.
4 8
Ibid, v. 2143. Ibid, v. 1845 ff.