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Study of Civakacintamani
In the treatment of this story he has also taken into consideration the requirement that it must expound the four purujärthas Dharma, Artha, Käma and Moksa.
In both Sanskrit and Tamil literature, works on poetics have emphasised the importance of dealing with the four aims of life. Dharma deals with the duties and rules of social conduct and the values and ideals of the society. Artha is concerned with the particular rules governing the various varpas and asramas, and the acquisition and distribution of riches and other good things of life one enjoys; and mokşa deals with the efforts and ways through which one attains liberation after death. In Sanskrit, Manu's Dharmasastra, Kautilya's Arthagästra and Vatsyayana's Kamasutra set forth the details of the three pursuits Dharma, Artha, and Kama. Moksa is mainly dealt with in philosophical and religious works. In Tamil didactic works like Thirukkural and the Nalatiyar the three aims Dharma (aram), Artha (poru) and Kama (inpam) are dealt with in detail. The Pajamojinänaru deals with all the four aims whereas the other works which are classified under the Patinegkijkkanakku deal with one or more than one of them. The "Titijataka, the Vairagyajataka, and the Sigarajataka of Bhartrhari in Sanskrit form a tripartite colllection of gnomic verses which deal with the materialistic, the sensous and the spiritual aspects of life in accordance with the above classification of the ends of life.
Later, the authors of ornate epics recognised that a still more effective way of treating these was to trace the course of events in the lives of outstanding characters and to show how they exemplified all that was considered best in the four pursuits of life. This explains why commentators like Atiyarkkunallar discuss the question of how these treated in the Tamil epics. Têver is the first Tamil author who attempted to compose an epic whose contents embraced all the four ends of life.
Now we shall trace how the story of Civakan's life has been developed by Têvar from this point of Virtuous (dhärmic) deeds are done by Cinvakan throughout his life. Ahimsa (non-killing). one of the basic principles of Jainism, is practised by Civakan, at times even in battle. The battle he fights against the hunters who drove away the cows of the cow-herds is a battle in which complete ahimsa is observed, as Civacan wins the battle without any violence. 1 He saves the dying dog which is beaten by the brahmins and utters the pañcanamaskara mantra which makes the dog. turn into a yakṣa. He also saves the elephants which were caught in a fire. He gives religious advice to the ascetics in Cittiraktam, Cittirakūtam, to a hunter and to a traveller. 6
He shows kindness to all and his kingdom. He is compassionate towards
1. Cc. vv. 448-455. 2. Ibid, vv. 984-960. 3. Idid, v. 1237.
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generosity. increases after he acquires the the wounded warriors and looks after the
4. Ibid, vv. 1426-1437. 5. Ibid, vv. 1230-1237. 6. Ibid, vv. 1543-1566.
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