________________
36
Study of Civakacintamani
cant. Similarly the phrase "Munnir valampuri' has led Naccinārkkiniyar to explain that this is an autobiographical reference by Tēvar to his birth in in the Cola family. This reference has not enabled us to trace the identity of the author of the Cc.
On the other hand it is of interest to note that in the places Tēvar lists the names of the kings from different countries who assemble either to fight in a battle or to compete for the band of a princess, the Pāndya and the Pallava kings are mentioned while the Cola king is not. This would seem a significant ommission if the Cc. were to have been written in the heyday of Cola sovereignty, i.e. the later part of the 10th Century A.D.
External Evidence
We have four references to either the work called Cintamani or to its author. These are found in :
(i) Tiruttonțar varalāru (ii) The Uraiccirappuppāyiram of the Cc. (verse relating the merits of Naccinārkk
iniyar's commentary on the Cc.) (iii) The Mallisena Prasasti inscription of Sravaņa Belgola. (iv) The Tirumakūdịu Narasipur Taluq inscription.
(i) In the section Cēkkiļār Putānam of the Tamil work Tiruttoņțar vapalāļu (A.D. 1217-1315)1 it is said that the Cintamani was adored by the king Adapāya. From the following verse, one can see that Cēkkilār advised king Anapāya who was adoring the Cintāmani that it was a book of false beliefs, and told him to listen to the story of Siva.
valavanun kunt aman purattut tiruttuc cintamanik katai yai
mey enru varicai kūra uļa makilntu pala patap pārāțţik katkav
upaya kula maņi vilakkāñ cekkiļār kant ilavaracan tanai nokkic camanar poy nul itu mar umaikk
akāt immaikkum arra vaļa maruvukinra civa kataiy immaikku marumaikkum
urutiy ena valavan kēțțu
(When Vaļavan listened with great pleasure to Cintamani, which is a false story, Cēkkiļār, the jewelled lamp of the two families, advised him that this Jaina book was a false one and it was of no use for this world and the next. The Śiva story; which is worth listening to, is good for this life as well az the next.)
Cēkkiļār lived in the reign of king Anapāya.3 King Avapāya is identified with 1 N.C.C. vol. III, University of Madras, pp. 94-95. 2 Umāpaticivāccăriyar, Tiruttontar Purāram, edited by P. Ramalinka-Cuvami, Cekkilar niyanār
Purānam, v. 11. 3 T. S. Kuppuswami Sastri. Indian Antiquary, XXXVI, 1907, p. 288.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
