Malaipaṭukaṭām

Malaipaṭukaṭām (Tamil: மலைபடுகடாம்) is an ancient Tamil poem in the Pattuppāṭṭu anthology of the Sangam literature.[1] Authored by Perunkunrur Perunkaucikanar, it consists of over 500[note 1] lines that describe the nature scenes, the people and the culture of mountain countryside under king Nannan.[2][3] The poem is dated approximately to 210 CE by Kamil Zvelebil – a Tamil literature scholar.[6]

Topics in Sangam literature
Sangam literature
Agattiyam	Tolkāppiyam
Eighteen Greater Texts
Eight Anthologies
Aiṅkurunūṟu	Akanāṉūṟu
Puṟanāṉūṟu	Kalittokai
Kuṟuntokai	Natṟiṇai
Paripāṭal	Patiṟṟuppattu
Ten Idylls
Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai	Kuṟiñcippāṭṭu
Malaipaṭukaṭām	Maturaikkāñci
Mullaippāṭṭu	Neṭunalvāṭai
Paṭṭiṉappālai	Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai
Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai	Ciṟupāṇāṟṟuppaṭai
Related topics
Sangam	Sangam landscape
Tamil history from Sangam literature	Ancient Tamil music
Eighteen Lesser Texts
Nālaṭiyār	Nāṉmaṇikkaṭikai
Iṉṉā Nāṟpatu	Iṉiyavai Nāṟpatu
Kār Nāṟpatu	Kaḷavaḻi Nāṟpatu
Aintiṇai Aimpatu	Tiṉaimoḻi Aimpatu
Aintinai Eḻupatu	Tiṇaimālai Nūṟṟaimpatu
Tirukkuṟaḷ	Tirikaṭukam
Ācārakkōvai	Paḻamoḻi Nāṉūṟu
Ciṟupañcamūlam	Mutumoḻikkānci
Elāti	Kainnilai

The title of the poem Malaipatukatam, also spelled Malaipadukadam,[3] is found in lines 347–348 of the poem in the context of "roaring elephants in rut".[3] The title has been interpreted in two ways. Some scholars translate it as "the secretion oozing from the mountains", while others as "the sound of katam which arises in the mountains". Either is metonymically interpreted as "the Echo of the Mountains".[1][2] The poem is also known as Kūttarāṟṟupaṭai (Kuttararruppatai), lit. "Guide to the Dancing Minstrels", a title that suggests that it is an arruppatai-genre poem.[1]

The Malaipatukatam is known for its similes, some of which are also found in other Sangam poems.[1] It paints a vivid picture of the hilly region (near Chengam, then called Chenkama), the people, the troupes of actors and their musical instruments.[3] The poem describes the beauty of the female singers and dancers. Other lines present the valor of virtues king Nannan.[3] His capital city is described, along with a long catalog-like description of the birds, animals, trees, flowers, and fruits found in the hilly kingdom.[3]

The guide outlines some natural dangers faced by troupes as they travel from one performance site to another, and the generous hospitality they will receive from villagers along their way.[3] It mentions servings of alcohol made from rice that is aged in bamboos, a meal of rice, buttermilk, avarai beans and tamarind gravy.[7] A few lines in the Malaipatukatam mention the shepherds, the fishermen and the farmers along the Cheyyar River (Seyaru).[3] The women in these regions, states the poem, sing songs as they pound and husk the grains.[8]

The lengthy poem mentions the Hindu god Vishnu primarily though there are also references to Shiva, his son Murugan – the god of war (line 651),[4] and the king as Shiva's devotee. The poem alludes to the "great god" and "god who drank poison" (likely Shiva) and pillars that were worshipped (likely lingam).[9][10] The Malaipatukatam uses the word ool (Sanskrit: karma).[11] It also mentions the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi in lines 463–464 and the "god on whose breast she sits enthroned".[12]

See also

• Chera dynasty
• Sangam literature

Notes

1. Zvelebil states it has 583 lines.[2][3] Other scholars such as Fred Clothey state that the Malaipaṭukaṭām has many more lines.[4] According to Chellaih, the poem has 763 lines.[5]

References

1. Kamil Zvelebil 1974, pp. 24–25.
2. Kamil Zvelebil 1973, p. 59.
3. JV Chelliah 1946, pp. 283–284.
4. Fred W. Clothey (2019). The Many Faces of Murukan: The History and Meaning of a South Indian God. With the Poem Prayers to Lord Murukan. Walter De Gruyter. p. 34. ISBN 978-3-11-080410-2.
5. JV Chelliah 1946, pp. 325.
6. Kamil Zvelebil 1974, p. 25.
7. Rayson K. Alex; S. Susan Deborah (2016). Ecodocumentaries: Critical Essays. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 196. ISBN 978-1-137-56224-1.
8. Vijaya Ramaswamy (2016). Women and Work in Precolonial India: A Reader. SAGE Publications. pp. 107–108. ISBN 978-93-5150-740-6.
9. JV Chelliah 1946, pp. 11, 284–286, 297, 326–327.
10. C. Vaittiyaliṅka_n (1977). Fine Arts and Crafts in Pattuppāṭṭu and Eṭṭuttokai. Annamalai University. p. 235.
11. JV Chelliah 1946, pp. 284–286.
12. JV Chelliah 1946, pp. 297, 326–327.

Bibliography

• JV Chelliah (1946). Pattupattu - Ten Tamil Idylls (Tamil Verses with Englilsh Translation). Tamil University (1985 print).
• Edward Jewitt Robinson (2001). Tamil Wisdom: Traditions Concerning Hindu Sages and Selections from Their Writings. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services.
• Mudaliyar, Singaravelu A., Apithana Cintamani, An encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature, (1931) - Reprinted by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi (1983)
• Pillai, M. S. Purnalingam (1994). Tamil Literature. Asian Educational Services. p. 115. ISBN 81-206-0955-7.
• Ray, Himanshu Prabha (2003). The archaeology of seafaring in ancient South Asia. Cambridge: Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. ISBN 9780521011099.
• Selby, Martha Ann (2011) Tamil Love Poetry: The Five Hundred Short Poems of the Aiṅkuṟunūṟu, an Early Third-Century Anthology. Columbia University Press, ISBN 9780231150651
• Takanobu Takahashi (1995). Tamil Love Poetry and Poetics. BRILL Academic. ISBN 90-04-10042-3.
• Kamil Zvelebil (1973). The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India. BRILL. ISBN 90-04-03591-5.
• Kamil Zvelebil (1974). Tamil Literature. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 978-3-447-01582-0.
• Zvelebil, Kamil (1992). Companion studies to the history of Tamil literature. BRILL. p. 73. ISBN 90-04-09365-6.