The Cilappatikāram: The Tale of an AnkletMen And Women Of Maturai Of The Four Temples! I Curse This City. Its King Erred In Killing The Man I Loved One Of The World'S Masterpieces, The Cilappatikaram (5Th Century Ce) By Ilanko Atikal Is India'S Finest Epic In A Language Other Than Sanskrit. It Spells Out In Unforgettable Verse The Problems That Humanity Has Been Wrestling With For A Long Time: Love, War, Evil, Fate And Death. The Tale Of An Anklet Is The Love Story Of Kovalan And Kannaki. Originating In Tamil Mythology, The Compelling Tale Of Kannaki Her Love, Her Feats And Triumphs, And Her Ultimate Transformation To Goddess Follows The Conventions Of Tamil Poetry And Is Told In Three Phases: The Erotic, The Heroic And The Mythic. This Epic Ranks With The Ramayana And The Mahabharata As One Of The Great Classics Of Indian Literature And Is Presented For The First Time In A Landmark English Verse Translation By The Eminent Poet R. Parthasarathy, Making It Accessible To A Wider Audience. Winner Of The 1995 Sahitya Akademi Prize For Translation (English), The 1994 Pen/ Book-Of-The-Month Club Translation Citation Of The Pen American Centre, And The 1996 Association For Asian Studies A.K. Ramanujan Book Prize For Translation. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Prologue | 19 |
The Book of Pukār | 23 |
The Song of Praise | 25 |
The Setting up of a Home | 29 |
The First Performance | 34 |
In Praise of the Evening | 41 |
The Celebration in the City of the Festival of Indra | 46 |
Kannaki Goes Round the City | 183 |
The Demand for Justice | 186 |
The Crown of Wrath | 191 |
The Great Fire | 195 |
The Explanation | 199 |
The Book of Vañci | 209 |
The Round Dance of the Hill Dwellers | 211 |
The Choice of a Stone | 219 |
Bathing in the Sea | 57 |
The Love Songs of the Seaside Grove | 65 |
The Coming of Spring | 82 |
The Nature of the Dream | 88 |
Country Scenes | 93 |
The Scenes of the Forest | 109 |
The Song and Dance of the Hunters | 119 |
Waiting on the Outskirts of the City | 130 |
The Sights of the City | 140 |
The Refuge | 150 |
The Scene of the Murder | 160 |
The Round Dance of the Herdswomen | 170 |
The Wreath of Sorrow | 179 |
Common terms and phrases
adorned akam anklet arhat ascetic bangles brahman breasts bright Căminātaiyar canto Cattan Cenkuttuvan Cēral chariot Cilappatikāram Cited in TL city of Maturai classical Tamil Cōla king dark death deity dharma drum earth elephants epic eyes feet festival fierce flowers forest fragrant Gangā garland girl goddess Pattiņi gods gold golden goldsmith hair hands heaven hills Himalaya holy husband Iļankō Iliad India Indra Jaina Jainism jewels Kāma Kannaki karma Kāvēri Kavunti king's kingdom Kōvalan Kṛṣṇa Kuruntokai Lines live forever lord lotus lovers lute Mahābhārata Matalan Mātavi meter moon mother mountain Murukan narrative poem nēr nirai offered ornaments Pāṇṭiya pearls performed petals poet poetic poetry Potiyil praise Pukar puram radiant raga Rāmāyaṇa renowned round dance sacred sandalwood Sanskrit seaside grove sing Śiva song SPEAKS spear story string sweet sword Tamil country temple thick tiņais Tolkāppiyam tradition translation tree Vaiyai Vañci Vedas victorious white parasol wife woman women words worship wreath