Silappadigaram and birth of Pattini worship

By Amal HEWAVISSENTI

The term 'Pattini' connotes a woman who has developed absolute fidelity to her husband. Ancient Indian literature in particular, is profusely scattered with direct references to miraculously sacrificial acts of women such as leaping into blazing fire to prove their truthfulness. This was a widespread occurrence on the part of women especially when their innocence or truthfulness was publicly questioned or challenged. In other words they were purely victims within the framework of male dominant society which is often viewed as a blemish on otherwise resounding glory of a well-developed civilisation in South India around 3,000 years ago.

Yet, the traditional South Indian thought demanded that man's life becomes sublime by his inner traits such as bravery, skill, generosity and self sacrifice. At the sametime, a woman who was otherwise deprived of higher social dignity could ascend to man's status purely by developing fidelity and truthfulness. It is on this landscape that Pattini Devi rises to a heroic status and takes upon herself the unthinkable rights and honour typically enjoyed by men but unjustifiably denied to women. The ritualistic practices of ceremonies and Shanthikarmas associated with Pattini Devi are generally performed to invoke blessings and relief for people in India and Sri Lanka. It appears that this form of worship of Dravidian origin has blended gradually with other religious rites and has turned out to be a main source of psychological relief for people in distress. But how did the concept of Pattini spring up?

Silappadigaram

The South Indian Tamil literature distinguishes three defined periods called "Sangam" and the books written in the third Sangam period are a storehouse of information about life of ancient Tamil people. Sangam is an officially traditional congregation of poets with State sponsorship by Pandyan kings for literary development. Silappadigaram, Walayapadi, Manimekala, Siwaksinthamani and Kundalakeshi are the fruits of the third Sangam period of Madhurapura which is the golden era for the ancient Tamil literature. Out of those books, the epic Silappadigaram is the masterpiece of the era.

Kannagi (Pattini Devi) in the royal court of the Pandyan king trying to prove her husband’s innocence

Silappadigaram, a Tamil epic centres around the legend of Pattini Devi whose influence became a novel faith for ordinary people. (Silappadigaram means the story of "Salamba" or Pattini Devi's anklet.) The writer is Ilanko Adigal the youngest son of 'Sereladen" the ruler of Kerala. He was a Jainist ascetic who witnessed the crucial moments in the life of Kovalan and Kannagi (later Pattini Devi) in the country of Pandya during his lifetime. Thus he wanted to fashion a fascinating book out of 'Kovalan-Kannagi' life and pay tribute to Kannagi's rare humanity. To complete the epic, Adigal had to personally visit Kaveri Pattanama and Madurapura where the most important events in their lives took shape. In those cities he was able to test the authenticity of certain events in order to give a sense of credibility to his Pattini story.

Kovalan and Kannagi

The Pattini legend springs from the life story of Kannagi the daughter of a wealthy tradesman and her husband Kovalan, a son of an ordinary tradesman in the city of Kaveri Pattanam in Chola.

The writer of Silappadigaram, while recounting the tale of Pattini, describes the grandeur in the cities of Kaveripattam of Chola, Madurapuram of Pandya, and Wanchipuram of Kerala at that time.

Yet the real drama of their lives unfolds in Pandyan kingdom. Silappadigaram stresses that a woman who honestly premises a higher degree of fidelity to her husband is fit to be in good grace of Munis or even gods. Silappadigaram states that the marriage ceremony of Kovalam and Kannagi was performed in the grandest possible scale but their marital bliss was destined to be short lived.

By an ironic twist of fate, Kovalan deserted Kannagi and embarked on an amoral relationship with Madavi who showed a deliberate and stubborn desire to behave unacceptably. Although Kannagi was well-trained with the traditional ideas of fidelity, truthfullness and love lamentably she failed in all efforts to arrest Kovalan's passion for Madavi. The epic shows Madavi to be a morally bankrupt, socially contemptible character who strove every moment to satisfy the lustful men. The most striking aspect of Kannagi's nature emerges in her passive acceptance of her fate and in her tendency not to take offence at her husband's outrageous flirtings.

While Kovalan was squandering her wealth with Madavi, Kannagi continued to anticipate only the best to happen and minimise all other possibilities. She fervently expected a reunion with him at any cost.It becomes blatantly obvious that while Kovalam was living a luxury life with Madavi out of Kannagi's own wealth, Kannagi experienced a bitter, self-continued life wearing tattered clothes and confining herself to the walls of her house with all doors shut.

Crucial test

When Kovalan, in reduced circumstances, comes back to Kannagi and reveals his misery in expectation of certain kind of gain, she does not hesitate to give her pair of "Silambu" her only asset left, to Kovalan for a problem free life with Madavi.

These incidents collectively show that Kannagi's undisguised dedication to and respect for her husband is by no means marred by Kovalan's massive cheating.

Though she turned out to be an emotional wreck in the face of Kovalan's treachery, her respect for him made her blind to his blatant mischief. Silappadigaram presents a chain of moving events in course of which Kovalan was brought along the streets to be beheaded. Here, in the presence of the king Senguttuwan, she unleashed a wave of passionate expressions before her husband's dead body and pronounced her truthfulness which must bring him back to life. She leapt into a blazing fire by way of life sacrifice for her husband but the king saved her and bathed her in river Ganges as a mark of tribute to her divine nature.

Thereafter, she came to be known as "Pattini Devi". King Senguttuvan established a devale and erected a "Pattini" statue in honour of her truthfulness and fidelity which in turn vested divine power on her and created a novel form of worship for people.

This is the account of Pattini origin blended, to some extent, with supernatural traces and miraculous events as given in Silappadigaram.

Sri Lanka story

Silappadigaram states that "kayavahu of Sulilange" (Gajabahu the I in Sri Lanka) was among the royal guests who graced the ceremonial dedication of devale for Pattini Devi by the King of Kerala, Senguttuvan. It further elaborates how King Gajabahu celebrated the virtues of Pattini Devi and built an elegant devale for her, in Nawagamuwa, to mark the origin of a new faith. The following is the statement in the epic about Gajabahu's royal visit to Kerala.

"Then the King Gajabahu of the island of Lanka performed unbroken rituals daily and built a devale for Pattini eradicating the kingdom's evil atmosphere if any. He arranged Esala Perahera in honour of her name through the streets and enjoyed a total prosperity of a country which received enough rain in months of severe droughts."

Gajabahu was a contemporary with Senguttuvan who had been actively involved in scenes and events central to Kannagi's life story. Silappadigaram further states that Pattini Devi granted "wara" to the kings assembled in the first ceremony in Kerala and the rulers are said to have pledged to make ritualistic ceremonies for her.

Therefore it is totally safe to guess that Pattini worship and ceremonies associated with it came into operation since the reign of King Gajabahu the first. It is traditionally established that Gajabahu went to Cholian Kingdom to rescue Sri Lankan people in slavery there and he visited Senguttuvan of Kerala to discuss formally about the release of people. There he got the first chance to make his royal presence at the ceremony for Pattini Devi.

He launched the maiden Esala Perahera in Pattini's name and the tradition was upheld by successive rulers in Sri Lanka. In the eighteenth century, Keerthi Sri Rajasinghe incorporated the Pattini Esala Perahera to "Esala Dalada Perahera" under the counselling by Upali Thera who came to Sri Lanka from Myanmar. Thus, it has been held in Sri Lanka for eighteen centuries. In this way, the image of Pattini Devi earned a growing chorus of honour from people representing all strata of society both in India and Sri Lanka. For around 18 centuries, people have been praying to her for relief, appealing to her, asking her to "grant wishes" and performing a wide spectrum of ceremonies in honour of the great virtues that made her a goddess.

So much assured were people of her latent power to relieve them of their problems that they carved out her statues out of gold, silver or rock, erected a number of devales, composed verses and songs (eulogies) and composed multiple legends in order to exalt her awe-inspiring image.

In whatever way, the increase of high respect coupled with piety has made poets and lay priests of devales reproduce the concept of Pattini in multiple form.

They have created seven Pattinis namely Karamala, Uramala, Le, Mal, Gini, Weera, Siddha (Pattini). As time progressed, the reproduced concept of seven Pattinis became an astonishing family of twelve Pattini (Dolos Pattini Deviyo) in the wake of increasing public honour and respect for the "real image of Pattini Devi".

However, the Pattini Perahera is one of the four peraheras incorporated to the Dalada Parahera of Kandy.

The main Pattini Devale is situated in Kandy and the eulogy of Pattini (Pattini Halla) has greatly popularised the concept among people specially rural people in Sri Lanka. The folk games such as 'An keliya', 'Olinda keliya', 'Pol keliya', and 'wel keliya' are based on this concept and are still enjoyed among Sri Lankans.