Manimekalai - Buddhist influence on Tamil literature

by Nagalingam KUMARAKURUPARAN

Buddhism entered Tamil-Nadu in the third century BC Flourished in the sixth century AD declined in the eight, but lingered till the end of the 16th century.

It might have been introduced first into the Tamil Kingdom by Asoka's Missionaries on their way to Ceylon. Talaing chronicles, the source book of Burmese Buddhism, reveals that Asoka built a vihara in Kanchi, in which Acharya Dharmapala stayed and wrote 14 commentaries on Pali texts.

Buddhism had an almost incalculable effect on art, thought literature and way of life of the Tamils.

The Annapurani shrine found within the famous Kamakshi Temple at Kanchi first housed Manimekala and that Kamakshi is considered a Buddhist Goddess Tara.

According to historians, the rural administration in Tamil Nadu, under the later Pallavas and Cholas must have received a fillip from Buddhism since the pattern of the local government with its characteristic committee system based on the Sangha administration, the influence of Buddhism may be traced.

Buddhist art

The importance of the wide range of Buddhist art in any study of the philosophy and art of Asia cannot be overemphasized.

The impact of Buddhist architecture is to be seen in the various styles now found in South India.

The apsidal - ended temple, the pyramidal-storied temple, the wagon-headed roof and the circular shrine chamber found in some temples on the west coast are so obviously Buddhist in origin.

The external designs of the temples of Mahablipuram, popularly known as the seven pagodas, bears ample testimony to the Buddhist influence.

The contribution of Buddhism to Tamil literature is more valuable than the other benefits it might have conferred on the Tamil society, though unfortunately many great Buddhist works in Tamil have been irrecoverably lost.

Dhammapada

At least one of the lyrics in Puranancerie in the incomparable Sangam Anthology is claimed to be a faithful rendering of a passage from Dhammapada which contains the gist of the essential principle of the Buddha's doctrine.

There are scholars who over that Valluvar, the author of Tirukkural, the crown Jewel of Tami classic must have known Buddhism.

The unmistakable influence of Buddhist thought on Valluvar is discernible in his work. The arrangement of chapters is closely modelled upon the Dhammapada.

Most of the terms used to refer to God in the first chapter, which is a glorification of the Supreme being, are applicable to the Buddha and they are the appellations, used in some Buddhist works.

Two of the five great epics in Tamil, Kuntalakesi and Manimekalai are authored by men with pronounced Buddhist learnings while the rest are attributed to Jains.

Viracoliyam, a grammatical work of the eleventh century written by Buddhamitra in honour of Vira Rajendra Chola, cites as illustrative examples passages from great Buddhist works.

These citations are witness to the vast variety of Buddhist works that might have been written in Tamil.

Although many great works were lost Manimekalai has survived such uncertain times is a reflection upon its greatness.

'Jewel Belt'

The title of the book which may be translated as the 'Jewel Belt', is the name of the heroine and of one of the great Buddhist goddesses mentioned in the Jatakas, who also appears in the poem. The epic consists of 4,861 lines (a kind of blank verse) in 30 cantos.

Manimekalai was written by a Buddhist merchant Seethalai Cattan in the post Sangam period (at least two to three centuries after the Sangam classics) in the 4th century AD.

The epics Manimekalai and Cilappathi Karam are considered by many as twin epics as they are very much related to each other. Both of them belong to the same age and deal with the story of the same family.

The story of Manimekalai is supposed to be a continuation of what has already been superbly treated by Illanko in his Cilapatikaram.

Towards the end of the earlier epic Kannaki takes revenge upon the Pandya king for having killed her husband unjustly by burning the city of Madurai. Realising his folly, the king dies of shock; Kannaki is taken to heaven by some divine beings, Matavi the danseuse, joins the Buddhist order along with her daughter Manimekalai.

The later epic takes up the story from here beginning with the renunciation of the heroine at a very early age. Manimekalai, is the story of a women of not only of great chastity but also a woman who is very much concerned with the poor and hungry.

Manimekalai's inner struggles between her passionate love for the prince who was her husband in the previous birth and her ardent desire for spiritual service eloquently described, by the poet, finally her desire for serving mankind triumphs.

In Manimekalai, the public that has admired the mother and the daughter as beautiful dancers does not relish their joining the nunnery and wants the younger one to follow the hereditary profession of a courtesan. But the strong-willed maiden is firm even though she finds herself drawn to the Chola prince. Utayakamaran, who is in love with her. Later she learns that the real reason for this magnetic charm is that she has been his wife in a series of former births.

But her own indomitable will and the encouragement of her mother and the help rendered by the divine beings enables her to free herself from human ties. The prince relentlessly pursues her but she is miraculously removed by the goddess Manimekalai to, the island of Manipallawam, (present day Jaffna). Where she sees the miraculous Buddha seat and learns all about her past life.

Finally she goes to Kanchi, meets Aravana Adigal, the embodiment of Buddhist scholarship and sitting at his feet learns Buddhist ethics, logic and philosophy. After attaining wisdom, she settles there permanently to do penance to attain Nirvana.

The poem does not have a well-knit plot unlike its predecessor Cilapatikaram, which testifies to the architectonic skill of Illango to Cattan himself, the story seems to be of lessor importance than the propagation of Buddhist thoughts.

It is more as repository of Buddhist logic, ethics and philosophy than artistic success that Manimekalai is remembered today.

And the author would have certainly felt rewarded by this kind of recognition accorded to his work.

Cattan the poet has envisioned Manimekalai as human like ourselves but divine in her soulful compassion.

The very bliss one earth is the result of a life of love and compassion.

Cattan's Manimekalai true to the Tamil literary tradition which swears by the essential oneness of mankind, universal love and viewing God as the very embodiment of love achieves his purpose.