Silappatikaram

The Silappatikaram (“The Lay of the Anklet,” c. 2nd century CE), attributed to the Jain prince-poet Ilango Adigal, is Tamil’s first great epic — the tragedy of Kannagi and Kovalan that made a woman’s fidelity a goddess, and gave South Indian literature its model of the epic.

Overview

One of the Five Great Epics (aimperumkappiyam) of Tamil; its hero and heroine are merchant-caste lovers of Puhar; the epic’s arc — Kovalan’s fall with the dancer Madhavi, the couple’s flight to Madurai, Kovalan’s execution on a false theft charge, and Kannagi’s curse that burns the Pandyan city — fuses love, justice, and divine fury.

Content and Structure

Three books (Puharakkandam, Maduraikkandam, Vanchikkandam) in thirteen? — cantos; the akam-puram poetry’s integration (love and public worlds), the venba? — the akaval meter’s mastery; the famous epilogue principles (the epic’s four aims including “to show dharma’s power”).

Significance

Kannagi became Pattini, the goddess of chastity worshiped across Sri Lanka and South India; the epic is the fountain of Tamil literary aesthetics (its commentaries anchor the tradition); Madurai’s Meenakshi temple’s festival drama still re-enacts the burning.

Verification notes

• Attribution to Ilango (with the brother-of-the-king legend) is traditional; dating is scholarly estimate.
• Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).