Silappatikaram
Also known as: Cilappatikaram, Silappathikaram, Cilappatikāram, The Tale of an Anklet
A Tamil epic of love, injustice, and moral retribution: Kannagi’s husband Kovalan is wrongly executed in Madurai for a stolen anklet. Proving his innocence, Kannagi curses the city, later deified as Pattini while the Chera king enshrines her cult.
Description
Silappatikaram follows the merchant couple Kannagi and Kovalan from the Chola port of Puhar to the Pandya capital of Madurai, where Kovalan is executed after being accused of stealing the queen’s anklet. Kannagi proves his innocence by breaking her matching anklet to reveal rubies, exposes the royal error, and in righteous fury brings Madurai to ruin. The final book shifts to the Chera realm under King Senguttuvan, who, moved by Kannagi’s chastity and power, undertakes a northern expedition to consecrate a sacred stone and establish the Pattini (chaste wife) cult. Blending courtly life, festival scenes, ethical discourse, and civic catastrophe, the poem intertwines love, dharma, and statecraft across the three Tamil kingdoms.
Historiography
Preserved in medieval palm-leaf manuscripts and accompanied by substantial commentary, notably Adiyarkunallar’s Arumpada Urai (c. 12th–13th century), which informs structure and performance context. The work is one of the Five Great Epics of Tamil literature and shows layers of accretion from earlier Sangam traditions. Its three-book architecture (Puhar, Madurai, Vanchi) and 30 cantos suggest redactional shaping for recital. Reception has centered on Kannagi’s elevation to Pattini and the poem’s civic-ethical vision across Chola, Pandya, and Chera polities.
Date Notes
Traditional attribution to Ilango Adigal; scholarly estimates range from early centuries CE to as late as the 5th century; likely redacted from earlier materials.
Major Characters
- Kannagi
- Kovalan
- Madhavi
- Neduncheliyan
- Senguttuvan
Myths
- Kovalan and Madhavi
- The Anklet and the Wrongful Execution
- Kannagi’s Curse on Madurai
- Deification of Kannagi
Facts
- One of the Five Great Epics of Tamil literature, alongside Manimekalai and others.
- Structured in three books (Puhar, Madurai, Vanchi) comprising thirty cantos.
- Centers on Kannagi, whose chastity and moral force overturn royal injustice.
- Features detailed ethnographic scenes of guilds, festivals, and urban life in Puhar.
- Kovalan is executed after a royal goldsmith frames him for stealing the queen’s anklet.
- Kannagi proves innocence by revealing the gemstones within her anklet, precipitating Madurai’s destruction.
- Senguttuvan of the Cheras institutionalizes Kannagi’s worship as Pattini with a consecrated stone image.
- Jain ascetic Kavunti plays a pivotal role guiding the protagonists on their journey.
- Adiyarkunallar’s medieval commentary is a key source for interpretation and performance context.
- The poem dramatizes ideals of righteous kingship, civic ethics, and the potency of feminine virtue.