cittaantarettinam Dr.S.Sundarabalu Assistant Professor Department of Linguistics Bharathiar University Coimbatore-46 India Sunder_balu@yahoo.co.in 9715769995

1. PathuPattu (Tamil: பத்துப்பாட்டு)
cittaantarettinam Dr.S.Sundarabalu
Assistant Professor
Department of Linguistics
Bharathiar University
Coimbatore-46
India
Sunder_balu@yahoo.co.in
9715769995

2. The following are known as Pathuppattu. The following are known as Ettuthokai.
1 Thirumurukarruppadai 1 Narrinai
2 Porunararruppadai 2 Kurunthokai
3 Perumpanarruppadai 3 Aynkurunuru
4 Sirupanarruppadai 4 Pathirruppathu
5 Mullaippattu 5 Paripadal
6 Maduraikanchi 6 Kalithokai
7 Nedunalvadai 7 Agananuru
8 Kurinchippattu 8 Purananuru
9 Pattinappalai
10 Malaipadukadam
2

3. • PathuPattu (Tamil: பத்துப்பாட்டு) – The ten Idylls, is
an anthology of ten mid length books and is one of
the oldest surviving Tamil Poetry. This collection is
considered part of the Sangam Literature and dated
approximately between 300 BCE and 200 CE.
• This collection had been lost for some centuries
until U.V.Swaminatha Iyer travelled around Tamil
Nadu in the late nineteenth century to collect
ancient palm-leaf manuscripts.

4. • The PathuPattu collection contains lengthy and
picturesque descriptions of the Tamil country and
its seasons. Most of them are in the form of
Aarruppatai, a literary device by which a poet or a
minstrel (A medieval entertainer who travelled from place to place, especially to sing and recite poetry. ) who
has received bountiful(numerous) gifts from some
wealthy patron is supposed to direct another to
the same Maecenas((miːˈsiːnæs- a wealthy patron of the arts).
• This gives the occasion to the poet, among other
topics, to describe in great detail the natural beauty,
fertility, and resources of the territory that has to be
traversed to reach the palace of the patron. The
Aarruppatai is of a piece with Tamil realism and
describes the journey as experienced by a human
traveller, and that on dry land.

5. • 1.Tirumurugarruppatai(Tamil: திருமுருகாற்றுப்படை) by
Nakkirar,a Tamil poetic work, is one of the most
important works of Sangam Literature. It is the first
poem of the Pattupattu anthology.
• Tirumurugarruppatai follows the Arruppadtai style.
The poems in this book were composed towards
the end of the Sangam period - between the fifth
and the sixth centuries C.E. Tirumurugarruppatai is
also called Pulavararuppatai.

6. • 2.Porunaraatruppadai,(Tamil: பபாருநராற்றுப்படை) is a
Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku
anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the
Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE
– 100 CE.
• Porunaraatruppadai contains 250 lines of poems in
the Achiriyappa meter. The poems were written by
the poet Mutathaamakkanniyaar in praise of the
Chola king Karikala Chola.

7. • 3.Perumpanarruppatai,(Tamil:பபரும்பாணாற்றுப்படை) is a
Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku
anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the
Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE
– 100 CE. Perumpanarruppatai contains 500 lines of
poetry in the Achiriyappa meter.
• The poems were written by the poet Kadiyalur
Uruttirangannanar in praise of king Tondaiman
Ilandiraiyan.

8. • 4.Cirupanarruppatai,(Tamil:சிறுபாணாற்றுப்படை) is
a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku
anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the
Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE
– 100 CE.
• Cirupanarruppatai contains 269 lines of poetry in
the Achiriyappa meter. The poems were written by
the poet Nathattanaar in praise of a minor Velir
tribal chief named Nalliyakkotan, a Nāka king of
Nāka Nadu (ancient Malabar North Ceylon).

9. • 5.Mullaippattu,(Tamil: முல்டைப்பாட்டு) is a Tamil
poetic work in the Ettuthokai anthology of Sangam
literature, belonging to the Sangam period
corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE.
"Mullaippattu" contains 103 lines of poetry in the
Akaval meter. The poems were written by the poet
Nappoothanaar.

10. • The subject matter of "Mullaippattu" is classified as
akam, the Sangam literature's classification of the
subjective matters such as love and human
relationship. "Mullaippattu" is a pure love poem,
and talks about the heroine longing for the hero
who had left her to fight a war.
• In the olden days the soldiers used come back to
their home country during the rainy season to look
after their primary profession of agriculture.
• The heroine laments(literature, music a song, poem, piece of music etc in which sadness is
expressed about a death or loss) that although the rainy season had
already started, the her lover hadn't returned from
battle. The description of the country in the rainy
season is particularly enjoyable in this book.

11. • 6.Mathuraikkanci,(Tamil: மதுடைக் காஞ்சி) is a Tamil
poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology
of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period
corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE.
• Mathuraikkanci contains 583 lines of poetry in the
Achiriyappa meter. The poems were written by the
poet Mankuti Maruthanaar in praise of the Pandya
king Nedunchezhiyan on the occasion of his victory
at the battle of Talayanankanam.

12. • 7.Netunalvatai,(Tamil: பநடுநல்வாடை, neṭunalvāṭai,
Long Pleasant Breeze of Winter) is a Tamil poetic
work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of
Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period
corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE.
• Netunalvatai contains 188 lines of poetry in the
akaval meter. The poet Nakkirar wrote
Netunalvatai. Netunalvatai poems belong to the
Akam, or subjective themes of love and human
relationships and utilises the location of the story to
spins a bright picture of the ancient Tamil country.

13. • Netunalvatai contains descriptions of the palace of
the Pandya king Nedeunchezhiyan.
• Meaning of Netunalvadai:Netunalvatai in keeping
with its name, has the theme of the vatai, or cold
breeze. The two adjectives netu and nal to the
vatai breeze mean long and good.

14. • Nature of Netunalvatai:The story of Netunalvatai is
about the heroine who prays to the goddess for the
return of her lover from the battlefield. Seeing the
suffering of the heroine, her maids (A virgin) in the
palace also pray to the goddess for the hero to
quickly win the battle and return home to their
mistress(A woman who has a continuing sexual relationship with a usually married man who is not her
husband and from whom she generally receives material support.).
• Around this centre core, the poet paints a beautiful
picture with descriptions of the heroine's palace,
the hero in the battlefield and the description of
the cool breeze that flows through the palace and
the battlefield to cool the hearts of the pining
lovers.

15. • The cool breeze with the hint of rain, moisture
carrying, spreads everywhere. This breeze promises
rain and brings coolness to the weather making the
shepherds and their flock shiver. The monkeys in
the forest are hurt by the cold weather, birds struck
by the coolness fall from the sky; suckling calves are
turned away by the cows. The cold weather flowing
through the streets of the towns spread the people
and drive them indoors.

16. • Only drunks are to be found in the streets. They are
so inebriated they cannot feel the cold. The cold
weather darkens the sky so that the people have no
means of telling the time to light the lamps. The
cruel cold breeze flows through the battlefield
keeping the hero awake. He goes around at
midnight to converse with his wounded soldiers and
look at his horses.

17. • 8.Kurincippattu (Tamil: குறிஞ்சிப்பாட்டு)
"Kurincippattu" contains 261 lines of poems in the
Achiriyappa meter.
• Kurincippattu tells the story about the love affair
between the hero and the heroine. The poems
were written by the poet Kapilar. An ancient note at
the end of this poem notes that Kapilar wrote this
to explain the beauty of Tamil poetry to a north
Indian king names Brhadatta.
• "Kurincippattu" describes the kurinchi landscape of
the mountainous landscape and mentions almost
100 different plant names. Some of these are Atumpu (Ipomoea pes-
caprae), Aati (Lablab bean), pinti (Saraca indica), tumpai (Leucas aspera) and nanti
(Ervatamia divaricata)

18. • The hero and the heroine fall in love. They do not
want their parents to know of this relationship.
Perhaps they fear their disapproval. Perhaps they
are attracted by the forbidden(illegal)! The hero and
the heroine try to arrange frequent secret meeting,
but sometimes it is impossible. Whenever she
cannot meet with her dear lover, she pines (painz)
for him and harsh environment away.

19. • Her parents are at a loss to the reasons for her
apparent sickness. They try various remedies but
the heroine shows no sign of recovery. Such state
of affair lasts for a while and one day a friend of the
heroine come to her parents and divulges (something private or secret)
the reason for heroine's 'sickness‘(pacalai). She
makes known the secret affair of the hero and the
heroine, but in a manner that makes the parents
feel favourable towards the love affair.

21. • 9.Paṭṭiṉappālai,(Tamil: பட்டினப் பாடை)
• Pattinappaalai contains 301 lines of poetry in the
akaval meter. Pattinappaalai was written by the
poet Uruttirangannanar in praise of the Chola king
Karikala. Pattinappaalai poems belong to the Akam,
or subjective themes of love and human
relationships and utilises the location of the story to
sing praises of the ruler.

22. • Pattinappaalai contains vivid descriptions of the
ancient Chola capital of Kaveripattinam (Puhar),
which was located at the mouth of the river Kaveri.
Food from Eelam is imported to the Chola country
at the port. The flourishing sea-trade and the antics
of Yavanas, the merchants from ancient Greece and
Rome, their living quarters, etc. are colourfully
described by the poet.

23. • The story in Pattinappaalai is about the hero who has
to travel away from Puhar in order to earn his
livelihood. But he is uncertain, as he knows that his
lover will be forlorn(lonely) in his absence.
Pattinappaalai is the soliloquy (a character talks to himself ) of
the hero in which he addresses himself: "O heart! I will
not leave the prosperous Puhar to go abroad looking
for wealth. The way in which one needs to travel is a
paalai land (wasteland). It is as trust (treacherous) as Karikala's
sword. My lover is tender hearted as Karikala's
reign(rule). I will never leave my dear lover".
• This, the entire story of Pattinappaalai forms a mere six
lines of poetry. The rest of the poem is devoted to the
description of Puhar and of Karikala's might and valour.

24. • 10.Malaipatukatam,(Tamil: மடைபடுகைாம்) is a Tamil
poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology
of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period
corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE.
Malaipatukatam contains 583 lines of poetry in the
Achiriyappa meter.
• The poems were written by the poet
Perunkosikanaar from Perunkunrur. In praise of a
minor chieftain named Nannan Venmaan.
Malaipatukatam belongs to the Pattupattu
collection and follows the Arruppadtai style, a
device used by most of the books in the Pattupattu
collection.

25. • Malaipatukatam describes the various sounds
generated and echoed in a mountainous terrain and
uses the analogy of an elephant for the mountain to
explain these sounds. It also describes the lifestyle
of the folk dancers of the ancient Tamil country