Ainkurunuru - Poems On Land Name Marutham (Tamil)

Foreword We may be justly proud of the fact that Tamil has won the status of a classical language, an honor it richly deserves and should have got long, long ago. The Central Institute of Classical Tamil (CICT), established in Chennai, has mapped out various plans including preparation of critical editions of forty-one ancient Tamil texts and translation of these works into English and other major European languages as well as into scheduled Indian languages and writing of a historical grammar of Tamil. Language being the autobiography of a people, our objective is to preserve and safeguard the invaluable treasure of the literary compositions in our language. If only we could delve into our past and recover the riches and wealth of the mighty treasure trove of Classical Tamil poetry, the entire mankind will be amply rewarded by its lofty poetry which will certainly strengthen and purify the holiness of heart's affection and enlarge and enrich our imagination. Distinguished western critics such as Kamil V. Zvelebil, R.E. Asher and George L. Hart, well-versed in various classical and modern languages, are unanimous in their view that Sangam writings are "unsurpassed in world literature." Tirukkum I, unequalled as a work on the art of living, is the greatest gift the world has received from any nation or race or people in the world.

It is, therefore, heartening to write this foreword to the series of publications being brought out by CICT, which I am sure, will do full justice to the masterpieces in Tamil without compromising on the quality of production. The Sangam corpus being a repository of our glorious culture, it behaves our present and future generations to study them and to convey their message and the vision of life embodied in them to the public at large. I am most happy to note that the Critical Edition Project of CICT has taken upon itself the arduous task of bringing out definitive editions of all the forty-one Classical Tamil texts chosen for close study and research. This means years of labor of love involving collection, collation and interpretation of several palm-leaf and paper manuscripts of each of those texts composed at least two millennia ago. The present work is such an edition of the Marutam Hundred of AinkurunCuu, a jewel of an anthology in which each poem consisting of three to six lines is a marvel of aesthetic delight.

Let me commend this volume and the rest of the series to the enlightened beings the world over.

I convey my hearty wishes to the Director Mr. A. Palanivel and the Registrar Prof. Muhilai Rajapandian who have rendered their time and whole hearted involvement for the publication of the Critical Edition of Airikulunatu Marutam.

Preface One of the eight anthologies of what is called Sangam literature; AilicuninCnu ("Five Hundred Short Poems") is a collection of love poems which range in length from three to six lines each. A marvel achieved by the great classical Tamil poets, the text consists of five sections, each having one hundred gems and focusing on one of the five tiriais of reciprocal love known as marutam, neytal, kurifici, ',alai and mullai. The anthology, reported to have been commissioned by a Cara king and compiled by Pulatturai murriya kfitahar kilar, presents the work of five poets, each contributing one hundred pieces on the poetic landscape in which he was an acknowledged virtuoso.

The present volume is the first definitive edition of the Marutam Hundred of Auk/aunt-mu which is the product of months and months of hard work by a team of specialists that attempted to arrive at the original text after consulting, collating, and interpreting all the available palm leaf and paper manuscripts.

This edition was prepared with painstaking efforts by Dr. K.V. Balasubramaniam who has done Central Institute of Classical Tamil after consulting palm leaf manuscripts acquired through digitization from different parts of the world.

Prof. K.G. Venkataraman and Mr. K. Padamanabhan who participated in the editing of this work are no more. I convey my heartiest thanks to the departed souls.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages