full screen
Maṇimēkalai

Maṇimēkalai


     0     
5
4
3
2
1



Out of Stock


Notify me when this book is in stock
About the Book

Maṇimēkalai, one of the masterpieces of Tamil literature, gives us, a delightful insight into the ways of life, the pleasures, beliefs, and philosophical concepts of a refined civilization. The story relates the adventures of a dancing girl who becomes a convert to Buddhism. Maṇimēkalai calls into question many of our received ideas concerning ancient India as well as our interpretation of the sources of its present-day religion and philosophy. In its clear accounts of the philosophical concepts of the time, the Maṇimēkalai presents the various currents of pre-Aryan thought (mainly preserved by the Ajivika ascetics and Jain monks) which gradually influenced the Vedic Aryan world and became an essential part of it and, through Buddhism, spread over the whole of the Far East and Central Asia.
The society in which the action of the Maṇimēkalai takes place has little to do with the Aryanized civilization of the north which we know from Sanskrit texts. Although important cultural exchanges between the Aryan and Dravidian worlds had already taken place by this time, the latter was still able to maintain its independence, some of its features continuing even to our own times. The centre of religious and political power is the king. As in ancient China, the god's favour and the country's prosperity depend on the King's virtue. Spiritual and religious life is guided by sages, seers (rishis), who lead an ascetic life, living in the mountains or in secluded places. It appears that Dravidian society did not originally possess a priestly caste. However, during the Maṇimēkalai period, groups of Brahmans from the north had already established themselves in villages or parts of the towns, forming separate communities which were treated sometimes with respect and sometimes with hostility.
Author Cāttan, the author of the Maṇimēkalai, was a noble merchant well known as a poet and poetry critic and was one of the last members of the Sangam, the famous Academy of Tamil poets, whose beginnings are lost in history. Cāttan was the protégé of King Chera Senguttuvan who, according to Cilappatikāram, The Ankle Bracelet, reigned for more than fifty years and made numerous conquests.
He was also a friend of Prince Ilango Adigal, the author of The Ankle Bracelet, whose approval he received for this work, a continuation of that same story. He must also have had the approval of Aravaṇa Aṭikal, the great preacher of Buddhism in south India. The action takes place in the three southern kingdoms, whose dynasties fade into prehistory: in the west, the kingdom of Chera (nowadays Kerala); to the east, Chola or Cholamandala (Coromandel, in the Madras region); and in the south, Pandya, whose capital is Madura.
All the data agree in placing the Maṇimēkalai in the second century of our era. Starting from the end of the third century (A.D.295), the dominant power in the south of India belonged to the Pallavas, of Parthian origin, who came from Maratha country and spoke the Maharashtri dialect. They established themselves at Kanchi and subdued the three kingdoms of Chola, Pandya, and Chera.
The story is supposed to be a continuation of what has already been superbly treated by Iḷaṅkō. in his Cilappatikāram. Towards the end of the earlier epic, Kaṇṇaki takes revenge upon the Pandya King for having killed her husband unjustly by burning up the city of Madurai. Realising his folly, the king dies of shock; Kaṇṇaki is taken to heaven by some divine beings in a celestial car; Mātavi, the danseuse, joins the Buddhist order along with her daughter Maṇimēkalai.




Best Sellers



Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9789381744215
  • Publisher: Central Institute of Classical Tamil
  • Publisher Imprint: Central Institute of Classical Tamil
  • Height: 229 mm
  • No of Pages: 812
  • Spine Width: 41 mm
  • Weight: 1115 gr
  • ISBN-10: 9381744211
  • Publisher Date: 23 Jun 2021
  • Binding: Paperback
  • Language: English
  • Returnable: N
  • Sub Title: Text, Transliteration, Translations in English Verse and Prose
  • Width: 152 mm


Add Photo
Add Photo

Customer Reviews

REVIEWS      0     
Click Here To Be The First to Review this Product
Maṇimēkalai
Central Institute of Classical Tamil -
Maṇimēkalai
Writing guidlines
We want to publish your review, so please:
  • keep your review on the product. Review's that defame author's character will be rejected.
  • Keep your review focused on the product.
  • Avoid writing about customer service. contact us instead if you have issue requiring immediate attention.
  • Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product.
  • Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.

Maṇimēkalai

Required fields are marked with *

Review Title*
Review
    Add Photo Add up to 6 photos
    Would you recommend this product to a friend?
    Tag this Book Read more
    Does your review contain spoilers?
    What type of reader best describes you?
    I agree to the terms & conditions
    You may receive emails regarding this submission. Any emails will include the ability to opt-out of future communications.

    CUSTOMER RATINGS AND REVIEWS AND QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TERMS OF USE

    These Terms of Use govern your conduct associated with the Customer Ratings and Reviews and/or Questions and Answers service offered by Booksbay (the "CRR Service").


    By submitting any content to Booksbay, you guarantee that:
    • You are the sole author and owner of the intellectual property rights in the content;
    • All "moral rights" that you may have in such content have been voluntarily waived by you;
    • All content that you post is accurate;
    • You are at least 13 years old;
    • Use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity.
    You further agree that you may not submit any content:
    • That is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
    • That infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
    • That violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
    • That is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation;
    • For which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any unapproved third party;
    • That includes any information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers;
    • That contains any computer viruses, worms or other potentially damaging computer programs or files.
    You agree to indemnify and hold Booksbay (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.), harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.


    For any content that you submit, you grant Booksbay a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell, transfer, and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. Additionally,  Booksbay may transfer or share any personal information that you submit with its third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc. in accordance with  Privacy Policy


    All content that you submit may be used at Booksbay's sole discretion. Booksbay reserves the right to change, condense, withhold publication, remove or delete any content on Booksbay's website that Booksbay deems, in its sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of these Terms of Use.  Booksbay does not guarantee that you will have any recourse through Booksbay to edit or delete any content you have submitted. Ratings and written comments are generally posted within two to four business days. However, Booksbay reserves the right to remove or to refuse to post any submission to the extent authorized by law. You acknowledge that you, not Booksbay, are responsible for the contents of your submission. None of the content that you submit shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Booksbay, its agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners or third party service providers (including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.)and their respective directors, officers and employees.

    Accept

    New Arrivals



    Inspired by your browsing history


    Your review has been submitted!

    You've already reviewed this product!