Ilango Adigal

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Ilango Adigal was a great tamil poet, who was instrumental in the creation of silappathikaram, one of the five great epics of South India. Prince Ilango Adigal was the brother of the Chera king Cheran Chenguttuvan (in modern day Kerala), in South India.

Ilango Adigal was born in the Chera dynasty that ruled Tamil Nadu, the southern state of India. He was the first son to his father, who should have ideally inherited the throne. But his interest in Jainism and keenness to promote it, made him to relinquish the throne. Senguttuvan his brother, became the king after his father's death.

However, we still remember Ilango and the Cheras more for the contribution to Tamil literature rather than for Senguttuvan's military expeditions, when he conquered the entire country. Ilango Adigal wrote Silapathikaram which was the first Tamil (or is it in any language) epic that was written about a common man. As a matter of fact, most of the tamil epics are all about common men and how they led their life rather than on kings and queens. A common man's story written by a King!

Silapathikaram was a heroine centric, Kannagi, subject that was also a first of its kind in a man centric world. Though Ilango was Jainism oriented, he never spoke about any of these principles in the book. However, its sequel the Manimegalai, written by Poet Seethalai Sathanar talks about the life and times of Madhavi who is one of the characters and part of the love triangle in Silapathikaram. In Manimegalai, Seethalai sathanar talks a lot about Jainism and its greatness.

Cilappatikaram by Ilango Adigal
Characters
Kannagi | Kovalan | Madhavi | Neduncheziyan | Manimekalai | Masattuvan | Vacavadattai | Kosigan | Madalan | Kavunthi Adigal | Kopperundevi
Other
Puhar | Madurai | Vanchi