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- C01241 பரணி LITERATURE
Bharani Literature is one of the different types of Tamil literature. Valor and war are the basis of this literature. During the Sangam period, a number of poems were written about war. A collection of these came to be called புறநானூறு. These were in the form of separate poems. When heroic exploits developed as சிற்றிலக்கியம், they took the form of Bharani literature. Durga (Kottravai) was the Goddess of Victory. Sangam literature, like the Greek epics, speaks of the participation of supernatural elements in the battles waged by men. All these details can be learnt from Bharani literature.
Bharani is the name of a star. It is also supposed to be the day on which the elephant was born; a day sacred to Goddess Durga and Lord Yama, the God of Death. A man born under the planetary influence of Bharani was believed to become a warrior. Hence, literature which glorified the heroic exploits involving the slaying of a thousand elephants, came to be called Bharani literature.
Typical Bharani literature has ten characteristics. Some works, especially the later ones, may have certain additional characteristics. But they are exceptions rather than the rule. Kalingaththubharani is the earliest example of Bharani literature which is available to us. It was written by Sayangkondhar. The Chola king Kulothungan I won the Kalinga War, and his court poet Jayangkondar composed Kalingaththubharani as a celebration of this victory.
The protagonist of kalingaththubharani was Kulothungan I. He was the son of the Chola princess Ammangai and the Chalukya Prince Rajaraja Narendran. After the death of Kulothungan's uncle, Veerarajendra Cholan, his son Adhirajendran ascended the throne. But he too died soon after. The Chola kingdom was without a royal heir. To avert any untoward happenings, Kulothunga Cholan, a descendant of the Chalukyas, became the king.
This lesson teaches you what Bharani literature is, The origin of its name, its characteristics, its subsequent development, its author, its protagonist and its literary merits are also covered in this lesson.