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Lesson - 5
D03135 Principles of Poetry - ‘Vaidaruppam’-II
This lesson defines the 3 types of poetic languages and discusses the impact of Sanskrit on Tamil grammar. Lesson 4 discussed 5 principles of ‘vaidauppa neri’- viz, ‘serivu’, ‘thelivu’, ‘samanilai’, ‘inbam’ and ‘ozhugisai’ with suitable examples. This lesson defines and illustrates the other 5 features of ‘vaidauppa neri’, namely, ‘udaaram’, ‘uythalil porunmai’, ‘kantham’, ‘vali’ and ‘samathi’.
According to the ancient text ‘Kaaviyadarisam’, there are 3 types of poetic languages: viz, ‘Sanskrit’, ‘Prakrit’ and ‘Abappiranjam’. ‘Sanskrit’, a North Indian language, was deemed the language of the gods. ‘Prakriti’ was described as the language of the cosmmon man and it differed from region to region. ‘Abappiranjam’ was the language of the lower classes. ‘Prakrit’ was classified as ‘Tharpavam’, ‘Tharchamam’ and Desiyam’. Under the influence of Sanskrit, Tamil acquired ‘Tharpavam’ and ‘Tharchamam’ words and other loan words from North Indian languages. As a result, there was a need to understand the ‘ani ilakkanam’ in Sanskrit. Hence the ‘ani ilakkanam’ in Sanskrit was either translated into Tamil or books were written based on it.
‘Udaaram’, ‘uythalil porunmai’, ‘kantham’, ‘vali’ and ‘samathi’ are the last 5 features of ‘Vaidaruppa Neri’. ‘Udaaram’ is the technique of suggestion. Allowing the reader to infer the meaning of a verse by implicit suggestion is called ‘Udaaram’. When the words in the verse are self-explanatory, that is, when it is not necessary to add words to a verse in order to understand its meaning, the verse is said to possess ‘uythalil porunmai’. ‘Kantham’ is the technique of exalting something without exaggerating. While the poet may use his imagination to describe something in lofty terms, he also remains within the bounds of realism. Incorporating a moderate number of ‘thogai sol’ or ellipsis in a verse is called ‘Vali’. ‘Samaathi’ is similar to mixed metaphors. It is the technique of combining seemingly disparate or incompatible elements in a verse.
‘Vaidaruppam’ and ‘Kaudam’ which are the 2 important types of poetic principles share certain similarities. Of the 10 characteristic features attributed to both, ‘Ozhugisai’, ‘Porul Inbam’, ‘Udaaram’ and ‘Samaathi’ are similar in both. The lesson also draws a list of the differences between ‘Vaidaruppam’ and ‘Kaudam’.