Module 3 - CBSE

5. IḶAṄGŌ AḌIGAḶ (5 th –6 th century CE): Cilappatikāram
Cilappatikāram (pronounced Shilappadigāram) is the earliest epic poem in Tamil, written
in the 5 th –6 th century CE by Prince Iḷaṅgō Aḍigaḷ. The title means ‘The Jewelled Anklet’
or ‘The Story of the Anklet’. The epic’s plot is derived from a well-known story of
Kaṇṇagi, which is one of the five great epics of Tamil literary tradition. They are:
Maṇimēkalai
Vaḷaiyāpati
Cīvakacintāmaṇi
Kuṇḍalakēci
Cilappatikāram
The poet prince Iḷaṅgō Aḍigaḷ is believed to have been a Jain monk. Cilappatikāram is
a piece of highly regarded literary work. The three Sections constitute a total of 5,270
lines of poetry. The Cilappatikāram is a fine synthesis of mood poetry in ancient Tamil
Saṅgam tradition and the rhetoric of Sanskrit poetry.
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