The Bhikṣuṇī Maṇimēkhalai

132 - Other Views on the Philosophical Systems
refute heterodox ones. Similarly Śāttaṉār introduced Aṟavaṇa Aḍigaḷ
as the exponent of what he himself considered to be the essence of
Buddhism. As he is no Śāstrin, no professor of Philosophy, but a poet
and grain merchant, he naturally had to gather information from
different sources. This accounts for the occasional inconsistencies in
his ‘report’, e.g. ‘when first five Avayavas are taught (in accordance
with Akṣapāda and Vasubandhu) and afterwards the two last
Avayavas are included in dṛṣṭānta so that only three remain (as taught
by Dignāga); or when in chapter XXVII the Bauddha system is
reckoned among the six systems which are based on the six pramāṇas,
and in chapter XXIX Buddha is said to have admitted but two
pramāṇas.’
In the passage the first point that emerges is the character of the work
Maṇimēkhalai. Maṇimēkhalai is undoubtedly a romantic poem. But I
have taken pains to show that it is a romance based on historical
occurrences. [94] It at least seems to have been the traditional opinion
of the commentators that, while the treatment of the subject in the
work is of the character of a romance, the incidents narrated in it are
of the character of historical incidents. This is, to some extent,
supported by the fact that the author, who is described undoubtedly as
the grain merchant of Madura, was a contemporary of the Cēra king,
‘Śenguṭṭuvaṉ’, in whose court he was a much respected figure. He was
the particular friend of the Cēra king’s younger brother, Iḷangō, the
author of Śilappadhikāram, who more than once, in the body of the
work, refers to Śāttaṉār as a friend of his brother, the monarch.
Śenguṭṭuvaṉ is a character whose deeds are found described in works,
whose character as Śangam works is beyond cavil. The achievements
of this monarch are described in identical terms almost, in these two
romantic works as well as in a more or less definitely historical poem,
the Padirruppattu, by Paranar, a Śangam classic by common consent.