>Bhagya sri113 at 12:39, 18 March 2021

2021-03-18T12:39:52Z

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{{Sangam literature}}
{{italic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
'''''Kalittokai''''' ({{lang-ta|கலித்தொகை}} meaning ''the kali-metre anthology'') is a classical [[Tamil language|Tamil]] poetic work and the sixth of [[Eight Anthologies]] (''Ettuthokai'') in the [[Sangam literature]].{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=119–120}} It is an "akam genre – love and erotic – collection par excellence", according to Kamil Zvelebil – a Tamil literature and history scholar.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=119–120}} The anthology contains 150 poems and was compiled by one of the authors named Nallantuvanar.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=119–120}}{{sfn|Takanobu Takahashi|1995|pp=2, 18-19}} The collection has a different tone, metre and style than earlier Sangam literature, evidence that it is a late Sangam work, likely from the 3rd-century CE or after.{{sfn|Takanobu Takahashi|1995|pp=2, 18-19}}{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=28–29, 46, 117, 119–120}} [[Naccinarkiniyar]], a Tamil scholar who lived during the 14th-century CE, has commented on this work.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=119–120}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Ta Irācēcuvari|title=Kalittokai: mūlamum Naccinārkkin̲iyar uraiyum|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_JhLvwEACAAJ|year=2015|publisher=École Française D'extrême-Orient|isbn=9782855391540}}</ref>

It is unclear whether the ''Kalittokai'' was authored by more than one author. Some scholars attribute the collection to five authors, including one by the famed Sangam poet [[Kapilar]].{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=119–120}}{{sfn|Takanobu Takahashi|1995|pp=2, 18-19}} Others, such as S.V. Damodaram Pillai and K.N. Sivaraja Pillai consider it the work of one poet.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|p=123}}

The ''Kalittokai'' anthology uses the ''kali'' [[Poetic metre|metre]] of varied length. This metre is more advanced and complex than the akaval metre found in earlier Sangam poetry. The kali metre combines ''aciriyam'' and ''venpa'', creating opportunities to set dialogues within the metre. The poets who composed the ''Kalittokai'' created what comes across as a "one-act plays", sometimes with "coarse, spicy, racy, rude, bawdy, or humorous" dialogues, states Zvelebil.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=119–122}} According to Herman Tieken, these compositions are examples of ''lasya'' minor dance scenes as described in the chapters 19 and 31 of the ''[[Natyasastra]]''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Herman Tieken|editor=Karin Steiner and Heidrun Brückner|title=Indisches Theater: Text, Theorie, Praxis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eKHyuRmRQN0C |year=2010|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-06186-5|pages=66–67}}</ref> The ''kali'' metre has several structural subtypes, each suited for different literary purposes.<ref>{{cite book|author=V. S. Rajam|title=A Reference Grammar of Classical Tamil Poetry (150 B.C.--pre-fifth/sixth Century A.D.)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n6VhXLdmdKkC |year=1992|publisher=American Philosophical Society|isbn=978-0-87169-199-6|pages=181–186}}</ref>

The poems include cultured love situations, as well as erotics, folkmotifs and vulgar situations.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=119–120}} Its poems are categorised into the five ''tinais'' according to the mood and subject matter conforming to the [[Sangam landscape]]. The first part (2-36) deals with ''paalai'' setting, the second (37-65) with ''kurinchi'', the third (66-100) with ''marutam'', the fourth (101-117) with ''mullai'' and the fifth (118-150) with ''neital''. These five section were each written by a separate author. Perunkadunkon wrote the ''paalai'' songs, the poet Kapilar is attributed to the ''kurinchi'', Ilanaagan the ''marutham'' songs, Nalluruthiran the ''mullai'' songs and the poet nallanthuvan the ''neithal'' songs.

The ''Kalittokai'' poems are notable for the relatively higher number of [[Sanskrit]] loan words, lexical and structural innovations, the practice of quoting lines of earlier poems such as ''Kuṟuntokai 18.5'', and the lack the names of chieftains, kings or poets.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=122–123}} The anthology is also notable for including allusions and references to pan-Indian love and moral legends found in Epics– and Puranas–genre Sanskrit texts. According to Zvelebil, some examples in the ''Kalittokai'' include Duryodhana's evil plans to kill the Pandava brothers in poem 25, the battle of Murugan and Surapadma in poem 27, Ravana of Ramayana epic in poem 38, Bhima in poem 52, Krishna killing Kansa in poems 52 and 134, Shiva's legends in poems 101 and 150, the love story of Urvasi and Tilottama in poem 109, among others.{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=122–123}}

The poems of ''Kalithogai'' show evidence of the [[Ancient Tamil music|ancient music]] of the Tamil people with its rhythmic phrases.{{cn|date=October 2019}}

==Examples==
{{quote|
<poem>
O dwarf, standing piece of timber,
you've yet to learn the right approach
to girls. Humans do not copulate
at noon: but you come now to hold
our hand and ask us to your place.
– ''Kalittokai 94'' (partial), Translator: A.K. Ramanujan{{sfn|Kamil Zvelebil|1973|pp=120–121}}
</poem>
}}

{{Verse translation|italicsoff=y|
{{lang|ta|ஆற்றுதல்' என்பது, ஒன்று அலந்தவர்க்கு உதவுதல்;
போற்றுதல்' என்பது, புணர்ந்தாரை பிரியாமை;
பண்பு' எனப்படுவது, பாடு அறிந்து ஒழுகுதல்;
அன்பு' எனப்படுவது, தன் கிளை செறாஅமை;
அறிவு' எனப்படுவது, பேதையார் சொல் நோன்றல்;
செறிவு' எனப்படுவது, கூறியது மறாஅமை;
நிறை' எனப்படுவது, மறை பிறர் அறியாமை;
முறை' எனப்படுவது, கண்ணோடாது உயிர் வௌவல்;
பொறை' எனப்படுவது, போற்றாரை பொறுத்தல்.}}
|attr1=''Kalithogai 133''|
Goodness is helping one in distress;
Support is not deserting one who is dependent;
Culture is to act in unison with the ways of the world;
Love is not surrendering ties with one’s kin;
Wisdom is to ignore the advice of the ignorant;
Honesty is not to go back on one’s words;
Integrity is to ignore others’ faults;
Justice is awarding punishment without partiality;
Patience is to suffer the ill-disposed.|attr2=Translated by C.K. Swaminathan}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

;Bibliography
{{refbegin|}}
* Mudaliyar, Singaravelu A., Apithana Cintamani, An encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature, (1931) - Reprinted by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi (1983)
* {{cite book|title=Tamil Literature|last=Pillai|first=M. S. Purnalingam|year=1994|pages=115|publisher=Asian Educational Services|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QIeqvcai5XQC&pg=PA115|isbn=81-206-0955-7}}
* {{cite book|title=The archaeology of seafaring in ancient South Asia|last=Ray|first=Himanshu Prabha |year=2003|publisher=Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge|location=Cambridge|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=iHHzP4uVpn4C |isbn=9780521011099}}
* Selby, Martha Ann (2011) Tamil Love Poetry: The Five Hundred Short Poems of the Aiṅkuṟunūṟu, an Early Third-Century Anthology. Columbia University Press, {{ISBN|9780231150651}}
*{{cite book|author=Takanobu Takahashi|title=Tamil Love Poetry and Poetics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wgCHuVGyZoEC|year=1995|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=90-04-10042-3}}
* {{cite book|author=Kamil Zvelebil|title=The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=degUAAAAIAAJ|year=1973|publisher=BRILL|isbn=90-04-03591-5}}
* {{cite book|title=Companion studies to the history of Tamil literature|last=Zvelebil|first=Kamil|author-link=Kamil Zvelebil|year=1992|pages=73|publisher=BRILL|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qAPtq49DZfoC&pg=PA73|isbn=90-04-09365-6}}
{{refend}}

{{Tamil language}}
[[Category:Sangam literature]]

[[ta:தமிழ் இலக்கியம்]]

Kalittokai - Revision history

>Bhagya sri113 at 12:39, 18 March 2021