Ciṟupāṇāṟṟuppaṭai
சிறுபாணாற்றுப்படை
About the Work
A short poetical work in 269 lines of akaval metre, Ciṟupāṇāṟṟuppaṭai is one of the the ten idylls. The poem contains a moving portrayal of the poverty that nags a minstrel and his family. Despite abject poverty, the minstrel and his family members hold aloft the self- respect and honour the characterize the bardic community. As in other poems of āṟṟuppaṭai group, the bard is directed to a patron king, in this instance, Nalliyakkōṭaṉ of Ōymā Nāṭu who belongs to the ōviyar clan. The poet who has composed this song is Iṭaikkaḻināṭṭu Nallūr Nattattaṉār. Ciṟupāṇāṟṟuppaṭai contains invaluable information on ancient Tamil Nadu polity. It refers to chiefs like Pēkaṉ, Pāri, Kāri, Āy, Atikamāṉ, Naḷḷi and Ōri, and to cities like Vēlūr, Āmūr and Eyil, as well as the Chera, Chola and Pandya cities. It is in Ciṟupāṇāṟṟuppaṭai that the reference to the Chera king Kuṭṭuvaṉ, planting his emblem on the Himalayas, is found.