THE HISTORY OP MANIKKA-VACAQAE. 89 



I shall give the story as I find it. 



The sage was born at the town which goes by tlie name 

 of Tiru-Vdthavur on the river Vaigai, near to Madura, and it 

 is said that in consequence the name given to him by his 

 parents was Tiru-Vdthavurar (= He of Sacred Vdthavur). 

 This is very doubtful. But he has two other names, as will 

 appear in the sequel. The epithet by which he is chiefly 

 known is Manikka-VaQagar (S. Manikka-Va^agar = "he 

 whose utterances are rubies ") ; and the title of his poems 

 is Tiru-Va^agam (= divine utterance). His father was a 

 Brahman of the Amattiya tribe (S. Amatya = Councillor), 

 whose name is not recorded. The king of Madura at the 

 time was Arimarttanar (S. Crusher of foes).* 



The boy is represented as being from the first a prodigy of 

 intellect, and it is gravely stated that in his sixteenth year he 

 had exhausted the circle of ordinary Brahmanical learning, 

 and especially was consummately learned in the Agamas^ 

 of the Qaiva, system. The fame of his learning and genius 

 soon reached the king, who sent for him, conceived a 

 vehement affection for him, and constituted him his prime 

 minister, giving him the title of Tennavan-Brahma-Eayan 

 (= The Pancliyan's Brahman king). 



The poet {Kadavul Mahdmwii) now invites us to contem- 

 plate the young and brilHant courtier as enjoying all the 

 splendid luxury of Indra, King of gods, and shining amongst 

 the other ministers and courtiers of the Pandiyan kingdom 

 " like a bright silver moon come down from heaven to earth, 

 and moving resplendent in the midst of the surrounding 

 stars." He is arrayed in royal garments " refulgent with 

 the lustre of innumerable gems, born aloft in a sumptuous 

 litter, surrounded with horses and elephants, overshadowed 

 by a white umbrella of state rivalling the moon in the 

 heavens." The king, who is the incarnation of Justice, 

 Wisdom and Benevolence, leaves the government of the 

 country absolutely in his hands. Yet the balance of his 

 equal mind is not disturbed by all this luxury and absolute 



* This king is given in the Madura lists as the tenth before Kuna (or 

 Sundara) Pdndh/an, in whose time Samhhandar flourished. This would 

 place Mdnikka- Vdgagar about 150 to 200 years before this latter, 

 Sundara Pandiyan's date is fiercely disputed. About 1030 a.d. seems to 

 me the safest guess. 



t The Agamas are said to be sacred writings inculcating (^aiVa doctrines 

 and of equal authority with the Vedas. The names of twenty-eight of 

 these are given. They were much later than the Upanishads. 



H 2 



