190 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XIII. 



A HALF-HOUR WITH TWO ANCIENT 

 TAMIL POETS. 



By the Hon. P. Coomaraswamy. 



The Paper which I propose to read to-night consists of a 

 translation, somewhat free and short, of two poems : one by 

 Kapilar and the other by Mudattdmakkanniydr, both of 

 which form part of the collection known as Pattupdttu, 

 or the Ten Poems. 



Kurinjippdttu, by some said to be known also as Perun- 

 kurinji, was composed, according to the famous commentator 

 Naccinarkkiniyar, in order to complete the Tamil education 

 of a certain Arya prince by name Pirakattan* who, 

 judging from the poem, was perhaps the ruler of a moun- 

 tainous district. The poem consists of 260 lines, and 

 makes mention of many different trees, shrubs, and flowers, 

 such as seldom occur in other Tamil poems. In this 

 translation I have omitted them, as those who seek 

 information on the subject can easily consult the original. 

 The author of this poem was Kapilar, the brother of 

 Tirivalluvar, whose Rural is well known. Kapilar* s age 

 must be fixed prior to the second half of the second century 

 of the Christian era. At page 149, vol. XIII., 1894, of this 

 Society's Journal, my statement that Kapilar and Paranar 

 were contemporaries, and that Paranar received presents 

 from the Cher a king Senkuttuvan, whom Gaja Balm I. of 

 Ceylon visited, will be found. This visit took place between 

 113 and 135 of the year of Christ, as that was the period of 

 the reign of the latter monarch, according to the list of kings 

 given in p. iv. of Wijesinha Mudaliyar's edition of the 

 Mahawansa. 



* I give this name as it is spelt in Tamil, as I am not certain what the 

 Sanskrit equivalent is : query PrahaH a. 



