Manimekhalai

Manimekalai (Tamil: மணிமேகலை), by the poet Chithalai Chathanar, is one of The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature according to later Tamil literary tradition.Manimekalai is a poem in 30 cantos. Its story is a sequel to another of the Five Great Epics, Silappatikaram, and tells the story of the daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi, who became a Buddhist nun.

There is some controversy about the exact date of this work. S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar believed it must have been composed before the 5th century. Paula Richman believes it was composed in the 6th century CE. According to Hikosaka (1989), Manimekalai was written between A.D. 890 and 950, an inference based on linguistic assessment.

The aim of the author, Seethalai Saathanar (or Cīttalai Cāttanār) was to compare Buddhism favourably with the other prevailing religions in South India in order to propagate Buddhism. He criticizes Hinduism, and exposes the weaknesses of the other contemporary Indian religions, while praising the Buddha's Teaching, the Dharma, as the most perfect religion.

As a continuation of Silappatikaram (Tamil: சிலப்பதிகாரம்), this epic describes how Manimekalai, the beautiful daughter of Kovalan and Madhavi, follower of local deities later included in Hinduism, converted to Buddhism. According to the poem, Maṇimekalai studies the six systems of philosophy of Hinduism and other prevalent religions of the time and compares them to the teachings of the Buddha. She is most impressed with Buddhism which treats everyone equal with loving kindness and fraternity. Later, upon hearing doctrinal expositions from the Buddhist teacher Bhikshu Aravaṇa Aḍigal, she becomes a dedicated Bhikshuni or Buddhist nun. Manimekhalai fully practices the Buddha's teachings and attains the highest stage of Buddhist spiritual knowledge or attainment, i.e. she became an arhant. The Manimekhalai poem thus is an example of female spiritual empowerment within a culture wherein otherwise there were few options for women. Pandit Iyothee Thass (1845-1914) revealed more about Manimekalai as "Arachchelvi" (Female Arhant) and documented some original poems written by Seeththalai Saththanar, which are not available in the Manimekalai as edited by U.V. Swaminatha Iyer who allegedly left out some of the original poems.

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