EAP810/2/1/13

Titles in original script:

நூல் 1: வள்ளியம்மை நாடக காவடி சிந்துநூல் 2: திருபோரூர் முருகன் எச்சரிக்கைநூல் 3: சரணம்நூல் 4: கட்டியம்;

The manuscript is composed of four texts devoted to Lord Murukaṉ. It is in excellent state, slightly affected by larvae.

Text 1- The text, written in verses, is composed of 55 palm leaves numbered from 1 to 55. Entitled Vaḷḷiyammai Tirumaṇa Paṭalam, (celestial wedding of Vaḷḷi), it is a part of the Kāṇṭa purāṇam which is written in a form of dance drama (nāṭaka kāvaṭi cintu). Kāṇṭa purāṇam is the translation in Tamil of the Skāntam, a book written by Viyācā in Sanskrit. Kāṇṭa purāṇam is composed of six chapters and its author is Kacciyappa Civāccāriyār.

The text concerns the story of the god Murukaṉ. The text relates: Upēntiraṉ does penance in Tēvalokam (god kingdom). While meditating, tears flow along his cheeks. From the tears, two beautiful girls emerge suddenly: Amirtavalli, the eldest and Cuntaravalli, the youngest. Amirtavalli was Tēvēntiraṉ’s daughter who had grown as Tēvacēṉā in Tēvalokam. Cuntaravalli was the embryo of a deer which lived near Vaḷḷimalai. That deer gave birth to a beautiful girl child in a pit dug for harvesting root tuber (vaḷḷi kiḻaṅku) which grows in abundance in Vallimalai. The king Nampirācaṉ who hunted there, noticed the baby, and took it to his home located in Vallimalai. He named it Valli and brought up her as his daughter. When Valli attained the age for marriage, Murukaṉ, disguised as an old hunter, visited her and made her to fall in love with him. They married and stayed in Tiruttaṇi from where Murukaṉ blessed his devotees. This part of the story is written in the form of kāvaṭi cintu. The author of the dance drama is not known.

Text 2- This text, entitled Tirupōrūr Murukaṉ Eccarikkai and composed of 3 leaves (not numbered), is a short piece of literature as it contains only 13 kaṇṇi. It is written in eccarikkai form (a type of literature whose the term derived from Telugu means ‘to draw attention on’). The text expresses the glory of lord Murukaṉ in the temple located at Tirupōrūr (near Chennai). To attract the attention of Murukaṉ, the author has created this eccarikkai which is sung.

Text 3 – The text,entitled Caraṇam; is inscribed on a leaf (not numbered), praises Lord Murukaṉ. Each stanza ends by the word 'caraṇam' signifying ‘surrender’. The text is composed of eight stanzas.

Text 4 - The text, entitled Kaṭṭiyam and inscribed on 3 leaves (not numbered), expresses the glory of Lord Murukaṉ by using kaṭṭiyam. Kaṭṭiyam is a method of praising a person by listing the good and miraculous things done by him (her). Usually, this kind of praising was done when the kings appeared in front of his people. Kaṭṭiyam is said on him till he reaches his throne. In this text, the kaṭṭiyam announces the venue of Lord Murukaṉ: “Tēvāti tēvar Civaperumāṉiṉ maintar, cūraṉai aḻittavar Murukaṉ varukiṟār” (The king of Tēvar, son of Lord Civa, who killed Cūraṉ, Lord Muruka is coming).

Size of the manuscript: 27,5cm x 3.2cm. The palm leaves of the text 1 are numbered from 1 to 55; leaves 16 and 20 to 26 are missing. The three other texts composed respectively of 3, 1 and 3 leaves are not numbered. There are two additional leaves placed at the beginning and at the end of the manuscript. The manuscript is in good state, slightly affected by larvae.