Cilappatikaram

Cilappatikaram

Attributed to Ilango Adigal (traditionally a Jain monk-prince, brother of a Chera king) · c. AD 450-500; traditional Tamil chronology places it in the 2nd century AD, but most modern critical scholarship favors a considerably later, post-Sangam composition · Vanchi, Chera kingdom (India) · epic

Cilappatikaram follows Kannagi's transformation from wronged wife to avenging goddess after a Pandya king wrongly executes her husband for theft, weaving an unusually detailed record of contemporary Tamil music, dance, and urban life around its narrative. Vanchi is the narrative and traditional setting; its actual place of composition is genuinely uncertain.