Parimelalhagar

A page from the Parimelalhagar's commentary on the 39th chapter of the Tirukkural

Parimelalhagar (Tamil: பரிமேலழகர்) (c. 13th century CE), also known as Vanthuvarai Perumal, was a Tamil poet and scholar known for his commentary on the Thirukkural.^[1] He was the last among the canon of ten medieval commentators of the Kural text most highly esteemed by scholars.^[2][3] He was also among the five oldest commentators whose works had been preserved and made available to the Modern era, the others being Manakkudavar, Pari Perumal, Kaalingar, and Paridhi. The chapter ordering, and the verse ordering within each chapter, of the Tirukkural as set by Parimelalhagar has been accepted as the standard for numbering the Kural verses in the Modern era.

Early life

Parimelalhagar was born in Kancheepuram in the erstwhile Tondai state in a Vaishnavite Brahmin family and is believed to have lived during the late 13th century CE. He belonged to the lineage of priests of Sri Ulagalandha Perumal temple in his home town.^[4]

Right from him young age, Parimel was well versed in Sanskrit language's Tharka, Vyakarna, Sankya, and Vedanta and Tamil language's Tolkappiyam and other classic literary works.^[4] He is believed to have had a good understanding of Ahama, Siddhanta and Vedanta, which are considered vital to unravel the riches of the Tirukkural, which helped him do justice to his commentary.^[5] When Parimel chose to write a literary criticism, he analysed in depth the works of the previous nine commentators before his time and eliminated the flaws found in those earlier commentaries. When he completed his writing and perfected the work, he decided to stage it in the court of the Pandya ruler. Legend has it that the King wanted Parimel to stage his work seated on a bronze horse mounted in his court. When Parimel did so, the bronze horse moved, serving as an evidence to his scholarly stature. Thus he came to be known as Parimelalhagar (meaning "the handsome equestrian"). The name is sometime indicated as "Parimelalhagiyar" and "Parimelalhagaraiyyan". His commentary on the Kural came to be called as "Parimelalhagiyar Virutthi".^[4] He is believed to have written the commentary around 1271–1272 CE as indicated in an inscription at the Varadharaja Perumal Temple at Kanchipuram.^[6] This is indicated in the work Sasana Tamil Kavi Saritham by M. Raghava Iyangar Swamigal.^[4] Parimel has also written a commentary on Paripaadal, one of the work of the Ettuthogai (or the Eight Anthologies).^[4] However, a Parimelalhagar commentary on Tirumurugattrupadai is believed to have written by a different poet of his namesake.^[4]

Praise

George L. Hart regards Parimelalhagar's treatise on yoga asanas as one of the purest literary works in Tamil.^[7] Many scholars consider Parimelalhagar's commentary to be highly exquisite that only learned intellectuals can completely grasp the subtleties found in his commentary.^[4] Simon Casie Chetty in his Tamil Plutarch mentions Parimelalhagar as a Tamil poet who was renowned mainly because of his commentary on the Tirukkural. Though there were nine other commentaries too, Parimelazhagar's was regarded as the best of the ten.^[8]

According to P. S. Sundaram, Parimelalhagar's commentary on the Kural is praised for his in-depth knowledge of both Sanskrit and Tamil, his acumen in detecting the errors of earlier commentators, and the fulness and brevity of his own commentary.^[6] In his commentary, Parimelalhagar begins each chapter of the Kural by citing a reason for its placement in the sequence.^[6]

Parimelalhagar had an excellent command of both Tamil and Sanskrit. His in-depth knowledge of Tamil can be seen in his usage of more 230 linguistic and literature examples that he has employed in his commentary on the Kural.^[9]

Variations in ordering of the Kural verses

The following table depicts the variations among the early commentators' ordering of, for example, the first ten verses of the Tirukkural. Note that the ordering of the verses and chapters as set by Parimelalhagar, which had been followed unanimously for centuries ever since, has now been accepted as the standard structure of the Kural text.

It is found that there are as many as 120 variations found in the ordering of the Kural couplets by Parimelalhagar with respect to the commentary by Manakkudavar.

See also

• Tirukkural
• Manakkudavar
• Pari Perumal
• Kaalingar
• Paridhi

References

Further reading

• M. Arunachalam (2005). Tamil Ilakkiya Varalaru, Padhinaindhaam Nootraandu [History of Tamil Literature, 15th century].
• D. M. Vellaivaaranam (1983). Tirukkural Uraikotthu. Thiruppananthal Shri Kasimadam Publications.