The Cilappatrikaram of Ilanko Atikal: An Epic of South India. (book reviews)

Cilappatrikaram, or the story of Kovalan and Kannaki, is the most important literary work of the Tamils of South India. Furthermore, this ancient story, in many forms, is well known among many other Dravidian cultures of South India and some parts of Southeast Asia. Sometimes it is surprising to know that this small story could have been so influential in dominating the literary trends of the ancient Tamils.

It is unfortunate that the rich and ancient epic traditions of India have been recognized only through the Sanskrit epic traditions of the subcontinent. This could be due to the ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.