M is for the Manimekalai (Women's Epics A to Z)

This year my theme for the A to Z Blogging Challenge is Women's Epics. My goal was to read 26 traditional epics from around the world that have women as their heroes. Because epics like this do exist, and they are fascinating! Read the intoduction post here.

Manimekalai
Tamil

This is one of the five great Tamil epics, consisting of almost 5000 lines. It is a sequel (or parallel story) to the Silappadikaram, which will be featured later this month.

Tradition holds that it was composed sometime in the 2nd century. The story goes that a prince named Ilanko Atikal was foretold to become king, but he rejected the throne in favor of his beloved older brother. The brothers agreed to write an epic each - Ilanko wrote the Silappadikaram, and Sattanar wrote the Manimekalai. 

I read this translation. It is a free rendering of the original verse text by famous Tamil novelist A. Madhavaiah, with some parts that are closely translated. The original thirty chapters of the epic were combined into twenty, leaving out some lengthy parts about religious debates.

What is it about?

TL;DR: Manimekalai, raised to be the best dancer-actress in the world, abandonds wordly desires and becomes a devout follower of the Buddha.

Our story begins in the Chola kingdom, in the flourishing capital city of Poompukar at the mouth of the river Kaveri. A rich merchant's son named Kovalan marries his sweetheart Kannaki. (I'm not going to repeat their story here because that's what the S post will be about). Kovalan falls in love with a courtesan named Madhavi on the side, and has a daughter with her. They name the baby Manimekalai, after the sea goddess who is patroness of the city.

Manimekalai is trained as a dancer-courtesan from an early age, by her grandmother Chitrapathi, who wants a great career for her. Kovalan in the meantime abandons this family and returns to his original wife. Stuff happens, and Kovalan dies an unjust death. When news of his demise reach the family, Manimekalai and Madhavi are devastated. The mother puts on a widow's dress and joins a Buddhist monastery. Manimekalai, now a great and accomplished dancer, has no taste for her profession, so instead she joins her mother at the monastery too.

Some time later, a great festival in honor of Indra is proclaimed in the city. Madhavi's mother sends a friend to beg the famous dancer to return to her work along with her daughter. Madhavi refuses, calling herself a widow in grief, and calling Manimekalai daughter of the now-deified, perfect Kannaki. Then she sends out Manimekalai to bring fresh flowers, to make garlands for the festivities.

A woman named Suthamathi advises Manimekalai to go to a special garden for flowers. She claims many of the city's gardens are dangerous for a beautiful young woman, so she accompanies her to a place named Upavanam. While they are picking flowers, the prince Udhaya-kumaran, who has long had his sight set on Manimekalai, shows up to court her. She locks herself in a sacred crystal chamber, while Suthamathi tries to talk the prince out of his intentions, citing Buddhist teachings of the impermanence of beauty and desire. The prince eventually leaves, but doesn't give up.

In that moment, Manimekala-Devi, guardian goddess of Manimekalai, makes an appearance. She warns the two women that the prince is still loitering nearby, and tells them to flee through a back alley to a burning-ground (which is a terrifying place full of demons). While sleeping there in hiding, Manimekalai is lifted by the goddess and transported to the sacred island of Manipallavam, where she is destined to learn about her past life.

On the island, Manimekalai sees the crystal throne of the Buddha, and its magic powers allow her to remember her past life. She learns that she used to be a princess, married to a prince. When he died of snakebite, she followed him into the funeral pyre. Her good deeds in her past will help her achieve enlightenment and abandon the cycle of rebirths. Her husband was reborn as the current prince, but she can't return to him because that would distract her from her fate. Her sisters were reborn as Madhavi and Suthamathi. The goddess then teaches Manimekalai how to fly, change her shape, and conquer hunger, so she can go out into the world and spread the message of the Buddha.

Manimekalai also receives a magical bowl on the island, one that has never-ending supplies of rice, if held in the hands of a compassionate person. With that, she returns home to her mother and Suthamathi, and tells them about their past lives. Dressing up in the garb of a Buddhist nun, she sets out to beg alms for the bowl. The first gift comes from a woman named Athirai (who has her own story about how faithful she is). After that, Manimekalai starts feeding the poor from the magic vessel.

Chitrapathi, Manimekalai's grandmother, is outraged at the girl's behavior. She thinks it is unbefitting for a trained dancer-courtesan to mourn one lover, or abandon her profession for religion. She decides that she will make Manimekalai abandon the foolish quest of purity, and choose the prince instead. She goes to see the prince and tells him where Manimekalai is, encouraging him to pursue her. The prince does, but Manimekalai tells him she is bound for a life of chastity, and then, magically changing her shape, manages to escape him. She continues her work disguised as the gandharva woman Kayachandika.

Manimekalai visits a prison and feeds the prisoners. It is reported to the King who summons her, in awe of her work, and offers her a boon. Manimekalai asks him to abolish the prison, and transform it into a Home of Mercy, where people can be fed and cared for.

The prince doesn't give up. Suspecting who she really is, he keeps visiting, and she keeps trying to explain to him the vanity of mortal life. Meanwhile, Kayachandika's husband comes seeking his wife, and when he sees "her" talking to the prince, becomes jealous, and kills the prince. The queen, furious at Manimekalai for her son's death, tries to get rid of her in multiple ways, but Manimekalai always survives due to her magic powers. Eventually, the queen apologizes. Manimekalai teaches the court about Buddhism, then  decides to leave the city, because she doesn't want to be looked at as the woman who caused the death of the prince.

Manimekalai returns to the sacred island, along with a king who is a reincarnation of the man who first owned the magic bowl. She there finds out that her home city has been devoured by the sea on Manimekala-Devi's command, because the king (due to an elabroate prelude of karma) neglected Indra's festival. Aravana, Madhevi and Suthamathi all survived.

Manimekalai heads to the kingdom of Vanji, where she visits the temple of the deified Kannaki, whom she regards as her mother. Kannaki tells her about the fate of her father. Manimekalai then visits ten different religious schools, hearing their teachings, but she is not satisfied with any of them. She travels on to the city of Kanchi, which is devastated by famine, and feeds all the people. The sage Aravana and her mother and friend find her there, and she can finally learn more about Buddhism from the sage.

Manimekalai lives the rest of her life in peace, serving people in need. It is foretold that eventually she will be reborn as the foremost discipline of the Buddha, and attain enlightenment.

The highlights

This epic is a master class in evocative descriptions. It was fascinating to read of what being a "dancer-actress" entailed, listed by Madhavi's friend. Apart from the arts, etiquette, and beauty, it also included learning and sciences. I also enjoyed Suthamathi's description of the city's various luscious gardens and their magical properties; Manimekala-Devi's description of the horrifying burial grounds, or the narrator detailing the sounds and activities of the capital city at night.

A story within a story, Suthamathi's own tale of adventures and conversion to Buddhism was very interesting. She was kidnapped by a gandharva and became his lover for a while. After, even though she was tainted, her Brahman father sought her out and supported her, until he became the victim of an accident. While others turned from them, a Buddhist teacher cared for them, and taught Suthamathi his beliefs.

Another story within a story was the tale of the burning-ground told by Manimekala-Devi. It was rich in detail and very dark and scary in descriptions. It also had a message of "no one can avoid their fate", telling of a mother who summoned all the gods and powers of the universe to bring her son back to life, just to be told by all of them that they had no power over death.

The story of Aputhra, the first owner of the magic bowl, was also memorable. He was an abandoned baby fed by a cow and adopted by a Brahman; when he later defended a cow from sacrifice, he got into a heated religious debate about animal sacrifices, and ended up expelled as a beggar. However, he was so kind and selfless, feeding people ever poorer than him, that the Goddess of Learning blessed him with the magic bowl. He later placed it in a lake, hoping it would find a new owner worthy of it - which is how the bowl came to Manimekalai.

Among the poor fed from the magic vessel was a gandharva woman named Kayachandika, who was cursed with eternal hunger. She told her own story of making a mistake, losing her magic powers, and being abandoned by her husband; the food from the bowl cured her condition. Later, Manimekalai wore her likeness when she wanted to disguise herself.

I also like the moment where someone asked Manimekalai who she was, and she answered "depends on which birth you are talking about." The sage Aravana who educated her also had a good line about reincarnation: "Like actors appearing on stage in a different costume." He was also the one who noted one of the key thoughts of the epic: "To relieve hunger is the highest charity."

THIS EPIC IS OFTEN DESCRIBED AS AN ANTI-LOVE STORY.

At the same time, it revolves around a kind, compassionate, and determined young woman who follows her own path. It it also an elaborate tapestry of interwoven stories.

What resonates with you the most?