AFVOA Newletters of Year 2008

Page 16 of 56 In the period between 500 BC and 100 AD a number of works dealing in life ethics appeared in Tamil. Eighteen of them were considered truly great and came to be known as Padinen Keezh Kanakku, a term which translates to ‘Eighteen Works of Simple Order’. These works consist entirely of poems with two, three or four lines. Hence the term ‘simple order’. Out of the afore mentioned eighteen works two works stand out as truly great. One is Naaldiyar (Holy Fourliners) and the other is Thirukkural (Book Divine) which earned acclaim in the closing years of BC era. Naal stands for four and Adiyaar indicates poems of four lines, quatrains. Thus we have Naaladiyaar. Since there are 400 poems in this work it is also known as Naaladi Naanooru - Four Hundred Fourliners. Holy Fourliners is unique. It has the singular glory of being the only one in the world written by four hundred Jain Munis each contributing one poem. It is not just an anthology but a conscientious creation to serve as a guide book to life. There is no other book in existence in the world to compare to it in its beauty and vastness of knowledge. It is veritable treasure trove. Legend takes us back to the reign of the Pandiya King Ukkira Peru Vazhudhi in Madurai. During that period there was wide spread drought and famine all over India. This famine caused 8000 Jain Saints from the various mountainous regions of India such as Nilgiris, Kuravanji, Govardanam, Thrikootam, Kanchi, Aanamalai, Hemakootam and Vindhya to seek refuge in Madurai. The King received them and honored them as court poets. In due course when the famine ended the Saints wished to return to their ashrams. The king had by then developed a great liking to his honoured guests on account of which he refused to let them take leave of him. At this stage each of the Saints wrote a poem, a four liner, counseling the king on a matter that he thought fit. They selected a suitable day and at mid night they went to the assembly hall. Each one placed his poem on this seat and left the City of Madurai before dawn. When the king heard about this the next morning he flew into a rage and ordered all 8000 poems to be thrown into the Vaigai river. To his great astonishment 400 of those quatrains floated against the current to reach the river bank while the rest were washed away. They king ordered them collected and glorified them as Holy Fourliners. Holy Fourliners do not lay down any rules for the daily life. They do not seek to impose discipline. They can be said to largely deal with deeper ethics, the thathwa of life. They primarily aim to induce in the king - read man - a belief and hope about the ‘next life’. Thus they strongly advocate taking up of renunciation when young. Through out the book at many places there are poems that advocate asceticism. The ephemeral character of domestic happiness and the impermanence of human existence itself on earth are also stressed with delicate beauty. A unique aspect of Holy Fourliners is the manner of addressing the lessons. It is common to find teachings relevant to one who forgetting future life has forsaken good conduct and has taken to life of indulgence and worldly pleasures. He is called to mend his ways and find the path to God. But Holy Fourliners are addressed to a good and correct man who is repeatedly reminded to remain in the correct path. But the most exhilarating aspect of Holy Fourliners is the beauty of the whole work. Here is a work to which 400 of the most worshipful souls have set their hands during their mortal life. And true to their ability each poem which forms part of the work is a gem by itself of exquisite brilliance. They have been strung together to form an ornament of incomparable elegance and grace not available any where in the world.