Name Kaniyan Pungundranar | ||
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"யாதும் ஊரே யாவரும் கேளிர்"(Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum Kelir)_Award Winning Short Film
Kaniyan Poongunranar, also Poongundranar or Pungundranar (Tamil: கணியன் பூங்குன்றனார், Kaṉiyan Pūngunṟanār ?), literally Poongunranar was an influential Tamil philosopher from the Sangam age. His name Kaniyan implies that he was an astronomer as it is a Tamil word referring Mathematics. He was born and brought up in Mahibalanpatti, a village panchayat in the Thiruppatur taluk of Sivaganga district in the Tamil Nadu state of India. He composed two poems in Puṟanāṉūṟu and Natrinai respectively.His famous Tamil quote "Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum Kelir" is at present depicted in the United Nations Organisation.
Contents
- Yaadhum Oore Yaavarum KelirAward Winning Short Film
- Purananuru
- Cosmopolitanism
- Natural law
- Principles of the Way of Order
- Allegory of the raft
- Influence
- References
Purananuru
Kaniyan Poongundran, Purananuru - 192
(Translated by G.U.Pope, 1906)
Cosmopolitanism
He rejected division of mankind into various categories and emphasised the universality of all men. The Tamil bards and intellectualists of the time of Kaniyan Pungunranar and those preceding his age considered that all men, whatever their rank or station in life, were alike.
Although the opening line sounds like a herald of "universalism" and the oneness of human beings everywhere, a reading of the subsequent lines of this poem from Purananuru reveals a totally different context and meaning of the opening line. The rest of the poem pictures the illusory and transient nature of life with its pains and pleasures, moving along pre-ordained track according to natural order , rather like a fragile raft going down a mountain stream in stormy weather. The poem concludes with the statement " as we have heard great minds explaining this universal truth to us , we are neither overawed by the greatness of mighty people nor repulsed by people of lower state in life" . Very fine poetry of material and stoic philosophy , reminding one , perhaps , of Grey's elegy- but not of "cosmopolitanism" as many might like to believe.
Natural law
Pungunranar states that the wooden log is carried by the water in its direction and similarly postulates that everything in life will also follow Natural law. This he calls 'Way of Order'(Tamil: முறை வழி, muṟai vazhi ?).
Principles of the Way of Order
Throughout his poem he lays down the principles of his version of natural law. The first part of the poem deals with the basic principles of the 'Way of Order'(Tamil: முறை வழி, muṟai vazhi ?) which is his term for natural law.
Allegory of the raft
He further goes onto explain these principles with an example of a raft.
Influence
He was extremely influential in the revivalist Self-respect movement. The first sentence of his poem has been adopted as the motto of the World Tamil Confederation to represent Tamil people.