பெரிய புராணத்தில் பண்பாடு: ஒரு விரிவான ஆய்வு

Culture in Periya Puranam: A Comprehensive Study

Abstract

A human being attains distinction through the finest qualities within them — love, grace, truthfulness, purity, reconciliation, broad-mindedness, generosity, and modesty — all of which form the foundation of human relationships. Culture is the outward expression of the inner disposition that underlies a good life, and it is distinct from civilization: civilization refers to external/material progress, while culture refers to inner development. This refined state of people's intellectual well-being, moral elevation, ideological soundness, character, and quality of life constitutes culture, and this very state of life is found in the lives of the devotees portrayed in the Periya Puranam. Composed by Sekkizhar, who served as minister to the Chola king Kulottunga II in the twelfth century, this great epic narrates the life stories of the 63 Nayanmars across 4,286 verses. This research paper focuses on six core cultural values — generosity, the habit of giving what is asked for, the quality of forgiveness, hospitality, truthfulness to one's word, and maternal/nurturing virtue — and examines them comparatively against Sangam and post-Sangam literary works such as the Tirukkural, Naladiyar, Purananuru, Kalithogai, and Sirupanarruppadai. The paper further explores the sociological dimension of the Periya Puranam and its relevance to present-day society. Based on secondary data, this study establishes that the cultural values expressed in the Periya Puranam continue to serve as timeless guides for human life.