Akol in the Epic Poem Seevaka Chintamani

Abstract

There are many types of situations in the attraction of alms in Tamil life. The attraction of alms, which occurred during the Tolkappiyam and Sangam literary periods, can be seen through the epic poem Seevaka Chintamani. It can be seen that the arrival of alms continued until the ninth century AD. The situation of attraction of alms due to poverty and hunger changed and this attraction of dharma occurred to establish a king's bravery or victory. Moreover, beyond this, this attraction of dharma has been an excellent strategy to make a king come to the battlefield. Seevaka Chintamani shows the story of Padumugan attracting his friend Seevaka's anims to make him come. The purpose of this article is to understand the tradition of attraction of alms in such epics.