பதறறபபததல கடச சறபப: The Generosity in Patirruppattu

Sangam literature serves as one of the primary literary sources for understanding the social, economic, political, cultural, and everyday life aspects of the ancient Tamils. Pathitruppattu, one of the Eight Anthologies (Eṭṭuttokai), is a significant Puram-oriented work that records the administrative excellence, martial prowess, territorial prosperity, political governance, and poet–king relationship of the Chera rulers. In particular, the generosity of the Chera kings is portrayed directly in several poems and is also presented in association with the life contexts of parisilars, pāṇars, supplicants, and performers. In Pathitruppattu, generosity is not merely an act of giving material possessions. It encompasses various dimensions such as the kings’ munificence, the practice of sharing food, caring for supplicants, honouring pāṇars, distributing wealth acquired through warfare, offering valuable gifts such as elephants and gold, and granting land and revenue. Poetic expressions such as “parisilar verukkai,” “irappōrkku ītal taṇṭā,” “pāṇar puravala,” and “iṉiyavai peṟiṉē taṉittaṉi nukarkēm” reveal the various dimensions of the Chera kings’ concept of generosity. This study examines the excellence of generosity portrayed in Patiṟṟuppattu under various aspects, including caring for supplicants, supporting pāṇars and parisilars, providing food, offering elephants and war gifts, presenting gold and ornaments, granting land and revenue, and the ethical principle of sharing and communal consumption.