கறநதகயல மடலறதல - ஓர உளவயல பரவ: Madaleruthal' in Kuruntokai: A Psychological Perspective

Literature serves as an excellent mirror of its time. It is not merely the product of an author’s imagination; rather, every literary work is embedded with the various events and circumstances of the era in which it was created—literature is, in essence, the written manifestation of such occurrences. Viewed through this lens, the practice of *madalēṟutal* (a symbolic act of public declaration of love, often involving a threat of self-mortification or social exposure) appears in the *Kuṟuntokai*—one of the *Caṅkam* (Sangam) literary anthologies—as a psychological element within the realm of *akam* (the genre concerning love and personal life). This practice was employed by the hero (*talaivan*) to persuade his beloved (*talaivi*) to accept his love, to gain the consent of her parents, or to enlist the help of her confidante (*tōḻi*) in facilitating meetings between the lovers. The poets have, in various instances, documented the social repercussions and events triggered by such acts of *madalēṟutal*. This study aims to examine and elucidate the poems within the *Kuṟuntokai* that pertain to this practice.