discuss the anklets as a symbol of vengeance and Justice in the cilappatikaram
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Answer:
Explanation:
Amongst all the well known epics of the world, this is probably the only one which has a female as the central character. While the focus is on the chastity and the fidelity of Kannagi, there is no denying that she is the hero of the epic. Her character is above suspicion and her chastity had the power to invoke the gods, who had no choice but to attend to her (this is similar to the character of Nalayani http://utkarshspeak.blogspot.in/2014/02/why-did-draupadi-have-to-suffer.html ). Kannagi in Tamil means ‘virgin’, this gives rise to the comparison of Kannagi with the Panch-kanyas of the two epics, Ramayan and Mahabharat. Her heroism shows up when she doesn’t take her husband’s death as her destiny and simply end her life. She rushes to the court, gets her husband’s name absolved of the allegation, and punishes both the king and the city which had harmed her husband and her marital life. Unfortunately in present times, she is remembered more for her chastity than her courage to question the Kings judgement and even punishing him and his kingdom for the same.
Another interesting aspect is the characterisation of Matavi, the proverbial ‘other woman’. While Matavi was a dancing girl, whose life revolved around music, dance and riches, she is treated with a lot of respect. Her knowledge of music and dance is exemplary. She gives birth to the daughter of Kovalan, a sign of her love for Kovalan. She even pleads for his return, when Kovalan leaves her for good. In the entire epic, nowhere has Matavi been blamed for breaking the relationship of the happy couple, even Kovalan blames destiny for the break-up and not Matavi. Even the parents of Kovalan blame their son, but not Matavi. Later, Matavi is seen becoming a Buddhist nun, as a sign of atoning for her act. It called for a lot of maturity by the author to create such a character, and needless to say, for the audience to even accept such a character.