Silappadhikaram - XII

Literary Appreciation

12

Kannagi was a traditional family girl from a rich business community.

She was of the age of twelve years at the time of her marriage to Kovalan

She was a happy girl with traditional Tamilian qualities, as we 

narrated in our earlier chapter, viz.,achcham, madam, naanam

and payirpu - fear, innocence, shy and disgust respectively.
 

For a traditional chaste family girl, her chastity is her prime importance

For which she sacrifices her everything including her life.

A good husband, family, society and the rulers  honored

her chastity and helped her in protecting it.
 

Next priority for her is her husband - his longevity of life,

welfare and his happiness and satisfaction.

Kannagi never questioned Kovalan leaving her and

living with Madhavi. She might have thought, the happiness

that she was not able to provide, let him get from other woman,

a prostitute. This is high profile character of Kannagi, which we

can not expect from other women.

For this quality of Kannagi, Kovalan repented after returning

to her from Madhavi. In his absence, she remained in his house
and took care of his old parents performing all the responsibilities 
and charity. She never complained to anybody including her parents.


But, when the husband was in trouble , his honor or life 
was threatened, they shed all their basic qualities and without
any shy or fear, went to fight for justice. This was the case
with Kannagi. When Kovalan was slain on false charges
of thieving the Queens anklet, Kannagi went to establish
the innocence Kovalan and established the justice.

The third priority for the woman is her children.

For their welfare, well-being and future, she toils, takes 

and bears any hardship in life. We may not be able to discuss

this aspect, as Kannagi had no children.  In the making of a goddess,

it is usual practice to project the woman without any children.


All these qualities and character go to make Kannagi
a personality deserving honor and worship.
But Fate played its hard role as she never enjoyed enduring
happiness in her married life. With early marriage at the age
of twelve and short span of married life , she became
a teen age widow.

No doubt, even to-day we have seen such women personalities,
for whom God showers mercy and rain on earth,
also, creates huge calamities for the injustice to them.
*****