Puranaanuru: 176-400

Song 182

Lines 1-2: Amrita is identified as Indra’s drink.


Song 183:

Line 8-10: The four varnas are referred to. It is said that among the four varnas, even a person of higher varna will give respect to an educated person of the lower varna.


Song 192:

Lines 2-5: Good and evil are not the result of others’ action (they are based on one’s own ‘Karma’). Suffering and happiness come on their own and are not given by others. Death is not something new. It follows you from birth.


Song 194:

Lines 5-7: This world created by God is identified as a conglomerate of good and evil and the learned persons will try to identify the True Happiness (identifiable with ‘Moksha’).



Song 197:

Line 9: Nanmaaran’s wealth compared to that of Lord Vishnu (Lord lying on Banyan leaf)



Song 201:

Lines 8-10: The King rules a city which was born out of the sacred fire of a northern sage.


Song 214:

Lines 8-10: Heaven and liberation from birth-cycle are mentioned.



Song 224:

Lines 6-10: King Karikala installed ‘yupastambha’ and did many yagnas.

Lines 16-17: Widows of Karikala remove jewels.



Song 241:

Line 3: King Ai Andiran attains Indra’s abode(or Vishnu’s abode) after his death.
[Note: the words which can be interpreted either way are ‘vajjirath thadakkaiyaan’ and ‘Nediyon’. The former word means either ‘Indra’ or ‘one having arms like Vajra’ (e.g. ‘Vajrabaahu’ in Sanskrit). The latter means either ‘Vishnu’ (most popular and hence, most probable) or ‘one with a large body’]




Song 246:
Pandiya Queen wishes to commit Sati. Mendicant life of a widow is also mentioned.



Song 247:
The poet sings about a woman who commits Sati.



Songs 248-250:
Mendicant life of a widow is mentioned. (E.g. lying on floor, not wearing jewels, change in eating habits etc)




Song 251:

Lines 5-8: Yagna done by a Rishi is mentioned.




Song 253:

Line 5: Widow loses her bangles (i.e.) all her jewels.




Song 254:

Line 4: Widow loses her bangles (i.e.) all her jewels.




Song 256:

Wife wishes to get buried alive along with her deceased husband.



Song 259:

Line 5: The way a woman behaves when Lord Muruga descends upon her is mentioned.



Song 280:

Lines 10-15: Mendicant life of a widow is mentioned. (Tonsuring of head is also mentioned. To be noted that Manu does not recommend tonsuring for widows. This appears to be a Tamil practice. Only in Skanda Purana, do we find this practice mentioned.)




Song 287:

Lines 11-12: Those soldiers who attain heaven(upon dying in battle) marry heavenly women.




Song 291:

Lines 1-2: Lord Vishnu is cited as an example.




Song 299:

Lines 6-7: Seclusion of women during menses is mentioned by saying that such women do not enter the Temple of Murugan.




Song 305:
A young Brahmin stops a war by advising the King.

Line 3: He entered the palace without waiting outside. (This shows the status of Brahmins in ancient Tamil society)



Song 306:

Line 4: A woman worships her ancestors.




Song 342:

Line 5: Goddess Shri(Lakshmi) is mentioned.




Song 358:

Lines 4-6: ‘Tapas’ is far better than the worldly life. Those people who give up worldly life and take up ‘Tapas’ are supported by ‘Shri’.

[Note: The poet of this song is ‘Vanmikanar’ which is a Tamil Form of Valimiki. Hence, we can say that Ramayana and its author were very popular during Sangam Age.]




Song 361:

Lines 1-5: The King is not afraid of death as he has donated a lot of wealth to the learned Brahmins who do Yagnas.




Song 362:

Lines 9-10: Dharma is said to be enshrined in the four Vedas.




Song 367:

Line 1: Great wealth of Naga Loka is mentioned.

Lines 4-5: The act of giving donations to Brahmins is identified as ‘punya karma’.




Song 376:

Line 15: Poverty is compared to ‘Hell’.




Song 377:

The Song is about Chola King Perunarkilli who did the ‘Rajasuya Yagna’.




Song 378:

Lines 18-23: Ravana’s abduction of Sita is mentioned. The poet, in jest, compares the way in which the red-faced monkeys tried to wear the jewels thrown down by Sita with the wrong way in which the poet’s family members tried to wear the jewels presented to the poet by the King.




Song 397:

Lines 20-21: The Kingdom is compared to the sacred fire of the Brahmins who perform their six duties.




Song 400:

Line 19: Chola Nalankilli installed/repaired many ‘yupastambhas’.