Lokayatam material

[N. Ganesan]

The usual analysis of Lokayatam centers around
Sarvadarzanasamgraha and Jayaraasi's tattvopaplavasimha.

Equally or more ancient materials on Lokayata philosophy
exist in Tamil: 1) Manimekalai, a Buddhist epic (around 550 AD)
2) NiilakEci (around 950 AD) and 3) Civa~nAna cittiyAr (1253 AD).

They are analyzed in:
1) Ruth Wallden, Materialism as expounded in the MaNimEkalai,
the NiilakEci and the CivaJaanacittiyaar
Orientalia Suecana 11, Stickholm: 1991, pp. 246-251

Also, see
R. Wallden, The presentation of SaaMkhya in the MaNimEkalai.
KalyaaNamitraagaNam: Essays in honor of Nls Simonsson,
Ed. Eivind Kahrs, Oxford:1986

There is another text by Kavichakravarti JayamkoNTaar
written in the second of eleventh century.
Called as Kaaraanai Vizupparaiyan MaTal. There
are inscriptions of Kaaraanai Vizupparaiyan Adhinaathan,
a general of Chola Kulottunga I. This work, in
a prabandham genre called vaLamaDal, runs to
550 lines. The entire text has the same
second syllable (etukai/prAsam).
Very beautiful poetry.
Published by Gov. Oriental mss. library, 1994.


Jayaraasi's text is really from the sceptic branch of
Lokayatam. It does not talk of life generation
by the proper mixture of four basic elements,
the only heaven is on earth and achievable from
women etc.,

Vizupparaiyan MaDal expounds the basic tenets
of materialism in 550 lines very well, not
covered by Jayaraasi at all.

Manimekalai, Niilakeci, Sarvadarzanasamgraham
or Siva~naanasiddhiyaar refute Lokaayatam.

On the Lokaayatam viewpoint,
Jayaraasi's text is explaining the "sceptic school"
while JayamkoNDaar's explains the "materialistic
philosophy".

This MaDal text is indeed very rare among the
entire literatures of India.

Regards,
N. Ganesan


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