களவழி நாற்பது

Kaḷavaḻi Nāṟpatu

The Battlefield Forty · Forty Puram Poems

Forty puram poems on the battle of Kaḻumalam — the only work of the puram (heroic/external) tradition among the Eighteen Minor Classics. Composed by Poykaiyār, friend of the defeated Chera king Kaṇaikkāl Irumpoṟai, to win his friend's release from Chola captivity.

Kōccēṅkaṇāṉ, Chola king of red eyes and terrible wrath, defeated the Chera king at Kaḻumalam. Every one of the forty poems ends with the word களத்து (kalaṭṭu — "on the battlefield"). Together they form the most vivid battlefield portrait in classical Tamil literature: war elephants in rut, blood-rivers, peacocks scattering in all directions, and the dark humour of a poet who knew how to describe horror without looking away.