நான்மணிக்கடிகை

Nāṉmaṇikkaṭikai

The Four Gems · One hundred and one verses, four truths each

One hundred and one ethical quatrains by Viḷampinilai, from the Patiṉeṇkīḻkaṇakku anthology. Each verse is a small casket holding four moral gems — four things that share a single quality, a single condition, or a single reward. Not a staircase, not a stable tripod: a fourfold gathering, a casket clasped shut and then opened.

The name means "casket of four gems": nāṉku (four) + maṇi (gem) + kaṭikai (small box). Where Tirikkaṭukam gives three pungent truths and the Nāṟpatu works build to a climax, Nāṉmaṇikkaṭikai gathers four equal gems — complete in themselves, precious together.