The Structure of the Kurunthokai Kurinchithinai Poems on the Basis of the Thinai Theory

Abstract

The form of poetry is the oldest of literary genres. This form of art, the poem, has many elements. Tolkappiyar's theory of Thinai explains these aspects. Tolkappiyar refers to the objects found in the poem in three categories, namely, the Muthal, the Karu, and the Uri. According to Tolkappiyar, all agam literature would be created into scenes using what is necessary for these materials. The agam literature of the Sangam has been developed with subtle methods of fiction. In agam literature, Thinai elements have been used for the creation of agam. It is noteworthy that all the internal songs of the Sangam are situated in this state. In the structure of Kurunthokai too, the three elements of the Muthal, the Karu, and the Uri have been used for poeticization. These elements are not always combined and poetically composed in all poems. In some of the poems, it is possible to recognize that these three elements are combined, and in some poems, the poems are constructed in conjunction with one or two elements. In compiling the Kurinji Thinai poems in the Kurunthokai, the land-based descriptions or references contained in those poems have supported the movement of the poem on many levels. In Kapilar's poems, Kurinji’s land background is more fictional. Natural themes have been highlighted at various levels in the Kurinji poems. The essentiality of themes can be inferred in places where the subject matter, the underlying theme of the poem, is presented in detail.