Kaikilai in Kalithogai

Abstract

This review is about the Kaikilai mentioned first in Tolkappiyar's Tholkappiyam. There are only four hymns (numbers 56,57,58,109) on the Kaiklai in Sangam literature. All the four songs are found only in Kalithogai text. All these four songs have been examined with the description of Kaikilai mentioned in Tolkappiyam. Kaikilai refers to the sexual love before it is reciprocated and it is also considered to be a man falling in love with a young woman. But all the Kaiklai songs of Kalithogai have depicted the physical beauty of the young girls. All the deeds of Kaiklai hero are recorded in the Kalithogai songs according to Tholkapiya tradition. Through these, it is clear that the mindset of a man who seduces a woman who has not reached puberty is Kaikilai. In other words, this article assumes that it is a kind of feeling that seems natural to young men when they see a young woman.