Neelakesi is a Jain epic which was written during the in the Sangam age of Tamil Literature. According to Tamil literary tradition, Neelakesi is considered amongst the Five Lesser Tamil Epics along with Udhyana Kumara Kaviyam, Soolamani, Naga Kumara Kaviyam and Yasodhara Kaviyam. Neelakesi is a polemical literary work written as a Jain confutation to the Buddhist criticism in Kundalakesi, the Great Tamil Epic. The name of the author of the Lesser Tamil Epic is still not known. The epic Neelakesi is comprised of 10 Charukkams or chapters and 894 Viruttam meter stanzas. The epic can be traced back to the later half of 10th century CE.
The commentary of Neelakesi by Vamanar illustrates and portrays the various religious controversies that existed during that period. There is also mention of several other Jain literary works such as Kalakesi, Pinkalakesi and Anjanakesi, which are now lost and are not available anymore.
Concept of Neelakesi
Neelakesi, which literally means the blue haired one, narrates the story of the female Jain ascetic named Neelakesi, who is a Jain version of the demoness Palayanur Neeli mentioned in the Tamil folklore. Neelakesi was a rival and an opponent preacher of the Buddhist protagonist of Kundalakesi. According the lesser Tamil epic, after animal sacrifices in a temple of the Goddess Kali located in Panchala are stopped due to the impact and influence of Jain monks, Goddess Kali dispatched a local deity known as demoness Neeli in order to seduce and annihilate the Jain monk who was responsible for this action. But when Neeli reached the monk, she herself was converted into Jainism by the monk.
Neeli was renamed as Neelakesi, traveled across the country and indulged in various philosophical debates with experts and teachers of other religions. Neelakesi debated with many Buddhist rhetoricians such as Mokkala, Moggallana, Arkachandra, Kundalakesi and even Buddha himself, and defeated them in the debates. She defeated votaries from other schools of philosophy like Lokayitaka, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Samkhya, as well. The tale of the epic Neelakesi primarily serves as a structure to portray and depict these debates and praise the doctrines of Jainism.
The epic Neelakesi and its commentary by Vamanar, the Jain saint, cite expansively from Kundalakesi in order to argue against the Buddhist opinions. As the original text of the great Tamil epic Kundalakesi has been misplaced, the fragments quoted in them have provided the main source to rebuild, restructure and renovate different elements of Kundalakesi.
