Mutumolikkanci, also known as Muthumozhikkanchi, is a Tamil ethical poetic work of didactic character which belongs to the Patinenkilkkanakku anthology of Ethical Tamil Literature. Patinenkilkkanakku (Pathinenkilkanakku) is a compilation of 18 poetic works in Tamil which were composed in the period after the Sangam age, between 100 CE and 500 CE. Mutumolikkanci was composed in the post Sangam age equivalent to between 100 CE - 500 CE. The literary work contains one hundred verses, each containing 4 lines in Venpa metre. It was composed by the renowned Mathuraikkoodalaar Kilaar (Maturaikudazhar Killarr), who resided in Madurai. The ethical poetic work of Sangam literature is much revered for its manner of construction and its eloquence, graceful and simple presentation. The literary work of Mutumolikkanci contains several didactic and ethical messages which were the major characteristics of that period.
The poetic work Mutumolikkanci or Muthumozhikkanchi is prescribed as text for various schools in the state of Tamil Nadu in India. The poems of Mutumolikkanci are outstanding in the application of similes that assist to edify the moral codes with the use of simple instances from every day life.
Composition of Mutumolikkanci
Mutumolikkanci, also known as Muthumozhikkanchi, is an anthology series of ethical Tamil poems that was composed by the revered Tamil poet Mathuraikkoodalaar Kilaar. This post Sangam work is one of the 18 minor literary works in Tamil which are comprised in the Patinenkilkkanakku collection. The venpa in its variation forms constitutes as the metre of the Tamil poetic work. The numerous verses in the poetic literary work in Tamil language are classified in ten different groups and each group contains ten poems each. The literary work of Mutumolikkanci is popular for its composition and its lucidity, effortless and uncomplicated readability that enables the lay person to understand the various ethical messages.
All of the poems in the literary work of Tamil literature begin with the same phrase "for all the people of this world" as a preface. The rest of the first line in the poem meets the criteria of the characteristic dealt by the rest of the ten lines of the section in the particular verse. One of the poems in the Tamil poetic collection exuberate the superiority and merit of righteous behaviour and chastity in the second and third lines of the particular hymn.
The work of Mutumolikkanci mentions, in simple and concise manner, the several moral and ethical codes that are essential for daily life of any person, as well as for the society.
