Nambi Akapporul

Nambi Akapporul or Nampiyakapporul is a book on Tamil akam poetics composed by Narkavirasa Nambi during the medieval era. Nambi Akapporul means Nambi`s treatise on the theme of love. The written study or treatise is also known as Akapporul Vilakkam. Nampiyakapporul can be traced back to the 13th century. The work is closely related with the Tancaivanankovai by Poyyamolipulavar, which is a set of associated poems in the form of a kovai. The poems were based on the life of Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I, the Pandyan king. It was composed as an ilakkiyam, in order to exemplify the successive rules of Nambi Akapporul.

The Nambi Akapporul segregates the stages of a relationship into three distinct parts, unlike the earlier works on akam poetry. It has added a transitional and intermediate stage named Varaivu that is the phase of marriage, to the 2 other stages of Kalavu, meaning stolen love; and Karpu that signifies chaste love, which were mentioned in ancient Tamil texts. The discussions provided in the Nambi Akapporul on the various topics that are incorporated in the subject matter of Tamil poetry of akam tradition are categorized according to the systematic setting of the events and situations. These include viri, vakai and kilavi which organize topics according to the kurru or speaker, unlike earlier grammatical works.

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