Kambar, or Kavichakravarthy Kamban (1180 CE–1250 CE), was an Indian poet and the author of the

Ramavataram The ''Ramavataram'', popularly referred to as ''Kamba Ramayanam'', is a Tamil epic that was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki's ''Ramayana'' (which is in Sanskrit), the story describes the legen ...

, popularly known as ''Kambaramayanam'', the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

version of the epic

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

.The Cyclopaedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia By Edward Balfour Kambar also authored other literary works in Tamil, such as Tirukkai Valakkam, ''Erelupatu'', Silai Elupatu, ''Kangai Puranam'', ''Sadagopar Antati'' and ''Saraswati Antati''.

Life

Kambar was born in Therazhundur. He was supported by a close friend named Sadaiyepa Vallal. He grew up in the

Chola Empire The Chola Empire, which is often referred to as the Imperial Cholas, was a medieval thalassocratic empire based in southern India that was ruled by the Chola dynasty, and comprised overseas dominions, protectorates and spheres of influence ...

under the reign of Kulothunga III. Having heard of this talented bard, Kulothunga summoned him to his court and honoured him with the title ''Kavi Chakravarty'' (''The Emperor of Poets''). Kambar flourished in Therazhundur, a village in the culturally rich

Mayiladuthurai district Mayiladuthurai District is one of the youngest districts of Tamil Nadu, having been carved out from Nagapattinam district, Nagapattinam District in 2020. Tamil Nadu has 38 districts in total, and Mayiladuthurai is among them, located in the sout ...

in the modern state of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

. Kambar is generally dated after the

Vaishnavite Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

philosopher,

Ramanuja Ramanuja ('; Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmānuja; 1077 – 1157), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and social reformer. He is one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavi ...

, as the poet refers to the latter in his work, the Sadagopar Antati. Kamban was a great scholar of both

and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

—two of India's oldest and richest languages in terms of literary works. In a scholarly biography, ''Kavichakravarty Kamban'', Mahavidwan R. Raghava Iyengar wrote in detail about Kambar. Kambar spent his last days in

Nattarasankottai Nattarasankottai is a village in Sivaganga district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. Geography Nattarasankottai is located at . It has an average elevation of 75 metres (246 feet). Demographics As o ...

(known for Kannathal temple) near to

Sivagangai Sivaganga () is the City and headquarters of the Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is known for the 16th-century Sivagangai Fort, located in City Centre. Inside the fort, the Rajarajeshwari Amman Temple features many orn ...

town and his tomb is situated there. It is said that Kambar after having differences with Kulothunga's son,

Rajaraja III Rajaraja Chola III (died 1260) was the Chola emperor from 1216 to 1246. He succeeded Kulothunga Chola III on the Chola throne in July 1216. Rajaraja came to the throne of a kingdom much reduced in size as well as influence. With the rise of ...

, he left the Chola kingdom and moved from place to place. When he reached at Nattarasankottai, he was very thirsty and asked water in one house at Nattarasankottai. He was offered buttermilk in return and he became very happy and decided to stay there itself and spent his last days there. He lived there till his death. There is tomb in Nattarasankottai and every year a celebration called ''Kamban vizha'' is conducted at this place to felicitate Kambar.

Literary works

Kamba Ramayanam The ''Ramavataram'', popularly referred to as ''Kamba Ramayanam'', is a Tamil epic that was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki's ''Ramayana'' (which is in Sanskrit), the story describes the legend of ...

(also called ''Ramavataram'') - Retelling of the Indian epic Ramayana in Tamil. Work covers 11,000 stanzas. * Saraswati Antati - Literary work of style

Antati Tamil poetry () is a unique kind of Tamil poetry, constructed such that the last or ending word of each verse becomes the first word of the next verse. In some instances, the last word of the series of verses becomes the beginning of the very fi ...

in praise of Hindu Goddess

Saraswati Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...

* Sadagopar Antati - Literary work of style

in praise of Vaishnava Saint

Nammalvar Nammalvar was one of the twelve Alvars, Alvar saints of Tamil Nadu, India, who are known for their affiliation to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. The verses of the Alvars are compiled as the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, Naalayira Divya Prab ...

* Silai Elupatu - Work in praise of 11th century

Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of South India, the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The ...

king

Karunakara Tondaiman Karunakara Tondaiman was a general of Chola Emperor Kulottunga I. He is renowned for leading the Chola invasion of Kalinga during the reign of Kulottunga I and is the hero of Jayamkondar's poem '' Kalinkkattuparani'' In the ''Parani'' poem he ...

* Tirukkai Valakkam * Erelupathu * Kangai Puranam

Kamba Ramayanam

The original version of ''Ramayana'' was written by

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...

. It is an epic of 24,000 verses which depicts the journey of

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

, a prince of

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

who belonged to Raghuvamsha (Solar dynasty). In

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, Rama is the seventh

incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It is the Conception (biology), conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic form of a god. It is used t ...

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, one of the

Trimurti The Trimurti ( /t̪ɾimʊɾt̪iː/) is the triple deity of supreme divinity in Hinduism, in which the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are personified as a triad of deities. Typically, the designations are that ...

(the Hindu holy trinity which includes

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

and

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

). The ''Ramavataram'' or ''Kamba Ramayanam'' of Kamban is an epic of about 11,000 stanzas.Legend of Ram By Sanujit Ghose The ''Rama-avataram'' or ''Rama-kathai'' as it was originally called was accepted into the holy precincts in the presence of Vaishnava Acharya Nathamuni.Rays and Ways of Indian Culture By D. P. Dubey ''Kamba Ramayana'' is not a verbal translation of the Sanskrit epic by Valmiki, but a retelling of the story of Rama.

In popular culture

He is portrayed by

Serukalathur Sama Swaminathan Vaidyanathan (26 June 1904—11 January 1963), known by his stage name Serukulathur Sama, was an Indian stage and film actor who was primarily known for playing the role of the Hindu god Krishna in Tamil language Hindu mythological ...

in the Tamil-language film ''Ambikapathy'' (1937). Yet another film, also titled ''Ambikapathy'' (1957) has M. K. Radha playing Kambar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kambar Chola poets Indian male poets Hindu poets 12th-century Indian poets Poets from Tamil Nadu Writers from Thanjavur district Translators of the Ramayana 1180 births 1250 deaths People from Mayiladuthurai district