Which one of the following explains the practice of 'Vattakirutal' as mentioned in Sangam poems?
- A.Kings employing women bodyguards
- B.Learned persons assembling in royal courts to discuss religious and philosophical matters
- C.Young girls keeping watch over agricultural fields and driving away birds and animals
- D.A king defeated in a battle committing ritual suicide by starving himself to death
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is D. Vadakkiruttal, literally "sitting facing the north", was the Sangam practice in which a defeated or dishonoured king sat facing north and fasted until death.
Sangam poetry treats it as a way of saving honour. The best-known case is that of the Chera king Perunjeral Adan, who was wounded in the back at the battle of Venni against the Chola king Karikala; feeling the wound was a mark of shame, he sat facing north and starved himself to death. The Chola king Kopperuncholan also took his life this way, and his friend the poet Pisirandaiyar is said to have joined him. Hero stones and poems in the Purananuru record such deaths.
A is wrong: women guards of kings are not what the term means.
B is wrong: assemblies of learned men describe the Sangam, the poets' academy, not this practice.
C is wrong: girls guarding millet fields is a theme of Sangam love poetry, not vadakkiruttal.
Exam tip: Vadakkiruttal = facing north and fasting to death after defeat; Perunjeral Adan after the battle of Venni against Karikala.
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