In Tamil literature, the glorious books ‘Shilppadikaram and Manimekhalai’ are related to
(A) Jainism
(B) Buddhism
(C) Hinduism
(D) Christianity
Answer: (B) Shilppadikaram is one of the five Great Epics according to later Tamil literary tradition, the others being Manimegalai, Civaka Cintamani, Valayapathi, and Kundalakesi. The poet prince Ilango Adigal is credited with this work. He is reputed to be the brother of Senguttuvan from the Chera dynasty. Ilango Adigal was a Buddhist monk, and Silappadhikaram and Manimekalai are Buddhist epics. Manimekalai, a purely Buddhist work of the 3rd Sangam period in Tamil literature, is the most supreme and famous among the Buddhist work done in Tamil. It is a work expounding the doctrines and propagating the values of Buddhism. It also talks about the Tamil Buddhists on the island.
