பக்கம்:தமிழியல் கட்டுரைகள்.pdf/84

77 (6) Excellence, eminence, greatness (7) Fineness, neatness, cleanliness (8) Beauty, grace, elegance (9) Moon’s descending node 10) ( Sulphur Any one can now easily understand and appreciate that of the above-noted meanings seven out of ten (2-8) fit in well for the description of the qualities of Tamil language and culture. Above all by the usage of this only epithet in Tolkāppiyam for Tamil the positive purity consciousness for Standard Tamil among the ancient Tamils is revealed in a heartening manner although they gave equal importance to Standard spoken word according to Panampâranär himself. - - 3. l It is surely significant that this epithet—phrase “Centamis’ is pertinently used in the Foreword known in Tamil as Pāyiram by Panampáramār" to Tolkāppiyam. But the Supreme significance is in the usage of the word ‘Iyarkai' in post-position by Panampâranâr which only means that the pre-position epithet 'Cen' should not make any one to misunderstand or to have any misgiving that Tamil language is in anyway unnatural. Unless one realises this deep-meaning of the deliberate use of the word ‘Iyarkai' by Panampâranär he will lose the most precious implicit sense of the author of the text about the nature of Tamil language. This is also vouchsafed by the very nomenclature given to one of the three-fold classification of Tamil i.e. Iyarfamil. In this context it will be appropriate to remember the fact that the earliest reference to ‘Koduntamil’ is only in the Nürkatturai at the end of Silappadikāram.l° 3.2 Next to the epithet 'Cen' we have only a few epithets added to “Tamil’ in Ancient Tamil Literature. Their distribution are as follows:— 1. Taņ — Patirruppattu — 63:9 Puranāņūru — 35:3 51:5 198: 12 Padikam-10 } 10 Silappadikāram - 25:66 28: 153,209 - Padikam-25 Maņimēkalai — 19:109