Maņimēkalaiにおけるtuŗavu

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1. Introduction In Maņi, the heroine Maņimēekalai is described as wearing jewels with ornaments and flowers in her beautiful long hair throughout much of the story, whereas in some parts she appears to be a nun. Among scholars, therefore, opinions vary as to the renunciation of Maņimēkalai. Some say that she is a nun from the beginning of the story, while others maintain that she became a nun at the end of the story. One of the terms that is associated with the debate on the renunciation of Maņimēkalai is tuŗavu. The term tuŗavu is defined as "to leave, relinquish, forsake, renounce worldly pleasures." Turavu in Maņi. is interpreted to mean becoming a priest or a nun, and the above studies have been done on the basis of this interpretation. The meanings of several terms in Maņi. are often ambiguous, for Maņi. is the only Tamil Buddhist epic that is preserved in its entirety, and in addition no traditional commentary is attached to it. This fact makes it difficult to clearly define the meanings of terms in Maņi. This paper, therefore, focuses on the question of how to define to tuŗavu in Maņi. by investigating examples of tuŗavu in works prior to Maņi. and Cii. 2. Examples of tuŗavu (a) Sangam literature: In Sangam literature, tuŗavu and its verbal form tuŗa mostly mean to leave or forsake [someone/something]. Only one example in Puŗaņāņūņu 363 means to renounce (the world). But there is no concrete evidence to interpret this tuŗavu as becoming a priest or a nun. (b) Didactic works: Chapter 35 of Kuŗaļ. and Chapter 6 of Nāl. are titled Tuŗavu. From this it is assumed that at the time these didactic works were written, the word tuŗavu already had some clear sense and so became the title of a chapter in these works. From the repeated admonition to abandon worldly attachment and the content of Kuŗaļ. 344, 345, tuŗavu should mean to abandon attachment or to leave worldly pleasures. On the other hand, tuŗavu in Nāl. may mean to renounce the world, for Nāl. 54 refers to quitting the household paths. But in either case, it must be noted that these verses do not indicate that the word tuŗavu means abandoning attachment or leaving worldly pleasures in order to become a priest or a nun. (c) Maņi.: In one scene, Maņimēkalai's mother relates how she embraced Buddhism (Maņi. 2:41-69). By the word tuŗantēņ which she uttered then, it is generally thought that she became a nun. But on that occasion, she just received the five śīlas, and there is no clear evidence to conclude that she became a nun. In other scenes, it is not clear that she is a nun either. On the basis of the interpretation that we have noted, it is probable that she abandoned worldly attachment or pleasures. Based on branch stories where several characters relate the events which caused them to embrace Buddhism, some researchers have concluded that they were priests or nuns. In fact, however, these stories lack concrete expressions regarding as to whether they were priests or nuns, and it is doubtful that they were so. When we judge the meaning of tuŗavu in Maņi. from its context, even if it means to renounce the world, it would be difficult to interpret it as becoming a nun. (d) Cil.: Contrary to the examples that we have seen above, some instances of tuŗavu in Cil. contain the sense of becoming a priest or a nun. There is an expression "pluck her hair with the garland and jewels" in the description of tuŗavu related to Maņimēkalai (Cil. 1-28) . Thus this tuŗavu does mean to become a nun. By the expression "to pluck the hair," it is clear that this tuŗavu strongly manifests the character of Jainism. Furthermore, from the description of another scene, we can judge that tuŗavu in Cil. can be interpreted as becoming a priest or a nun. We cannot, however, apply this interpretation in Cil. to tuŗavu in Maņi., for the chronological order of the composition of Cil. and Maņi. has yet to be determined. Because the descriptions of Maņimēkalai in the two epics do not coincide, even if Cil. was written earlier than Maņi., the probability that Maņi. might have been composed by borrowing only the outline from Cil. still remains. Therefore, another possibility that the meaning of tuŗavu in the two epics may differ should also be taken into consideration. 3. Conclusion Although tuŗavu in Maņi. has so far been limited to the sense of becoming a nun, there is no plain evidence in the works antedating Maņi. to assume that tuŗavu in Maņi. means to become a nun. Consequently, we should interpret it in a broader sense such as "to leave worldly pleasures, to abandon attachment, and to renounce the world." <abbreviations> Cil.:Cilappatikāram; Kuŗaļ.:Tirukkuŗaļ, Nāl.:Nalaţyār; Maņi.:Maņimēkalai.
2001-03-30

Maņimēkalaiにおけるtuŗavu

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