92 “The period of the Pallava Supremacy is charecterised by the development of epic poetry. The development begins in an earlier period, with Cilappatikăram and Manimekalai. În Perunkatai the epic in akaval form reaches its perfection. “It is assumed by many that Peruñkatai is a translation of a Sanskrit work, even though these critics can point to no specific work that is still extent. The epic does not read like a translation. At most it can only be an adaption of the story so popular in that age. The poet belongs to the Końku country of the Gangas. A Ganga king Turvinitan, also a Jain, has written a long marrative poem on Utayanan, the hero of the story of Peruńkatai giving it a Jain colouring, but this is not available. This might have inspired our poet and in that sense he might have been influenced. To be so inspired Końku Vē! must be a near contemporary of Turuinitan, who live in the sixth century. An old commentator Atiyārkkunallär, speaks of this poet as belonging to a Cañkam period. But perhaps the Cañkam he refers to may be a Jain one of a later date then the Cañkam already mentioned. The author writes in akaval metre. The composition of this work is of the type called iyaipu-narrative poetry of long verses. each ending in a nasal. “Peruńkatai is told in Tamil by an author whose real name has not been preserved. He is now known as Końkuvé!. Końku is the Końku country, one of the sub divisions of the Tamil Land, comprising the modern Coimbatore and Salem districts. Vějir means the clan of chieftains; vé! is the title of the clan used as suffix or prefix to personal names. We are told he was a Jain ascetic of Vicayamañkalam, once a Jain centre even now having Jain temples, which may be seen whilst travelling Coimbatore to Erode. The work does justify the conclusion that this is an epic using Jain phraselogy, Jain mythology, and Jain ideas, Dr. Câmináta Aiyar has summarized the Jain influence found in this epic. “Unlike the Buddhist Manimékalai this is not propaganda literature. Narrating the story in the most interesting and captivating way is the main concern of the poet Końkuvès. He wrote in an age when Jainism was popular and his readers could no doubt understand the various references to this religion. The
