Concubine in Sangam Literature

சங்க இலக்கியங்கள் காட்டும் ஆசைநாயகியர்

Abstract

We know from the Tolkappiyam”s Concubine that in ancient society, the hero had relations with a woman other than his wife, the Concubine (Asainayaki). The Tolkappiyam”s Poruliyal 172-th verse explains that a concubine and a hero have all the duties and rights that a concubine can have. People like Ilparathai, Kamakkizhathi and Kadarparathai are chaste. They do not indulge in pleasure with any man except a hero. They are now given the names of Aasinayagi, Chinnaveedu, Vaipatti, and Koothi. Sangam literature also shows the prostitutes, i.e., the prostitutes, as another category. Moreover, Concubine are women whom the hero marries without anyone knowing or only with the knowledge of a few people. The evidence for this is the songs 36, 46, 66, 166, and 206 of the Akananuru and the song 313 of the Natrinai. The 16th heroine of the Akananuru would not have called the hero”s Concubine ‘Engaiyar”. Therefore, it is clear that Concubine s is not ‘prostitutes”. It is not only the heroine who grieves over the separation from the hero, but sometimes the Concubine as well. This sorrow can be found in the songs 90, 216 of the Natrinai, 238 of the Kurunthokai, and 146 of the Akananooru. If the Concubine were prostitutes, this sorrow would not have afflicted them. This makes it clear that the Concubine were not prostitutes. There are no records in the Sangam literature of a hero taking another man”s wife as his Concubine.