Civakacintamani: The Hero Civakan, the Gem That Fulfills All Wishes

The circa 9th century work Civakacintamani is one of the five epic masterpieces of Tamil literature. Though a work of a Jain mendicant, Tiruttakkatevar, it is famed for its erotic description and the scenes of love of its hero Civakan. It represents a brilliant fusion of Jain viewpoint and philosophy with the evocative literary modes of the Tamil tradition. In the portion of the story translated here, the hero's father is killed and the hero's mother gives birth to the hero in a fearsome cremation grounds, where she must abandon him. Growing up in the family of a merchant who finds the baby in the cremation ground, Civakan grows up in opulence. He wins his first wife (of eight) in a lute contest and marries his second wife, after saving her from a charging elephant. The story closes with Civakan's abduction by the usurper king, Kattiyankaran's men and his escape through the intervention of a celestial friend.