Manimegalai
Manimegalai ( Tamil : மணிமேகலை, Maṇimēkalai) is a Tamil epic that is still popular today .
In all likelihood it originated in the 2nd century AD and, like the Silappadigaram, is one of the five classic poems of South India. Seethalai Saathanar is considered the author . In terms of content, the fable forms the uncomplicated connection to the sister legend:
Manimegalai is the name of the daughter of the main hero in the Silappadigaram and like her mother she is a dancer. After being confronted with the love of a prince, she flees, receives protection from an apsara , and, through her conversion to Buddhism , obtains a miracle pot and matching magic formulas. With the help of the formulas, Manimegalai can still a famine and perform other good deeds, by virtue of which she can regain the status of a goddess that she had been in previous incarnations ; after all, she is fully committed to Buddhism.
The epic is probably a summary and a Buddhist-tinged adaptation of even older folk tales . In 1898 UV Swaminatha Iyer published the first modern edition of the handwritten work on palm leaves.