Kamban
Also called: Kambar · Topic: Southern Dynasties: Chalukyas, Pallavas, Cholas · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Kamban (also called Kambar) was a Tamil poet of the 12th century, in the time of the Chola kings. He wrote the Ramavataram, better known as the Kamba Ramayanam. It is the best-known Tamil retelling of the Ramayana. It shows how the Sanskrit epic was taken into Tamil and reshaped in a regional language.
Example
Kamban's Ramavataram is admired for its rich and musical verse. It is still recited and performed in Tamil Nadu today. It was written in the 12th century in the Chola lands of the Tamil country.
Don't confuse with
- Valmiki's Ramayana: the original Sanskrit epic. Kamban's work is a Tamil retelling, not a word-for-word translation.
- Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas: a retelling in Awadhi (a Hindi dialect) from the 16th century in north India.
Related concepts
- Temple economy
- Vellanvagai
- Hero stones
- Chola patronage of bhakti
- Periya Puranam
- South Indian merchant guilds