UPSC Prelims 2023 Q44: Vattakirutal in Sangam Poems — Explained
Which one of the following explains the practice of 'Vattakirutal' as mentioned in Sangam poems?
- Kings employing women bodyguards
- Learned persons assembling in royal courts to discuss religious and philosophical matters
- Young girls keeping watch over agricultural fields and driving away birds and animals
- A king defeated in a battle committing ritual suicide by starving himself to death
Answer: (d) A king defeated in a battle committing ritual suicide by starving himself to death
Statement-wise explanation
- a: incorrect — Women bodyguards are linked to the Mauryan court, not to a Sangam practice. Megasthenes wrote that Chandragupta Maurya was guarded by armed women, including on hunts. The Arthashastra also mentions women guards. No Sangam term called 'Vattakirutal' refers to them.
- b: incorrect — This describes a learned assembly, the kind of gathering that the word 'Sangam' itself refers to. Later Tamil tradition speaks of three Sangams of poets under Pandya patronage at Madurai. That is an academy of poets, not a ritual practice, and the option uses the word to mislead.
- c: incorrect — Girls guarding millet fields and driving away parrots is a real scene in Sangam love (akam) poetry of the hill landscape. But it has no special name like Vattakirutal. The option uses a genuine Sangam image so that it sounds right.
- d: correct — Vadakkiruttal (also spelt Vatakkiruttal) means 'sitting facing north'. It was a ritual of fasting until death. A king who was defeated or shamed, for example by a wound in the back, which counted as a mark of cowardice, sat facing north and starved himself to death, often joined by close companions. A well-known case is the Chera king wounded in the back by Karikala at the Battle of Venni, who starved himself to death. Kopperuncholan and his poet-friend Pisirandaiyar are another example.
How to eliminate
This question is mainly about knowing the word. Two clues still help. First, a technical term in a question is rarely just a scene from daily life or a court custom. Options about women bodyguards (a Mauryan detail from Megasthenes) and girls guarding fields (an ordinary scene from poetry) are less likely to have a special ritual name. Second, the option on learned persons assembling is a trap built on the word 'Sangam' itself. If you remember that 'vadakku' means 'north' in Tamil, the word points to 'sitting facing north', and that matches only the ritual fast unto death. The fact to remember: Vadakkiruttal is the Sangam ritual in which a defeated or shamed king starves himself to death facing north.
Know more
Sangam literature is the earliest body of Tamil poetry. Tradition places it in three academies of poets (Sangams) at Madurai. Britannica dates the corpus to roughly the 1st–4th century CE.
Two themes run through it:
- Akam ('interior'): love poems, set in five landscapes. Scenes like a girl guarding millet fields belong here.
- Puram ('exterior'): heroic poems on war, death, kings' glory and patrons. Vadakkiruttal is a puram theme.
Main collections: the Ettuttokai (Eight Anthologies). Among them, Purananuru (400 puram poems) is the main source for warrior ethics. Grammar comes from the Tolkappiyam, the oldest surviving Tamil grammar.
The heroic code. A wound in the back meant the warrior had fled, and that was treated as disgrace. A defeated or shamed king could remove the disgrace by Vadakkiruttal: he sat facing north and fasted until death. Friends and poets sometimes joined him.
| Practice | Tradition | Who / why | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vadakkiruttal | Sangam Tamil (heroic code) | Defeated or shamed king, companions | Fasting to death, facing north |
| Sallekhana / Santhara | Jaina | Ascetic or lay person near end of life | Gradually giving up food and water |
Examples to remember:
- Battle of Venni: Karikala Chola defeated a Chera–Pandya alliance. The Chera king, wounded in the back, starved himself to death.
- Kopperuncholan and the poet Pisirandaiyar fasted to death together.
- The poet Kapilar is said to have performed it after the death of his patron Vel Pari.
UPSC often tests Tamil terms from Sangam society. Learn the meaning of each term, not just which dynasty or text it belongs to.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Sangam literature: The term in the question comes from this body of early Tamil poetry. Know its heroic (puram) and love (akam) themes.
- Tamil Sangams: One option describes scholars gathering at court. Know what the Tamil Sangam academies were so the word 'Sangam' does not mislead you.
- Sallekhana: Jain Sallekhana is a ritual fast often compared with Sangam practices. Know its context so you can tell religious fasting apart from warrior customs.