The Colas c34.14

c34.14

A greater poet than Oṭṭakūttan was Kamban, the celebrated author of the *Rāmāyaṇam*. This poem is the greatest epic in Tamil literature, and though the author states that he follows in the wake of Vālmīki, still his work is no mere translation nor even an adaptation of the Sanskrit original. In the treatment of the incidents in the story, and in the portrayal of the chief characters in it, Kamban makes many wide departures and handles the subject matter with a mastery and originality and a depth of poetic experience seldom equalled in Tamil literature.