Paridhi

Paridhi (c. 11th century CE), also referred to as Paridhiyaar, was a Tamil literary commentator known for his commentary on the Thirukkural. He was among the canon of ten medieval commentators of the Kural text most highly esteemed by scholars. He was also among the five ancient commentators whose commentaries had been preserved and made available to the Modern era, the others being Manakkudavar, Pari Perumal, Kaalingar, and Parimelalhagar. Paridhi is also referred to as Parudhi in olden manuscripts. From the works of Tudisai Kilar, Paridhi's home town is known to be Tirupparudhi Niyamam, a town located near Uloor, between Thanjavur and Orathanad in the present-day Tanjavur district, where the presiding deity is Parudhiyappar (hence the name Parudhi). He belonged to the Saivite sect of the Brahmin caste. He is believed to have lived around the 11th century CE. Kalpana Sekkilar claims that Paridhi lived around early 13th century.: 9  He lived before Parimelalhagar. Paridhi had a scholarly knowledge in Sanskrit and Tamil and possessed a good worldly knowledge. He is believed to have written the commentary in his old age. Paridhi belonged to the Saivite sect. This is evident from several usages he employed in his commentary. In the invocatory chapter of the Kural text, he explains the terms நற்றாள் (kural 2), இறைவன் பொருள்சேர் புகழ் (kural 5), and அறவாழி அந்தணன் (kural 8) as "the divine feet of Lord Shiva," "Shiva kirti," and "the virtuous ocean called Lord Parameshwara," respectively. In chapter "Not lying," he interprets the term எல்லா அறமுந் தரும் (Kural 296) as "obtaining the blessings of Lord Shiva." He employs the term "Shiva gyanam" in his explanation to kural 359. In Kural 388, he elaborates the term மக்கட்கு இறை as "Lord Parameshwara, the saviour of the world". In Kural 310, he interprets the term துறந்தார் as "those who renounced from the body the ninety-six principles." He has also explained the term எண்குணத்தான் (Kural 9) in Shivite terms. Of all the ten medieval commentaries of the Kural text, Paridhi's commentary is the simplest in form and presentation. The commentary appears more or less in a colloquial style, without losing the beauty of the language and ease of comprehension. It has more Sanskrit terms compared with other medieval commentaries. In some places, it appears like a discourse in written form. Yet in some other places, the explanation is shorter than the Kural couplet upon which it elaborates. In still other places, the commentary appears long winded. According to Dhandapani Desikar, "connecting and integrating the meaning of the Kural couplets by means of Paridhi's commentary is analogous to crossing the Cauvery by means of a rope bridge."