Paripadal
World on one side, this on the other
if learned men measure,
whole world will pale, but this does not – such is
the Southerner’s river bank city of mansions.
உலகம் ஒரு நிறையாத் தான் ஓர் நிறையாப்
புலவர் புலக் கோலால் தூக்க, உலகு அனைத்தும்
தான் வாட, வாடாத தன்மைத்தே-தென்னவன்
நான்மாடக் கூடல் நகர்.
Paripadal is a Sangam poetry collection that had 70 poems on Thirumal, Sevvel (Murugan), Vaigai river and Madurai city. Only 22 complete poems are found. Others were lost in time. Some stand alone poems (probably later insertions) are collected as Paripadal Thirattu. This is one of those poems that sing the praise of Madurai City. Madurai is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in India. It was the capital of the Pandian Dynasty, the oldest of Tamil kings. They were generally called Southerners as they ruled south of Tamil Nadu.
Old Tamil Poetry 