Sirupanchamoolam

Sirupanchamoolam - Sirupanchamoolam is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. This belongs to the 'post Sangam period' corresponding to between 100 – 500 CE. Siruppanchamulam contains 100 poems written by the poet Kariyaasaan. He was probably a Jain by religious persuasion. This and the fact that he was a student of one Makkayanaar is known from the introductory poem of this book. The poems of Siruppanchamulam are written in the Venpa meter.

Siruppanchamulam uses the analogy of the traditional herbal medicine, which uses the roots of the five herbs kandankatthiri (a plant of the nightshade family – Solanum xanthocarpum), siruvzhuthunai, sirumalli, perumalli, and nerunji (a thorny prostrate plant – Tribulus terrestris) to cure certain maladies. Siruppanchamulam similarly uses five different maxims to illustrate correct behaviour.