Silappatikāram (Tamil: சிலப்பதிகாரம், IPA: ʧiləppət̪ikɑːrəm, lit. "the Tale of an Anklet"),[1] also referred to as Silappathikaram[2] or Silappatikaram,[3] is the earliest Hindu[4]-Jain[5] Tamil semi-legendary epic.[6] It is a poem of 5,730 lines in almost entirely akaval (aciriyam) meter.[7] The epic is a tragic love story of an ordinary couple, Kannaki and her husband Kovalan.[8][4] The Silappathikaram has more ancient roots in the Tamil bardic tradition, as Kannaki and other characters of the story are mentioned or alluded to in the Sangam literature such as in the Naṟṟiṇai and later texts such as the Kovalam Katai.[9][10][11] It is attributed to a prince-turned-monk Iḷaṅkõ Aṭikaḷ, and was probably composed in the 5th or 6th century CE.[2][7][12]