Option a is the correct answer.. The author of the Silapadikaram was Ilango. He was a monk and a Chera prince. He composed the Silapadikaram, which is the earliest Tamil epic and one of the five great epics of Tamil literature. The Silapadikaram tells the story of Kannagi, a chaste and faithful wife who avenges the unjust execution of her husband Kovalan by the Pandya king of Madurai.