Ettuthokai (எட்டுத்தொகை)– 'The Eight Anthologies' - form part of the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology series of the Sangam Literature. Ettuthokai and its companion anthology Pattupattu are some of the oldest available Tamil Literature and dated to belong to between 200 B.C.E. and 200 C.E. Sangam Literature is the collective name for the Tamil literature created over 1800 years ago. ... Agattiyam, according to mentions inSangam Literature, was the first known book on Tamil grammar. ... The Tolkāppiyam (தொல்காப்பியம் in Tamil) is a work on the grammar of the Tamil language. ... Ainkurnuru (ஐங்குறுநூறு) is a book containing five hundred short poems and is part of Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. ... Akananuru (அகநானுறு) is the seventh book in the Sangam literature anthology Ettuthokai. ... Pura Nanooru or Pura Nanuru is an ancient Tamil Sangam collection of poems, dating from 900 BCE to 220 CE. It is one of the oldest Tamil anthologies. ... Pattupattu (பத்துப்பாட்டு) – The ten Idylls, is an anthology of ten mind length books and is one of the oldest surviving Tamil Poetry. ... Tiruvalluvar statue at Kanyakumari Tirukural (திருக்குறள் in Tamil) is an important work of Tamil literature by Tiruvalluvar written in the form of couplets expounding various aspects of life. ... Manimegalai, Seevaga Sindhamani, Valayaapathi, Kundalakesi and Silapadhigaaram constitute the Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature. ... Cilappatikaram (The Anklet) also spelled as Cilappadhikaram or Silappadhigaram, is one of the five great epics of ancient Tamil Literature. ... Manimekalai is one of the masterpieces of Tamil literature and belongs to The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature. ... The Sangam is a collection of Tamil literature composed between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago. ... Tamil literature is literature in the Tamil language which most prominently includes the contributions of the Tamil country (or Tamizhagam) history, a large part of which constitutes the modern state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well as some parts of Karnataka and Andra pradesh. ... Sangam Literature is the collective name for the Tamil literature created over 1800 years ago. ... Pattupattu (பத்துப்பாட்டு) – The ten Idylls, is an anthology of ten mind length books and is one of the oldest surviving Tamil Poetry. ... Tamil literature is literature in the Tamil language which most prominently includes the contributions of the Tamil country (or Tamizhagam) history, a large part of which constitutes the modern state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well as some parts of Karnataka and Andra pradesh. ...

Contents of the Anthology

Ettutokai consist of 2,371 poems varying from small stanzas of three lines in Ainkurnuru to stanzas of forty lines in Purananuru. The following poems form the Eight Anthologies: Ainkurnuru (ஐங்குறுநூறு) is a book containing five hundred short poems and is part of Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. ... Pura Nanooru or Pura Nanuru is an ancient Tamil Sangam collection of poems, dating from 900 BCE to 220 CE. It is one of the oldest Tamil anthologies. ...

• Ainkurnuru(ஐங்குறுநூறு)
• Akananuru (அகநானூறு)
• Purananuru (புறநானூறு)
• Kaliththokai (கலித்தொகை)
• Kuruntokai (குறுந்தொகை)
• Natrinai (நற்றிணை)
• Paripaatal (பரிபாடல்)
• Pathirruppaththu(பதிற்றுப்பத்து)

The following Tamil poetry by an anonymous author lists the component parts of this Anthology: Ainkurnuru (ஐங்குறுநூறு) is a book containing five hundred short poems and is part of Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. ... Akananuru (அகநானுறு) is the seventh book in the Sangam literature anthology Ettuthokai. ... Pura Nanooru or Pura Nanuru is an ancient Tamil Sangam collection of poems, dating from 900 BCE to 220 CE. It is one of the oldest Tamil anthologies. ...

நற்றிணை நல்ல குறுந்தொகை ஐங்குறுநூறு
ஒத்த பதிற்றுப்பத்து ஓங்கு பரிபாடல்
கற்றறிந்தார் ஏத்தும் கலியோடு அகம்புறம்
என்று இத்திறத்த எட்டுத் தொகை.

The ancient Tamil lyrical poetry compiled in The Eight Anthologies is unique and vigorous, full of vivid realism.

Authors

There are 470 poets known either by their proper names or by causal names deduced from their works. The authors are unidentified in the case of a hundred stanzas. The poets belonged to different parts of Tamil Nadu and to different professions. Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ...

Some of them were very popular like Kapilar, Nakkirar and Auvaiyar and some others are rarely remembered by their names. Yet a general harmony prevails throughout these eight anthologies. The tone and temper of the age is reflected in all their poems with a singular likeness. They were moulded according to certain literary conventions or traditions that prevailed in the Sangam age. Yet they reveal the individual genius of the poets who sang them. Auvaiyar is a female icon of Tamil literature. ... The Sangam is a collection of Tamil literature composed between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago. ...

Composition Style

In those early days of Sangam Literature, the convention of the later days, that Tamil poetry should only deal with the four aspects of life, namely aram (virtue), porul, (wealth and politics), inpam (love and pleasure) and veetu (salvation), was not prevalent. The poets sang either of subjective (Akam) or objective (Puram) matters. Akam dealt with ideal love and Puram with the rest, such as war, munificence, etc. Virtue (Greek αρετη; Latin virtus) is moral excellence of a man or a woman. ... Wealth is an abundance of items of economic value, or the state of controlling or possessing such items, and encompasses money, real estate and personal property. ... Politics, sometimes defined as the art and science of government. ... A cartoonish version of the heart, a frequent modern symbol of love Love (Origin: An Indo-Iranian word. ... This article is about an emotion. ... For other uses, see Salvation (disambiguation). ...

These poems artistically describe the sun, the moon and the nature. They however do not describe the nature for its own sake, rather they are utilised as containers of various aspects of human life. Nature provides the rich background for human emotions.

The poets of Ettutokai believed in the unique effects of a few deft touches of description, not in the elaborate and full descriptions of all the parts of a beautiful object or scene. They preferred to directly describe an object with a few vivid words just enough to communicate the emotions associated with the physical object. In this they can be compared with the Japanese Haiku poetic style. Haiku （俳句） is a mode of Japanese poetry, a late 19th century revision by Masaoka Shiki of the older hokku (発句), the opening verse of a linked verse form, haikai no renga . ...

The poems of Ettutokai are composed using a number of meters unique to Tamil poetry.

Akaval Meter

Of the eight anthologies five are on Akam, two on Puram, and one on both. Six of them are in 'akaval' metre which is a kind of verse, interspersed with alliterations and rhymes. The poems on Akam as well as Puram theme are written in this metre and its regulated and subtle music adds to the poetic beauty. This metre is a simple but wonderful instrument, which causes no impediment to the freedom of expression of the poet. It has been found to be an appropriate and natural medium for the expression of the valuable experience of the poets. Alliteration is a stylistic devices, or literary technique, in which successive words (more strictly, stressed syllables) begin with the same sound or with the same letter. ... This article is about the poetic technique. ...

Kali Meters

The other two anthologies that are not written in akaval metre are Kaliththokai and Paripaatal. The poems of Kalittokai are in Kali metre which is known for its dramatic and lyrical qualities and which, according to Tolkappiyam is well suited to express the emotions of the lovers. There is repetition of certain lines and phrases and this, added to the haunting music of the metre, is very appealing. The Tolkāppiyam (தொல்காப்பியம் in Tamil) is a work on the grammar of the Tamil language. ...

Paripaatal Meter

Paripaatal is a metre full of rhythm and music and the anthology known by this name consists of songs composed in this metre. There are religious poems as well as those on love-themes. The love-theme is worked against the background of bathing festivities. These songs were sung in different tunes as is evident from the notes on the music at the end of these. The names of the musicians who set tunes to these songs are also mentioned therein.

Religion in Ettuthokai

In general the poets of the ancient Sangam period were not overtly religious. They were content writing in praise of their patron the king or about the idealised man and his paramour. But Paripaatal is a notable exception. This is a collection of poems, which are set to music and written about Thirumaal, Murugan and the river Vaigai. This must be the earliest Tamil religious work known to us. For other uses of the name Vishnu, see Vishnu (disambiguation). ... In Hinduism, Kartikeya (also Murugan, Subrahmanya, Skanda, Kumaran, Swaminanda) is a deity born out of a magical spark created by Shiva. ... The Vaigai is a river in Tamil Nadu state of southern India. ...

References

• Varadarajan, M, First International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, April 1966.
• Tamilnation.org, "Tamil Language & Tamil Literature". URL accessed 2006-04-16.