Sangams were Tamil academies, which according to Tamil legends, enabled poets and authors to gather periodically to publish their work.^[1]. The earliest extant works of Tamil date back to the period between 200 BCE and 200 CE. The literature of this period has been referred to as The Sangam literature and the period in which these works were composed itself is referred to as the Sangam period alluding to the legends. Scientifically and historically, the legends of multiple Sangams existing prior to the period of the earliest extant works in Tamil have been dismissed due to lack of any tangible proof. Sangam may refer to: Sangam, a collection of Tamil literature Sangam at Allahabad, a confluence at Allahabad Sangam, Srikakulam district, a triveni sangam in Andhra Pradesh. ... Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years 200 BCE and 300 CE.[1][2] This collection contains 2381 poems written by 473 poets, some 102 of whom are anonymous authors[3]. The period during which these poems were written is commonly referred to... Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years 200 BCE and 300 CE.[1][2] This collection contains 2381 poems written by 473 poets, some 102 of whom are anonymous authors[3]. The period during which these poems were written is commonly referred to... Agattiyam, according to mentions in Sangam Literature, was the first known book on Tamil grammar. ... The Tolkāppiyam (தொல்காப்பியம் in Tamil) is a work on the grammar of the Tamil language. ... Pathinenmaelkanakku is the collection of the oldest surviving Tamil Poetry. ... Ettuthokai (எட்டுத்தொகை)– The Eight Anthologies - form part of the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology series of the Sangam Literature. ... 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. ... Kaliththokai (கலித்தொகை) is the sixth book of Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. ... Kuruntokai (Tamil: குறுந்தொகை),a classical Tamil poetic work, is the second book of Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. ... Natrinai (நற்றிணை), is a book of Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. ... Paripaatal (பரிபாடல்), is the fifth book in the Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. ... Pathirruppaththu (பதிற்றுப்பத்து), is the fourth book in the Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. ... Pattupattu (பத்துப்பாட்டு) – The ten Idylls, is an anthology of ten mind length books and is one of the oldest surviving Tamil Poetry. ... Tirumurugarruppatai by Nakkirar is one of the most important works of Sangam Literature. ... Kurincippattu, is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. Kurincippattu contains 261 lines of poems in the Achiriyappa meter. ... Malaipatukatam, is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. Malaipatukatam contains 583 lines of poetry in the Achiriyappa meter. ... Mathuraikkanci, is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. Mathuraikkanci contains 583 lines of poetry in the Achiriyappa meter. ... Mullaippattu, is a Tamil poetic work in the Ettuthokai anthology of Sangam literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. Mullaippattu contains 103 lines of poetry in the Akaval meter. ... Netunalvatai, is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. Netunalvatai is part of the Pattupattu collection, which is the oldest available collection of long poems in Tamil literature. ... Pattinappaalai, is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. Pattinappaalai is part of the Pattupattu collection, which is the oldest available collection of long poems in Tamil literature. ... Perumpanarruppatai, is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. Perumpanarruppatai contains 500 lines of poetry in the Achiriyappa meter. ... Porunaraatruppadai, is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. Porunaraatruppadai contains 250 lines of poems in the Achiriyappa meter. ... Cirupanarruppatai, is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. Cirupanarruppatai contains 269 lines of poetry in the Achiriyappa meter. ... Pathinenkilkanakku is a collection of eighteen poetic works created during the post Sangam period (between 100 - 500 CE). ... Nalatiyar is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Nanmanikkatigai is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Inna Narpathu is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Iniyavai Narpathu is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Kar Narpathu is a Tamil poetic work belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Kalavazhi Narpathu is a Tamil poetic work belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Ainthinai Aimpathu is a Tamil poetic work belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Thinaimozhi Aimpathu is a Tamil poetic work belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Ainthinai Ezhupathu, is a Tamil poetic work belonging to the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the post Sangam period corresponding to between 100 – 500 CE. Ainthinai Ezhupathu contains seventy poems written by the poet Muvathiyaar. ... Thinaimalai Nurru Aimpathu, is a Tamil poetic work belonging to the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the post Sangam period corresponding to between 100 – 500 CE. Thinaimalai Nurru Aimpathu contains 154 poems written by the poet Kanimeythaviyaar. ... Tiruvalluvar statue at Kanyakumari Tirukkural (திருக்குறள் in Tamil) is an important work of Tamil literature by Tiruvalluvar written in the form of couplets expounding various aspects of life. ... Thirikatukam is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Acharakkovai is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Pazhamozhi Nanuru is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Siruppanchamulam is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Muthumozhikkanchi is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Elathi is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Kainnilai, and Innilai are Tamil poetic works belonging to the the Pathinenkilkanakku anthology of Tamil literature. ... Languages Tamil Religions Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism Related ethnic groups Dravidian people Brahui people Kannadigas Malayalis Tamils Telugus Tuluvas Gonds The Tamil people are a multi-ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. ... The Sangam landscape is categorisation the Tamil landscape into various Thinais depending on the nature, location and the mood of the poem. ... Early Tamil History has few authentic sources. ... 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. ... The ancient Tamil music was the music of the ancient Tamil people. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... According to the Sangam legends first described in the Irayanaar Agapporul and a commentary to it by Nakkirar (c. ...

Sangam legends

According to the Sangam legends first described in the Irayanaar Agapporul and a commentary to it by Nakkirar (c. seventh/eighth century CE).^[2] there were three Sangams spanning thousands of years. The first Sangam, whose seat was southern Madurai (later submerged into the Indian Ocean South and West of Kanyakumari), lasted a total of 4440 years, and over 4000 poets which supposedly included some gods of the Hindu pantheon such as Siva etc., took part in it. The second Sangam was convened in Kapatapuram, which finds mention in Valmiki Ramayana (Kishkinda Kanda 42:13). This Sangam lasted for 3700 years and had 3700 poets participating. This city also submerged in sea. The third Sangam is described as believed to be located in the current city of Madurai and lasted for 1850 years under 49 kings. ^[3] Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages)[1] is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... Valmiki composes the Ramayana Valmiki (Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, vālmÄ«ki) born as Ratnakar is a legendary Hindu sage (maharishi) traditionally regarded as the author of the epic, Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself[1]. He was the tenth child of Pracheta. ... For the television series by Ramanand Sagar, see Ramayan (TV series). ... , Madurai   (Tamil: , IPA: ) is a city and a municipal corporation with a city population of 922,913 according to 2001 census. ...

Etymology

The word Sangam is probably of Indo-Aryan origin, coming from Sangha, the Buddhist and Jain term for an assembly of monks. In Tamil the word means "assembly" or "academy".^[4] In 470 CE, a Dravida Sangha was established in Madurai by a Jain named Vajranandi. ^[5] During that time the Tamil country was ruled by Kalabhra dynasty. The Kalabhra rulers were followers of either Buddhism or Jainism. The Dravida Sangha took much interest in the Tamil language and literature. ^[6] We can also find Jain names such as Uloccnaar and Maathirthan among the early poets. Jain cosmology and mythology are also found mentioned in the early Sangam poems.^[7] The Indo-Aryan languages form a subgroup of the Indo-Iranian languages, which belong to the Indo-European family of languages. ... A replica of an ancient statue found among the ruins of a temple at Sarnath Buddhism is a philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, a prince of the Shakyas, whose lifetime is traditionally given as 566 to 486 BCE. It had subsequently been accepted by... JAIN is an activity within the Java Community Process, developing APIs for the creation of telephony (voice and data) services. ... , Madurai   (Tamil: , IPA: ) is a city and a municipal corporation with a city population of 922,913 according to 2001 census. ... Kalabhras were the South Indian dynasty who between the 3rd and the 6th century C.E. ruled over entire Tamil country, displacing the ancient Chola, Pandya and Chera dynasties. ... A statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha in Tawang Gompa, India. ... Jain and Jaina redirect here. ...

Evidence

There has been no contemporary archaeological or scientific evidence found to substantiate whether these academies existed at all and if so, the dates, the participants or their works.

Literary evidence

Although the term Sangam literature is applied to the corpus of the earliest known Tamil literature belonging to the c. 300 BCE – 300 CE, the name Sangam and the legend was probably of a much later date.^[8] The early literature belonging to the pre-Pallava dynasty period (c. 400 – 600 CE) do not contain any mention of the Sangam academies, although some relationship between Madurai and literature may be found in some of the Sangam age literature.^[9] Further references to Sangam and its association with Madurai have been mentioned by poets such as Sekkilar, Andal, Auvaiyar and Kambar (all belonging to the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE). The actual poems of the Sangam literature themselves do not directly mention such academies. However the poem Mathuraikkanci (761-763), which belongs to the early collection of Pattupattu, describes Madurai as the 'place where authors met and interacted'.^[10]. Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years 200 BCE and 300 CE.[1][2] This collection contains 2381 poems written by 473 poets, some 102 of whom are anonymous authors[3]. The period during which these poems were written is commonly referred to... The Pallava kingdom (Tamil: பல்லவர்) was an ancient South Indian kingdom. ... , Madurai   (Tamil: , IPA: ) is a city and a municipal corporation with a city population of 922,913 according to 2001 census. ... , Madurai   (Tamil: , IPA: ) is a city and a municipal corporation with a city population of 922,913 according to 2001 census. ... Andal, pronounced aanDaaL is one of the twelve Alvars of Vaishnavism, and is the second most important of them. ... Auvaiyar is a female icon of Tamil literature. ... Kambar is one of the greatest Tamil poets. ... Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years 200 BCE and 300 CE.[1][2] This collection contains 2381 poems written by 473 poets, some 102 of whom are anonymous authors[3]. The period during which these poems were written is commonly referred to... Mathuraikkanci, is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. Mathuraikkanci contains 583 lines of poetry in the Achiriyappa meter. ... Pattupattu (பத்துப்பாட்டு) – The ten Idylls, is an anthology of ten mind length books and is one of the oldest surviving Tamil Poetry. ...

Archeological evidence

From the available archaeological and epigraphic evidence, the earliest Tamil kingdoms may have been established only thousands of years after the end of the Third Sangam in the fourth century BC. Between the fourth century B.C.E. and c 1000 B.C.E., the archaeological findings point to only a megalithic period, and going further back a Neolithic period starting from about the third millennium BC. These two prehistoric periods do not show any sign of a complex culture, and no clear connection with the dawn of urban civilization in South India. Megalithic tomb, Mane Braz, Brittany A megalith is a large stone which has been used to construct a structure or monument either alone or with other stones. ... An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. ... Cities with at least a million inhabitants in 2006 An urban area is an area with an increased density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. ... The geographical south of India includes all Indian territory below the 20th parallel. ...

An accurate chronological assessment of literary works had been rendered difficult due to lack of concrete scientific evidence to support conflicting claims. Undue reliance on the Sangam legends have thus culminated in controversial opinions or interpretations among scholars, confusion in the dates, names and personal accounts of authors and doubts of even their existence in some cases. The earliest archealogical evidence connecting Madurai and the Sangams is the tenth century Cinnamanur inscription of the Pandyas.^[11]

Sangam literature

Main article: Sangam literature

Historians refer to the Tamil literature from c. 300 BCE to 300 CE as Sangam literature.^[12][13] Sangam literature comprises some of the oldest extant Tamil literature, and deals with love, war, governance, trade and bereavement.^[14] Unfortunately much of the Tamil literature belonging to the Sangam period had been lost. Sangam literature refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years 200 BCE and 300 CE.[1][2] This collection contains 2381 poems written by 473 poets, some 102 of whom are anonymous authors[3]. The period during which these poems were written is commonly referred to... 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. ...

See also

• Madurai Tamil Sangam

Madurai Tamil Sangam was a language academy founded by Prince Paandi Thurai Thevar and other Tamil language scholars to promote the use of Tamil language and Tamil culture in the late 19th century in British held India. ...

Notes

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. ... Thirunavukkarasar, also spelt as Tirunvukarasar, and popularly known as Appar, meaning father-figure, or a high one in Tamil is a Shaivite saint who lived in Tamil Nadu. ... This article is about the Hindu God. ... 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. ... Mathuraikkanci, is a Tamil poetic work in the Pathinenmaelkanakku anthology of Tamil literature, belonging to the Sangam period corresponding to between 100 BCE – 100 CE. Mathuraikkanci contains 583 lines of poetry in the Achiriyappa meter. ...

References