Sangam literature - Wikipedia Sangam literature Agastyar, Father and Chairman of first Tamil Sangams, Madurai, Pandiya Kingdom The Sangam literature ( Tamil : சங்க இலக்கியம், Sanga ilakkiyam ) is the ancient Tamil literature of the period in the history of ancient southern India ( known as the Thamizhagam or the Tamilagam ) spanning from c. 300 BCE to 300 CE. This collection contains 2381 poems in Tamil composed by 473 poets, some 102 of whom remain anonymous. Most of the available Sangam literature are from the Third Sangam, this period is known as the Sangam period, which referring to the prevalent Sangam legends claiming literary academies lasting thousands of years, giving the name to the corpus of literature. Sangam literature is primarily secular, dealing with everyday themes in a Tamilakam context. The poems belonging to Sangam literature were composed by Tamil poets, both men and women, from various professions and classes of society. These poems were later collected into various anthologies, edited, and with colophons added by anthologists and annotators around 1000 AD. Sangam literature fell out of popular memory soon thereafter, until they were rediscovered in the 19th century by scholars such as Arumuga Navalar, C.W. Thamotharampillai and U.V. Swaminatha Iyer. Topics in Sangam literature Sangam literature Akattiyam Tholkāppiyam Patiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku Eṭṭuthokai Aiṅkurunūṟu Akanaṉūṟu Puṟanāṉūṟu Kalittokai Kuṟuntokai Natṟiṇai Paripāṭal Patiṟṟuppattu Pattuppattu Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai Kuṟiñcippāṭṭu Malaipaṭukaṭām Maturaikkāñci Mullaippāṭṭu Neṭunalvāṭai Paṭṭiṉappālai Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai Ciṟupāṇāṟṟuppaṭai Patiṉeṇkīḻkaṇakku Nālaṭiyār Nāṉmaṇikkaṭikai Iṉṉā Nāṟpatu Iṉiyavai Nāṟpatu Kār Nāṟpatu Kaḷavaḻi Nāṟpatu Aintiṇai Aimpatu Tiṉaimoḻi Aimpatu Aintinai Eḻupatu Tiṉaimalai Nūṟṟu Aimpatu Tirukkuṛaḷ Tirikaṭukam Ācārakkōvai Paḻamoḻi Nāṉūṟu Ciṟupañcamūlam Mutumoḻikkānci Elāti Kainnilai Related topics Sangam Sangam landscape Tamil history from Sangam literature Ancient Tamil music History of literature by era Bronze Age Ancient Egyptian Akkadian Sumerian Classical Avestan Chinese Greek Hebrew Latin Pali Prakrit Sanskrit Syriac Tamil Early Medieval Matter of Rome Matter of France Matter of Britain Armenian Byzantine Georgian Japanese Kannada Middle Persian Turkish Medieval Old Bulgarian Old English Middle English Arabic Persian Armenian Byzantine Castilian Catalan Dutch French Georgian German Bengali Indian Old Irish Italian Korean Nepal Bhasa Norse Russian Telugu Turkish Welsh Early Modern Renaissance Baroque Modern by century 18th 19th 20th 21st Literature portal Sangam literature deals with emotional and material topics such as love, war, governance, trade and bereavement. Some of the greatest Tamil scholars, like Thiruvalluvar, who wrote on ethics, and on the various issues of life like virtue, wealth and love, or the Tamil poet Mamulanar, who explored historical incidents that happened in India, lived during the Sangam period. The Indologist Kamil Zvelebil quotes A.K. Ramanujan : `` In their antiquity and in their contemporaneity, there is not much else in any Indian literature equal to these quiet and dramatic Tamil poems. In their values and stances, they represent a mature classical poetry : passion is balanced by courtesy, transparency by ironies and nuances of design, impersonality by vivid detail, austerity of line by richness of implication. These poems are not just the earliest evidence of the Tamil genius. '' Contents 1 Compilation of literature 2 Classification 3 Environmental classifications 4 Tamil Sangams 5 Rediscovery 6 See also 7 References 7.1 Bibliography 8 External links Compilation of literature The available literature from this period was categorized and compiled in the 10th century into two categories based roughly on chronology. The categories are patiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku ( `` the Major Eighteen Anthology Series '' ) comprising ettuthogai ( `` the Eight Anthologies '' ) and the pattuppāṭṭu ( `` ten Idylls '' ) and patiṉeṇkīḻkaṇakku ( `` the Minor Eighteen Anthology Series '' ). Classification Sangam poems falls into two categories : the `` inner field '' ( akam -- அகம் ), and the `` outer field '' ( puṟam -- புறம் ) as described even in the first available Tamil grammar, the Tolkāppiyam. The `` inner field '' topics refer to personal or human aspects, such as love and intimate relationships, and are dealt with in a metaphorical and abstract manner. The `` outer field '' topics discuss all other aspects of human experience such as heroism, courage, ethics, benevolence, philanthropy, social life, and customs. The division into agam and puram is not rigid, but depends upon the interpretation used in a specific context. Environmental classifications Main article : Sangam landscape Sangam literature illustrates the thematic classification scheme first described in the Tolkāppiyam. The classification ties the emotions involved in akam poetry to a specific landscape. These landscapes are called tiṇai ( திணை ). These are : kuṟiñci ( குறிஞ்சி ), mountainous regions ; mullai ( முல்லை ), forests ; marutam ( மருதம் ), agricultural land ; neytal ( நெய்தல் ) coastal regions ; pālai ( பாலை ) deserts. In addition to the landscape based tiṇais, kaikkiLai and perunthinai are used for unsolicited love and unsuited love respectively. Similar tiṇais pertain to puram poems as well, though these categories are based on activity rather than landscape : vetchi, karanthai, vanchi, kanchi, uzhignai, nochchi, thumbai, vaagai, paataan, and pothuviyal. Tamil Sangams Main article : Tamil Sangams According to the compilers of the Sangam works such as Nakkeeran, the Tamil Sangams were academies, where Tamil poets and authors are said to have gathered periodically to publish their works. The legends claim that the Pandyan dynasty of the mythical cities of `` South Madurai '', Kapatapuram, and Madurai, patronized the three Sangams. While these claims of the Sangams and the description of sunken land masses Kumari Kandam have been dismissed as frivolous by historiographers, `` Sangam literature '' is still the preferred term for referring to the collection of Tamil works from the period 200 BC to 200 AD. Noted historians like Kamil Zvelebil have stressed that the use of ' Sangam literature ' to describe this corpus of literature is a misnomer and Classical literature should be used instead. Sangam Place of Organisation Chairman Kingdom Books First Thenmadurai Agastya Pandiya No books survived Second Kapatapuram Earlier - Agastya Later - Tolkāppiyar ( a disciple of Agastaya ) Pandiya Tolkāppiyam ( author - Tolkāppiyar ) Third Madurai Nakkeerar Pandiya covers entire corpus of Sangam Literature Rediscovery The works of Sangam literature were lost and forgotten for several centuries before they were brought to light by several Tamil scholars, such as Arumuka Navalar, C.W. Thamotharampillai and U.V. Swaminatha Iyer. They painstakingly collected and catalogued numerous manuscripts in various stages of deterioration. Navalar and Pillai hailed from Jaffna. Navalar brought the first Sangam text into print ; this was the Thirumurukaattuppadai of Pattupattu ( one of The Ten Idylls ), in 1851. Pillai brought out the first of the Eight Anthologies ( Ettuththokai ) of the Sangam classics, the Kaliththokai, in 1887. Swaminathaiyar published his first print of Paththupattu in 1889. Together, these scholars printed and published Tholkappiyam, Nachinarkiniyar urai ( 1895 ), Tholkappiyam Senavariyar urai, ( 1868 ), Manimekalai ( 1898 ), Silappatikaram ( 1889 ), Pattuppāṭṭu ( 1889 ), and Purananuru ( 1894 ), all with scholarly commentaries. They published more than 100 works in all, including minor poems. JV Chellaiah of Jaffna College did the entire translation of the Pattuppāṭṭu in English in 1945. See also Literature portal Tamiḻakam First Sangam Second Sangam Tamil Sangams List of Sangam poets References Jump up ^ There are some who claim earlier dates ( up to 600 BCE ). Others cite as late as 200 BCE. The date of 300 BCE may represent a middle - of - the road consensus view ; e.g. see the well - received textbook Ancient India, Upinder Singh, 2009, p. 15. However, it is quite likely that the songs existed in oral tradition well before this date. Jump up ^ Kamil Veith Zvelebil, Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature, p. 12 Jump up ^ K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, A History of South India, OUP ( 1955 ) p. 105 Jump up ^ Classical Tamil Archived 7 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ T.S. Subramanian ( 2009 - 07 - 10 ). `` Jain History of Tamil Nadu vandalised ''. Retrieved 2011 - 06 - 03. The six Tamil - Brahmi inscriptions of the 2nd century B.C. on the brow of five caverns on the Kazhugumalai hill near Mankulam, 38 km from Madurai, are the most ancient ones in Tamil Nadu and establish the historical facts that the Pandyan king Nedunchezhiyan ruled in the 2nd century B.C. and that Sangam literature dates back to the same period. Jump up ^ George L. Hart III, The Poems of Ancient Tamil, U of California P, 1975. Jump up ^ Iḷaṅkōvaṭikaḷ ( 1965 - 01 - 01 ). Shilappadikaram : ( The Ankle Bracelet ). New Directions Publishing. ISBN 9780811200011. Jump up ^ Irayanaar Agapporul dated to c 750 AD first mentioned the Sangam legends. An inscription of the early tenth century AD mentions the achievements of the early Pandya kings of establishing a Sangam in Madurai. See K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, A History of South India, OUP ( 1955 ) p. 105 Jump up ^ `` The latest limit of Ettutokai and Pattupattu may be placed around 700 AD... '' -- Vaiyapuri Pillai, History of Tamil language and literature p. 38. Jump up ^ ``... the Tamil language of these brief records achieved a flowering during the first centuries of the Common Era, culminating in the emergence of a poetic corpus of very high quality (... ) To this corpus the name sangam poetry was added soon afterwards... '' Burton Stein, A History of India ( 1998 ), Blackwell p. 90. Jump up ^ The only religious poems among the shorter poems occur in paripaatal. The rest of the corpus of Sangam literature deals with human relationship and emotions. See K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, A History of South India, OUP ( 1955 ) pp. 330 -- 335 Jump up ^ Chera, Chola, Pandya : Using Archaeological Evidence to Identify the Tamil Kingdoms of Early Historic South India -- Abraham, Shinu Anna, Asian Perspectives -- Volume 42, Number 2, Fall 2003, pp. 207 -- 223 University of Hawaii Press Jump up ^ Morality and Ethics in Public Life by Ravindra Kumar p. 92 Jump up ^ Essays on Indian Society by Raj Kumar p. 71 Jump up ^ Kamil Zvelebil 1975, p. 115. Jump up ^ The Hindu : Book Review : Resurrecting Lemuria Jump up ^ Kamil Zvelebil., The Smile of Murugan Jump up ^ A library of palmyra manuscripts Archived 13 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature '', Kamil V. Zvelebil Bibliography Kamil Zvelebil ( 1973 ). The Smile of Murugan : On Tamil Literature of South India. BRILL. ISBN 90 - 04 - 03591 - 5. Kamil Zvelebil ( 1975 ). Tamil Literature. Handbook of Oriental Studies. BRILL. ISBN 90 - 04 - 04190 - 7. P. Meenakshi Sundaram ( 1965 ). History of Tamil Literature. Annamalai University. External links Varalaaru.com -- Monthly web magazine on South Indian History and Literature Sangam Literature Translations and Explanations sangamtranslationsbyvaidehi.com Great Overview and Detailed Translations of all Sangam Literature in English by Vaidehi Herbert Tamil language History Old Tamil Middle Tamil Modern Tamil Manipravalam Proto - Dravidian Tamil Sangams Dialects Indian Bangalore Tamil dialects Central Tamil dialect Kongu Tamil Madras Bashai Madurai Tamil Nellai Tamil Sri Lankan Negombo Batticaloa Jaffna Sociolects Brahmin Tamil Arwi Malaysian Tamil Global organizations World Tamil Conference World Classical Tamil Conference 2010 Literature Classics Sangam literature Tamil books of Law The Five Great Epics of Tamil Literature The Five Lesser Epics of Tamil Literature Ponniyin Selvan List of Sangam poets Devotional Literature Tirumurai Naalayira Divya Prabhandham Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai Thembavani Kampa Rāmāyaṉam Poetry Kural Venpa Iraichchi Akam Puram Thinai Ullurai Ulā Grammars and Dictionaries Agattiyam Tolkāppiyam Tivakāram Nikantu books Caturakarāti Tamil Lexicon dictionary Madurai Tamil Paeragaraadhi History Yāzhpāna Vaipava Mālai Tamil and other languages English Sinhala Indo - Aryan languages Dravidian languages Malay Korean Scripts Megalithic graffiti symbols Tamil - Brahmi Kolezhuthu Vatteluttu Pallava grantha Modern script Tamil Braille Arwi Lexis and grammar Tamil grammar Tamil honorifics Tamil numerals Phonology Tamil phonology Tamil onomatopoeia Tamil prosody Transliteration ISO Mozhi Events Standardisation of Tamil script Tanittamil Iyakkam Simplified Tamil script Printing in Tamil language Tamil Sangams First Sangam Second Sangam Third Sangam Ancient manuscript digitalisation Formation of CICT Project Madurai Major languages of South Asia Main articles Languages of India list by number of speakers scheduled Languages of Pakistan Languages of Bangladesh Languages of Bhutan Languages of the Maldives Languages of Nepal Languages of Sri Lanka Contemporary languages Austronesian Sri Lankan Creole Malay Dravidian Brahui Jeseri Kannada Malayalam Tamil Telugu Tulu Indo - Aryan Angika Assamese Bhojpuri Bengali Chakma Chittagonian Dhivehi Dogri Gujarati Hindi Hindko Kashmiri Konkani Kumaoni Magahi Mahal Maithili Marathi Nepali Odia Punjabi Sanskrit Saraiki Sindhi Sinhala Sylheti Rajasthani language Urdu Iranian Balochi Pashto Wakhi Isolates Great Andamanese Burushaski Nihali Kusunda Mon -- Khmer Khasi Nicobarese Munda Ho Korku Mundari Santali Sora Ongan Önge Jarawa Tibeto - Burman Ao Bodo Dzongkha Garo Meithei Mizo Nepal Bhasa Sikkimese Tenyidie Tibetan Tripuri European influence English Indian English Pakistani English Sri Lankan English French Portuguese Scripts Historical Indus ( Undeciphered ) Brahmi ( Abugida ) Kharosthi Brahmic Devanagari Bengali Gujarati Gurmukhī Malayalam Kannada Odia Ranjana Sinhala Tamil Telugu European Latin alphabet Arabic Arwi Nastaʿlīq Shahmukhi Arabi Malayalam Language activism Hela Havula Bengali Language Movement Sanskrit revival Pure Tamil movement Nepal Bhasa movement Punjabi Language Movement Urdu movement Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sangam_literature&oldid=839804895 '' Categories : Tamil - language literature Sangam literature Indian poetics Cultural history of Tamil Nadu Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Use Indian English from December 2015 All Wikipedia articles written in Indian English Use dmy dates from December 2015 Articles containing Tamil - language text All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from July 2016 Wikipedia articles in need of updating from November 2010 All Wikipedia articles in need of updating Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা Català Deutsch Español Français हिन्दी Italiano മലയാളം मराठी नेपाल भाषा 日本 語 Norsk nynorsk ਪੰਜਾਬੀ தமிழ் اردو 7 more Edit links This page was last edited on 5 May 2018, at 19 : 55. 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Question: who is language was used in the literature of sangam period
Answer: Tamil