TheSangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம்,caṅka ilakkiyam), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள்,Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ),[1] connotes the early classicalTamil literature and is the earliest known literature ofSouth India. The Tamil tradition and legends link it tothree legendary literary gatherings aroundMadurai andKapāṭapuram: the first lasted over 4,440 years, the second over 3,700 years, and the third over 1,850 years.[2][3] Scholars consider this Tamil tradition-based chronology as ahistorical and mythical.[4] Most scholars suggest the historical Sangam literature era, also called theSangam period, spanned fromc. 300 BCE to 300 CE,[2][5][6] while others variously place this early classical Tamil literature period a bit later and more narrowly but all before 300 CE.[7][8][9] According toKamil Zvelebil, a Tamil literature and history scholar, the most acceptable range for the Sangam literature is 100 BCE to 250 CE, based on the linguistic,prosodic and quasi-historic allusions within the texts and thecolophons.[10] and recent archaeological interpretations, particularly from theKeeladi excavations, have suggested an earlier date of around 600 BCE, however, this proposal is based largely onradiocarbon dating and remains disputed, with no scholarly consensus.[11]
The Sangam literature had fallen into oblivion for much of the second millennium of the common era, but were preserved by and rediscovered in themonasteries ofHinduism, nearKumbakonam, by colonial-era scholars in the late nineteenth century.[12][13] The rediscovered Sangam classical collection is largely a bardic corpus. It comprises anUrtext of oldest surviving Tamil grammar (Tolkappiyam), the Ettuttokai anthology (the "Eight Collections"), the Pathuppaattu anthology (the "Ten Songs").[14] The Tamil literature that followed the Sangam period – that is, afterc. 250 CE but beforec. 600 CE – is generally called the "post-Sangam" literature.[8]
This collection contains 2381 poems inTamil composed by 473 poets, some 102 anonymous.[14][15] Of these, 16 poets account for about 50% of the known Sangam literature,[14] withKapilar – the most prolific poet – alone contributing just little less than 10% of the entire corpus.[16] These poems vary between 3 and 782 lines long.[13] The bardic poetry of the Sangam era is largely about love (akam) and war (puram), with the exception of the shorter poems such as inParipaatal which is more religious and praiseVishnu andMurugan.[2][17][18] The Sangam literature also includesBuddhist andJainist epics.[citation needed]
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Sangam literally means "gathering, meeting, fraternity, academy". According to David Shulman, a scholar of Tamil language and literature, the Tamil tradition believes that the Sangam literature arose in distant antiquity over three periods, each stretching over many millennia.[19] The first has roots in the Hindu deityShiva, his sonMurugan,Kubera as well as 545 sages including the famedRigvedic poetAgastya. The first academy, states the legend, extended over four millennia and was located far to the south of modern city of Madurai, a location later "swallowed up by the sea", states Shulman.[19][20] The second academy, also chaired by a very long-lived Agastya, was near the eastern seaside Kapāṭapuram and lasted three millennia. This was swallowed by floods. From the second Sangam, states the legend, theAkattiyam and theTolkāppiyam survived and guided the third Sangam scholars.[19][20]
A prose commentary by Nakkiranar – likely about the eighth century CE – describes this legend.[21] The earliest known mention of the Sangam legend, however, appears inTirupputtur Tantakam by Appar in about the seventh century CE, while an extended version appears in the twelfth-centuryTiruvilaiyatal puranam by Perumparrap Nampi.[3] The legend states that the third Sangam of 449 poet scholars worked over 1,850 years in northern Madurai (Pandyan kingdom). He lists six anthologies of Tamil poems (later a part ofEttuttokai):[21]
These claims of the Sangams and the description of sunken land massesKumari Kandam have been dismissed as frivolous by historiographers. Noted historians like Kamil Zvelebil have stressed that the use of 'Sangam literature' to describe this corpus of literature is a misnomer andClassical literature should be used instead.[3] According to Shulman, "there is not the slightest shred of evidence that any such [Sangam] literary academies ever existed", though there are many Pandya inscriptions that mention an academy of scholars. Of particular note, states Shulman, is the tenth-century CE Sinnamanur inscription that mentions a Pandyan king who sponsored the "translation of theMahabharata into Tamil" and established a "Madhurapuri (Madurai) Sangam".[22][note 1]
According to Zvelebil, within the myth there is a kernel of reality, and all literary evidence leads one to conclude that "such an academy did exist in Madurai (Maturai) at the beginning of the Christian era". The homogeneity of the prosody, language and themes in these poems confirms that the Sangam literature was a community effort, a "group poetry".[24][note 2] The Sangam literature is also referred sometimes with terms such ascaṅka ilakkiyam or "Sangam age poetry".[3]
InOld Tamil language, the termTamilakam (Tamiḻakam,Purananuru 168. 18) referred to the whole of the ancient Tamil-speaking area,[web 1] corresponding roughly to the area known assouthern India today, consisting of the territories of the present-day Indian states ofTamil Nadu,Kerala, parts ofAndhra Pradesh andKarnataka.Sri Lanka is distinguished from it and is known as Ilam orEelam,[26] although also influenced by the Sangam Period.[27][28][web 2][note 3]
In Indian history, the Sangam period or age (Tamil: சங்ககாலம்,caṅkakālam) is the period of the history of ancient Tamil Nadu and Kerala (then known asTamilakam), and parts of Sri Lanka fromc. 300 BCE to 300 CE.[web 3] It was named after the literature of poets and scholars of the legendarySangam academies centered in the city ofMadurai.[29]
In the period between 300 BCE and 300 CE, Tamilakam was ruled by the three Tamil dynasties ofPandya,Chola andChera, and a few independent chieftains, theVelir. The evidence on the early history of the Tamil kingdoms consists of the epigraphs of the region, the Sangam literature, and archaeological data.[28]
The fourfold Vedic system of caste hierarchy did not exist during the Sangam period. The society was organised by occupational groups living apart from each other.[30]
The Sangam literature was composed by 473 poets, some 102 anonymous.[14] According to Nilakanta Sastri, the poets came from diverse backgrounds: some were from a royal family, some merchants, some farmers.[32] At least 27 of the poets were women. These poets emerged, states Nilakanta Sastri, in a milieu where the Tamil society had already interacted and inseparably amalgamated with north Indians (Indo-Aryan) and both sides had shared mythology, values and literary conventions.[32]
The available literature from this period was categorised and compiled in the tenth century CE into two categories based roughly on chronology. The categories are thePatiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku ("Eighteen Greater Texts") comprisingEttuthogai (orEttuttokai, "Eight Anthologies") and thePattuppāṭṭu ("Ten Idylls") andPatiṉeṇkīḻkaṇakku ("Eighteen Lesser Texts"). According toTakanobu Takahashi, the compilation of Patiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku poems are as follows:[13]
| Name | Extant poems | Original poems | Lines in poems | Number of poets |
| Natrrinai | 400 | 400 | 9–12 | 175 |
| Kuruntokai | 402 | 400 | 4–8 | 205 |
| Ainkurunuru | 499 | 500 | 3–6 | 5 |
| Patirruppattu | 86 | 10x10 | varies | 8 |
| Paripatal | 33 | 70 | varies | 13 |
| Kalittokai | 150 | 150 | varies | 5 |
| Akananuru | 401 | 400 | 12–31 | 145 |
| Purananuru | 398 | 400 | varies | 157 |
| Name | Lines | Author |
| Tirumurukarruppatai | 317 | Nakkirar |
| Porunararruppatai | 234 | Mutattamakkanniyar |
| Cirupanarruppatai | 296 | Nattattanar |
| Perumpanarruppatai | 500 | Uruttirankannaiyar |
| Mullaippattu | 103 | Napputanar |
| Maturaikkanci | 782 | Mankuti Marutanar |
| Netunalvatai | 188 | Nakkirar |
| Kurincippattu | 261 | Kapilar |
| Pattinappalai | 301 | Uruttirankannanar |
| Malaipatukatam | 583 | Perunkaucikanar |
The compilation of poems from Patiṉeṇkīḻkaṇakku are as follows:
Sangam literature is broadly classified intoakam (அகம், inner), andpuram (புறம், outer).[33] Theakam poetry is about emotions and feelings in the context of romantic love, sexual union and eroticism. Thepuram poetry is about exploits and heroic deeds in the context of war and public life.[24][33] Approximately three-fourths of the Sangam poetry isakam themed, and about one fourth ispuram.[34]
Sangam literature, bothakam andpuram, can be subclassified into seven minor genre calledtiṇai (திணை). This minor genre is based on the location or landscape in which the poetry is set.[34] These are:kuṟiñci (குறிஞ்சி), mountainous regions;mullai (முல்லை), pastoral forests;marutam (மருதம்), riverine agricultural land;neytal (நெய்தல்) coastal regions;pālai (பாலை) arid.[34][35] In addition to the landscape basedtiṇais, forakam poetry,ain-tinai (well matched, mutual love),kaikkilai (ill matched, one sided), andperunthinai (unsuited, big genre) categories are used.[34] TheAinkurunuru – 500 short poems anthology – is an example of mutual love poetry.[16]
Similartiṇais pertain topuram poems as well, categories are sometimes based on activity:vetchi (cattle raid),vanchi (invasion, preparation for war),kanchi (tragedy),ulinai (siege),tumpai (battle),vakai (victory),paataan (elegy and praise),karanthai , andpothuviyal.[34] Theakam poetry uses metaphors and imagery to set the mood, never uses names of person or places, often leaves the context as well that the community will fill in and understand given theiroral tradition. Thepuram poetry is more direct, uses names and places, states Takanobu Takahashi.[36]
The early Sangam poetry diligently follows two meters, while the later Sangam poetry is a bit more diverse.[37][38] The two meters found in the early poetry areakaval andvanci.[39] The fundamental metrical unit in these is theacai (metreme[40]), itself of two types –ner andnirai. Thener is the stressed/long syllable in European prosody tradition, while thenirai is the unstressed/short syllable combination (pyrrhic (dibrach) andiambic) metrical feet, with similar equivalents in the Sanskrit prosody tradition.[39] Theacai in the Sangam poems are combined to form acir (foot), while thecir are connected to form atalai, while the line is referred to as theati.[41] Thesutras of theTolkappiyam – particularly aftersutra 315 – state the prosody rules, enumerating the 34 component parts of ancient Tamil poetry.[41]
The prosody of an example early Sangam poem is illustrated byKuruntokai:[42]
| Part ofa series on |
| Jainism |
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Ethics Ethics of Jainism
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ciṟuveḷ ḷaravi ṉavvarik kuruḷai
kāṉa yāṉai aṇaṅki yāaṅ
kiḷaiyaṇ muḷaivā ḷeyiṟṟaḷ
vaḷaiyuṭaik kaiyaḷem maṇaṅki yōḷē
–Kuruntokai 119, Author: Catti Nataanr
The prosodic pattern in this poem follows the 4-4-3-4 feet per line, according toakaval, also calledaciriyam, Sangam meter rule:[42]
= – / = – / – = / = –
– – / – – / = – / – –
= – / = – / = –
= = / – = / = – / – –
Note: "=" is aner, while "–" is anirai in Tamil terminology.
A literal translation ofKuruntokai 119:[42]
little-white-snake of lovely-striped young-body
jungle elephant troubling like
the young-girl sprouts-brightness toothed-female
bangle(s) possessing hand(s)-female"
– Translator: Kamil Zvelebil
English interpretation and translation ofKuruntokai 119:[42]
As a little white snake
with lovely stripes on its young body
troubles the jungle elephant
this slip of a girl
her teeth like sprouts of new rice
her wrists stacked with bangles
troubles me.
– Creative translator: A.K. Ramanujan (1967)
This metrical pattern, states Zvelebil, gives the Sangam poetry a "wonderful conciseness, terseness, pithiness", then an inner tension that is resolved at the end of the stanza.[43] The metrical patterns within theakaval meter in early Sangam poetry has minor variations.[44] The later Sangam era poems follow the same general meter rules, but sometimes feature 5 lines (4-4-4-3-4).[40][45][46] The later Sangam age texts employ other meters as well, such as the Kali meter inKalittokai and the mixed Paripatal meter inParipatal.[47]
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The works of Sangam literature were lost and forgotten for most of the 2nd millennium. They were rediscovered by colonial-era scholars such asArumuka Navalar (1822–1879),C.W. Damodaram Pillai (1832–1901) andU. V. Swaminatha Aiyar (1855–1942).[50]
Arumuka Navalar fromJaffna first inaugurated the modern editions of Tamil classics, publishing a fine edition ofTirukkuṟaḷ by 1860.[51] Navalar – who translated the Bible into Tamil while working as an assistant to a Methodist Christian missionary, chose to defend and popularizeShaiva Hinduism against missionary polemics, in part by bringing ancient Tamil andShaiva literature to wider attention.[52] He brought the first Sangam text into print in 1851 (Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai, one of theTen Idylls). In 1868, Navalar published an early commentary onTolkappiyam.[53]
C.W. Damodaram Pillai, also fromJaffna, was the earliest scholar to systematically hunt for long-lost manuscripts and publish them using modern tools of textual criticism.[54] These included:
Aiyar – a Tamil scholar and aShaiva pundit, in particular, is credited with his discovery of major collections of the Sangam literature in 1883. During his personal visit to the Thiruvavaduthurai Adhinam – a Shaiva matha about twenty kilometers northeast ofKumbhakonam, he reached out to the monastery head Subrahmanya Desikar for access to its large library of preserved manuscripts. Desikar granted Aiyar permission to study and publish any manuscripts he wanted.[13] There, Aiyar discovered a major source of preserved palm-leaf manuscripts of Sangam literature.[13][55] Aiyar published his first print of theTen Idylls in 1889.
Together, these scholars printed and publishedKalittokai (1887),Tholkappiyam,Nachinarkiniyar Urai (1895),Tholkappiyam Senavariyar urai (1868),Manimekalai (1898),Silappatikaram (1889),Pattuppāṭṭu (1889),Patiṟṟuppattu (1889).Puṟanāṉūṟu (1894),Aiṅkurunūṟu (1903),Kuṟuntokai (1915),Naṟṟiṇai (1915),Paripāṭal (1918) andAkanāṉūṟu (1923) all with scholarly commentaries. They published more than 100 works in all, including minor poems.
The Sangam literature is the historic evidence of indigenous literary developments in South India in parallel toSanskrit, and the classical status of the Tamil language. While there is no evidence for the first and second mythical Sangams, the surviving literature attests to a group of scholars centered around the ancientMadurai (Maturai) that shaped the "literary, academic, cultural and linguistic life of ancient Tamil Nadu", states Zvelebil.[56] On their significance, Zvelebil quotesA. 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."[57]
The Sangam literature offers a window into some aspects of the ancient Tamil culture, secular and religious beliefs, and the people. For example, in the Sangam eraAinkurunuru poem 202 is one of the earliest mentions of "pigtail ofBrahmin boys".[58] These poems also allude to historical incidents, ancient Tamil kings, the effect of war on loved ones and households.[59] ThePattinappalai poem in the Ten Idylls group, for example, paints a description of the Chola capital, the king Karikal, the life in a harbor city with ships and merchandise for seafaring trade, the dance troupes, the bards and artists, the worship of the Hindu godVishnu,Murugan and the monasteries of Buddhism and Jainism. This Sangam era poem remained in the active memory and was significant to the Tamil people centuries later, as evidenced by its mention nearly 1,000 years later in the 11th- and 12th-century inscriptions and literary work.[60]
Sangam literature embeds evidence of loan words from Sanskrit, suggesting on-going linguistic and literary collaboration between ancient Tamil Nadu and other parts of the Indian subcontinent.[61][note 5] One of the early loan words, for example, isacarya– from Sanskrit for a "spiritual guide or teacher", which in Sangam literature appears asaciriyan (priest, teacher, scholar),aciriyam orakavar orakaval orakavu (a poetic meter).[65][note 6]
The Sangam poetry focuses on the culture and people. It is religious as well as non-religious, as there are several mentions of the Hindu gods and more substantial mentions of various gods in the shorter poems. The 33 surviving poems ofParipaatal in the "Eight Anthologies" group praisesVishnu,Durga andMurugan.[2][18][note 7] Similarly, the 150 poems ofKalittokai – also from the Eight Anthologies group – mention Krishna, Shiva, Murugan, various Pandava brothers of theMahabharata, Kama, goddesses such as Ganga, divine characters from classical love stories of India.[69] One of the poems also mentions the "merciful men ofBenares", an evidence of interaction between the northern holy city of the Hindus with the Sangam poets.[69] Some of theParipaatal love poems are set in the context of bathing festivals (Magh Mela) and various Hindu gods. They mention temples and shrines, confirming the significance of such cultural festivals and architectural practices to the Tamil culture.[69]
Religion in the Sangam age was an important reason for the increase inTamil Literature. AncientTamils Primarily followedVaishnavism (Who consider Vishnu as the Supreme Deity) andKaumaram (who worship Murugan as the Supreme god). According toKamil Zvelebil,Vishnu was considered ageless (The god who stays for ever) and the Supreme god ofTamils where asSkanda was considered young and a personal god ofTamils.[70][71]
Mayon is indicated to be the deity associated with themullai tiṇai (pastoral landscape) in theTolkappiyam.[72][73] Tolkappiyar MentionsMayon first when he made reference to deities in the different land divisions.[74] TheParipādal (Tamil:பரிபாடல், meaningthe paripadal-metre anthology) is a classicalTamil poetic work and traditionally the fifth of theEight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) in the Sangam literature.[citation needed] According toTolkappiyam, Paripadal is a kind of verse dealing only with love (akapporul) and does not fall under the general classification of verses. Sangam literature (200 BCE to 500 CE) mentionsMayon or the "dark one," as the Supreme deity who creates, sustains, and destroys the universe and was worshipped in the Plains and mountains ofTamilakam.The Earliest verses ofParipadal describe the glory of Perumal in the most poetic of terms. Many Poems of theParipadal considerPerumal as the Supreme god ofTamils.[75] He is regarded to be the only deity who enjoyed the status ofParamporul (achieving oneness withParamatma) during theSangam age. He is also known as Māyavan, Māmiyon, Netiyōn, and Māl in Sangam literature and considered as the most mentioned god in the Sangam literature.[76]
Cēyōṉ "the red one", who is identified withMurugan, whose name is literallyMurukaṉ "the youth" in theTolkāppiyam; Extant Sangam literature works, dated between the third century BCE and the fifth century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."[77] There are no Mentions ofShaivism inTolkappiyam.[78]Shiva andBrahma are said to be forms OfMaha Vishnu and considers Vishnu as The Supreme god inParipāṭal.[79]
There are two poems depicted as example ofBhakti in AncientTamil Nadu, one in the praise ofMaha Vishnu and other ofMurugan
To Tirumal (Maha Vishnu):
தீயினுள் தெறல் நீ;
பூவினுள் நாற்றம் நீ;
கல்லினுள் மணியும் நீ;
சொல்லினுள் வாய்மை நீ;
அறத்தினுள் அன்பு நீ;
மறத்தினுள் மைந்து நீ;
வேதத்து மறை நீ;
பூதத்து முதலும் நீ;
வெஞ் சுடர் ஒளியும் நீ;
திங்களுள் அளியும் நீ;
அனைத்தும் நீ;
அனைத்தின் உட்பொருளும் நீ;
In fire, you are the heat;
in blossoms, the fragrance;
among the stones, you are the diamond;
in speech, truth;
among virtues, you are love;
in valour—strength;
in the Veda, you are the secret;
among elements, the primordial;
in the burning sun, the light;
in moonshine, its sweetness;
you are all,
and you are the substance and meaning of all.
To Seyyon (Skandha):
We pray you not for wealth,
not for gold, not for pleasure;
But for your grace, for love, for virtue,
these three,
O god with the rich garland ofkaṭampu flowers
with rolling clusters!–Pari. v.: 78–81[80]
The other gods also referred to in theTolkappiyam areVēntaṉ "the sovereign" (identified withIndra) andKorravai "the victorious" (identified withDurga) andVarunan "the sea god".[81]
The Sangam literature also emphasized on fair governance by Kings, who were often described as Sengol-valavan, the king who established just rule; the king was warned by priests that royal injustice would lead to divine punishment; and handing over of a royalscepter,Sengol denoting decree to rule fairly, finds mention in texts such as the Purananooru, Kurunthogai, Perumpaanatrupadai, and Kalithogai.[82][83]
Further, the colophons of theParipaatal poems mention music and tune, signifying the development and the importance of musical arts in ancient Tamil Nadu. According to Zvelebil, these poems were likely from the late Sangam era (2nd or 3rd century CE) and attest to a sophisticated and prosperous ancient civilization.[69]
The first music album on Tamil Sangam poetry titledSandham: Symphony Meets Classical Tamil by ComposerRaleigh Rajan in collaboration with Durham Symphony, featured in Amazon's Top#10 'International Music albums' category in July 2020 and was called "A Major event in the world of Music" by The Hindu Music review.[84][85]
Sangam poems are often quoted and paraphrased in modern Tamil cinema.[86][87]
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