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| Sangam literature | ||||
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| Eighteen Greater Texts | ||||
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| Eighteen Lesser Texts | ||||
| Bhakti Literature | ||||
TheEighteen Greater Texts, known asPatiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku (Tamil:பதினெண்மேல்கணக்கு) in the literature, is the collection of the oldest survivingTamilpoetry. This collection is considered part of theSangam Literature and dated approximately between 100 BCE and 200 CE. A series of eighteen major anthologies, it contains theEight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) and theTen Idylls (Pattupattu). The songs in the Eighteen Greater Texts anthology are set in theAkaval style.
The Eighteen Greater Texts anthology contains 2,381 poems including the ten larger works belonging to theTen Idylls collection. These poems are attributed to 473 poets. Sixteen of the 473 poets are responsible for 1,177 of the 2,279 poems for which the name of the author is known. In all, 102 of the poems are anonymous. Notably, thepathirruppathu collection exclusively collects poetry from theCheral kings (from Kerala), whereas the other collections contain a mix of poetry patronized by diverse Tamil kings.
There is no information available on when these poems were collected or on the identity of the anthologist. These poems have passed through four stages of evolution. The poems were created by the bardic authors between 100 BCE and 200 CE. The poems were collected into the various anthologies.colophons
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