The real history of Tamil literature begins with the Tamil Sangams (Academies), which lasted from B.C. 500 to A.D. 500. The ancient Tamil poems frequently refer to sangams or societies of learned Man. The word `sangam' used by Buddhists and Jain's for a religious order or coterie,
came to supersede", writes the late Mr. Purnalingam Pillai, "on the score of its euphony, the expression, `KUTTAM' which is Tamil, and the presence of poets of the Buddhist or Jain persuasion in the third academy in modern Madurai accounts for it. Madurai bears the name
of KUDAL, for the reason that the poetic academy met there".
The Sangam was a body, perhaps at first informal, of the most learned men of the time, whose chief function, like that of the French Academy, was the promotion of literature. According to Tamil writers, there were three Sangams in the Pandya country at different periods.
Of the three Sangams, the second was more or less continuous with the first, and both probably existed some time between the fifth century B.C. and second century A.D., while the third, and the most important of them, seems, to have lasted till A.D 500.
THE FIRST SANGAM
Regarding the First Sangam, we know little. None of the writings attributed to this Sangam have come down to us in their entirety. We have only a few doubtful quotations from AGASTYAM
and other works. The only authors of this period about whom, any account, however scanty, can be extracted from Tamil literature are Agastya and Murinjiyur Mudinagarayar. The rest of the members seem to be half-mythical persons. Even the life of Agastya is enveloped in myth. He is said to have had 12 students. Chief of them Tolkappiyar was also a member of
the second sangam like his renowned master.
The identification of TEN MADURAI , the seat of the first Sangam, has been a controversial point. Regarding the destruction of this place, there are certain allusions both in the Madurai STALAPURANA and in the SILAPPADIKARAM .
The learned commentator of the latter work writes as follows: "Between the rivers KUMARI and PAHRULI there existed an extensive continent occupying an area of 700 KAVADAMS (a KAVADAM being equal to ten miles). This land consisting of forty nine NADS (inclusive of Kollam and Kumari), innumerable forests, mountains and rivers had been submerged in the Indian Ocean as far as the peaks of Kumari, by a terrific convulsion which resulted in the upheaval of the Himalayan Range". Geological, ethnological and linguistic researches also seem to confirm the above theory.
CHANGE OF VENUE To arrive at the date of the second Sangam is equally difficult. It is said that the seat of the second Sangam was Kavatapuram. The transfer of the headquarters from TEN MADURAI to Kavatapuram and from the latter city to the modern city of Madurai (seat of the third Sangam) is probably a historical fact. The former two sites are said to have been submerged by two different incursions of the sea.
The only work of the second Sangam which has come down to us is the Tolkappiyam. Nothing further is known about Tolkappiyar than that he was a student of Agastya and that he lived in a village near Madurai during the reign of the Pandya king Makirti. All the works of this Sangam have also been irretrievably lost, except the above work and a few poems which luckily found their way into the anthologies of the third Sangam.
Almost all the best Tamil classics we now possess are the productions of the third Sangam, which had its seat in Madurai.
THE THIRD SANGAM
A comparison of these ancient institutions of the Tamil people with the modern Royal Academy of the French will be interesting. The French Academy was established in 1635 A. D., i.e. nearly two thousand years after the First Tamil Academy, and its members were fixed at forty. Its object was to cleanse the language of the impurities which had crept into it through the common people who spoke it and to render it pure, eloquent and capable of treating arts and sciences. It has done much by its example for style and has raised the general standard of writing, though it has tended to hamper and crush originality. Language has life and growth and , when left to itself, sprouts out into diverse dialects like the branches of a living tree. "The bit and bridle of literature", says Max Mueller, "will arrest a natural flow of language in the countless rivulets of its dialects, and give a permanency to certain formation of speech which, without these external influences, could have enjoyed but an ephemeral existence". This linguistic principle was clearly understood and fully recognised by the founders of the Tamil Academies. To secure, therefore, permanency to the Tamil language,the boundaries of the country where it was current were roughly described and the particular locality in which pure Tamil (Sen Tamil) was spoken was sharply defined; then the form and pronunciation of letters were settled; rules were laid down to distinguish pure Tamil words from those of foreign origin, and to determine the structure and combination of words in sentences. These and many other restrictions on the free growth of the language were dealt with in the first Tamil grammar. Treatises were written on prosody, rhetoric and PORUL (details of conduct in matters of love and warfare). Poetical dictionaries or NIKHANDUS were compiled in order to check the indiscriminate and unlicensed introduction of alien words in the Tamil vocabulary. The canons of literary criticism were severe and were applied impartially.
In this way the Tamil language, which passed through the crucible of the three academies, was refined and given to the Tamil land as a perfect instrument for the expression of the best thoughts and sentiments of its people. The influence of these academies is markedly seen in the Tamil writings which received their approval; in style and choice of words these differ much from the Tamil works of the post-academic period.
For the advancement of literature and academies the Tamil kings did much. Liberal presents in the shape of money, elephants, palanquins, chariots with horses, lands and flowers of gold were bestowed upon deserving poets. Titles of distinction were also conferred on them.
Tolkappiyam, the grammar during the period of the second and third Academies, is in three parts and 1,612 Sutras. It is the oldest extant Tamil grammar, the name signifying `ancient book' or `the preserver of ancient institutions'. It was preceded by centuries of literary culture, for
it lays down rules for different kinds of poetical compositions, deduced from examplesfurnished by the best authors whose works had been in existence.
It treats clearly and systematically of only one of the three time-honoured divisions of Tamil, viz., IYAL or natural Tamil. The three parts of it are ELUTHU (Orthography), SOL (Etymology), and PORUL (Matter), each with nine sections.
(a) ELUTHU: The first part deals with Letters, i.e. Orthography.
(b) SOL: The second part on Words is masterly in treatment. In this the author attempts to find the root meanings of words. It is a peculiarity that gender is natural and not grammatical; it is based on the significance, not the form, of the words.
(c) PORUL : The third part PORULADIKARAM is most valuable as it gives us a glimpse of the political, social and religious life of the people during the period when Tolkappiyar lived.
THIRD SANGAM WORKS
While no works of the first Sangam have come down to us, and the Second Sangam is represented by TOLKAPPIYAM alone, we are more lucky with the Third Sangam. In addition to the tradition transmitted in the commentary on the IRAIYANAR AHAPPORUL , we have other traditions all of which mark the following as the accredited works of this Sangam : the ETTUTOGAI,, the PATTUPPATTU , and the PADINENKILKANAKKU , all of which have come down to us. KUTTU , VARI , SIRRISAI ,
PERISAI etc. are now only names to us, the works having themselves been lost long since.
The Ettutogai comprises: NARRINAI, KURUNTOGAI, , AINGURUNURU PADIRRUPPATTU , PARIPADAL , KALITTOGAI NEDUNTOGAI , AND PURANANURU
.
The Narrinai contains 401 stanzas, each ranging from nine to twelve lines. In it we find the handiwork of 175 poets. The verses deal with the five THINAIS , 28 on MULLAI , 32 on MARUDAM , 107 on PALAI , 103 on NEITHAL
, and 120 on KURINJI . Its general theme is love and its compilation was at the instance of the Pandyan king, Pannadu atnda Pandyan Maran Valudi.
The Kuruntogai literally means a collection of short poems. This collection containing verses attributed to as many as 205 poets has 402 stanzas in the AHAVAL metre, each stanza ranging from four to eight lines. As in the NARRINAI , the theme of the work is love and the stanzas can be brought under the category of the five THINAIS. Itwould appear that the compilation of the extant work by the well-known commentator Per-Asiriyar has since become lost. Nacchinarkiniyar has written a gloss on twenty verses only, because, in all probability, the other gloss existed in his time.
The Aingurunuru means literally the short five hundred. It contains 500 AHAVAL verses and the whole book can be conveniently divided into five parts, each part consisting of 100 stanzas. Each verse contains three to six lines. Every part again deals with five THINAIS.Orambagiyar, Ammuvanar, Kapilar, Odalandaiyar,and Peyanar, are said to be the respective authors of hundred verses each on MARUDAM, NEITHAL, KURINJI, PALAI and MULLAI THINAIS respectively. In the case of this work, however, the name of the compiler is known as Kudalur Kilar.
The Padirruppattu (the Ten Tens) is an anthology of great importance. Here we are introduced to a number of kings of the Chera dynasty, with a splendid record of their deeds and achievements thus enabling us to get at a true picture of the political conditions of Tamil land about two thousand years ago. Of the ten books into which the whole work is divided, the first and the last are not available to us.
The Paripadal (literally stanzas of strophic metre) is according to tradition a composition of the first Academy as well as the third Academy. If the two are different works, the first Sangam work is lost. The PARIPADAL of the third Academy is said to consist of seventy stanzas attributed to several poets. It is unfortunate that as many as forty-six verses of this importantwork are lost. There is an ancient commentary of Parimelagar which has been printed with the available texts by Mahamahopadhyaya U.V. Swaminatha Iyer.
The Kalittogai, otherwise known as KURUNKALITTOGAI or simply KALI , contains one hundred and fifty stanzas in the KALI metre dealing with the five THINAIS. Its theme is love but it also contains a number of moral maxims. Incidentally it describes some peculiar marriage customs current in those ancient days. Kadungon, Kapilar, Marudan Ilanganar, Cola Nalluttiran and Nallanduvanar are the poets who composed the various songs in the work. It is generally believed that one of the five poets, Nallundavanar, was the compiler. The celebrated commentator Nacchinarkkiniyar has written a gloss on it.
The Neduntogai, otherwise known as AHAPPATTU, and popularly known as AHANANURU or simply AHAM , is an important anthology. It contains 401 stanzas in the AHAVAL metre and is divided into three sections --KALLIRRIYANI-NIRAI of 121 stanzas, MANIMIDAIPAVALAM of 180 stanzas and NITTILAKKOVAI of 100 stanzas. Its general theme is love. The length of the stanzas varies from thirteen to thirty-seven lines. As many as 145 poets are represented in this collection whose compiler was Uruttirasarman, the son of Uppurikudi Killar of Madurai. It was accomplished under the auspices of the Pandyan king Ukkirappeuvaludi.
The Purananuru, otherwise known as PURAPPATTU , or simply PURAM, is another valuable anthology of 400 stanzas in AHAVAL form. It is the counterpart of the preceding work, the AHANANURU and deals with war and matters of state . There is a view that the work is a later compilation inasmuch as the name of Poygaiyar, a poet of post-sangam days, is mentioned among the poets referred to in the Puram. It also contains the poems of Murinjiyur Mudinagarayar, Vanmikiyar, and others who, according to the legend,
belong to the First Academy. Thus the anthology contains odes ranging from the epoch of the First Sangam to that of Post-Sangam. Whatever may be the date of its compilation, the events it treats of are ancient and hence it is invaluable to an antiquarian.
The Pattuppattu is a collection of ten idylls. An idyll is a short poem descriptive of some picturesque scene or incident, chiefly in pastoral life. It is not known by whom and when these poems written by different authors at different times were brought together. Five of the idylls belong
to a class called ARRU PADAI. An ARRUPADAI is a poem in which a bard or minstrel is recommended to go to a patron to solicit help from him. It is addressed to another seeker for favours by one who has already benefitted munificently at the hands of the patron. One of these poems, Tirumuruharrupadai, directs devotees to a God, not bards to a patron. It contains vivid descriptions of the War God Muruga, and of his six hill-shrines. It is highlyvenerated and its 317 lines are memorised and chanted by Saivites.
The next collection of the Sangam works comes under the general heading....the PADINENKIL-KANAKKU, the eighteen poems dealing primarily with morals (Tamil: Aram, Sans: Dharma).
They are::
1. Nalaiyar
2. Nanmani-Kadikai
3. KAr-narppathu
4. Kalavali-narppathu
5. Inaithu-narppathu
6. Inna-narppathu
7. Ain-thinai-aimbathu
8. Ain-thinai-elupathu
9. Thinai-moli-aimbathu
10. Thinai-malai-nuth-aimbathu
11. Kainnilai, Innilai
12. Thirukkural
13. Thri-kadukam
14. Acarak-kovai
15. Palamoli
16. Siru-pancha-mulam
17. Muthu-moli-kanchi
18. Elathi
The term Kil-Kanakku implies that there was a classification like Mel-kanakku. The works that contain less than fifty stanzas, composed in different metres, generally come under the Kil-kanakku. But if the VENBA metre is pressed into service, the poem can beof any length and can still find a place in Kil-kanakku. The Mel-kanakku ranges from 50 to 500 stanzas and is in the ahaval, kalippa and paripadal metres. The Ettutogai and the Pattuppattu came under the category of Mel-kanakku.
Two works like Naladiyar and the Thirukkural which come under the category of Kil-kanakku deal with the three PURUSHARTHAS or ends of life, DHARMA (aram) or righteous living, ARTHA (porul) or wealth or secular life and KAMA or love (inbum).The remaining sixteen deal
both with Aham and Puram, the aim being practice of Dharma or morals.
The THIRUKKURAL also known as MUPPAL is the work of the celebrated Tiruvalluvar who lived in the early centuries before the Christian era. The poem is in the form of couplets and deals with the three ends in human life -- Aram, Porul and Inbam. It consists of 133 chapters, each containing ten kuralvenbas. Each couplet is a gem by itself and conveys lofty thoughts couched in terse language. Though the scholarly commentary of the ilustrious Parimelagar - a happy consummation of Tamil and Sanskrit culture is largely in use, there were nine equally well-known commentaries of which Manakkuduvar's gloss is one. Till recently,this was the only one available of the nine. Two others (parts) are said to have been traced since.
A brief analysis of this universal code of morals is given below:
No. of Chapters. Subject
Book I (34 chapters)
20 The ideal householder....Domestic virtue based on affection
14 The ideal Ascetic.....Ascetic or Higher Virtue based on grace Book II (70 chapters)
25 The Ideal Sovereign ... Royalty
10 The Ideal Statesman ....Ministers of State
22 The Ideal State .....The Essentials of State
13 The Ideal Citizen ....Morality, Affirmative and Negative Book III (25 chapters)
25 The Ideal Lover .... Secret love ending in wedded love
These are the seven ideals presented by this Prince of Moralists. It has been translatedinto English, French, German and Latin. Using only a few Sanskrit words, the Kural shows the richness and power of the Tamil tongue.
The Nasladiyar resembles the Kural in point of choice and division of the subjects. It also deals with the three ends of human life. It contains forty chapters, each consisting of ten stanzas. This anthology, the composition of which can be attributed to different hands, owes its compilation to one Padumanar.
It is interesting to note the swing in the themes of he works of the Third Sangam. The earlier books deal, like the ancient literature of other countries, with love and war, kings and chieftains, and Nature and her beauties. Slowly there is a change, a growing obsession with ethical matters to the exclusion of everything else. Life had turned inwards; external activity and achievement is yielding place to contemplative contentment.
