Saturday, November 28, 2009

SANGAM AGE: LITERATURE

SANGAM AGE: LITERATURE

Though we have references to the Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas in the inscriptions of Asoka and Kharavela, and in the Indika of Megasthenese, details about the life of the people of the deep south in the beginning of the historical period are gleaned from the Sangam literature. The earliest reference to the Sangams can be had from the introduction to the commentary on the Iraiyanar Agaporul. The Sangam was a college or assembly of Tamil poets held under royal patronage. Tradition has it that three Sangarns lasted for 9,900 years; they were attended by 8,598 poets, and had 197 Pandya kings as patrons. The available Sangam literature was, in fact, compiled in circa AD 300-600. But some portions of this literature look back to at least the second century AD. This literature can be roughly divided into two groups, narrative and didactic. The narrative texts are called Melkannakku (Eighteen major works) which comprise eight anthologies and ten idylls. The didactic works are called Kilkannakku (Eighteen minor works).

It is believed that the first of the three Sangams was attended by gods and legendary sages, and all its works have perished. Of the second, there survives only the early Tamil Grammar, Tolkappiyam. The poets of the third Sangam wrote the 'Eight Anthologies' (Ett~togai). Together the 'Eight Anthologies' make up a very large body of poetic literature, and contain well over 2,000 poems, ascribed to more than 200 authors. The eight anthologies are: (i) Narrinai-400 short poems on love; (ii) Kuruntogai-4oo smaller love poems; (iii) Aingurunuru-500 short erotic poems; (iv) Padirruppattu- a short collection of eight poems in praise of the king of Chera country; (v) Paripadal-twenty-four poems in praise of gods; (vi) Kalittogai-l50 love poems; (vii) Agananuru-400 love-lyrics; and (viii) Purananuru-400 poems in praise of kings. To them must be added 'The ten songs' (Pattuppattu), containing ten longer poems of similar style but of a rather later date.

Kilkannakku is largely gnomic and moralising in char­acter, the two most famous in the collection being the Tirukkural and the Naladiyar; the former is sometimes caj the 'Bible of the Tamil Land'. The Naladiyar is more fori and literary in style, and contains verses of much merit i high ethical content.

By the 6th century AD Aryan influence had penetra the whole of the Tamil land, and its kings and chJ worshipped and supported the gods of Hinduism, Jaini and Buddhism. The indigenous style of poetry was rapi, being altered under the influence of Sanskrit, and TaJ poets took to writing long poems. The earliest and great of these is the Silappadikaram which, according to traditio is authored by Dangovadigal, a grandson of the great Chi king, Karikalan, who lived in the first or s~cond cent\. AD. This poem and Kamban's Ramayanam are looked up as the national epics of the Tamil people. A little later the Silappadikaram was composed its sequel Manimegal attributed to the poet Sattan of Madurai. A third Tamil eI is Jivakachintamani, written by a Jaina, TirutthakkadevaJ

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