Sangam literature

Sangam literature, the earliest writings in the Tamil language, thought to have been produced in three sangams, or literary academies, in Madurai, India, from the 1st to the 4th century ce. The Tolkappiyam, a book of grammar and rhetoric, and eight anthologies (Ettuttokai) of poetry were compiled—Ainkurunuru, Kuruntokai, Narrinai, Akananuru, Kalittokai, Patirruppattu, Purananuru, and Paripatal. A ninth anthology, Pattupattu, consists of 10 idylls that present a picture of early Tamil life.

The poems are concerned with two main topics: those of the first five collections are on love (akam), and those of the next two are on heroism (puram), including the praise of kings and their deeds. Paripatal, the eighth collection, contains poems of both types. Many of the poems, especially on heroism, display great freshness and vigor. Although the vast majority of the poems focus on nonreligious subjects, there are some examples, such as in Paripatal—believed to be a collection of 70 poems, of which only 22 remain in full today—that discuss the deities Tirumal (Vishnu), Murugan, and the Vaigai River personified as a goddess.