Sangam Literature

Period: About 300 BCE–300 CE; Tamil poetry linked to the Sangams (assemblies of poets) at Madurai under the Pandyas; tradition speaks of three Sangams.
Texts:
- Tolkappiyam (Tolkappiyar): earliest Tamil grammar and poetics.
- Ettuthokai (Eight Anthologies): Natrinai, Kuruntokai, Aingurunuru, Patirruppattu, Paripadal, Kalittokai, Akananuru, Purananuru.
- Pattuppattu (Ten Idylls): Tirumurugarruppadai, Porunararruppadai, Sirupanarruppadai, Perumpanarruppadai, Mullaippattu, Maduraikkanchi, Nedunalvadai, Kurinjippattu, Pattinappalai, Malaipadukadam.
- Patinenkilkanakku: Eighteen minor works, including the Tirukkural of Tiruvalluvar (1,330 couplets in 133 chapters on Aram, Porul, Inbam).
- Epics: Silappadikaram (Ilango Adigal; story of Kovalan and Kannagi) and Manimekalai (Sattanar) belong to the post-Sangam period.
Themes: Akam (love, inner life) and Puram (war, kingship, ethics, public life). Five tinai (landscapes): Kurinji (hills), Mullai (forest), Marutham (farmland), Neithal (coast), Palai (arid).
Poets: Avvaiyar, Kapilar, Paranar, Nakkirar; many women poets.
Historical value: Information on Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas, trade with the Romans (Muziris, Arikamedu), rulers like Karikala and Senguttuvan; Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions.

Q1. The earliest Tamil grammar is:
(a) Tirukkural
(b) Tolkappiyam
(c) Silappadikaram
(d) Manimekalai
Answer: (b).

Q2. The Tirukkural was composed by:
(a) Ilango Adigal
(b) Tiruvalluvar
(c) Sattanar
(d) Avvaiyar
Answer: (b).

Q3. 'Akam' poetry in Sangam literature deals with:
(a) War and heroism
(b) Love and personal life
(c) Kingship
(d) Ethics only
Answer: (b).