Tamil Literature
An introduction to Tamil is never complete without learning the ancient Tamil literature. We must first understand that the prose form of writing evolved in Tamil only in the 17th century CE. Before that, everything was written in metered poetry. This was because it was easier to remember and pass down by word of mouth.
In ancient times, the poetry was written on palm leaf manuscripts with a sharp tool called “ezhuthani” (writing nail). Many of these have been lost and destroyed by time and by invading forces. We owe it to U.Ve. Saminatha Iyer and the great Tamil scholars of the 19th century who worked hard to collect and publish all these books in print form.
Sangam Period:
The oldest books were written in what is called the “Sangam” period. There are said to have been three Sangams which were academies or gatherings of poets where the poets presented their work and the “senate” approved them. Scholars place the timeline of these Sangams from 250 BCE to 300 CE. The first two Sangams were destroyed by tsunamis that swallowed parts of the peninsula of the Indian subcontinent. No books survived from the first Sangam. The only book that survived the second sangam is Tholkappiyam which is a detailed grammar book.
In this book, the author references many books that existed before his time. Just the thought that the language needed such a rich grammatical book tells us how developed the language was.
Many anthologies survive from the third Sangam. Given below are the names of the books.
The following are known as Pathuppattu.
- Thirumurugatrupadai
- Porunararruppadai
- Perumpanarruppadai
- Sirupanarruppadai
- Mullaippattu
- Maduraikanchi
- Nedunalvadai
- Kurinchi Pattu
- Pattinappalai
- Malaipadukadam
The following are known as Ettuthokai.
- Narrinai
- Kurunthogai
- Ainkurunuru
- Pathitrupathu
- Paripadal
- Kalithogai
- Agananuru
- Purananuru
In addition to these, there is another set of poems known as Pathinenkilkanakku that includes the following:
- Naladiyar
- Nanmanikkatigai
- Iniyavai Narpathu
- Inna Narpathu
- Kar Narpathu
- Kalavazhi Narpathu
- Thinai Mozhi Emathu
- Thinai Malai Nurrayamathu
- Ainthinai Aymathu
- Ainthinai Ezhupathu
- Thirikadugam
- Thirukkural
- Asara Kovai
- Pazhamozhi Nanuru
- Sirupanchamoolam
- Mudumozhikkanci
- Elathi
- Kaynnilai
Note: Many of the poems in this last collection seem to belong to the post-Sangam Age.
The Epics:
In Tamil, we have the five great epics and the five lesser epics. The timeline of the Epic ranges from 1st to 10th century CE.
The five great epics are:
Cilappatikāram, Manimekalai, Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi, Valayapathi, Kundalakesi.
The five lesser epics are:
Neelakesi, Naga kumara kaviyam, Udhyana kumara Kaviyam, Yasodhara Kaviyam and Culamani.
Note: Some of the epics are available only in part because the rest of the text was destroyed or never found.
Bhakti literature:
Most of the Tamil epics were written by Jain and Buddhist poets, these were the principal religions of that time. Starting from the 5th or 6th century CE, there was a great battle between the Jain and Buddhist and the Shaivite and Vaishnavite poets and philosophers. The Nayanmars, who were devotees of the God Shiva, and the Alwars, who were the devotees of Vishnu, composed many texts ultimately won over the masses from the Buddist and Jain faith.
Works of bhakti literature from this period included the anthology Four Thousand Sacred Hymns (Nalayiram Divyaprabandham), revered today by the Vaishnavite as much as the Vedas, and Twelve Sacred Collections (Panniru Thirumurai), most of whose material was compiled by Nambiyandar Nambi approximately in the 11th century. Similar works were the poetry of Sambandar (7th century) and of Appar and Cuntarar (8th century), the poetry collection Sacred Words by Manikkavacakar (9th century), and Periyapuranam by Cekkilar (12th century), the Ramayana of Kambar (12th century) and other outstanding religious poets included Arunakirinatar (15th century), Sivaprahasar (17th century), and Tayumanavar (18th century).
Christian and Islamic Tamil Literature:
The Tamil Bhakthi literature does not end with Hindu literature alone. With the Mugal invasions, Islam became a prominent religion in Tamil Nadu and many pieces of literature were written. With the coming of the Europeans, many Christian devotional texts were written in Tamil. The 17th-century altruist Syed Khader, known colloquially as Seethakaathi, was a great patron of all Tamil poets. He commissioned Umaruppulavar to pen the first biography of Nabi. The collection of poems was called Seerapuranam. The 17th century also saw for the first time literary works by Christian authors. Costanzo Giuseppe Beschi (1680–1746), better known as Veeramamunivar, compiled the first dictionary in Tamil. His Chathurakarathi was the first to list the Tamil words in alphabetical order.
Modern Period:
The literature of the modern period is divided into prose and poetry.
It was in the 19th century that novels and short stories gained popularity and the use of prose to write became common. Periodicals and Tamil journalism took center stage. The authors like Kalki Krishnamurthy, Chandliyan, and Jayakanthan wrote many books. In recent times, many amazing feminist writers and Dalit voices are being heard in the Tamil literary front.
The first Dalit novel in Tamil written by a woman Dalit writer, Sivakami, was published in 1989. The novel, Pazhiyana Kazhidalum (1989), discusses the issue of Dalit leadership and point out pitfalls inherent in an imitative model wherein Dalit leaders duplicate corruption and manipulative politics prevalent among empowered, upper caste politicians
The works of writers like Poomani, Ambai (C.S. Lakshmi) Perumal Murugan, Kutti Revathy, Bama ,Meena Kandasamy, Praveena and others have broken the glass ceiling of casteism and patriarchy in literature.
