Śaṅgam literature

Śaṅgam literature

also spelled  caṅkam 

      the earliest writings in the Tamil language. The writings are thought to have been produced in three śaṅgams, or literary academies, in Madurai, India, from the 1st to the 4th century AD. The Tolkāppiyam, a book of grammar and rhetoric, and eight anthologies (Eṭṭuttokai) of secular poetry were compiled: Kuruntokai, Narriṇai, Akanānūru, Aiṅkurunūru, Kalittakai, Puranānūru, Patirruppattu, and Paripāṭal. These secular writings are possibly unique in early Indian literature, which is almost entirely religious. The poems are concerned with two main topics, love and the praise of kings and their deeds. Many of them, especially on the latter subject, display great freshness and vigour and are singularly free from the literary conceits of much of the other early and medieval literatures of India. Since they are almost entirely secular, these poems are also free from the complex mythical allusions that are such an outstanding feature of most Indian art forms. There are nonetheless some instances of religious works in Śaṅgam poetry. Pattupāṭṭu (“The Ten Long Poems”) contains the earliest Indian poem of personal devotion to a god, and Paripāṭal contains poems about Vishnu, Śiva, and Murugaṉ.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sangam literature — refers to a body of classical Tamil literature created between the years c. 600 BCE to 300 CE.[citation needed][1][2][3][4] This collection contains 2381 poems composed by 473 poets, some 102 of whom remain anonymous …   Wikipedia

  • Tamil history from Sangam literature — Sangam Literature is one of the main sources used for documenting the early history of the ancient Tamil country. The ancient Sangam poems mention numerous kings and princes, the existence of some of whom have been confirmed through… …   Wikipedia

  • Sangam period — Part of a series on History of Tamil Nadu Chronology of Tamil history Sangam period …   Wikipedia

  • Sangam landscape — The Sangam landscape is the name given to a poetic device that was characteristic of love poetry in classical Tamil Sangam literature. The core of the device was the categorisation of poems into different thinais or modes, depending on the nature …   Wikipedia

  • Sangam (disambiguation) — Sangam may refer to: *Sangam, a collection of Tamil literature *Sangam at Allahabad, a confluence at Allahabad *Sangam, Srikakulam district, a triveni sangam in Andhra Pradesh *Sangam, Nellore district, a village in Andhra Pradesh *Sangam World… …   Wikipedia

  • Sangam — Littérature tamoule classique La littérature tamoule classique, dont le cœur est constitué par la littérature du Sangam ou littérature Sangam, connaît probablement son âge d or entre le Ier et le IVe siècle mais peu de choses nous sont… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Tamil literature — refers to the literature in the Tamil language. Tamil literature has a rich and long literary tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution.… …   Wikipedia

  • Ancient literature — History of Literature Bronze Age literature …   Wikipedia

  • Tamil literature —       body of writings in Tamil, a Dravidian language of India and Sri Lanka. Apart from literature written in classical (Indo Aryan) Sanskrit, Tamil is the oldest literature in India. Some inscriptions on stone have been dated to the 3rd century …   Universalium

  • Littérature de sangam — Littérature tamoule classique La littérature tamoule classique, dont le cœur est constitué par la littérature du Sangam ou littérature Sangam, connaît probablement son âge d or entre le Ier et le IVe siècle mais peu de choses nous sont… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”