What is History?

UNIT 7 SANGAM LITERARY TRADITION*

Structure
7.0 Objectives
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Sangam Literature: An Introduction
7.3 Historical Consciousness and Historical Tradition in Sangam Literature
7.3.1 Description of the Past
7.3.2 Historical Narratives
7.4 Composition and Codification: History in the Making
7.5 Authenticating the Past: Historicity of Sangam Age
7.6 Legacy behind the Historical Traditions
7.7 Summary
7.8 Keywords
7.9 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises
7.10 Suggested Readings
7.11 Instructional Video Recommendations

7.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this Unit, you will understand:
• how the Sangam classical poems are organised,
• the chronology of the various texts,
• what kind of historical consciousness is revealed through the Sangam poems,
and
• the significant historical accounts that Sangam poems narrate.

7.1 INTRODUCTION
For the study of past, literature plays a very significant role as it marks the
beginning of ‘history’ in a narrow sense. The history of the Tamil region,
encompassing the modern day Tamil Nadu and Kerala, in the early historical
period can be reconstructed through literary sources known as Sangam
literature, epigraphical sources and archaeology. In this Unit we will focus on
the literary sources. This Unit deals not only with the reconstruction of history
as gleaned from the Sangam literature but also with the perceptions of poets
on the past and their historical consciousness and the legitimacy for the rulers
they praised. This Unit analyses the historical consciousness in the Sangam
period also called as classical period as construed by Sangam poems.

7.2 SANGAM LITERATURE: AN INTRODUCTION

Sangam literature refers to a corpus of early Tamil literary works which were
passed down as oral tradition and dated to the early centuries of the Common Era.
The word Sangam (or an academy) is a term first found in the medieval texts and
* Dr. S.B. Darsana, PG and Research Department of History, Holy Cross College, Tiruchirappalli 111
History Writing in assigned to Tamil works which were compiled in an academy. According to
South India Nakkiranar who wrote a commentary on Iraiyanar Akaporul, a medieval work of 8th
century CE, there were three Sangams. All the Sangams or academies of poets were
patronised by the Pandya rulers. The first Sangam took place at Ten Madurai (ten
means South) which was engulfed by sea. The academy had 4449 poets and lasted
for 4440 years. The names of the poets include the legendary names of deities of
Lord Shiva, Lord Muruga, Lord Kubera and sage Agasthya. The second Sangam
took place at Kapatapuram that lasted for 3700 years with 3700 poets. Both Ten
Madurai and Kapatapuram were engulfed by sea according to legends. The works
produced during these two Sangams were lost due to the vagaries of time.
The third Sangam lasted for 1830 years patronised by 49 Pandya kings. The present works
are extant from third Sangam which include Tolkappiyam (ancient Tamil Grammatical
work) Ettu tokai (Eight anthologies – A collection of eight literary works namely Natrinai,
Kuruntokai, Iinkurunuru, Patitruppathu, Paripadal, Kalittokai, Akananuru and
Purananuru), and Pattu pattu (ten long poems such as Tirumurugaatruppadai,
Porunaratruppadai, Sirupaanaatruppadai, Perumppaanaatruppadai, Mullaipattu,
Maduraikanchi, Nedunalvaadai, Kurinjipaatu, Pattinapalai, and Malaipadukadam).
An academy of poets lasting for more than nine thousand years, as presented in
the later texts, is an improbable occurrence. Though the tradition regarding the
three Sangams is perhaps a later day phenomenon, assigning a hoary past for the
literature itself is a method of increasing the importance of the textual tradition its
importance in the contemporary political-social milieu. The Sangam poems are
considered as the outpourings of the bards and poets with true emotions, certain
reality and a certain degree of exaggerations.
The poems were originally transmitted as oral tradition and then they were codified
in the later period. Fixing the chronology of the various works of the corpus is a
difficult task. The composition of poems and the oral tradition probably started
around 3rd century BCE. The redaction and codification of the oral literature into
anthologies took place around 8th century CE. It is difficult to assign a fixed date
for the academy as different works belonged to different time scale.
The themes of the songs can be classified into two main genres – Akam and Puram.
The Akam poems deal with the inner life of the people such as love life, and
marriage, while Puram deals with outer life such as war. The concept of tinai
mentioned in the Sangam literature belong to both the genre.
The concept of tinai in Sangam literature indicates both the landscape as well as
the love or war situations as the case may be. In Akam they are classified into
fivefold landscapes where the inner life of the hero and heroine is discussed in
five different stages. Kurinji is the mountainous landscape or tinai that is associated
with the union of lovers, Mullai or the pastoral land is associated with the scenario
of the lady waiting for her love; Marutam or the riverine zone is connected to the
infidelity of the hero, Neytal or the coastal zone is associated with anxiety and
separation and Palai or the dry arid zone is associated with the many hardships as
well as separation of lovers. These ecozones also have their own flora, fauna,
time, deities, occupation, and season. The poems of a specific ecozone or tinai
should adhere to other conditions of that landscape. In these akatinai poems, the
names of the main personae (hero, heroine, their friends, and the foster mother are
the main characters) are not revealed. However the names of the kings and chieftains
112 along with mythical and historical events find place in these poems.
In Puram, the tinai concept is associated with the outer life, consisting of warfare, Sangam Literary Tradition
morality and values in life. The stages of warfare are narrated as tinais. Each tinai
is characterised by a flower used in the different stages of warfare. Vetchi tinai
marks the beginning of warfare with cattle lifting. Vanchi tinai deals with the
preparation of war, while Uzhinai tinai describes the siege. Tumpai tinai is
associated with the real battle and Vakai tinai deals with the victory in the battle.
The Puram songs refer to the names of the characters mainly the kings, chieftains
and battlefields. A few poems are philosophical in nature emphasising on the
impermanence of life.
Check Your Progress-1
1) Discuss in detail about the Sangam literature.
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2) How is the tinai concept articulated in the Sangam literature?

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3) Name the three Sangams and their tentative periodisation.

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7.3 HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AND

HISTORICAL TRADITION IN SANGAM
LITERATURE
The Indian society is known for its historical heritage, and Tamil region is also not
an exception. The Tamils have preserved the stories related to their heritage and
history till today for many centuries. There still is a practice of giving a hoary past
to the ancient events based only on literary evidence. The historical and
archaeological investigations undertaken are used to provide an extended antiquity
to the culture of the Tamils.
The Sangam literature with its varied themes show strong evidence of historical
collective memory. The collective memory of the past in the form of historical
tradition finds place in the poems that directly or indirectly reflect the same for
contemporary audience. The memory is selective and definitely not the whole
essence of past is percolating to the narratives of the contemporary society. Only
the events that the society remembers or want the future to remember are given
importance.
Elements of historical antecedents, and contemporary narratives of historical
information are found in both the genres of the classical poems. Tolkappiyam, the
extant ancient Tamil grammar work, refers to the previous works 240 times without
referring to the names of the works thus indicating that there is a precedent and set
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History Writing in rules before the codification of grammar rules.
South India
Though the Sangam works are considered as the outpourings of the bards who
had sung the praise of the worldly activities of the kings or the love situations
(Puram and Akam), they have intentionally or unintentionally recorded the historical
events that had happened in the past or the episodes of their contemporary times.
The past events along with the contemporary cultural narratives can be discerned
from the poems. The contemporary narratives take precedence over the recording
of the past event. These two components of historical consciousness are discussed
in this Unit.
A) Description of the historical past, wherein the genealogy of the kings,
reference to past events such as invasion, Vedic sacrifices, mythical
ancestry for the kings are discussed.
B) Historical narratives that give information about the developments and
events as noticed by the bards, minstrels and poets.
These narratives are usually interwoven in the poems directly in case of Puram
songs and indirectly in case of Akam songs.

7.3.1 Description of the Past

The Sangam poems, while describing the love or war situations, nonchalantly
insert the details of the bygone era in a poetic manner. While describing the past,
the genealogy, lineage, itihasa-purana traditions, history from other regions are
discussed.
Genealogy of the kings
The Sangam poems sporadically referred to the genealogy of kings. The three major
kings, namely, the Cheras, Cholas the Pandyas are usually mentioned with their
ancestry. One of the eight anthologies Patitrupathu details the Chera history with
epilogues added in the later period, probably in the early medieval period.
There are ‘ten tens’ (ten poems in ten divisions) in the poem, each division
describing a Chera King. The first ten and the last ten are found missing and we
have no information about the names of the first and the last rulers mentioned in
Patitrupathu. The second ten describes about the valour of the king Imayavaramban
Neducheralathan, son of Utiyan Cheralathan and Venmal Nallini. He was said to
have affixed the Chera emblem of bow on the Himalayas and took war booty by
defeating his enemies. He brought enormous wealth from the enemies and
redistributed to his subjects in his capital Vanchi. He was credited with defeating
the Kadambas who lived in island and cut the totem tree. The second ten was
written by Kumattur Kannanar, who received 500 villages and a part of income of
the king as a gift from the King Imayavaramban.
The third ten was written by the poet Palai kauthamanar in praise of Palyanai
Selkezhukuttuvan, who was the brother of Imayavaramban Neducheralathan. The
epilogue narrates the story of the poet wanting to reach the heaven and requesting
the king to help him perform the ten sacrifices for gods. At the end of the tenth
sacrifice, the poet Kauthamanar and his wife reached heaven. The king was credited
with the victory over the fort of Akappa in the region of Umbarkadu.
The fourth ten was written by Kappiyatru Kappiyanar on the king Kalankai Kanni
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Narmudi Cheral and he was gifted with ‘forty hundred’ gold coins and a part of the Sangam Literary Tradition
kingdom to rule. Kalankai Kanni Narmudi Cheral was the son of Imayavaramban
and his queen Paduman Devi. His famous victory was against the king Nannan of
Puzhi region at the battle of Vaakai Parantalai.
The fifth ten praised the Chera King Kadal Pirakottiya Senkuttuvan and it was written
by Paranar who was gifted with the revenue from the place of Umbarkadu. He was
the son of Imayavaramban Neducheralathan by a Chola princess. He was credited
with defeating the kings who ruled between the Himalayas and Kumari, obviously
an exaggerated account. He defeated nine Chola princes in the battle of Neri Vaayil.
The sixth ten was written by Kaakaipadiniyar Nachchellaiyar on the Chera King
Adukotpattu Cheralathan. The lady poet was said to have received hundreds and
thousands of gold coins, and the region which can be covered by eyesight from the
hilltop. Adukotpattu Cheralathan was the son of Cheralathan, a king belonged to
the Chera lineage of the Kutanadu, and his queen Devi, who was the daughter of
Velaavi Komaan. He was said to have brought back the goats to Tondi, a Chera port
on the west coast that have been stolen from his kingdom to Dandakaranya. He had
a title vaanavaramban indicating sky is the limit for his power.
The seventh ten was written by poet Kapilar on Selvakadungo Vaazhiyadan.
Kapilar, for his ten songs on the king was gifted with hundreds and thousands of
gold coins and the region covered by the eyesight of the poet atop a hill. More
than for his military valour, the king was praised for his devotion to Lord Vishnu
(called as Mayavan) to whom he donated the village of Okanthur which supplied
good quality rice for Vedic Sacrifice.
The eighth ten was for the king Perumcheral Irumporai by the poet Arisil Kizhar
who received nine hundred and thousands of gold coins along with the right to
rule the king’s kingdom. However, the poet returned the right to rule to the king.
He defeated Athiyaman of Tagadur region along with the Cholas and the Pandyas.
The ninth ten was written by Perumkunrur Kizhar in praise of the King Kudakko
Ilancheral Irumporai and received thirty two thousand gold coins. The king was
the son of Kutta nadu lord Irumporai and queen Venmaal Antuvanchellai. He
defeated the Chola, Pandya and Vichchi kings. He ruled from the capital city of
Vanchi which was guarded by demons with power (Bhootam).
By narrating the genealogy of the Cheras, Patitrupathu gives a poetic description
of the rule of the Chera kings with sparsely sprinkled historical facts. It is indeed
difficult to discern the historical authenticity of these poems. Poetic exaggeration
should be given its place in this genealogical work as poets vied for king’s favours.
It may not be plausible for all the poets to sing in praise of all the kings who
belonged to different periods. The poems could have been commissioned by a
particular king at a particular time and compiled into one. The reference to the
Brahmanas, Brahmadeyas, Vedic sacrifices points out to the influence from northern
part of Tamil region. The epilogues or the patikams, the later compositions of the
Patitrupathu records both the past history in the form of genealogy and
contemporary history in the form of kings’ valour and conquests. Through the
poems, the memories of the past are redefined and retransmitted to a new generation.
Lineage
Lineage is a term denoting a clan or tribe tracing a common ancestry. In due
course of time for various socio-political reasons, a few clan members (probably 115
History Writing in the senior members) could have claimed legitimacy through appropriation of
South India historical tradition that were popular in the past and making them legitimate and
popular in the present.
Apart from the genealogy, the lineage of the heroes (both in Akam and Puram genre)
is portrayed so as to give a legitimisation to the character. Various phrases such as
‘noble, clan, scion of great family (Uravon, marugan, thondral), inherited ancient
traditions, and descendant of great family’ are used to indicate the great lineage of
the kings and heroes (Purananuru 24, 27, 32, 58, 159, 356, 399, Akananuru 352).
The three kings are portrayed as kings of great descent. A person’s lineage is
considered as the essence of the king’s greatness. At times, the lineage is used not
only to praise the king but also to point out mistakes as known from a Purananuru
song (43). A Purananuru poem (no. 43) praises the Chola King Karikala’s lineage
by describing the greatness of his ancestors such as Sibi who gave his flesh to save
a pigeon. The story of Sibi is found both in Buddha Jataka stories as well as in
Mahabharata. The poet also questions his lineage whether he truly belonged to the
great family of the Cholas as he had committed wrongdoing against a Brahmans
poet. But he forgives the king in the song and finally praises him.
While describing the greatness of a Velir ruler of Thuvarai (identified with
Dwarasamudra of Hoysalas in Karnataka), his ancestry for 49 generations was
praised (Purananuru 201), probably indicating seven generations seven times to
specify ancient lineage. The city of Tuvarai is also identified with Dwaraka situated
on the western coast of Gujarat.
Even in the matrimonial alliance, lineage of the woman and man are considered
important and there are references in the classical poems that matrimonial alliance
is not possible with a person of no famous lineage (Purananuru 345, 353).
Ithihasa-Purana Traditions
The Sangam literature provides information about various legends associated with the
Vedic religion. This indicates that the Tamil poets were aware of the developments
that took place outside their sphere in northern part of the country. It is to be remembered
that some of the collections in Sangam works are dated to as late as medieval period
(till 12th century), such as, Kalittokai and Tirumurugatrupadai by a few scholars.
Though the fivefold landscapes of ancient Tamils have their own deities such as
Seyyon (Lord Muruga/Subramanya) for mountainous Kurinji region, Maayon (Lord
Vishnu) for pastoral Mullai region, Vendan (Lord Indra) for riverine Marutam
zone, Lord Varuna for the coastal zone of Neytal and Kotravai (Goddess Durga)
for the dry zone of Palai, the poems sporadically mention about Lord Siva, and
Lord Vishnu in invocatory verses (Purananuru 1 and Akananuru 1). There are
references to Shiva as Ardhanariswara (Purananuru 1) and Tripurantaka
(Kalittokai 1). It is to be noted that the invocatory verses of these collections are
written by Perumdevanar, who wrote Mahabharatha epic in Tamil and he was
believed to be the contemporary of the Pallava King Nandivarma of 9th century CE.
Ramayana and Mahabharata, the two great Sanskrit epics of India found mention
in a few Sangam songs indicating people’s knowledge about these legendary epics
from northern part of India. The legends associated with the Vedic Gods too find
mention in the poems. Reference to the serving of food by a Chera king to the
armies of five Pandavas who have horses with blinkers and the hundred Kauravas
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who wore golden garland till the Pandavas annihilated the Kauravas is mentioned Sangam Literary Tradition
in Purananuru (2). Though the legend of Bharata war and the period of the Sangam
Cheras cannot be contemporaneous to each other, it can be assumed that the legend
of Mahabharata was in vogue and the Chera king could have offered rice offerings
in memory of his ancestors who probably participated in the all India war as
observed by a few Tamil scholars. The Perumpaanatruppadai (415-417) refers to
the great war between the two fifties (hundred Kauravas) and the Pandavas with
great chariots. The poem equates the valour of the king of Kanchipuram
Ilamthiraiyan with that of the Pandavas.
The story of Duryodhana building a lac house for the Pandavas and trying to burn
them down and the Pandavas escaping from the fire with the help of Bhima, the son
of the wind god (Kalittokai 25) finds reference. Akkrur is referred to as Akkuran,
who fought against the hundred Kauravas in the Mahabharata war (Patirupathupathu
14:5-7). The killing of Duryodana by Bhima by hitting him on his thigh is referred
to in Kalittokai (52). Sirupaanatruppadai refers to the treatise on cooking of Bhima,
the brother of Arjuna who destroyed the Kandava vana (238-241).
There is a reference to Lord Rama while planning for the expedition to Sri Lanka
against Ravana making the birds to keep quiet (Purananuru 70). While getting
gold ornaments from the Chola King Ilamchet chenni as gifts, the relatives and
friends of the poet Uun podhi Pasukudaiyar started wearing the jewels in wrong
places due to excitement of getting the gifts. This was equated by the poet with
that of the monkeys wearing the jewels thrown by Sita while she was being abducted
by Ravana (Purananuru 378).
A Purananuru song (56) describes the Vedic deities such as Yama, Balarama,
Krishna and Subramanya and equates them with the courageous qualities of the
Pandya king Ilavantikai Thunjiya nanmaran. Another song (Purananuru 58) points
out that the Chola and Pandya kings are similar to the forms of fair skinned Balarama
and dark skinned Krishna. The dark skinned Lord Vishnu as Trivikrama measuring
the three worlds finds mention in Perumpaanatruppadai (29-30). The same poem
describes Brahma emerging from the naval lotus of Lord Vishnu (402). The legend
of Krishna stealing the clothes of Gopikas and handed them the dresses made of
leaves from the trees on the banks of the river Yamuna is found in Akananuru 59.
The Kalittokai also refers to the episode of Krishna killing of the demon who
came in the form of a horse sent by Kamsa (Kalittokai 103). A festival conducted
on the day of Lord Vishnu’s birth star Tiruvonam finds mention in Maduraikanchi
(591).
Ravana lifting Kailasa, the abode of Lord Siva is described in Kalittokai (38).
The political treatises written by Guru Brihaspathi and Sukracharya found their
place too (Kalittokai 99). The same poem also describes the form of Shiva as
Kalaantaka, where Lord Siva killed Yama, the Lord of death. Lord Vishnu
measuring the three worlds (Kalittokai 124), Brahma creating the world after the
deluge (Kali), and the form of Dakshinamurthy (Kalittokai 133) indicate the
influence of Vedic stories on Tamil literature.
The Puranic story of Indra deceiving Rishi Gautama to covet Akalya is mentioned
in Paripatal (19/50-52). Paripatal highlights the glory of Lord Vishnu and Lord
Muruga, though the work can be dated to later period.

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History Writing in Conduct of Vedic Rituals
South India
The Tamil literature mentions about the Vedic sacrifices that came into vogue due
to contact with northern part of India and the migration of the priestly class of
Brahmanas to South India. The Chera king Palyanai Selkelukuttuvan is mentioned
as conducting Vedic sacrifices and that the smoke from these sacrifices touched
the sky (Patitrupathu 3:21). The names of the Pandya king Pal yaanai yaga salai
mudukudumi peruvazhuthi and a Chola king Rajasuyam vetta perunarkilli indicate
the importance the kings had given towards the Vedic sacrifices. This could be
probably due to the migration of ideologies from the north and for building up
ritualistic control and legitimisation of the power they had.
In Maduraikanchi, king Neducheliyan was advised by the poet to conduct sacrifices
in Madurai like that of his ancestor Palsalai mudukudumi (759-760). An Akananuru
poem (13) refers to the sacrifice conducted by the chieftain of Kodai region, Panni.
Purananuru (6,9,15, 361) refers to the Vedic sacrifices along with the Brahmanas
who performed them.
Recording the Regions outside Tamil Region
The Sangam literature sporadically referred to the kings and kingdoms outside the
realm of Tamil regime. It shows that the ancient people were aware of the existence
of such kingdoms and places and it got recorded in the poems. Through memories
they are stored and restored through poems.
Though the Tamil rulers held sway over the Tamil region, they were aware of the
entire country of Bharatavarsha. Purananuru 3 describes the extent of the region of
the Pandya King Palyagasalai Mudukudumi Peruvazhuthi as Himalayas in north,
Kumari in South and sea on the west and eastern sides. River Ganga is referred to in
Pattinapalai (190), Perumpaanatruppadai (429-433), Natrinai (7) with the
description ranging from the river falling from heaven, river emerging from the
place where the gods reside, river difficult to cross, and the river entering into sea.
The Himalayas is also found mentioned in the classical poems. A Purananuru
song 132 refers to the existence of Himalayas in the north and the kingdom of Ays
in the south as reason for restoring the balance in the world. The cataracts found in
the Himalayan region is mentioned in Purananuru 369. The Natrinai refers to the
sea on the low lying region and the mighty Himalayas in the elevated region.
These depictions probably indicate that early Tamil poets either had first-hand
knowledge of the regions as far as Himalayas or they had collected information
about these far away regions from the traders or pilgrims and immortalised them
in their poems.
The Northern Kings
The Sangam literature apart from giving information on the important rulers who
ruled over Tamil region namely the Pandyas (the oldest ruling dynasty in Tamil
country ruling the southern part of Tamil Nadu), the Cheras (rulers of roughly the
modern day Kerala), and the Cholas (rulers of central Tamil Nadu), it also describes
the rulers from northern part. Interestingly the inscriptions of Asoka refer to the
Padas (Pandyas), Chodas (Cholas), Keralaputras (Cheras) and Satyaputras as
southern neighbours. The Tamil region had maintained trade relations with its
northern neighbours.
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The tribes such as Aruvars, Oliyar, Vatakar who ruled over the northern part of Sangam Literary Tradition
Tamil country in present day Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are mentioned in the
classical poems. The wars waged by three major chieftains of Tamil country with
the chieftains in the border areas where they speak different languages other than
Tamil are described in the poems.
The heroes going out in search of wealth leaving behind their loved ones is the
common theme in Akananuru songs. In Akananuru poem (251) while describing
about a hero, the friend consoles the heroine that the hero would not be tempted
even by the wealth of the Nandas to stay back and would come soon.
In another instance, the wealth of the Nandas is again mentioned. Akananuru 265
refers to the city of Pataliputra, the capital city where the Nandas met and hid the
treasures under the river Ganges.
The reference about the Mauryas, whose chariots blunted the rocky surface indicate
the past history as recorded in the Sangam literature. The references to the chariots
of the Mauryas with their iron wheels blunting the rocky surface on the border
areas (Akananuru 69) point out that the Mauryas were helping the Kosars against
the king of Mokur (Akananuru 251). The Puram songs describe about the superior
quality of the chariots of the Mauryas adorned with white parasols and flags
(Purananuru 175).
The Akananuru 281 describes the invasion of the Mauryan army into the southern
part with the Vatukar in the front. As the hero of the poem crosses the border area
to amass wealth, the heroine tells her friend that the hero crossed the border where
the Mauryan chariots rolled in the path cut from the rocks, to invade southern
parts supported by the Vatukars in the front.
Apart from the Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras who are referred to as Ventars, there
are many chieftains who assumed significance due to their valour, or their just
rule and the treatment of poets and bards. The Sangam literature hails seven
chieftains as great benefactors who donated various things to both the birds and
jasmine creeper as well as to the bards. The Sangam poems glorifies the munificent
benevolence of seven kings namely Pari, Kari, Ori, Pegan, Ay, Athiyaman, and
Nalli, Their legends and munificence are repeated in more than one place
(Purananuru 158, Sirupaanatruppadai 84-115) and their greatness is immortalised
in the legends and poems.
The poetess Auvaiyar while singing the valour of the chieftain Athiyaman of Tagadur
records the fact that his great ancestors performed the sacrifices and brought the
sugarcane cultivation to Tamil country (Purananuru 99). The belief that Athiyaman’s
ancestors brought sugarcane to Tamil country from foreign land (Puramnanuru 392)
is prevalent in the later period too as noted by William Logan in Malabar Manual.
The Puram songs usually describe the ancestor of the hero and sometimes the
genealogy culminates to the mythological ancestry. The hero of Perumpaanatruppadai
is mentioned as the descendant of Tondaiman and finally as the descendant of Lord
Vishnu, a practice that continued in the medieval period as known from the inscriptions
where both the political and mythical ancestry of the Kings are mentioned starting
from the Pallavas in Tamil country. It has been noted that there are more than thirty
instances of ancestry being mentioned in the songs.
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History Writing in Check Your Progress-2
South India
1) ‘Sangam literature preserves the historical consciousness through the recording
of past events.’ Justify the statement.
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2) Mention the nature of the performance of the Vedic rituals represented in the
Sangam literature.
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3) Illustrate the presence of itihasa-Purana tradition in the Sangam literature?

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4) How are the regions represented in the Sangam literature?

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7.3.2 Historical Narratives

Sangam literary works are used primarily as the source for reconstructing the
early historic period which is contemporaneous to that.
Similar to Herodotus Histories, the Sangam works deal with the different aspects
of life during the early historic period thereby leaving the historical legacy of the
bygone era. The literature gives narratives of historical wars that were fought
between the various rulers of Sangam era.
Historical Narratives of Kings and Kingdoms
The Akam and Puram songs in eight anthologies discusses about a few historical
events that have taken place. They are all individual and short poems. In the ten
long poems or Pathuppattu, there are a few works that deal exclusively with one
particular king. These songs are narrative in nature and lengthy. The poems range
from smallest Mullaipattu (103 lines) to the longest Maduraikanchi (782 lines). A
bard after receiving bountiful gifts from a king guide another bard to the same
king by giving explanation about routes and landscape to reach the kingdom. This
is known as Aatruppadai (literally means guiding). There are five Aatruppadai
poems in the ten long poems. Four of them (Porunaratruppadai, Perumpanaatruppadai,
Sirupaanaatruppadai, Malaipadukadam or Koothaatruppadai) deal with guidance to
the bards to reach a king while one of them is the guide to reach the God
(Tirumurugaatruppadai). Pattinapalai, and Maduraikanchi provide valuable
information about the kings and kingdoms. A few are discussed below.
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Karikala, the Chola King was the hero of two poems of ten long poems, namely Sangam Literary Tradition
Porunaratruppadai and Pattinapalai. Pattinapalai, written by Kadiyalur Uriuthiran
Kannanar gives a detailed description of the port city of Kaveripumpattinam, where
the river Kaveri meets the sea. The port city was buzzling with trade activities and
ships plying with imports and exports. It gives details about the goods in the
following lines that highlight the flourishing trade.
Himalayas sends gems and gold
While Kuda hills, the Sandal wood
And Akhil; pearls from the south seas come
Red coral from the eastern sea
The Ganges and the Kaveri bring
Their yield; Ceylon provides its food
And Burma, manufacturers rare
215-221, Chellaiah 1946

The poem describes a king called Tirumavalavan, usually identified with Karikala.
He is portrayed as a young tiger cub who defeated many rulers such as Oliyar,
Aruvalar, Kudavar, Poduvar, Irungovel, Thennavan, Vadavar. Apart from these,
he was credited with making the Chola country more verdant and greener by digging
more tanks. He also made many towns by destroying the forest lands so as to
expand the Chola country. He is credited with building a bund for the river Kaveri
known as Kallanai (stone dam).
The Porunaratruppadai written by Mudathama Kanniyar is in praise of King
Karikala, which describes his warfare at Venni (identified with modern day Kovil
Venni at Thiruvarur district). As it mentions only the earlier warfare of Karikala,
this is considered as earlier work than Pattinapalai. Another Aatruppadai work
called Perumpaanatruppadai written by Kadiyalur Uruthiran Kannanar describes
the valour and generosity of Tondaiman Ilanthirayan of Kanchipuram. The poet
guides another poet by describing the landscape one crosses to reach the king and
it throws light on various landscape of Tamil country.
The Sangam poets describe various routes that they follow to reach various
kingdoms to sing the praise of chieftains for getting gifts. The Aatruppadai literature
especially describes many towns and villages in different landscape setting a bard
crosses to reach the king. The king of Oymanadu Nalliyakodan is praised in
Sirupaanatruppadai written by Nathathanar. Interestingly it talks about Vanchi,
the capital city of the Cheras, Madurai, the capital city of the Pandyas, and Uranthai,
the capital city of the Cholas. The Chera King is praised as one who affixed his
bow symbol on the Himalayas (Sirupaanatruppadai 48-49). The city of Madurai
is referred to as the city where Tamil flourishes. The bard describes various places
while traversing the route to his kingdom. The cities of Aamur, Velur, Eyirpattinam,
Mavilangai are described. These places are identified with those at northern part
of Tamil Nadu.
The seven famous benevolent kings of Sangam age are recorded in this poem
along with their deeds and Nalliyakodan is praised as superior to all of them in
munificence.
Maduraikanchi is written in praise of the Pandya king Neducheliyan. The poem
beautifully depicts the landscape of Madurai with its tall walls, fortifications, moat,
wide roads, places of worship and people who indulged in various types of
occupations. The poem states that the King Neducheliyan of ancient illustrious
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History Writing in lineage defeated his enemies at Talaialankanam and captured the port city at Saliyur.
South India He had ruled over Korkai, a port city under his control. Even the minute detail like
the king wearing starched cotton cloth is mentioned in the poem (720-721).
Battlefields
The literature gives a vivid account of the battlefields and the horror of the wars.
The references to wars are found both in Akam and Puram songs. While describing
the valour of the hero who went to battle, the Akam poems elaborately explain the
enemy forces, the battle field and the final victory. The heroine is assured that he
would reach home sooner. In Puram songs the kings are praised openly about the
various victories that they had attained. Here, three important battles are described
to give an idea about the description of warfare in classical poems.
In the battle of Venni Parantalai, the young Chola king Karikala was said to have
defeated two kings and eleven chieftains. Akananuru 246 describes that the war
drums were lying in a corner when courageous Karikala defeated all the kings.
The Akananuru 55 attests to the Venni battlefield where the Chera king who was
injured in the back committing suicide by facing the northern side holding a sword
as getting injured at the back was considered as a shameful act. A poetess while
addressing Karikala actually praises the Chera king as a greater person for
committing suicide (Akananuru 66).
Another battle associated with Karikala Chola was Vagaiparantalai where he
defeated nine rulers who left their royal umbrellas and fled the battle scene
(Akananuru 125). The Porunaratruppadai equates young Karikala defeating the
two kings (the Chera and the Pandya king) with a lion’s cub killing a huge elephant
in the first attempt (139-46). Probably this battle was a continuation of battle of
Venni. Through these battles Karikala strengthened his sway over other kings.
Another important battle field that finds mention is the battle of Aalankanam. The
Pandya king Seliyan fought with seven rulers namely the Chera, Chola, chieftains
Tithiyan, Elini, Erumaiyuran, Irunkovenman and Porunan. The young king on
knowing the invasion composed a poem wherein he said if he did not defeat the
enemies and seize their parasols, he may be cursed by his people by calling him as
an evil king (Purananuru 72). Interestingly the battlefield scene is witnessed by a
poet who records it saying that Seliyan is entering the battlefield like an elephant
and he was faced by many soldiers. The poet concludes that the battle would end
soon and only a few will escape (Purananuru 79).
The king Seliyan killed all of them in the battle field within a day and captured the
white parasols of the enemy kings (Purananuru 25,76, Akananuru 36). A poet
(Purananuru 76) on hearing the events at battle records the victory as something
which was never heard of.
Recording the Live Events
Most of the poems describe the past events and a few songs narrate the happenings
that are recorded by the poets. A poet of Purananuru song (46) slams the Chola
king for planning to kill two young sons of the defeated ruler by making elephants
trampling upon them. The poet praises the king as the descendant of Sibi, who had
given his flesh to save the life of a pigeon and at the same time tells him the
innocence of children and leaves the option to him to take desired action.
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The daughters of a chieftain Pari, who was killed in the battlefield by the kings lament Sangam Literary Tradition
that in the last full moon day their father and his kingdom were there while in this full
moon day their father is killed and the kingdom was seized (Purananuru 112).
Poet Kapilar who identifies himself as a Brahman takes the responsibility of the two
daughters of Pari. He approaches a few chieftains to accept the hands of the girls
and addresses them in songs (Purananuru 200-202). A poetess writes that she came
to know about the severe wound King Evvi incurred in the morning and she could
not believe it. She prays that the news should be false (Purananuru 233).
The Sangam poets not only mention about the political history of the past and
their contemporary periods but also the socio-economic conditions of the people.
The references to fivefold landscape, the people of landscape, their occupation,
music tradition, time, birds, seasons, water source, flora and fauna are found in
abundance in Sangam poems providing valuable information about the social
conditions that existed during the classical period.
The economic conditions such as internal trade, external trade with Rome and other
countries (attested by foreign literary works such as Periplus Maris Erythraei, Ptolemy’s
work), the production processes, various occupations, barter system are mentioned in
the poems. The heap of pepper kept in the port city of Cheras, Muziris is exchanged
for gold from Rome brought from Sea (Akananuru 149, Purananuru 343).
Check Your Progress-3
1) How are the historical narratives recorded in the Sangam literature?
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................

2) Describe the details of the understanding of the battlefields as mentioned in

the Sangam literature.
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........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................

3) How are the live events depicted in the Sangam literature?

........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................

7.4 COMPOSITION AND CODIFICATION: HISTORY

IN THE MAKING
The Sangam poets and their compositions cannot be graded with modern scale of
historical consciousness. The classical poems are sung in different contexts, at
different times and at different spatial locations. The poems were codified and
redacted in medieval period.
The word Sangam was used by Vajranandi for Jaina sangha. It was only in the
eight century, Iraiyanar Akapporul, said to be written by Lord Siva himself that 123
History Writing in the works were codified into the present format. The random poems were collected,
South India codified and colophones were added by a few people before Perutevanar compiled
them and added invocatory verses for some collections. The oral traditions get
recorded in the later period and the poems were classified based on the theme and
style of poem.

7.5 AUTHENTICATING THE PAST: HISTORICITY

OF SANGAM AGE
The Sangam works and the rulers of the Sangam Age find their place in the works
of contemporary and later period. Interestingly Ramayana refers to the city of
Kavata known for its pearls as ruled by the Pandyas.
Kautilya’s Arthashastra refers to the pearl from Pandya Kavata. The Asokan rock
edicts (XIII ) refers to the Cholas, Cheras, Pandyas and Satyaputras as the southern
neighbours. The Satyaputra is identified with Athiyaman dynasty of Tagadur region
(modern day Dharmapuri region in the western part of Tamil Nadu), based on the
Tamil Brahmi inscription found at Jambai. The inscription dated to approximately
first century CE reads ‘Satiyaputho Adhiya nedumananji eetha paali’. It records
that Satyaputra Athiyaman donated a stone bed for a Jain monk. The Asokan
inscription can be taken as a tool to prove the historicity of Sangam poems.
The Hathigumpha inscription of king Kharavela mentions about the king’s victory
against the Dramira confederacy that was in force for 113 years. It also narrates
that the Pandya king paid obeisance to Kharavela by bringing pearls and other
gems along with horses and elephants.
The Pugalur inscription written in Tamil Brahmi script dated to 2nd century CE mentions
three kings of Chera lineage. It refers to Ko aadhan Sellirumporai, his son Perunkadunko
and his son Ilankadunko, who donated a Jain bed. These three rulers are mentioned as
the seventh, eighth and ninth kings in the Sangam poem Patitrupathu.
The Velvikudi copper plates of Neduncadayan (9th Century CE) records the grant of
Velvikudi village to Narkorran, a Brahmana who performed Vedic sacrifice by the
king’s ancestor Palyaga mudukudumi Peruvazhuthi, a Pandya king of Sangam Age.
This could be the earliest reference to the Brahmadeya in Tamil region. However the
Kalabhras conquered the region and the grant of land become null and void. With the
rise of the Pandyas again under Kadunkon, the Kalabhras were defeated. During the
third regnal year of the Pandya King Nedunjadayan, a Brahmana who was the
descendant of Narkorran approached the king to return the grant to him. The king
redistributed the village to the village headman as well as to fifty Brahmanas. The
Velvikudi copper plates provide the continuity to the historical event and thereby
authenticating the literary references.
Nakkiran was the one who wrote commentary for Iraiyanar Akapporul. The work
narrates that the songs were orally transmitted over ten generations till the time of
one Nilakantan of Muciri, who can be dated to 8th century CE.
We have epigraphic references for the Sangam age as known from the Erukkankuti
inscription at Ramanathapuram dated to 829 CE. The inscription refers to the
Sangam academy bench on which the calibre of Tamil works is weighed and the
ancestors of one Ettichattan is mentioned as one who adorned the Sangam bench.
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The Cinnamanur and Talavaypuram inscriptions of 10th and 11th centuries CE Sangam Literary Tradition
respectively talk about the Sangam academy at Madurai patronised by the Pandya
kings. The Pandya empire which came into power with the defeat of Kalabhara
ruler and the rise of king Kadungon, probably used the Sangam label for
legitimisation of their rule by reclaiming their ancestry.
Foreign Sources for Sangam Age
The Sangam age is known for its prosperous economic relations with the Roman
world. The Sangam poems refers to the ships sailed by the Yavanas (the foreigners)
which brought gold and took pepper from Tamil coastal lands (Akananuru 149).
The finding of pepper in Berenice in Egypt attest to this poetic description of the
pepper trade. A Tamil Brahmi inscription in a potsherd with the name of
Kotrapooman indicates the involvement of merchants of Tamil region in the trade
network with Egypt and Rome.
The fact that the coastal towns were bustling with goods meant for import and
export is attested both in the Sangam poems as well as in archaeological contexts.
The port site of Quseirn al-Qadhim (on the Red Sea; Qus of the Arab geographers
and Myos Hormos of the Romans) yielded Tamil Brahmi inscriptions with names
of Saathan and Kanan, further strengthening the information given in the Sangam
poems about trade with foreign countries.
The places mentioned in the Sangam literature finds reference in Greco-Roman
literature such as Strabo’s Geography, Periplus of Erythrean Sea, Pliny’s Natural
History, Ptolemy’s Geography and Peutinger Table. For example, the place such
as Veerai Munthurai (identified with Arikamdedu-Virampattinam) is referred to
as Poduke in foreign literature. The port city of the Pandya’s Korkai is referred to
as Colchi and Kolkhai. Uraiyur, the capital of the Cholas, is identified with Argaru.
The trade with the Romans is known through many excavated archaeological sites in
Tamil Nadu and Kerala such as Arikamedu, Alagankulam, Korkai, Kaveripumpattinam,
and Pattanam. Thus, attesting to the historical facts mentioned in the Sangam literature.
To conclude, what we have are the poems sung by bards and poets who recorded
both the past and the contemporary events as known to them, passed from one
generation to another, added with new works and colophones by medieval poets
who remembered certain historical context of the poems (where there is no evidence,
they created), commentaries were added and codified into select anthologies or works,
preserved in various places of Tamil country and finally published by the efforts of
U.V. Swaminatha Iyer, thus covering a very vast period of tradition of corpus
formation from probably second/first century BCE to 19th century CE.
Though the chronology of the poems is caught in the web of additions, interpolations,
omissions, the content and the history of Sangam poems advertently or inadvertently
recorded certain events of the past which throw light on the history of Tamils two
thousand three hundred to one thousand two hundred years ago.

7.6 LEGACY BEHIND THE HISTORICAL

TRADITIONS
The historical consciousness of the Tamil poets who wrote poems preserves the
past events in a collective memory. The tracing of one’s past and keeping the
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History Writing in legacy in individual as well as social memory play a significant role in the creation
South India of historical consciousness. There was definitely an interplay between the past
memory and present usage of the memory for legitimacy. However it is also
imperative to understand why certain aspects of the past are preserved and
entrenched in historical consciousness of the people and why some were not given
importance. Whose discretion or decision was it to include or exclude certain
events of the past? Why only a few aspects are passed on from one generation to
another? Why the poets of the Sangam age narrated certain past events? What was
the intention? Can the poems be classified as sudden emotional outpourings of
poets trying to please the chieftains? Why the mythical stories were interwoven in
some common expression of ideas?
The answer depends upon the power and resources that one has at their disposal.
The historical consciousness or the collective memory gives identity to a set of
powerful people who have mobilised resources for their own benefit. Over a period
of time, probably the collective memory becomes embedded in the past narratives
and finds place in the contemporary and later day historical traditions.
The myths and historical memory of the past that make the historical consciousness
of a society were probably used by the poets in the Sangam period as per the needs
of their patrons who needed legitimacy for their rule and power. The historical
tradition along with the historical narratives form a part of history that gets glorified
in the literature. The Sangam literature with its diversified content not only brought
to light the past historical tradition that existed before the compilation of the poems
but also created a new historical narrative that formed the basis of history of the
Tamil region.
Check Your Progress-4
1) Can it be justified to call Sangam literature a history in the making?
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2) Mention the historical consciousness present in the Sangam literature?

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........................................................................................................................

3) What foreign references pertaining to the presence of foreigners are represented

in the Sangam literature?
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4) Can the Sangam poems be classified as poetry meant to please chieftains?

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5) Why were the mystical stories in the Sangam literature are interwoven with Sangam Literary Tradition
common expression of ideas?
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7.7 SUMMARY
In this Unit, you have read about the Sangam literature which with its Akam
and Puram themes describe the past events and the contemporary events. The
songs provide not only the source for the reconstruction of early historic Tamil
country, but also recorded the events that happened in the past. The past history
of ancient Tamils along with the contemporary events got recorded in the oral
traditions and passed on from one generation to another. These poems are
composed not to record the historical events, but to express the emotions of
Akam and Puram contexts. The historical events are interwoven in the texts
casually and ultimately we have a collection of poems that provide clue to the
historical consciousness of the past that continues even in the present.

7.8 KEYWORDS
Cheras Cheras (c. second century BCE-c. third century CE)
were among the three major powers (muventar) of
Early Historic Tamilakam region. Their major centres
of power were at Karur (Tamilnadu) and Muziris and
Thondi (Kerala)
Cholas Early Cholas ruled over the kingdom of Tamilnadu
during the pre and post Sangam period (c. 600 BCE-
300 CE). Their early capitals were Urayur/Uraiyur
(Tiruchirapalli) and Kaveripattinam. Mention of the early
Chola, Chera and Pandayas is made in the Ashokan
inscriptions (second and thirteenth rock edits). Karikala
Chola was the most prominent of the early Cholas who
is referred to in a number of Sangam poetic compositions
Pandyas The capital of the early Pandyan kingdom was Kornai,
Thoothukudi, later during the reign of Nedunjelian it
moved to Koodal (Madurai). Sangam literary works
Mathuraikkanchi and Shilapatikaram mention about
the early Pandyas. The area of influence of the early
Pandyas was between Travancore in the west to Vellaru
river in the north; while the east and the southern
boundaries were flanked by the sea coast. Early Pandyas
and Korkai (prominent maritime centre) are mentioned
in the Greek accounts of Pliny the Elder, Strabo and
Ptolemy. Pandyan country was also known for its pearl
fishery

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History Writing in
South India 7.9 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
EXERCISES
Check Your Progress-1
1) See Section 7.2
2) See Section 7.2
3) See Section 7.2
Check Your Progress-2
1) See Section 7.3
2) See Sub-section 7.3.1
3) See Sub-section 7.3.1
4) See Sub-section 7.3.1
Check Your Progress-3
1) See Sub-section 7.3.2
2) See Sub-section 7.3.2
3) See Sub-section 7.3.2
Check Your Progress-4
1) See Section 7.4
2) See Section 7.5
3) See Section 7.5
4) See Section 7.6
5) See Section 7.6

7.10 SUGGESTED READINGS

Aiyar, S. G. Sesha, (1937) Cera Kings of the Sangam Period (London: Luzac &
Co.).
Chelliah, J.V., (1946) Pathupattu (Colombo: General Publishers).
Hart, George L., (1975) The Poems of Ancient Tamil: Their Milieu and Their
Sanskrit Counterparts (Berkeley: University of California Press).
Hart, George L., (1975) ‘Ancient Tamil Literature: Its Scholarly Past and
Future’, in Stein B., (ed) Essays on South India (Hawaii: Asian Studies Program:
University of Hawaii), pp 41-63.
Hart, George L. and Heifetz, Hank, (1999) The Four Hundred Songs of War
and Wisdom: An Anthology of Poems From Classical Tamil, the Purananuru
(New York: Columbia University Press).

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Kailasapathy, K., (1968) Tamil Heroic Poetry (London: Oxford University Sangam Literary Tradition
Press).
Mahadevan, I., (2003) Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the
Sixth Century A.D. (Chennai: Cre-A and Harvard University).
Pillai, [Link], (1956) History of Tamil Language and Literature (Madras:
New Century Book House).
Rajesh, V., (2006-07) ‘The Making of the Tamil Literary Canon’, Proceedings
of the Indian History Congress, 67th session, pp. 153-161.
Ramanujan, A.K., (1967) Interior Landscape: Love Poems from a Classical
Tamil Anthology (Bloomington: Indiana University).
Ramanujan, A.K., (1985) Poems of Love and War (New York: Columbia
University).
Sivarajapillai, K.N., (1932) The Chronology of the Early Tamils (Madras: The
University of Madras Press).
Sivathamby, K., (1974) ‘Early South Indian Society and Economy: The Tinai
Concept’, Social Scientist, Vol. 29, pp. 20-37.
Subrahmanian, N., (1966) Sangam Polity (London: Asia Publishing House).
Thapar, Romila., (2013) The Past Before Us: Historical Traditions of Early
North India (Harvard: Harvard University Press).
Tieken, H., (2003) ‘Old Tamil Cankam Literature and the so-called Cankam
Period’, Indian Economic and Social History Review, Vol. 40, pp. 247-278.
Zvelebil, K.V., (1973) The Smile of Murugan (Leiden: [Link]).
Zvelebil, K.V., (1975) Tamil Literature (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz).

7.11 INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEO

RECOMMENDATIONS
Classical Tamil Literature - Atikal’s Cilappatikaram
[Link]
Early Tamil Society literature, epigraphy and archaeology
[Link]
Sangam Age
[Link]
Understanding Tholkappiyam
[Link]
Tholkappiyar: Tholkappiyam
[Link]

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