Tamil literature includes a collection of literary works that have come from a tradition spanning more than two thousand years. The oldest extant works show signs of maturity indicating an even longer period of evolution. Contributors to the Tamil literature are mainly from Tamil people from south India, including the land now comprising Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Eelam Tamils from Sri Lanka, as well as the Tamil diaspora.
Bharathidasan, was a 20th-century Tamil poet and rationalist writer whose literary works handled mostly socio-political issues. He was deeply influenced by the Tamil poet Subramania Bharathi and named himself "Bharathi dasan" meaning follower or adherent of Bharathi. His greatest influence was Periyar and his self-respect movement. Bharathidasan's writings served as a catalyst for the growth of the Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu. In addition to poetry, his views found expression in other forms such as plays, film scripts, short stories and essays. The Government of Puducherry union territory has adopted the song of Invocation to Mother Tamil, written by Bharathidasan as the state song of Puducherry.
The Ramavataram, popularly referred to as Kamba Ramayanam, is a Tamil epic that was written by the Tamil poet Kambar during the 12th century. Based on Valmiki's Ramayana, the story describes the legend of King Rama of Ayodhya. However, the Ramavataram is different from the Sanskrit version in many aspects – both in spiritual concepts and in the specifics of the storyline. This historic work is considered by both Tamil scholars and the general public as one of the greatest literary works in Tamil literature.
Karmegha Konar was a popular Tamil poet and educator. He is colloquially known as Chennaa Pulavar, a title given to him by his peer and close friend Bharathidasan.
The Sangam literature, historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones', connotes the early classical Tamil literature and is the earliest known literature of South India. The Tamil tradition and legends link it to three legendary literary gatherings around Madurai and Kapāṭapuram: the first lasted over 4,440 years, the second over 3,700 years, and the third over 1,850 years. Scholars consider this Tamil tradition-based chronology as ahistorical and mythical. Most scholars suggest the historical Sangam literature era, also called the Sangam period, spanned from c. 300 BCE to 300 CE, while others variously place this early classical Tamil literature period a bit later and more narrowly but all before 300 CE. According to Kamil Zvelebil, a Tamil literature and history scholar, the most acceptable range for the Sangam literature is 100 BCE to 250 CE, based on the linguistic, prosodic and quasi-historic allusions within the texts and the colophons.
The Eight Anthologies, known as Eṭṭuttokai or "Eight Collections" in the literature, is a classical Tamil poetic work that forms part of the Eighteen Greater Texts (Patiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku) anthology series of the Sangam Literature. The Eight Anthologies and its companion anthology, the Ten Idylls (Pattuppāṭṭu), is the oldest available Tamil literature. According to Kamil Zvelebil, a scholar of Tamil literature and history, dating these Eight Anthologies or their relative chronology is difficult, but the scholarship so far suggested that the earliest layers were composed sometime between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE, while the last layers were completed between 3rd and 5th century CE.
The Akananuru, sometimes called Nedunthokai, is a classical Tamil poetic work and one of the Eight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) in the Sangam literature. It is a collection of 400 love poems with invocatory poem dedicated to Perumal. The collected poems were composed by 144 poets, except 3 poems which are by anonymous author(s). The poems range between 13 and 31 lines, and are long enough to include more details of the subject, episode and its context. According to Kamil Zvelebil – a Tamil literature and history scholar, they are "one of the most valuable collections" from ancient Tamil history perspective.
Kuṟuntokai is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the second of the Eight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) in the Sangam literature. The collection belongs to the akam (love) category, and each poem consists of 4 to 8 lines each. The Sangam literature structure suggests that the original compilation had 400 poems, but the surviving Kuruntokai manuscripts have 402 poems. According to Takanobu Takahashi – a Tamil literature scholar, these poems were likely composed between 100 CE and 300 CE based on the linguistics, style and dating of the authors. Kamil Zvelebil, a Tamil literature and history scholar, states that the majority of the poems in the Kuruntokai were likely composed between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE. The Kuruntokai manuscript colophon states that it was compiled by Purikko (உரை), however nothing is known about this compiler or the patron.
The Ten Idylls, known as Pattuppāṭṭu or Ten Lays, is an anthology of ten longer poems in the Sangam literature – the earliest known Tamil literature. They range between about 100 and 800 lines, and the collection includes the celebrated Nakkīrar's Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai. The collection was termed as "Ten Idylls" during the colonial era, though this title is considered "very incorrect" by Kamil Zvelebil – a scholar of Tamil literature and history. He suggests "Ten Lays" as the more apt title. Five of these ten ancient poems are lyrical, narrative bardic guides (arruppatai) by which poets directed other bards to the patrons of arts such as kings and chieftains. The others are guides to religious devotion (Murugan) and to major towns, sometimes mixed with akam- or puram-genre poetry.
The Eighteen Lesser Texts, known as the Patiṉeṇkīḻkaṇakku in the literature, is a collection of eighteen poetic works mostly created during the 'post Sangam period'. The poems of this collection differ from the earlier works of the Eighteen Greater Texts (Patiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku), which are the oldest surviving Tamil poetry, in that the poems are written in the venpa meter and are relatively short in length. Naladiyar, having sung by 400 poets, is the only anthology in this collection. Each of the remaining works of the Eighteen Lesser Texts is sung by a single poet. Unlike the works of the Eighteen Greater Texts, most of the books of the Eighteen Lesser Texts deal with morals and ethics.
There are literary, archaeological, epigraphic and numismatic sources of ancient Tamil history. The foremost among these sources is the Sangam literature, generally dated to 5th century BCE to 3rd century CE. The poems in Sangam literature contain vivid descriptions of the different aspects of life and society in Tamilakam during this age; scholars agree that, for the most part, these are reliable accounts. Greek and Roman literature, around the dawn of the Christian era, give details of the maritime trade between Tamilakam and the Roman empire, including the names and locations of many ports on both coasts of the Tamil country.
Iraiyaṉār Akapporuḷ, or Kaḷaviyal eṉṟa Iraiyaṉār Akapporuḷ, literally "Iraiyanar's treatise on the love-theme, called 'The study of stolen love'" is an early mediaeval work on Tamil poetics, specifically, on the literary conventions associated with the akam tradition of Tamil love poetry. The date of the work is uncertain, but it is generally taken to have been composed between the fifth and eighth centuries.
P. Dawood Shah was a Tamil enthusiast and scholar, Activist and a gold medalist from Madurai Tamil Sangam. He also known as "Kamba Ramayana Sahib".
Akam is one of two genres of Classical Tamil poetry that concerns with the subject of love, the other (puṟam) concerns the subject of war. It can also be translated as love and heroism. It is further subdivided into the five thinai. The type of love was divided into seven ranging from unrequited love to mismatched love.
Maha vidhwan Thirumaaligai Appan Narayana Iyengar was born to Thirumaaligai Appan Iyengar and Shenkamalavalli Ammal on 31 Oct 1861 in EthirkOtai near Srivilliputhur. He was a great literary scholar of his time and was well versed in both Tamil and Sanskrit languages. He has done many works in these languages and has won many accolades for his works and for the development of these languages. He also worked tirelessly for the development of the Tamil language and was instrumental in its spread through his publication of the Senthamizh magazine as part of the Madurai Tamil Sangam and through his other educational efforts. After having learnt the basics of Tamil literature and grammar from his father Appan Iyengar and other scholars near his home town during his formative years, he moved to Ramanathapuram and then to Madurai when the Madurai Tamil Sangam was established in 1901.
Yu Hsi is a Taiwanese Tamil poet and scholar who has translated the Tirukkural and the poems of Subramaniya Bharathi and poet Bharathidasan in Mandarin. He is the founder and president of the Tamil Sangam in Taiwan. He has received various awards, including awards from Seoul World Academy of Arts and Culture (2004), Thiruvalluvar Award (2014), and a felicitation from former President of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.
Takanobu Takahashi is a Japanese Indologist, who is currently associate professor of Indian literature at International Buddhist University at Osaka, Japan. He is the second translator of the Kural into Japanese.
M. Rajendran served as Vice-Chancellor of Tamil University, Thanjavur, in Tamil Nadu, India. He is a Tamil Scholar, Writer and Publisher of Kanaiyazhi literary magazine in Tamil., He was the coordinator of academic committee, World Classical Tamil Conference 2010. He chaired the High Level Committee to amend the Tamil Nadu Public Library Act and Tamil Nadu Public Library Rules, which was constituted by the Government of Tamil Nadu in January 2022. Kalingar Mu. Karunanidhi Classic Tamil Award, Muthamilkavalar Ki.Aa.Be. Vishwanatham Award has been given to him.
Vallal Pon Pandithurai Thevar, born Ukkira Pandian, also known as Pandi Durai Thevar, was the Zamindar of Palavanatham, Tamil Nadu, India. A scholar and poet belonging to the royal house of the Sethupathis of Ramanathapuram, Pandithurai Thevar contributed greatly to the revival of the Tamil language by establishing the Fourth Tamil sangam in Madurai, restoring rare Tamil texts, and becoming a patron of Tamil-language scholarship. He published the magazine Senthamizh as part of the Fourth Tamil sangam.
Avvaiyar was a Tamil poet who lived during the Sangam period and is said to have had cordial relations with the Tamil chieftains Vēl Pāri and Athiyamān. She wrote 59 poems in the Puṟanāṉūṟu. A plaque on a statue of the poet in Chennai suggests the first century BCE for her birthdate. The name Avvaiyar means a 'respectable good woman', hence a generic title; her personal name is not known.
