Literature: Growth of Tamil literature

Tamil literature over period c.A.D. 500 - 850

Literature of the Sangam Age and Beyond:

• The earliest known Tamil literature comes from the Sangam Age. Following this period, Tamil literature evolved over roughly three and a half centuries (around A.D. 500 to 850).
• During this time, the influence of Sanskrit became more pronounced:
• Words and ideas related to ethics, religion, and philosophy were frequently borrowed from Sanskrit and integrated into Tamil.
• Sanskrit legal texts and codes served as the foundation for a significant amount of didactic literature, which was a notable feature of this period.
• Some works in Sanskrit or related dialects were entirely translated or adapted into Tamil.
• Initially, there was a strong presence of Jain writers, as Jainism and Buddhism held considerable sway.
• However, a Hindu revival led to a surge in popular devotional literature, often set to music, captivating the hearts of the common people.
• The Hindu religious revival, driven by figures like the Saiva nayanars and Vaishnava alvars, greatly stimulated the production of popular devotional literature.
• Devotees, guided by prominent religious leaders, traveled from place to place, singing hymns composed during their pilgrimages, leading to the use of simple language and memorable tunes.

Notable Literary Works of the Period:

• Kural of Tiruvalluvar: A comprehensive guide on ethics, governance, and love, attributed to a likely Jain scholar influenced by Manu, Kautilya, and Vatsayana.
• Kar-narpadu: A love poem depicting a woman's despair over the impending rainy season in her beloved's absence.
• Naladi: A Jain anthology of 400 verses, compiled by Padumanar and organized into forty chapters.
• Nanmanikkadigai: A 100-stanza work by Vaishnava poet Vilambi Naganar, highly regarded for its literary quality, second only to the Kural.
• Asarakkovai: A Tamil smriti by a Saiva author, based on Sanskrit originals.

Devotional Literature and Canonical Editions:

• In this flourishing period of Tamil Hinduism, a vast amount of literature was preserved in canonical editions of hymns.
• These editions were compiled in the tenth century by Nambi Andar Nambi for the Saiva group and Nathamuni for the Vaishnava group.
• One of the earliest authors in the Saiva canon is Karaikkal Ammai, known for her poems praising the deity of Tiruvalangadu.
• Her poems mark the inception of Prabandha literature in Tamil.
• The devotional hymns of the Vaishnava alvars were compiled in the Natayira Divyaprabandham, also known as the Four Thousand Sacred Hymns.

The age of the imperial Cholas (c.A.D. 850 - 1200)

Golden Age of Tamil Culture (c.A.D. 850-1200):

• Marked by the widespread practice and patronage of literature.
• Continuation of devotional religious literature from the previous period (c.A.D. 500-850).

Dominance of Prabandha Form:

• The Prabandha form became dominant.
• Systematic treatment of Saiva-siddhanta in philosophical treatises began.

Temple Construction and Hagiography:

• Great Siva temples were built anew.
• Hagiology of Saivism standardized in a purana by Sekkilar.

Vaishnava Literature and Jain/Buddhist Contributions:

• Creation of Vaishnava devotional literature and commentaries.
• Jaina and Buddhist authors continued to write, though in fewer numbers than before.

General Literature:

• The Jivakacintamani by Jain ascetic Tiruttakkadevar was composed in the tenth century.
• Tolamoli's Sulamani dealt with a Jain puranic theme and is one of the minor kavyas.
• Kalingattupparani by poet Jayangondar is a war poem about the Kalingawar of Kulottunga.
• Kuttan or Ottakkuttan, another poet laureate of the Chola court, composed Ulas praising Vikrama Chola, Kulottunga II, and Rajaraja II.
• Kamban, during Kulottunga III's reign, authored the Tamil Ramayanam or Ramavataram, the greatest epic in Tamil literature.

Saiva Canon and Periya-puranam:

• Nambi Andar Nambi arranged the Saiva canon into eleven books at the end of the tenth century.
• His work included Prabandhas on Nanasambandar and Appar, and accounts of the sixty-three saints.
• Periya-puranam by Sekkilar, composed in the reign of Kulottunga II (c.A.D. 1133-50), was a significant work in Tamil Saivism.

Vaishnava Literature and Tamil Grammar:

• Most Vaishnava religious literature was composed in Sanskrit during this period.
• Yapparungalam and Yapparungalakkarigai, authoritative works on prosody, were composed by Jain ascetic Amitasagara in the late tenth century.
• Amitasagara received patronage from Chola monarchs.

Lexicography:

• The concise lexicon Pingalam, after its author, was composed during this period.