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Sage Agastya, Chairman of the first Tamil Sangam, Madurai, Pandiya Kingdom. Statue in Tamil Thai temple, Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu.
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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.
The history of Tamil literature follows the history of Tamil Nadu, closely following the social, economical, political and cultural trends of various periods. The early Sangam literature, dated before 300 BCE, contain anthologies of various poets dealing with many aspects of life, including love, war, social values and religion.[1] This was followed by the early epics and moral literature, authored by Vaishnavite,Shaivite, Ājīvika, Jain and Buddhist authors and poets lasting up to the 5th century CE. From the 6th to 12th century CE, the Tamil devotional poems written by Alvars (sages of Vaishnavism) and Nayanmars (sages of Shaivism) and, heralded the great Bhakti movement which later engulfed the entire Indian subcontinent. During the medieval era some of the grandest of Tamil literary classics like Kambaramayanam and Periya Puranam were authored and many poets were patronized by the imperial Chola and Pandya empires. The later medieval period saw many assorted minor literary works and also contributions by a few Muslim and European authors.[citation needed]
A revival of Tamil literature took place from the late 19th century when works of religious and philosophical nature were written in a style that made it easier for the common people to enjoy. The modern Tamil literary movement started with Subramania Bharathi, the multifaceted Indian Nationalist poet and author, and was quickly followed up by many who began to utilize the power of literature in influencing the masses. With growth of literacy, Tamil prose began to blossom and mature. Short stories and novels began to appear. Modern Tamil literary criticism also evolved. The popularity of Tamil cinema has also interacted with Tamil literature in some mutually enriching ways.[citation needed]
Contributors to the Tamilliterature are mainly from Tamil people from south India, including the land now comprising Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Eelam Tamils from Sri Lanka...
The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், caṅka ilakkiyam) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், Cāṉṟōr...
classical Tamilliterature has led to it being described as "one of the great classical traditions and literatures of the world". Recorded Tamilliterature has...
in the Tamil language, in the 12th century CE, by Kambar as Ramavataram (popularly known as Kamba Ramayanam). The age of Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க...
over 2000 years of Tamilliterature, including the Sangam poems, which were composed between 300 BCE and 300 CE. People who speak Tamil as their mother tongue...
Sri Lankan Tamils (Tamil: இலங்கை தமிழர், ilankai tamiḻar or ஈழத் தமிழர், īḻat tamiḻar), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to...
Sanskrit literature developed rapidly during the first few centuries of the first millennium BCE, as did the Pāli Canon and Tamil Sangam literature.[citation...
and sponsored some of the earliest Tamilliterature with the oldest surviving work being Tolkāppiyam, a book of Tamil grammar. The kingdoms had significant...
deity of the Kurinji region whose cult gained immense popularity. Tamil Sangam literature has several works attributed to Murugan such as Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai...
Tamil culture is the culture of the Tamil people. The Tamil people speak the Tamil language, one of the ancient languages in the world. Archaeological...
In this period the earliest extant works of Tamilliterature were written (also known as Sangam literature), dealing with love, war, governance, trade...
Three of the five great epics of Tamilliterature are attributed to Tamil Jains, while two are attributed to Tamil Buddhists. Cīvaka Cintāmaṇi, Cilappathikāram...
Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in...
religions, the Tamil culture reflects the influence of the same. Various places of worship are spread across the state. As per the Sangam literature, the Sangam...
Hinduism. Tamilliterature, in tandem with Sanskrit literature and the Sthala puranas of temples, form a major source of information regarding Tamil mythology...
Tamil Jains (Tamil Samaṇar, from Prakrit samaṇa "wandering renunciate") are ethnic-Tamils from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, who practice Jainism, chiefly...
Tamil Muslims are Tamils who practise Islam. The community is 6 million in India, primarily in the state of Tamil Nadu where 90% of the Muslim community...
development is termed as Pre Tamil. After the Old Tamil period, Tamil becomes Middle Tamil. The earliest records in Old Tamil are inscriptions from between...
Krishnadevaraya's court. Krishnadevaraya patronised the Tamil poet Haridasa, and Tamilliterature soon began to flourish as the years passed by. In Sanskrit...
The Tamil calendar (தமிழ் நாட்காட்டி) is a sidereal solar calendar used by the Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It is also used in Puducherry,...
Malaysian Tamil (Tamil: மலேசியத் தமிழ் மொழி, romanized: Malēsiyat Tamiḻ Moḻi), also known as Malaya Tamil, is a local variant of the Tamil language spoken...
work is considered by both Tamil scholars and the general public as one of the greatest literary works in Tamilliterature. Kambar wrote this epic with...
Lankan Tamilliterature or Ceylon Tamilliterature refers to Tamilliterature produced in the current day country of Sri Lanka by various Tamil speaking...
Tamil Wikisource has original text related to this article: Tirukkural The Tirukkuṟaḷ (Tamil: திருக்குறள், lit. 'sacred verses'), or shortly the Kural...
Hinduism in Tamil Nadu finds its earliest literary mention in the Sangam literature dated to the 5th century BCE. The total number of Tamil Hindus as per...
work itself took 16 years to complete and is one of finest works of Tamilliterature of the nineteenth century. Krishnapillai is well known to use analogies...
Contributors to the Tamilliterature are mainly from Tamil people from Tamil Nadu, Sri Lankan Tamils from Sri Lanka, and from Tamil diaspora. Also, there...
of Tamil Nadu particularly Tiruchirappalli. Tamil script replaced the vatteluttu script throughout Tamil Nadu for writing Tamil. Religious literature flourished...
Tamil nationalism is the ideology which asserts that the Tamil people constitute a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Tamil people. Tamil nationalism...
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