Literature is a part of the heritage of India. Indian literature exists in varied languages. Various Indians skilled in writing have contributed in creating this part of India’s heritage in the form of stories, novels, prose, essays, etc. Tamil language literature is no exception in this regard. A noteworthy aspect of this literature is poetry written by eminent poets.The earliest Tamil literature goes back to the Sangam period. In ancient times, the assembly or academy of most learned men of Tamil land was called ‘Sangam‘ and the literature produced in these assemblies is known as the Sangam literature. The compilation of the corpus of literature was accomplished over a period of three to four centuries but there is a controversy amongst scholars regarding the exact period of the Sangams. Perhaps, the Sangam period stretched from 600 B.C.- 200 A.D. Many Tamil scholars mention about the existence of three Sangams at Madura, Kapatapuram and Northern Madura respectively. It is believed that most of the works relating to the first two Sangams dealt with music and dance. Unfortunately all the works of these two Sangams are lost, except for Tolkappiyam, which is the oldest extant grammar dating back to 500 B.C.
The literature of the third Sangam period mainly comprises of poems which are arranged in eight anthologies called Ettuttokoi and ten idylls called Pattuppattu. Ettuttokoi consists of Narrinai, Kuruntogai, Ainkurunuru, Padirruppattu, Paripadal, Kalittogai, Ahanuru and Purananuru. Pattuppattu consists of the following ten idylls by eight different authors:Tirumurugarruppadai, Porunararruppadai, Cirupanarruppadai, Pattinappalai, Kurincippattu, Nedunalvadai, Maduraikkanci, Malaipadukadam, Mullaippattu and Perumpanarruppadai. The third Sangam period also saw a collection of minor works called Padinen-kizhkkanakku which deals mainly with moral virtues. Among them, the most notable is Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural or Kural, which deals with philosophy and wise maxims. The Sangam literature, unlike the Rig Vedic texts, was secular in nature and revolved around the themes of various heroes and heroines. The Sangam literature provides very valuable information on the social, economic and political life of the people living in deltaic Tamil Nadu in the early Christian centuries.R. Raghava Iyengar is recognized for his critical scholarship and creative interpretation of literature from Tamil Nadu. Iyengar also explored himself as a poet. The names of some of his poems are Parikathai, Puvi Ezhupathu, Thiruvadimalai, Oru Thurai Kovai and Inkavi Thirattu. Abigna Sakuntalam Kalidasa’s Sakuntalam and Bhagavat Gita have been translated by Iyengar. Some of his edited works are Tolkappiyam and Athichoodi Uraai.
Subramanya Bharati (1882-1921 A.D.) was one of the greatest of Tamil litterateurs of the modern times. He is renowned for his patriotic and devotional songs and intense prose writings on contemporary social affairs. His Panchali Sabadam is an epic poem based on a single episode of the Mahabharata. His other great works include Kalippattu, Kannanpattu and Kuyilpattu. The other renowned Tamil poetic works of the modern times include Meyyarivu and Padal Tirattu of V.O.Chidambaram; Malarum-malaiyum and Umarkkayyam-padalkal of Desikavinayagam; Podumai Vettal, Tamiizhan Idayam and Sankoli of Kalyanasundaram; Avalum Avanum of N.K.Ramalingam; Azhakin Sirippu, Pandiyan Parisu, Tamizhiyakkam, Kudumbavilakku, etc of Bharatidasan. Durai Manickam was another important modern Tamil poet who is credited with prolific works like Aiyai, Nurasiriyam, Koyyakkani, Ensuvai Enbatu and Paviyakkottu. The other renowned poets of this period include M.L.Thangappa, Mudiyarasan, Ezhilmutalvan, N.Kanakaraja Iyer, A.Srinivasaraghavan, Kannadasan and Tamizhazhagan.
Paramartta Gurukathai written by Viramamunivar in the 18th century affords the earliest specimen in novel writing in Tamil. However, Vedanayagam Pillai (1824-1889) is credited with the writing of the first novel in Tamil, Pirataba Mudaliyarcharittiram in 1875. H.A.Krishna Pillai (1827-1900) adapted John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress in Tamil in his Iratcanyayattirigam. The other important works of this period include Bharatam of Perundevanar, Nandarcharittirak-kirttanaikal of Gopalakrishna Bharati, Kamalambalcharittiram of Rajam Ayyar (1896), Padmavatichaittiram of Madhaviah, Menaka and Balamani of Vaduvur Duraiswamy, Ratnapurirahasyam of A.Kuppuswamy, Mannasai and Kariyadarisi of Shankara Ram.
