Sangam Literature

Definition

The earliest body of Tamil literature (roughly 300 BCE to 300 CE), composed at assemblies (sangams) of poets said to have been held under the patronage of the Pandya rulers at Madurai, the main source for the Sangam Age of South India.

Key points

• Tradition speaks of three sangams; the literature that survives is largely from the third sangam.
• Major works include the Tolkappiyam (the earliest Tamil grammar), the Ettutogai (Eight Anthologies), and the Pattuppattu (Ten Idylls).
• The twin epics Silappadikaram (by Ilango Adigal) and Manimekalai (by Sittalai Sattanar) are post-Sangam but closely associated with this corpus.
• Describes the three crowned kingdoms of the south: the Cheras (emblem the bow), the Cholas (the tiger), and the Pandyas (the fish), and their ports and trade with Rome.
• Tiruvalluvar's Tirukkural, a classic on ethics and polity, is dated to around this period and is hugely influential in Tamil culture.

Why it matters for CAPF

Author-to-text matching (Ilango Adigal, Sittalai Sattanar, Tiruvalluvar), the three southern kingdoms with their emblems, and Madurai as the Pandya seat are recurring Sangam-age facts.

Common confusion

Silappadikaram (by Ilango Adigal) versus Manimekalai (by Sittalai Sattanar); the Sangam Age is roughly contemporary with the post-Mauryan north, not the Gupta age.

Parent note

south india and sangam age