‘SANGAM AGE’ IN A NUTSHELL
Notes for Civils Services Exam 2021(Prelims)
Prepared by
P.Potayya Sarma,MA,LLB,PGDIRPM
Wrtier
: Yojana (Telugu) & Andhra Jyothi
The word
‘Sangam’ refers to a college or assembly of Tamil Scholars held under the royal
patronage of Pandyan kings at Madurai.
The
Cholas, Pandyas, Keralaputras(Cheras) mentioned in Ashokan inscriptions were
probably in the late megalithic phase of material culture.
The second
and thirteen rock edicts of Ashoka mentions the Chola, Pandya, Satiyaaputra and
Keralaputra in the South.
Kharavela’s
Hathigumpha inscription (155 BC) mentions tramira desa sangham or confederacy
of Tamil States.
The cultural
and economic contacts between north and the deep south is known as Tamizhakam.
The route to the south was called Dakshinapatha.
The Pandya
country was known to Megasthenes who lived in Pataliputra.
The
earlier Sangam texts are familiar with the rivers Ganga and Son and also with
Pataliputra which was the capital of the Magadhan empire
The
Ashokan inscriptions mention the Cholas, Pandyas, Keralaputras and Satyaputras
living on the borders of the empire, of these only the Satyaputras are not clearly identified. Tamraparnis or the people of Sri
Lanka are also mentioned.
These
south kingdom would have not developed without spread of iron technology which
promoted forest clearing and plough cultivation.
Flourishing
trade with Roman Empire contributed to the formation of these three states
respectively under the Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas.
From the
first century AD onwards , the rulers of these people derived benefit from the
exports and imports that went on between coastal parts of south India on the
one hand and the eastern dominions of the Roman empire, especially Egypt on the
other hand.
Reeferences:
1)The
earliest script that the Tamils used was Brahmi, from the late ancient period
they bagan to use a new angular script known as Grantha.
2)References
about Sangam Age are found from the Greek and Roman writers of 100 – 200
AD.
They are
i)Ptolemy
ii)Pliny
iii)
Strabo
iv) Anonymous writer of the ‘Periplus of the
Erythrean Sea’
3)Roman
factory in Arikamedu
4) II and XIII Rock Edicts of Ashoka give reference
to this period.
SOME
POINTS :
1)Agasthya
: Father of Tamil literature
2)Sangam
Age corresponds to Post-Maurya and Pre-Gupta period of ancient India
3)
Tirukkural is considered as 5th Veda
4)’Urayur’
famous for pearls and muslin
5)
Yavanapriya is the Indian Pepper
6) Perur :
big village
Sirur : small village
Murdur : old village
Salai : Highway
7) Towns :
i)Kanchi
ii)Korkai
iii) Madurai
iv)Purhar / Kaveripattinam
v) Uraiyur
The
southern end of the Indian peninsular situated south of the Krishna River was
divided into three kingdoms - Chola, Pandya, and Chera
|
Kingdom
name |
Area |
Capital |
Emblem |
Sea Port |
Important
Kings |
|
Pandya |
Southern
Tamilnadu (roughly
includes the modern districts of Tirunelveli, Ramnad and Madurai) |
Madurai
( earlier Tenmadurai and Kavatapuram on the banks of Vaigai river) |
Carp
(Fish) |
1)Korkai
at the mouth of river Tambraparni 2)Saliyr:
Second sea port |
1)Nedunjeliyan:
a)greatest
of the Pandya kings b)Mentioned
in Silpapadikaran c)Executed
Kovalan. Kovalan is hero of Silappadikaran d)Kannagi,
Kovalan’s wife e)Madhavi,
Kovalan’s lover f)Nedunjeliyan
defeated Cholas and Cheras in the battle of Taiaiyalanganam g)Pandya
kings profited from trade with the Roman empire and sent embassies to the
Roman Emperor Augustus |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chola |
Chola
kingdom is called as Cholamandalam (Coromandel). It is between Pennar and
Velar rivers |
Urayur
(a famous place for cotton trade) |
Tiger |
Puhar / Kaveripattinam |
1)Elar
conquered Sri Lanka and ruled for 50 years (during 2nd Century
B.C.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2)Karikala
: (2nd Century AD) a)He
defeated Chera King Perunjeral b)Greatest
of Cholas c)Man
with Charred Leg d)Founded
Puhar/ Kaveripatnam e)Conquered
Sri Lanka f)He
built 160 KMs embankment along with Kavery river g)Fought
battle of Venni and defeated 11 kings h)’Pattinapallai’
book describes his victories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
3)Nedunjellan
: He was killed in a battle against Pandyas and Cheras |
|
|
|
|
|
|
4)Senganan
: a)He is
a Siva devotee b)Constructed
7 temples |
|
Chera |
Kerala |
Vanji /
Karur / Karuvur at the
mouth or on the river Periyar |
Bow and
Arrow |
Musiri /
Muziris Tondi
(Second important sea port) |
1)Udivanjeral |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2)Nendun
Jeral Adam |
|
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|
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|
|
3)Kuttunbah |
|
|
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|
|
|
4)Pirakottiva
Sengaguttavan: a)He is
the greatest of the Chera Kings b)Known
as Red Chera, Good Chera c)Sugar
cultivation started by him in South India |
PANDYAS: (Pandya Kingdom ) :
It
occupied the south-eastern portion of Indian peninsular with Madurai as its
capital.
The
compilation of Tamil Literarture in three Sangam took place in Madurai.
Nandunjelyan
was the greatest Pandyan ruler.
Pandya
Dynasty Capital : Madurai
Meenakshi
Temple : Madurai
Brihadeeswara
Temple : Tanjavur
The Pandya
Kings were constantly at war with Pallavas, Cholas and Ceylon.
The three
Sangam epics were : Silappadikaram, Manimekalai and Sivaga Sidamanai.
The
Pandyas are first mentioned by Megasthenes .
1)He says that their kingdom celebrated for pearls.
2)He also
speaks of being ruled by a woman, which may suggest some matriarchial influence
in the pandya Society.
3)The
Pandya territory occupied the southern-most and south-eastern portion of the
Indian peninsula, and it roughly included the modern districts of Tirunelveli,
Ramanda, Madurai in Tamil Nadu. It had its capital at Madurai.
4)The
Pandya kings profited from trade with the Roman Empire and sent embassies to
the Roman emperor Augustus.
5)The
brahmans enjoyed considerable influence , and the Pandya king performed Vedic
sacrifices in the early centuries of the Christian era.
CHOLAS
: (Chola Kingdom)
It
was between Pannar and Vellar , with chief centre of political power at
Uraiyur.
Founder of
Chola Dynasty : Vijayalaya
Capital :
Kaveripattinam
Most
powerful king of Chola Dynasty :
Rajaraja (985 – 1014 A.D.) and his son Rajendra I
Rajendra I
founded new capital called Gangai Kondacholapuram
Rajendra
defeated the kings of Sumatra in a naval campaign and annexing s part of
Sumatra kingdom to his kingdom.
Rajendra
Chola III was the last king of the dynasty .
The Chola kingdom, which came to the called as Cholmandalam (Coromandel) in
early medieval times, was situated to the north-east of the territory of the
Pandyas between Pennar and the Velar Rivers.
We have
some idea about political history of the Cholas from the Sangam texts.
Cholas
chief centre of political power was Uraiyur, a place famous for cotton trade.
In the
middle of the second century B.C., a Chola king named Elara conquered Sri Lanka
and ruled over it for nearly 50 years.
The former
history of the Cholas begins with Vijalaya
in the second century A.D. Their famous king founded Puhar and constructed 160 KMs of
embankment along the Kaveri.
This was
built by 12,000 slaves who were brought as captives from Sri Lanka.
Puhar is
identical with Kaveripattanam, which was the Chola capital.
It was a
great centre of trade and commerce, and excavations show that it had a large
dock.
One of the
main sources of the wealth of Cholas was trade in cotton cloth.
They
maintained an efficient navy.
CHERAS
:
Founder
of Chera Dynasty : Utiyan Cheralatan
The Chera
or Kerala country was situated to the west and north of the land of Pandyas. It
included narrow strip of land between sea and the mountains and covered
portions of both Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Chera
kingdom had trade relations with Romans.
Most
important king was Senuguttuvan, the Red Chera.
In the
early centuries of Christian Era , the Chera country was as important as
country of Cholas and the Pandyas.
The Romans
set up two regiments at Muziries identical with Cranganore in the Chera country
to protect their interests. It is said that they also built a temple of
Augustus.
According
to the Chera poets their greatest king was Senguttuvan, the Red or Good Chera.
It is said that he invaded the north and crossed the Ganga.
These
kingdoms were fairly rich. They grew spieces, especially pepper, which was
great demand in the western world. Their elephants supplied ivory, which was high
valued in the west.
The sea
yielded pearls, and their mines produced
precious stones, and both these were sent to the West in good quantity. In
addition to this they produced muslin and silk. We hear of cotton cloth as thin
as the slough of a snake.
The early
Tamil poems also mention the weaving of complex patterns of silk.
Uraiyur
was noted for its cotton trade.
In ancient
times, the Tamils traded with the Greek or Hellenistic kingdom of Egypt and
Arabia on the one side and with the Malay archipelago and the from there to
China.
Thus for
the first two and half centuries A.D.
the southern kingdoms carried lucrative trade with the Romans.
With the
decline of this trade, these kingdoms also began to decay..
It was
said that Kaveri delta that the space in which an elephant could lie down
produced enough to feed seven persons.
Horses
were imported by sea into the Pandyan kingdom.
Captains
of the army were invested with the title of Enadi (Senapathi) at a formal
ceremony.
Civil and
military offices were held under both the Cholas and the Pandyas by vellalas or
rich peasants. The ruling class was called Arasar.
Agricultural
operations were generally carried on by members of the lowest class
(kadaisiyar). The pariyars were agricultural labourers who also worked in
animal skins and used them as mats.
The chief
local god worshipped by the people of the hilly region was Murugan, who came to
be called as Subramaniya in early medieval times.
TAMIL
LANGUAGE AND SANGAM LITERATURE :
The
Tamil Sangam was an academy of poets and bards
|
Sangam |
Place
of organization |
Chairman |
Kingdom |
|
|
First |
Tenmadurai |
Agastya |
Pandya |
The
first Sangam was attended by Gods and legendary sages, but all its works have perished. |
|
Second |
Kapatapuram
or Alvai (This
city is now lost in the Sea) |
Earlier-Agastya Later-Tolkappiyar
(a disciple of Agastya) |
Pandya |
1)The
second Sangam , attended by several poets, had produced a large mass of
literature but only Tolkappiyam (the early Tamil grammar) has survived. 2)Tolkappiyam
written by Talkapiyar. This
book deals with grammar and poetics. It
also deals with eight forms of marriages of the Dharma Sutras. |
|
Third |
North
Madurai |
Nakkirar |
Pandya
|
The
third Sangam attended by several poets, had also produced vast literature,
but only a fraction of it has survived. It is this fraction which constitutes
the extant body of Sangam literature. |
The Sangam
was a college or assembly of Tamil poets held probably under chiefly or royal
patronage.
But we do
not know the number of Sangams or the period for which they were held.
It is
stated in a Tamil commentary of the middle of the eight century A.D., that
three Sangams lasted for 9990 years altogether. They were attended by 8598
poets (including a few Gods of the Saiva sect) as members, and had 197 Pandya
kings as patrons.
All that
can be said is a Sangam was held under royal patronage in Madurai.
The Sangam
Age extends roughly from 300 BC to 300 AD.
The
available Sangam literature , which was produced by these assemblies , was
compiled in circa 300 AD – 600 AD . But parts of this literature look back to
atleast the 200 A.D.
The
historical period begins in South India with the Sangam Age.
Before
this Sangam Age, the extreme South was inhabited by Megalith builders.
Megaliths
were graves encircled by big pieces of stones which contained not only the
skeletons of people buried in it but also pottery and iron objects.
The Sangam
literature can roughly be divided into two groups , narrative and didactic.
The
narrative texts are called Melkannakku or Eighteen Major Works.
They
comprise eighteen major works consisting of eight anthologies and ten idylls.
The
didactic works are called Kilkanakku or Eighteen Minor works.
SANGAM
TEXTS DESCRIBES SOCIAL EVOLUITON :-
1)The
narrative Sangam texts also give some idea of the state formation in which the
army consisted of groups of warriors and the taxation system and judiciary
appeared in rudimentary state.
2)The
texts also tell us about trade, merchants, craftsmen and farmers.
3)They
speak of several towns such as Kanchi, Korkai, Madurai, Puhar and Uraiyur.
4)Of them
Puhar or Kaveripattinam was the most important.
5) Tolkkappiyam : This text deals with grammer and poetics.
6)
Tirukkural is an important Tamil text deals with philosophy and wise maxims.
7)In
addition to this we have the twin Tamil epics of Silappadikaram and
Manimekalai.
‘Jeevakchintamani’
is also an epic.
These two
were composed around the sixth century A.D.
TOLKAPPIYAM
:
The
grammatical work (the earliest Tamil one) written by Tolkapparian (supposedly
written during 2nd Sangam).
SILAPADIKARAM
:
The
epic poem is written by Ilango Adigal (2nd century A.D.), the
brother of Senguttuvan (the Chera King).
The
Silappadikaram is considered to be the brightest gem of early Tamil literature.
It deals
with a love story in which a dignitary called Kovalan prefers a courtesan
called Madhavi of Kaveripattanam to his noble wedded wife Kannagi.
The author
apparently seems to be a Jaina and tries to locate the scenes of the story in
all the kingdoms of the Tamil country.
MANIMEKALAI:
1)The epic poem Manimekalai was written by a grain merchant of
Madurai.
Name:
Sittalai Sattanar (2nd century A.D.)
2)It deals
with the adventures of the daughter born of the union of Kovalan and Madhavi
though this epic is of more religious than literary interests
3)The art
of writing was doubtless known to the Tamils before the beginning of the
Christian era. More than 75 short inscriptions in the Brahmi script have been
found in natural caves, mainly in the Madurai region.
4)It is
therefore no wonder that considerable Sangam literature was produced in the
early centuries of the Christian era, although it was finally compiled by
A.D.600
TIRUKKURAL :
Tirukkural
is written by Tiruvalluwar. It is called the Bible of Tamil land.
LITERATURE :
Sangam literature comprises about 30,000 lines of poetry , which are
arranged in eight anthologies called Ettuttokai.
There are two main groups :
I)
Patinenkil Kannaku (18 lower collections)
II)
Pattuppattu (The ten songs )
Sangam literature has two subjects:
1)Aham (abam ) : love
2) Puram : (war)
Literature compilation between : 300 AD and 600 AD
1)Narrative literature :
called as Melkannakku (18 major works i.e., 8 anthologies and 10 idylls)
2)Didacive literature : called as Kilkanakku or 18 minor works
8
Anthologies or Ettotogai (Asta sangrah )
are :
1)Natrinai
2)Kuruntogai
3)Aingurunuru
4)Padirupatu (This book provides the history of Cheras)
5)Paripadal
6)Kalinttogai
7)Agananuru / Nedutonge
8)Purananuru [ (i)It is based on war . (ii) 400 of the
Exterior ]
Sangam
poems are divided into :
1)Agam (
Love or internal )
2)Puram (
Kings ) ( war or external )
Sangam
poems refer to different regions :
1)Kurinji
(hills)
2)Palai (
dryland)
3)Mullai
(jungle)
4)Murudam
(cultivated plains)
5)Neidal
(Coast)
SOME IMPORTANT TERMS RELATING TO
SANGAM AGE
1)Vendar
: Used for the three viz., Chera, Chola and Pandya, crowned
Monarchs of Tamilaham
2)Mannar : Other chief-tains who did not wear Crown
3)Arasavai
or Vattavai : The royal court
4)Ilango : The term used to other sons and brother
of the king
5)Aimperunkulu
: Consisted of Purohit, the army chief, the ambassador
Spies, and ministers
6)Enperayam
: Consisted of Karanattiyaravar (accountants)
7)Karumakkarar
: executive officials
8)Kadaikappalar
: Place guards
9)Nagaramandar
: Leading men among the king’s subjects in the capital city
10)Padaittalaivar
: Chiefs of the infantry
11)Yanai
Vivar : Chiefs of elephantry
12)Ivuli
Maravar : Chiefs of cavalry
13)Orrar :
Spies were called ‘Oarrar’
14)Avai :
a small village assembly. Also, the court in the capital town
15)Manaram
and Podiyil : The institutions of ‘Manram’ and Podiyil concerned mainly with
the arbitration of petty disputes arising in the village
16)Irai
and Karai : Land tax
17)Ulgu or
Sungam; tolls and customs duties
18)Avanam
: Market place
19)Angodi
: markets or bazars in bigger town
20)Minavar
or the Valainar : Fishermen community
21)Panar :
bards
22)Vedars
: hunters
23)Marakkhdi
: warrior class
24)Kuravar
: hill tribes
25)Ulavar
: belonged to plains, concerned with producing food
26)Parappar
: Injury to them was considered a heinous crime. Duties and privileges were
learning, teaching, performing sacrifice etc.
27)Arivar
: Wise men, knew the past, present and
the future (according to Tolkappiar)
28)Andanar
: Recruited for service in the royal court as Purohits
29)Umanar
: Manufactures and sellers of salt
30)
Kanakkayar : A teacher who collected a group of students and taught them
literature and grammar
31) Nagar
: Temple was called ‘Nagar’
32) Wootz
: In ancient Indian steel came to be known as ‘wootz’
TAMIL
WORKS OF EARLIER PERIOD :
1)Tolkappiyam
: written by Tolkappiyar, one of the 12 disciplines of Saint Agastya and who
played dynamic role in Aryanisation of South India.
It is a
work on Tamil grammar
2)Agattiyam
: written by saint Agattiyar. It is a work on grammar of letters and life
EPICS (ALL EPICS NAMES ARE BASED ON
ORNAMENTS)
|
Sl.No. |
Book
Name |
Written
by |
Book
influenced by |
|
|
|
|
1) |
Manimiekhailai |
Settalai
Sattanar of Madurai |
Buddhism |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2) |
Silappadigaram |
Illango
Anadigal (Grand son of Chola king Karikala ) |
Hindu
religion |
Oldest
and greatest of Sangam epics |
1)Trader
name : Kovalan 2)Kovalan
wife name : Kannagi 3)Kovalan’s
lover’s name : Madhavi |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
3) |
Sivaga
Sindamani / Jivak Chintamani |
Tinittakkadevar
( a Jain by religion) Vaisya from Muth |
Book was
influenced by Jainism |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
4) |
Valayapati |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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|
|
5) |
Kunbdalakesi |
|
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|
|
SANGAM
LITERATURE DIVIDES TAMIL REGION IN TO 5 PARTS :
|
Sl.No. |
Name |
Type of
Land |
Name in
Tamil |
God |
|
|
|
1) |
Palai |
Dry land |
Pridal |
Mayon |
|
|
|
2) |
Mullai |
Forest
land |
Irratual |
Scyon |
|
|
|
3) |
Kurunj |
Mountainous
area |
Punardal |
Murugan |
|
|
|
4) |
Marudam |
Agriculture
land |
Udai |
Indra
god. In Tamil Indra is called Vendan |
|
|
|
5) |
Neydal |
Coastal
area |
Irrangal |
Varun |
|
|
Exports :
Spieces
Pepper
Ivory
Pearls
Precious Stones
Muslin
Silk
Imports :
Horses
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