Page:Gleaning Of Tamil Literature.pdf/26

 26 ‘Atruppadais’ in Tamil lopment:had commercial transactions with great trading centres’ like Greece, Italy, Rome, China and Java. The Greek words ‘auroza’, ‘tuki’ etc., borrowed from Tamil ‘assert the commercial relationship between. the two countries. It is tegrettable to note a fall in the glory of the Tamil civilization probably due to-the absence of the propagators of this age-long civilisation. Even though some pieces of their literature have been -destroyed by deluge and fire yet from the remains we could gather many details regarding the ‘Tamilians and their culture.

In the history of South India we are familiar with three Sangams and the most conspicuous of them flourished in Madura. The Sangam comprised forty nine poets, the leader of whom was Nakkirar. This Sangam produced works of great literary value and they are classified as ‘Pattu pattu’ (Ten idyllic songs), Ettu Thogai (Eight collections). great epics ‘Silappathikaram’ and ‘Manimekalai’, were perhaps produced all the fag end of the Sanagam Age or soon after. The literary activity in South India was so great during that period that it came to be characterised as the Sangam age. But I am for the moment concerning myself only with the five idyllic songs taken from Pattu Pattu.,. These five songs from one group termed �
 * Pathinen-kil-kanakkw’ (18 minor poem) and two