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256 Before proceeding to consider the work done by the Tamil academies which existed at various times, it is desirable to give a brief summary of their history. The early Pandya kings were the foremost to encourage Tamil learning by establishing academies at Madura. Vague and exaggerated accounts of some of them appear to have been handed down in traditions, until they were committed to writing, first by the commentator of Iraiyanar's Agapporul, and then by the writer of the Madura Stalapurana, some time after A. D. 750. Some of their members seem to be fictitious persons, while others, probably excepting a few, do not appear to be contemporaries. Their constitution, function and age, as described in these works are extremely unreliable. All what we can now say is that the Pandya kings maintained a Tamil academy or University at their metropolis from about B. C. 450 to about A. D. 550, and that it was subject to varying fortunes. When the Pandya country was invaded and temporarily occupied by the Kalabhras during the sixth century and when the religious struggle had already commenced, the last Sangam or college ceased to. exist as a corporate body. From this time, the Jains had their own Sangams, which were more or less like the Jesuit seminaries of the middle ages ; and the Hindus had their own academy which might have been in existence during the early part of the eighth century. It was at this last Sangam that Perundevanar translated the Mahabharata and wrote his invocatory stanzas to