Translation:Tolkappiyam/Prologue on Tolkappiyam

Basic note to follow
Verbatim translation of the prologue
 * Tolkappiyam is written by Tolkaapiyan (also Tolkaapiyar). Panampaaranaar, a schoolmate of him wrote a prologue on the work of Tolkaappiyar while it was published before the learned and his professor Athangoottaasaan in a court of a king Pandiyan (Nilam tharu thiruvin Pandian - means - Pandia, the king extended his region)
 * Proper names have been written in the portion of verbatim translation, as the transliteration noted in image.


 * Source in Tamil

Prologue

 * Tamil-speaking land was extended between Vee’ngadam (modern Tiruppathi) on the north and ocean Kumari on the south.
 * The spoken and written Tamil languages are the sources of his work.
 * He extends his study on phonetic letters, word-syntax and the matter revealed there-on.
 * He studied properly the culture of the language-people and his predecessors' conventions and wrote his work of 'linguistic knowledge'.
 * This work does not contain any objectionable point.
 * It has been published in the learned-court of the 'Nilantharu thiruvin Ne’diyoo’n.
 * Atankoo’ttaasaan is the name of his professor.
 * This professor is a man of balanced virtuous character.
 * During his presentation some raised-doubts of his professor were cleared.
 * The work is unambiguous.
 * The author of this work is well-versed in 'ainthiram'. He posses sound knowledge on sea-grit word.
 * Tholkaappiyan is a renowned sage.