Tamil Poetry Research Articles

Integrative, Hierarchic, and Anarchic Oikos in Ancient Tamil Poetry: An Analysis of Ainkurunuru’s Translation by Martha Ann Selby

This paper explores the intricate depiction of oikos in the Sangam literary corpus, specifically through an analysis of the Ainkurunuru’s translation by Martha Ann Selby, namely, Tamil Love Poetry: One of the most influential collections of the Tamil literature is known as the Five Hundred Short Poems of the Ainkurunuru. Using tiNai poetics’ model by Nirmal Selvamony, the study digs into how the environment and society are depicted in the ancient Tamil poetry and it is manifested on integrative oikos which has “all-inclusive harmony”. This approach of harmony and unity of the universal Tamil culture, on the other hand, is the epitome of the close ecological bond transcended by the people, as they do not just merely live in the environment but also significantly contribute to the community’s cultural and daily lifestyle through the natural world. The paper further identifies and analyses two additional aspects of oikos depicted in the poetry: from the top-down decision making systems to the anarchist movements alike. The oikos of nature is highly hierarchical. It shows up in the social stratification and environmental stability, which mirrors the society’s respect to leaders with decision-making power. On the contrary, a sort of anarchy may show up in the oikos fragments that in turn encompass turmoil and subversion, the deviance away from ordinary principles in both nature and society, symbolizing the flow of life together with its upheavals that the man and nature relationship represents.

Bhakti Blossoms: Tamil Poetry’s Journey into Spiritual Depths, Unraveling Devotion and Cultural Significance

Purpose: Tamil Bhakti Poetry is a captivating exploration of devotion and spirituality found within the depths of Tamil literature. Emerging from the Bhakti movement these poetic compositions beautifully delve into themes of profound love and unwavering dedication to deities providing a unique glimpse into the spiritual landscape of historic Tamil Nadu. Methodology: The exploratory research method is used where the relevant information are collected through keyword-based search using search engines like Google, Google Scholar, and AI-driven GPTs and analysed, compared, and evaluated using suitable analysing frameworks. Analysis & Findings: The evolution of Bhakti in Tamil literature mirrors the historical changes of that era nurturing a vibrant tradition of poetic expression. This paper delves into the themes of love and devotion woven within Bhakti poetry analysing the distinctive contributions made by revered poets like the Alvars and Nayanars. Originality/Values: The paper examines how Tamil Bhakti Poetry extends beyond its influence to shape religious practices, and rituals and imbue ancient Tamil society with its spiritual ethos.

Vaishnavism in Nammalvar’s Poem “Tiruviruttam”

Nammalvar, a Tamil poet who lived in IX-X centuries, is revered as one of the great mystics of India. His four poetic works are equated with the sacred hymns and are part of the ritual worship in the temples of South India. Artistic images of Nammalvar formed the basis of the philosophy of Vishishta-Advaita several centuries later. The poem “Thiruviruttam” is considered as his early work, where he combines the canons of ancient Tamil poetry and his devoted love for Vishnu-Tirumal. The study presents a religious and philosophical interpretation of the poem. The secret of the poem is its dualism: external beauty and sacred meaning. There is a spiritual meaning in symbols of Tamil poetry. Nammalvar takes canons of his predecessors, poets of the Sangam era. However, he fills one with new content. The author compares ancient Tamil poetry and the work of Nammalvar. The plot describes the love between God and the soul. The poet reveals several types of bhakti or devoted love. The description of bhakti subsequently formed the basis for the classification of souls in the philosophy of vishishta-advaita. Bhakti leads to the transition to Vaikuntha or the heaven city. Sri Vaishnavism teachers turned the description of relationship soul-Vishnu into a spiritual practice. The artistic images of Nammalvar are compared with Hindu concepts such as transcendence, darshan, divine grace and moksha. In South India “Thiruviruttam” is considered the Tamil Rig Veda. Poem is performed at home, in the temple, during festive processes. It helps to find the roots of Vaishnavism and understand its poetic origin.

Malaysian Poet Sima. Ilango’s Traditional Poems: A Study

Traditional poetry literature emerged in Malaysia and continues to this day with many developments and glories. The development of Malaysia Tamil poetry, traditional poetry, began in 1863 to the present day and has gone through many periods. Poet Sima. Ilangois a senior poet in Malaysian poetry. Poet Ilango has been selected for this study.The purpose of this article is to explore the poetic elements in his works of traditional poetry. In Ilango’s traditional poems, theme, concepts, poetic element, impact, and lesson of the poem have been found and explained.

Ancient Tamil Poetry: Archaic Substratum

Thе article is a tribute to the memory of the outstanding Russian dravidologist A. M. Dubyansky; it examines the archaic foundations of ancient Tamil poetry. This poetry is represented by two poetry collections: “Eight anthologies” and “Ten songs or poems”, which were created in the 1st–3rd centuries. A. M. Dubyansky explored the mythological and ritual origins of this poetry, it seems reasonable to reveal in it a deep archaic substratum; this is the purpose of the article. Thanks to phylogenetic memory, its actualization took place at different times in different areas of culture and literature, therefore, ancient Tamil poetry is no exception to the general rule. There are grounds to establish a genetic connection between one of the key terms of the analyzed poetry, namely, aņańku, denoting various phenomena of the sacred sphere, with the ancient archetype of integrity, the origins of which date back to deep antiquity. The ancient Tamil poetic canon also reflected archaic ideas about time-space, the chronotope; they are significantly different from the historical dictated by the usual for us Newtonian-Cartesian paradigm. The image of the ancient Tamil god Murugan depicts the mythology of a young god, who is typologically close to the dying and resurrecting gods of the agricultural cults of the Old World. However, they left the historical scene, but the cult of Murugan is still popular in the Dravidian area, this creates opportunities for a deeper study of this mythology. Thus, the translations and studies of A. M. Dubyansky receive additional source study value and can be fruitfully used for various kinds of humanitarian research.

The Archaeology of Kṛṣṇa at Tiruveḷḷaṟai, a Site for Tamil Poetry in the 7th–9th Centuries

In many of the oldest known sites of the Pāṇḍya country located not far from the Kāverī River in Tamil Nadu, a dual Hindu obedience, Vaiṣṇava and Śaiva, was developed concomitantly. Alongside these Bhakti deities, others are present in these places of communication with the sacred. As stone figures attached to the site and texts evoking the place are the two means used to give form to their deities, one would expect these two mediums to interact, but it is often difficult to correlate them in the Tamil country of the first millennium. This paper aims at exploring such possible relationships at Tiruveḷḷaṟai, the earliest remains of which date to the 8th c. The site has unique archaeological features, such as a svastika-shaped well and the earliest known depictions of some of Kṛṣṇa’s feats; it inspired hymns of the Tamil Vaiṣṇava devotional corpus, the Divyaprabandham, and offers numerous inscriptions. The link between Śiva, Viṣṇu and local goddesses proves to be as remarkable here as that between texts and archaeology.

The Change and Difference of the Prosody

Prosody in Tamil has changed and developed from time to time. Prosody itself helps in the creation of traditional poems. Apart from creating traditional poems, prosody is also a tool for knowing the structure and meaning of songs composed on the basis of a tradition dating back to ancient times. It is prosody that lays down the rules for the style of the verse, which treats the subject matter of the book with sound and appearance. If the ideas expressed are in the style of a poem, then the prose has no use for the reciter. That is why, compared to prose, the style of the poem becomes superior. Since all our ancient texts are composed in the style of poetry, the practice of prosody is essential for our fullest experience of them. Tolkappiya poetry is an uncommon component of understanding the structure of ancient Tamil poetry. The former praised the prosodic features and developed them from time to time. The Tholkappiyar was also well-versed in the prosodic system that existed before him. He praises the creators of prosody that existed before him as 'Yaappari Pulavar (Poets who know Prosody)'. Tolkappiyam is the first book we have today to expound the Prosody. After Tholkappiyam, books such as Kakkaipaadiniyam, Avinayam, Yaapparungalam, Yaapparungalakaarikai, Veerachozhiyam, Muthuveeriyam, Palkaayam, etc., have appeared to describe prosody. It is natural that from time to time the emergence of new types of prosody and changes in old prosodic types occur. Therefore, the prosody explained by other poets’ texts differs in some respects from the grammatical trend of Tholkappiyar. This article is based on how Tolkappiyar's opinion about prosodic parts in the grammar of prosody has been changed or different in the prosodic texts that appeared after him.

The Contribution of the Christian Ammanais (a type of Tamil poetry in the form of questions and answers) to the History of Minor Literature

In the area of the Tamil language, which has a rich literary heritage of over 2,000 years that extends from Sangam literature to today's modern literature, the minor literature is known to be the product of the Naayakar period. Against the backdrop of various religions, which have contributed from time to time to the great work of enriching Mother Tamil, many minor literature books have emerged in Tamil. Christian Ammanais is the most famous of this type of minor literature, which originated in Tamil in the context of Christianity. This article explores the place of Christian Ammanai in Tamil minor literature and discusses its merits.

Panjali Sabatham: Prosodic Features and Poetic Style

Bharathiyar was the one who created Tamil so that the honey-like Tamil music could spread all over the world. He made many innovations with his songs to remove the distance between people and Tamil poetry. He composed poems following tradition in traditional forms like song and poetry. He introduced innovation into traditional forms of poetry and gave rise to modern poetry. Panjali Sabadham is a unique record among Bharathiyar's songs. This book is full of simple Tamil, subtlety and emotions. The Panjali Sabatham consists of two parts. This book contains four hundred and twelve songs in five chapters namely Sulchicharukam (Duryodhana's trickery Chapter), Chuthattacharukam (Gambling Chapter), Adimaicharukam (Slavery Chapter), Thukilurithal charukam (Draupadi in the assembly Chapter), and Sapadhacharukam (Imprecation Chapter). Bharathiyar's poems have all been explored from a prosodical perspective. However, the Panjali Sabatham is not known to have been explored with specific focus on prosodic features. Therefore, the article researches Panjali Sabadham based on previous studies explaining the prosodic features and the verse Style based on Tolkaapiyam construction under the title “Panchali Sabatham: Prosodic features and Verse Style.” This book is made up of poetry that are Sindhu (slightly shorter than average), Kattalai Kalippa, Nilai Mandila Aasiriyum, Arusir (a four-bar song consisting of six words), Ezhusir (seven words and four bars), and Ensir Vridham (a four-bar song consisting of eight words). Among them the references made in previous studies are also reviewed. The way poetic style of the characters of Ammai (not based on the original word), Thonmai (prose is mixed with ancient subject matter), Thol (finer terms), Virunthu (Novel, Modern Poetry), Iyaibu (the consonants from 'jna' to 'na' as the last syllable), Pulan (understand the meaning without examining), and Izhaibu (adverbial verbs from related words), added strongly as the poet is highlighted. Although Tolkappiyam has mentioned 34 elements, considering the theme of Panchali Sabatham, considering the incompatibility of elements such as munnam (Intention), kaikol (Virtuous life), thinai (Location), porul vahai (Theme), etc., only numerical patterns which are considered as internal patterns are taken as the data for the study.

Working-Class People's Expressions in Modern Tamil Poetry

Although literary works are the products of the imagination of individual writers, they are considered to be the voices of the times. It is appropriate to consider literature as the essence of a long history and as a necessary document for social change, rather than as a dry reflection of social currents. In this way, in the contemporary literary environment, more attention is paid to poetry, lyrical content, expressive ability, social vision, and new ideas than to other types of literature. Free verse, which in recent times has been identified as modern poetry, has developed in the form of singing new verses. Accordingly, these poems have the characteristic of absorbing the modern trends of recent times. In general, the free verse that appeared in the late nineteenth century was renaissance-oriented and addressed the morals of the human race living in a particular place. In addition, they looked closely at the effects of economic and social changes and acted in such a way as to express their effects immediately through depiction. Thus, the modern poems of recent periods depict the various types of changes that occur in society every day. Under it, the ideologies expressed in recent modern poetry appear as sources of 'confessions' and sources of life for the living people. Accordingly, the expressions of modern poetry have focused on important socio-political and economic issues such as humanity, life problems, contradictions, crises, imbalances, effects of contemporary trends, reactions etc. Accordingly, modern literature diverges from the classical language of Tamil grammatical traditional poetry that has existed so far. Individual disability, mental nature, experience impressions, anger at restrictions, resistance, unity for love, failure thoughts, likes and dislikes about politics, and slander can all be found in modern poems. In this way, this review examines the pains of the basic people's lives, the inequality positions, the economic problems of the peasants, and the inhuman misery between the relations from the poems of the recent period.

Realism in the Poems of A.S.M. Muniandi

Literature is a life experience. Modern Tamil poetry inspires the thought of writing freely. Tamil poetry is broadly divided into two types: classical (i.e., Marabu Kavithai) and modern (i.e., Puthu Kavithai). Modern poetry has freed itself from the shackles of grammar. It has a wide range of songs. The definitions of poetry are new. He realised that poetry of experience, the poetry of longing, the poetry of longing, the poetry of anger, poetry of hope, the poetry of wisdom, and Tamil poetry will come, and he knows life and sings in Tamil. He has written a wonderful poem saying that God and poetry are one. He has created poetry, understanding that in modern times, there is more falsehood and less truth in man. The poet has established through his poems that realism is the aesthetic of modern times. In the poem, the poet's imagination can realize the promise of the candidate. He emphasises that those who want to make a career in life should first know themselves. Prayer is the highest, but that alone does not make a man live. He says, "Charity is needed and gives importance to actions with humanity." In his new poem, thinking of Buddha, he has created the life of people in Kaliyuga as it is. Through poetry, he criticises the people who live as uncivilised people because of the TV craze. While voicing support for religious harmony and world peace, it highlights the violence happening in the country. The aim of the article is to attempt to express the feelings and the community, which is emphasised in Muniandi's poems. The uniqueness of the poet is that he not only praises the height of love but also sings about the other side of love.

Values in ‘Perunkathai’ Family System

In the world of Tamil poetry, Perunkathai is held in equal esteem with the five great epics. The original text of Perunkathai was written by Gunadithiyar in the Paisasam language, a vernacular dialect of Prakrit, in the name of Pragatatha. After that, it was written in Sanskrit under the name Prigathkathai by a Ganga king named Durvineethan in the fifth or sixth century AD. Konguvelir wrote it in Tamil under the name of Udhayanan Kathai. He is considered to belong to the Velalar class of Kongu Country. This book, which was written in the seventh century AD by Konguvelir, is also known as Udhayanan Kathai, Konguvel Maakathai, and Perunkathai. This epic poem is composed by focusing on the lives of the kings. The grammar, literature, and epics of the Tamil language are all written with the aim of making the readers refined and virtuous. The aim of this book is that man should live a long time with perfect human nature. A family is a system in which one has children and lives together. This system undergoes many changes from time to time. Family structure is determined based on occupation, job, preference, need, etc. They classify family systems as joint family systems where grandfather, grandmother, paternal aunt, maternal uncle, elder paternal uncle, elder maternal aunt, younger maternal aunt, younger paternal father, grandson, granddaughter, etc., live together and classify them as single family systems where mother, father, and child live together. No matter what the system is, the family system will gain specialness and value only if it accepts the personal feelings, desires, needs, obligations, and duties of each individual. Many changes occur in human characteristics according to the living conditions of the changing and growing living conditions of people. The purpose of this article is to highlight the family values that are mentioned in the story in order to properly refine these changes and make us live in a good way.

Kaviko's 'Ghazal' Songs - A Glimpse

Twentieth century Tamil literature is considered to have reached the peak of social change. Such literary forms have in themselves an expression of sentiment similar to that of Sangam literature. Tamil Modern Poetry is based on the intellectual genre of Tamil that subtly conveys the call for social change. Traveling with the ideas of various creators, Tamil poetry is a field of study that is still appreciated today. Kavico Abdul Rahman is one of the few poets who can ever be thought of in the history of Tamil poetry. He has achieved many achievements through his socially conscious writing journey. His writings are profound, meticulously recording individual emotions. In his poetic works, poet Abdul Rahman has taken many new initiatives. One of them is the "ghazal" literary genre. It is a two-line song that is called "Kanni." These ghazals are mostly about love. Abdul Rahman wrote the ghazal in a new poetic style and sang it on all subjects. Out of the two volumes of poems, ‘A Letter from Minmini’, and ‘Secret Flower', written by him, only 'Rakasiyapoo' was taken as the subject of the study. Many poems, including love, God, philosophy, society, and fantasy, are included in the ghazal volume. They are resourceful in the aspect of cultivating minds. Therefore, this article is based on the above-mentioned subjects as sub-headings. 'Whenever my mind gets dirty, I bathe in poetry' is the ghazal of the poet. Each of his ghazals is a boon to the heart, forming a watery flower bed and giving pleasure.

Biographical Thoughts in Contemporary Tamil Poetry (2005-2007)

Literature narrates the experiences of human life. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, despite the emergence of various literatures, the field of poetry began to take shape with a renaissance. Poetry is the way to find the norms of human life and in the theme 'Biographical Thoughts in Contemporary Tamil Poetry (2005-2007)', the idea of life is that human beings should live in unity without selfishness. There is no destruction to the wealth of education. Therefore, it is necessary to get a compulsory education. Exercise and meditation on a daily basis suggest that there should be perseverance, that the little money saved in youth should help in old age, that family planning should be enforced to reduce population growth, that children should come forward to protect themselves without leaving their parents in a nursing home, and that hunger should be avoided. By doing so one can maintain good health. It has been explored and explored through biological thoughts that life can be prosperous and spring if alcohol, liquor and gambling are kept on the right path to prevent the mind from going astray.

Sambumaali Vathai Padalam - A Rereading

Tamil Poetry has a long historical tradition. Although the literature appears to be up to date, not all have survived. Only a few works are being read in a new perspective in the contemporary political and social context. When Re -Reding a work in a multifaceted way without a biased reading, it is possible to get closer to the author’s focus. On that basis, the Kambaramayana is subjected to the Rereding of the Chambumalivathai Padalam in the Sundarakanda.

Rural Cultural Elements Presented in the Poems of the Poet Sirpi

The earthy antiquity and culture of the writer can be speaking the strength of his writings. The culture can serve as a bridge between the people who followed the ethics to live the better life and their living environment. One of the most noteworthy poets and sculptors in the history of contemporary Tamil poetry. One of the most noteworthy poets and sculptors in the history of contemporary Tamil poetry. A village river on the banks of the poet-sculptor's poem is a unique rural story based on the lives of human beings who are realistically moving. As a Kongu vernacular poem, it is full of pro-speech and eloquent poetry. Thus, this article outlines some of the anthropological elements found in the poems of The Poet Sirpi, such as the cultural elements of the rural people of the Kongu region, such as the realistic mind of the rural people, the unpretentious way of life, the relationship, the harmony with nature, the cultural specialties, the friendship, the regional case.

SIMPLE METHOD IN TEACHING TAMIL YAAPPU GRAMMAR

The specialty of the Tamil Language lies in its excellent grammatical structure. There are five types of grammar: Letters, Words, Porul (Meanings), Yaappu, and Ani. Among these are the grammar of composing verses and preserving the structure of Tamil poetry. Intricate elements such as ethugei, monei, iyebu express the specialty that can be placed within each foot. Due to the presence of these elements in poetry/seiyul, one can easily memorise and store it in his/her memory bank. Yaappu grammar knowledge is important not only to poetry writing enthusiasts but also to avid poetry readers. The first step that Yaappu grammar learners need to know is separating the ‘seer’. The younger generation consider this separation aspect to be the most difficult task. Not surprisingly, the younger generation does not show much interest in learning Yaappu grammar. If we really manipulate the deconstruction technique with the simple mathematical knowledge that we have, Yaappu grammar will be easy for everyone. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to introduce a simple technique of sorting, using the mathematical knowledge to introduce the learning and teaching process for university students and to identify the directory status of the students through pre-testing and post-testing.

Multifarious nature in Bharathy’s Lyrical Literature

This article, entitled as 'Multifarious nature in Bharathy’s Lyrical Literature', serves as a research paper for the seminar organized with the aim of exploring the diversity of Tamil grammar and literature and exposing the multifarious nature of Tamil. There are a lot of rich literatures in Tamil that express diversity in the field of Grammar and Literature. However, in the field of Tamil grammatical literature, Bharathiyar's poetic literature excel in simplicity, sweetness, novelty and revolution which are conceptual and multifarious. In that respect, this article is designed to examine the contribution of Bharathi's poetry for the richness of Tamil literature in certain contexts. In particular, Bharathi's Tamil poetry is characterized by simple language, attractive poetry, feminist songs, theological devotional songs, and poems that are in tune with the fine arts. The essence of this research study consists of the Multifaceted Specialties of Poetic Excellence from a linguistic point of view such as Pride of Tamil language, Mother Language Obsession and Poetic Specialization, the Diverse Ideas from a feminist point of view such as The Pride of Women, Women’s Rights, Female Liberation and the concept of ‘Puthumai Pen’, Religious and philosophical views from the Theological perspectives such as Theological Thoughts, Devotional Norms (Bhakthi Neri), Glory of power (Shakthi Mahimai) and Specialty Poetic Versus from an aesthetic point of view reflecting Theological Dance Bond, Poetic style suitable for dance and ‘Shakthi Koothu’.

ГЛАВА О НЕПОСТОЯНСТВЕ ТЕЛА ИЗ ТАМИЛЬСКОГО ТРАКТАТА «ТИРУМАНТИРАМ»

The problematics of corporeality is one of the central issues in the medieval Tamil philosophical treatise “Tirumantiram” by Tirumular (c. 10th – 12th centuries). It offers a yogic understanding of the body as consisting of several shells (kośa) and having its own subtle body anatomy (sūkṣma śarīra). Such understanding of corporeality was completely new for Tamil culture, where until that time the dominant concepts of corporeality were the one, dating back to ancient Tamil poetry (“Sangam literature”), and another, influenced by the Jain asceticism (as, for example, reflected in the early medieval didactic anthology “Naladiyar”). The article proposes a commented translation from the Old Tamil language of the chapter “Transitoriness of the Body” from the first tantra of the “Tirumantiram”. In that fragment, the author recalls the imminent death of the gross body, which becomes the starting point for explaining the need for its transformation with the help of yogic practice.

Seeing Like the Sea: A Multispecies History of the Ceylon Pearl Fishery 1800–1925

Abstract The pearl fishery of Ceylon was a lucrative source of pearls as well as a theatre of colonial power. But instead of narrating a story of abstracted governmentality, this paper dives below the waves, braiding Tamil poetry with scientific material relating to the oyster and state sources concerning fishery administration. Taken together, these unearth a multi-species history of the human relationship to the seas. In the same way that pearl divers’ labour was a mode of knowing nature, so too, natural processes and marine creatures shaped, in turn, the economic, social and cultural worlds at the fishery. This nacreous, layered approach combines natural history, maritime labour and historical ecology to explore the fragile and interlocking balance below the waves which extended beyond humans to the molluscs, sharks, boring sponges and parasitic tapeworms of the Gulf of Mannar. The archive around the pearl fishery advances the animal and ecological histories of the Indian Ocean and also points towards ways of suturing the gulf between Indian and Sri Lankan scholarship.