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{{Short description| Assemblies of Tamil scholars}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2020}}
[[File:தமிழ்த் தாய் திருக்கோயிலில் அகத்தியர் சிலை.JPG|thumb|200px|Agathiyar ([[Agastya]]), Chairman of first Tamil [[Sangam literature|Sangam]], at [[Madurai]] in the [[Pandiya]] kingdom. Statue of Agastya in the [[Tamil Thai]] (Mother Tamil) temple in [[Karaikudi]], Tamil Nadu, India]]

The '''Tamil Sangams''' (Tamil: சங்கம் ''caṅkam'', Old Tamil 𑀘𑀗𑁆𑀓𑀫𑁆, from Sanskrit ''saṅgha'') were three legendary gatherings of Tamil scholars and poets that, according to traditional Tamil accounts, occurred in the remote past. Scholars believe that these assemblies were originally known as ''kooṭam'' or "gathering,"<ref>{{cite book|last=Devi|first=Leela|title=History of Kerala|year=1986|publisher=Vidyarthi Mithram Press & Book Depot|pages=73}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Raghavan|first=Srinivasa|title=Chronology of Ancient Bharat|year=1974}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Pillai|first=V.J. Tamby|title=Dravidian kingdoms and list of Pandiyan coins|year=1911|publisher=Asian Educational Services|pages=15}}</ref> which was also a name for [[Madurai]]. Three assemblies are described. The legend has it that the first two were held in cities since "taken by the sea", the first being called Kapatapuram, and the third was held in the present-day city of [[Madurai]].
{{Sangam literature}}
{{Tamil literature}}

== Historical Sangam period and Sangam literature ==
{{Main|Sangam literature}}

The historical [[Sangam period]], alluding to the Sangam-legends,
extended from roughly 300-200 BCE to 300 CE (early Chola period before the interregnum). In this period the earliest extant works of [[Tamil literature]] were written (also known as [[Sangam literature]]), dealing with love, war, governance, trade and bereavement.<ref name="Kamil Veith Zvelebil pp12">Kamil Veith Zvelebil, ''Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature'', pp12</ref><ref name="See K.A. Nilakanta Sastry 1955 pp 105">See K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, ''A History of South India,'' OUP (1955) pp 105</ref> The name ''Sangam'' and the associated legends probably derive from a much later period.<ref name="Tirupattur Tandakam pp 46">[[Appar]] mentions the Sangam in his 'poem ''Tirupattur Tandakam''. Referring to [[Shiva|Siva]], he says: 'Look at Him who was gracious enough to appear in the ''Sangam'' as a poet of fine poems' – K.V. Zvelebil, ''The Smile of Murugan,'' pp 46</ref><ref>Chera, Chola, Pandya: Using Archaeological Evidence to Identify the Tamil Kingdoms of Early Historic South India – Abraham, Shinu Anna, Asian Perspectives – Volume 42, Number 2, Fall 2003, pp. 207-223 University of Hawaii Press</ref> "Sangam" is also known as ''koodal'' ([[Tamil language|Tamil]]: கூடல்) or "gathering".

An accurate chronological assessment of literary works has been rendered difficult due to lack of concrete scientific evidence to support conflicting claims.Undue reliance on the Sangam legends has thus culminated in controversial opinions or interpretations among scholars, confusion in the dates, names of authors, and doubts of even their existence in some cases. The earliest archaeological evidence connecting Madurai and the Sangams is the 10th century [[Chinnamanur|Cinnamanur]] inscription of the [[Pandyas]].<ref>An inscription of the early tenth century AD mentions the achievements of the early Pandya kings of establishing a Sangam in Madurai. See K.A. Nilakanta Sastry, A History of South India, OUP (1955) pp 105</ref>

==Three legendary Sangams==
{{See also|History of Tamil Nadu|History of Kerala}}

According to Tamil legends, there were three Sangams.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Sangam
!Time span
!No. of Poets
!no of king!! Kingdom{{sfnp|Daniélou|2003}}!! Books{{sfnp|Daniélou|2003}}
|-
|[[First Sangam|First]]
|4440 years{{sfnp|Daniélou|2003}}
|549{{sfnp|Daniélou|2003}}
|89||
||
|-
|[[Second Sangam|Second]]
|3700 years{{sfnp|Daniélou|2003}}
|1700{{sfnp|Daniélou|2003}}
|59||
|| ''Tolkāppiyam'' (author - Tolkāppiyar)(legendary; extend version dated to 5th c. CE)
|-
|[[Third Sangam|Third]]
|1850 years{{sfnp|Daniélou|2003}}
|
|49|| [[Pandyan dynasty|Pandiya]] || covers entire corpus of Sangam Literature
|}

[[Nilakanta Sastri]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Sastri |first=Nilakanta |title=A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1958 |page=111 }} "That a college (Sangam) of Tamil poets flourished for a time under royal patronage in Madura may well be a fact. But the earliest account of it, which occurs in the introduction to the commentary on the Iraiyanar Agapporul (c. A.D. 750), is enveloped in legend. It refers to three Sangams which lasted, at long intervals, for 9,990 years all together and counted 8,598 poets (including a few gods of the Saiva persuasion) as members, and 197 Pandyan kings as patrons. Some of the names of the kings and poets such as Kadungon and Ugrapperuvaludi are found in inscriptions and other authentic records, showing that some facts have got mixed up with much fiction, so that no conclusions of value can be based on it."</ref> observes that a sangam of Tamil poets flourished for a time in [[Madurai]] may well be a fact. But the facts regarding sangam have got mixed up with much fiction, making it difficult to draw reliable conclusions from them. [[Kamil Zvelebil]],<ref>{{Harvnb|Zvelebil|1973a|pp=126–127}}</ref> finds a kernel of truth in them, suggesting that they may be based on one or more actual historical assemblies. Others reject the entire notion as not factual.<ref name="Kumari">"The facts mentioned above have persuaded some scholars to consider that everything about the Sangam found in that commentary to be fabrication. But the more sober view of the matter seems to be to accept the main framework of the traditional account... In this there can be no historical impossibility. The legendary and supernatural frills provided by that commentary can of course be rejected." {{Harvnb|Chopra|Ravindran|Subrahmanian|2003|p=32}}</ref> Nevertheless, legends of the Sangams played a significant role in inspiring political, social, and literary movements in [[Tamil Nadu]] in the early 20th century.

Early literature from the pre-[[Pallava]] dynasty period does not contain any mention of the Sangam academies, although some early poems imply a connection between the city of Madurai, which later legends associate with the third Sangam, and Tamil literature and the cultivation of the language.<ref name="Zvelebil 1974 12">{{Harvnb|Zvelebil|1974|p=12}}</ref> The earliest express references to the academies are found in the songs of [[Appar]] and [[Sampandar]], Shaivite poets who lived in the 7th century.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Harvnb|Zvelebil|1973a|pp=126–127}}.</ref> The first full account of the legend is found in a commentary to the ''[[Iraiyanar Akapporul]]'' by Nakkīrar (c. 7th/8th century CE).<ref>{{Harvnb|Zvelebil|1973b|p=46}}</ref> Nakkīrar describes three "Sangams" (''caṅkam'') spanning thousands of years.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

There are a number of other isolated references to the legend of academies at Madurai scattered through Shaivite and Vaishnavite devotional literature throughout later literature.<ref>{{Harvnb|Zvelebil|1973a|p=127}}</ref> The next substantive references to the legend of the academies, however, appear in two significantly later works, namely, the ''[[Thiruvilaiyadal Puranam]]'' of Perumpaṟṟapuliyūr Nambi, and the better-known work of the same title by Paranjothi Munivar.<ref>{{Harvnb|Marr|1985|pp=8–9}}</ref> These works describe a legend that deals mostly with the third Sangam at Madurai, and is so substantially different from that set out in Nakkirar's commentary that some authors such as Zvelebil speculate that it may be based on a different, and somewhat independent, tradition.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

In contemporary versions of the legend, the cities where the first two Sangams were held are said to have been located on [[Kumari Kandam]], a fabled lost continent, that lay to the South of mainland India, and which was described as the cradle of [[Tamil culture]].{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Kumari Kandam supposedly lay south of present-day [[Kanyakumari district|Kanyakumari District]] and, according to these legends, was seized by the sea in a series of catastrophic floods.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ramaswamy|1999|p=97}}</ref>

==First legendary Sangam==
The First Sangam ({{indic|lang=ta|indic=முதற்சங்க பருவம்|trans=Muthaṟchanga paruvam}}) is also known as the First Academy, and as the Head Sangam ({{indic|lang=ta|indic=தலைச்சங்க பருவம்|trans=Thalaichanga paruvam}}).

The first Sangam (''mutaṟcaṅkam'') is described as having been held at "the Madurai which was submerged by the sea", or known among historians as Kapatapuram, lasted a total of 4,400 years, and had 549 members, which supposedly included some gods of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] pantheon such as [[Shiva|Siva]], [[Kubera]], [[Murugan]] and [[Agastya]]. A city was found submerged in Pondicherry and according to the location, has been popularly credited as being the site for the first Sangam, Kapatapuram. A total of 4,449 poets are described as having composed songs for this Sangam. There were 89 Pandiya kings starting from Kaysina valudi to Kadungon were decedents and rulers of that period.<ref>[[#refPTSI|P.T. Srinivasa-iyengar, 1929, p.230]]</ref>

It was said to be located in ''Then Madurai'' under the patronage of 89 [[Pandya]] kings.{{sfnp|Daniélou|2003}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Sen|first=Sailendra Nath|title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization|year=1992|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass|pages=204}}</ref><ref>"Tamil Geographies: Cultural Constructions of Space and Place in South India", page 62, Martha Ann Selby, [[Indira Viswanathan Peterson]], ''Suny Press''</ref> It is said to have lasted for 4,440 years, and this would put the First Sangam between 9600 BCE to 5200 BCE.<ref>{{cite book|last=S. Kunjithapatham|first=M. Arunachalam|title=Musical tradition of Tamilnadu|year=1989|publisher=International Society for the Investigation of Ancient Civilizations|pages=11}}</ref><ref>"Proceedings - Volume 1 of Proceedings: Edited by R. E. Asher, Vadasery Iyemperumal Subramoniam" page 184, R. E. Asher, Vadasery I. Subramoniam, Pennsylvania State University</ref>

Some are of the opinion that [[Agastya|Agathiyar]] was the head of the Head Sangam. However, this is unlikely as the first mention of him is from [[Ptolemy]] and no [[Sangam period|Sangam]] work refers to him.<ref>{{cite book|last=Saletore|first=Rajaram Narayan|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian culture: Volume 4|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofi00raja|url-access=registration|year=1984|publisher=Sterling Publishers|isbn=978-0-391-02332-1 }}</ref> A more likely proposition is [[Murugan|Lord Muruga (Kartikeya)]] being the head of the First Sangam as believed by others.<ref>{{cite book|title=Journal of Indian history, Volume 38|year=1960|publisher=Dept. of History, University of Kerala}}</ref>

Its function was to judge literary works and credit their worth. Later literary works like [[Iraiyanar Akapporul|Iraiyanar Akaporul]] mention that 549 poets were members of it including [[Shiva]], [[Murugan]], [[Kubera|Kuperan]] and seven [[Pandya]] kings.<ref>{{cite book|last=Harman|first=William|title=The sacred marriage of a Hindu goddess|year=1992|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass}}</ref> And 16,149 authors attended the convocation. Its chief works were Perumparipadal, Mudukuruku, Mudunarai and Kalariyavirai. It used [[Agattiyam]] as its grammar.<ref>{{cite book|last=Iyengar|first=Sesha|title=Dravidian India|year=1982|publisher=Asian Educational Services}}</ref> There are no surviving works from this period.

Muranjiyur Mudinagar, a member of the first Tamil Sangam, is believed to have been a king of the Nagas in Jaffna.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pillay|first=Kolappa Pillay Kanakasabhapathi|title=South India and Ceylon|year=1963|publisher=University of Madras}}</ref> [[Siddha medicine]] is said to have been practiced during the First Sangam,<ref>{{cite book|last=Ca. Vē Cuppiramaṇiyan̲|first=Vē. Irā Mātavan̲|title=Heritage of the Tamils: Siddha medicine|year=1983|publisher=International Institute of Tamil Studies}}</ref> and people "enjoyed mental and bodily health, respecting nature and living hygienically."<ref>{{cite book|last=Weiss|first=Richard|title=Recipes for immortality: medicine, religion, and community in South India|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref>

Iraiyanar Kalaviyal mentions that a King Kadungon was the last ruler during the Talaiccankam. He is not to be confused with [[Kadungon]] who defeated the [[Kalabhras]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Piḷḷai|first=Es Vaiyāpurip|title=Vaiyapuripillai's history of Tamil language and literature: from the beginning to 1000 A.D.|year=1988|publisher=New Century Book House}}</ref> It was washed away in a sea-deluge. This led to the [[Second Sangam|Middle Sangam]].{{fact|date=July 2020}}

==Second legendary sangam==
The Second Sangam (''iṭaicaṅkam'') is also known as the Middle Sangam ([[Tamil language|Tamil]]: இடை சங்கம்) and the Second Academy. It was convened in ''Kapatapuram''. This Sangam lasted for 3700 years and had 59 members, with 3700 poets participating. There were 59 Pandiya kings starting from Vendercceliyan to Mudattirumaran were decedents and rulers of that period.<ref>[[#refPTSI|P.T. Srinivasa-iyengar, 1929, p.231]]</ref> This city was also submerged in sea.

The primary factors leading to the formation of the Middle Sangam was mentioned by [[Iraiyanar]], one of the authors of [[Kurunthogai]], who mentions the kingdom of a King named Kandungon, the last ruler during the [[First Sangam]]. It was washed away in a sea-erosion. This led to the Second Sangam.

The second Sangam was convened in ''[[Kuadam|Kapatapuram]]''. This Sangam lasted for 3700 years and had 59 members, with 1700 poets participating. There were 59 Pandiya kings starting from Vendercceliyan to Mudattirumaran were decedents and rulers of that period. This city was also submerged in sea. Ramayana and Arthashastra of Kautalya corroborates the existence of a city named Kavatapuram. There is a reference to a South Indian place called Kavata by Sugriva in a verse which runs something like 'having reached Kavata suitable for Pandiya'. Kavata is also mentioned by Kautalya in Arthashastra. The grammar followed was [[Budapuranam]], [[Agattiyam]], [[Tholkappiyam]], [[Mapuranam]] and [[Isai Nunukkam]]. The poems attributed to second academy are Kali, Kurugu, Vendali and Viyalamalai Ahaval.

==Third legendary Sangam==
[[File:Temple de Mînâkshî01.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Late legends say that the third Sangam was held on the banks of the sacred Pond of Golden Lotuses in Madurai]]

The third Sangam (''kaṭaicaṅkam'') was purportedly located in the current city of [[Madurai]] and lasted for 1850 years. There were 49 Pandiya kings starting from Mudattirumaran (who came away from Kabadapuram to present Madurai) to Ukkirapperu Valudi were decedents and rulers of that period.<ref>[[#refPTSI|P.T. Srinivasa-iyengar, 1929, p.231-232]]</ref> The academy had 49 members, and 449 poets are described as having participated in the Sangam.<ref>{{Harvnb|Zvelebil|1973b|p=47}}</ref> The grammars followed were Agattiyam and Tholkappiyam. The poems composed were Kurunthogai, Netunthogai, Kurunthogai Nanooru, Narrinai Nanooru, Purananooru, Aingurunooru, Padirrupaatu, Kali, Paripaadal, Kuttu, Vari, Sirrisai and Perisai.{{sfnp|Daniélou|2003}}{{pn|date=April 2024}}

There are a number of other isolated references to the legend of academies at Madurai scattered through [[Shaivite]] and [[Vaishnavite]] devotional literature throughout later literature.

In Nambi's account, the 49 members of the third Sangam led by Kapilar, Paraṇar and Nakkīrar were great devotees of [[Shiva]], numbered amongst the 63 [[nayanars]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Nagaswamy|2004|p=493}}</ref> Nakkirar himself is said to have later headed the Sangam, and to have debated [[Shiva]]. The Sangam is described as having been held on the banks of the Pond of Golden Lotuses in the [[Meenakshi Amman Temple|Meenakshi-Sundaresvarar Temple]] in Madurai.<ref>{{Harvnb|Zvelebil|1974|pp=183–184}}</ref>

== Historicity ==
P. T. Srinivasa Iyengar,<ref>[[#refPTSI|P.T. Srivasa Iyengar]]</ref> in his book "History of Tamils" (in Chapter XVI on topic "Criticism of the legend",<ref>[[#refPTSI|P. T. Srivasa Iyengar, 1929, p. 232]]</ref> writes that—

* The First Sangam lasted 4440 years and spanned 89 succeeding kings.
* The Second Sangam lasted 3700 years and spanned 59 succeeding kings.
* The Third Sangam lasted 1800 years and spanned 49 succeeding kings.

According to [[Kamil Zvelebil]], the assemblies may have been founded and patronised by the Pandian kings and functioning in three different capitals consecutively till the last sangam was set up in [[Madurai]]. Zvelebil argues that the appearance of the tradition in literary and epigraphical sources means that it cannot be dismissed as pure fiction.<ref name="Zvelebil 1974 12" /> He suggests that the Sangam legends are based on a historical "body of scholiasts and grammarians [that] 'sits' as a norm-giving, critical college of literary experts, and shifts its seat according to the geopolitical conditions of the Pandiyan kingdom."<ref>{{Harvnb|Zvelebil|1973a|pp=133–134}}</ref>

In 470 CE, a [[Dravida Sangha]] was established in [[Madurai]] by a [[Jain]] named [[Vajranandi]].<ref name=autogenerated1>Kamil V. Zvelebil: The Smile of Murugan p.48</ref> During that time the Tamil region was ruled by the [[Kalabhras]] dynasty. The Kalabhra rulers were followers of either [[Buddhism]] or [[Jainism]]. The ''Dravida Sangha'' took much interest in the Tamil language and literature.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> [[George L. Hart]] suggests that later legends about Tamil Sangams may have been based on the Jaina assembly.<ref>{{Citation|last=Hart|first=George|title=The Milieu of the Ancient Tamil Poems|url=http://tamil.berkeley.edu/html/chapter_1.html|publisher=University of California, Berkeley|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/19970709071128/http://tamil.berkeley.edu/html/chapter_1.html|archive-date=1997-07-09}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Madurai Tamil Sangam]]
*[[List of Sangam poets]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note|refs=
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{refbegin}}

*{{Citation | last=Basham | first=A. L. | author-link=A. L. Basham|title=The Wonder That Was India | year=1981 | edition=3rd | place=Calcutta | publisher=Rupa}}

*{{Citation | last1=Chopra | first1=P.N. |last2=Ravindran | first2=T.K. | last3=Subrahmanian | first3=N. | title=History Of South India – Ancient Medieval & Modern | year=2003 | publisher=Sultan Chand & Company | place=New Delhi | isbn=81-219-0153-7}}

* {{Cite book|last=Daniélou|first=Alain|date=2003-02-11|title=A Brief History of India|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781594777943|language=en|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xlwoDwAAQBAJ&q=sangam}}

*{{Citation | last=Krishnamurti | first=C.R | title=Thamizh Literature Through the Ages: A socio-cultural perspective | year=1998 | publisher=Radhika Publishers | place=Pondicherry}}
*{{Citation | last=Nilakanta Sastri | first=K. A. | author-link=K. A. Nilakanta Sastri|title=A History of South India: From Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar | year=1975 | edition=4th | publisher=Oxford University Press | place=New Delhi}}
*{{Citation | last=Marr | first=John Ralston | title=The Eight Anthologies | publisher=Institute of Asian Studies | place=Madras | year=1985}}
*{{Citation | last=Meenakshisundaran | first= T.P. | title=History of Tamil Literature | series=Publications in linguistics – Annamalai University | year=1965 | publisher=Annamalai University | place=Chidambaram}}
*{{Citation | last=Nagaswamy | first=R. | chapter=Sangam Poetic traditions under the Imperial Cholas | editor1-last=Chevillard | editor1-first=Jean-Luc | editor2-last=Wilden | editor2-first=Eva | title=South-Indian Horizons: Felicitation Volume for François Gros on the occasion of his 70th birthday | year=2004 | publisher=Institut Français de Pondichéry / École Française d'Extrême-Orient | place=Pondicherry | series=Publications du Département d'Indologie – 94 | isbn=2-85539-630-1 | issn=0073-8352 | pages=487–494}}
*{{Citation | last=Narasimhaiah | first=B. | title=Neolithic and Megalithic Cultures in Tamil Nadu | publisher=Sundeep Prakashan | place=Delhi | year=1980 | isbn=81-7574-048-5}}
*{{Citation | last=Ramaswamy | first=Sumathi | title=Catastrophic Cartographies: Mapping the Lost Continent of Lemuria | journal=Representations | year=1999 | pages=92–129 | doi=10.1525/rep.1999.67.1.01p0048w | volume=67 | issue=67| doi-broken-date=12 July 2025 }}
*{{Citation | last=Ramaswamy | first=Sumathi | title=The Lost Land of Lemuria: Fabulous Geographies, Catastrophic Histories | year=2004 | publisher=University of California Press | place=Berkeley | isbn=0-520-24440-0}}
*{{Citation | last=Zvelebil | first=Kamil | author-link=Kamil Zvelebil | title=The Earliest Account of the Tamil Academies | journal=Indo-Iranian Journal | volume=15 | issue=2 | year=1973a | pages=109–135 | doi=10.1007/BF00157289| doi-broken-date=12 July 2025 | s2cid=189777598 }}
*{{Citation | last=Zvelebil | first=Kamil | title= The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India | year=1973b | publisher=Brill | place=Leiden | isbn=90-04-03591-5}}
*{{Citation | last=Zvelebil | first=Kamil | title=Tamil Literature | year=1974 | series=A History of Indian Literature, Vol. X Fasc. 1 | publisher=Otto Harrassowitz | place=Wiesbaden | isbn=3-447-01582-9}}
*{{citation | last=Srinivasa-iyengar | first=P.T. | title=History of the Tamils: from the earliest times to 600 A.D. | publisher=Asian Educational Service | year=1929 | place=New Delhi | isbn=81-206-0145-9|ref=refPTSI}}
{{refend}}

{{Tamil language}}

[[Category:Ancient Tamil Nadu]]
[[Category:Indian literature]]
[[Category:Tamil organisations]]
[[Category:Tamil-language literature]]
[[Category:Cultural history of Tamil Nadu]]

Legendary Tamil Sangams - Revision history

KareemOman9338: Adding info - done