The First Sangam period () or the First Academy, also known as the Head Sangam period (), was a legendary period in the history of Ancient

Tamilakam Tamiḻakam (Tamil: தமிழகம்; Malayalam: തമിഴകം), refers to the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nad ...

said to be the foremost of

Tamil Sangams The Tamil Sangams (Tamil: சங்கம் ''caṅkam'', Old Tamil 𑀘𑀗𑁆𑀓𑀫𑁆, from Sanskrit ''saṅgha'') were assemblies of Tamil scholars and poets that, according to traditional Tamil accounts, occurred in the remote past. ...

, known in the

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of P ...

as கூடல் (koodal) or 'gathering'. It is the first of three

of Classical Tamil literature. While most historians accept the historicity of this literature, they also understand that some literary academies would have held Pandyan patronage. This is not to be confused with the historical

Third Sangam The Third Sangam (Tamil: மூன்றாம் சங்கம், ''Moondram Sangam'') (Malayalam: മൂന്നാം സംഘം, ''Moonnam Sangam'') or the Third Academy, also known as the Madurai College of Antiquity, was a historical ...

period which lasted roughly from 600 BCE to 300 CE.

Formation

It was said to be located in ''Then Madurai'' under the patronage of 89 Pandya kings, during this period. It is said to have lasted for 4,440 years, and this would put the First Sangam between 9600 BCE to 5200 BCE. Some are of the opinion that

Agathiyar Agathiyar is a 1972 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film written, directed, and produced by A. P. Nagarajan. The soundtrack was composed by Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan. The film stars Sirkazhi Govindarajan playing the main character, T. ...

was the head of the Head Sangam period. However, this is unlikely as the first mention of him is from

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

and no Sangam work refers to him. A more likely proposition is Lord Muruga (Kartikeya) being the head of the First Sangam as believed by others.

Activity

Its function was to judge literary works and credit their worth. Later literary works like Iraiyanar Akaporul mention that 549 poets were members of it including

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

Murugan Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...

, Kuperan and seven Pandya kings. And 16,149 authors attended the convocation. Its chief works were Perumparipadal, Mudukuruku, Mudunarai and Kalariyavirai. It used

Agattiyam __NOTOC__ ''Agattiyam'' ( ta, அகத்தியம்), also spelled as ''Akattiyam'', according to Tamil tradition, was the earliest book on Tamil grammar. It is a non-extant text, traditionally believed to have been compiled and taught in ...

as its grammar. 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.

Siddha medicine Siddha medicine is a form of traditional medicine originating in southern India. It is one of the oldest systems of medicine in India. In rural India, have learned methods traditionally through master-disciple relationships to become loca ...

is said to have been practiced during the First Sangam, and people "enjoyed mental and bodily health, respecting nature and living hygienically."

Destruction

Iraiyanar Kalaviyal mentions a King Kadungon was the last ruler during the Talaiccankam. He is not to be confused with

Kadungon :''Kadungon or Kadunkon was also the name an earlier Pandya king, mentioned in the Sangam literature.'' Kadungon was a Pandya king who revived the Pandya rule in South India in the 6th century CE. Along with the Pallava king Simhavishnu, he is ...

who defeated the

Kalabhras The Kalabhra dynasty, also called ''Kaḷabrar'', ''Kaḷappirar'', ''Kallupura'' or Kalvar, were rulers of all or parts of Tamil region sometime between the 3rd century and 6th century CE, after the ancient dynasties of the early Cholas, th ...

. It was washed away in a sea-deluge. This led to the Middle Sangam period.

References

{{Tamil language Tamil-language literature Cultural history of Tamil Nadu Ancient Tamil Nadu Tamil history

Formation

Activity

Destruction

See also

References