The Eighteen Greater Texts, known as Patiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku ( ta, பதினெண்மேல்கணக்கு) in the literature, is the collection of the oldest surviving

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

. This collection is considered part of the

Sangam Literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...

and dated approximately between 100 BCE and 200 CE. A series of eighteen major anthologies, it contains the

Eight Anthologies The Eight Anthologies, known as Eṭṭuttokai ( ta, எட்டுத்தொகை) or "Eight Collections" in the literature, is a classical Tamil poetic work that forms part of the Eighteen Greater Texts (''Patiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku'') anthol ...

(''Ettuthokai'') and the

Ten Idylls The Ten Idylls, known as Pattuppāṭṭu ( ta, பத்துப்பாட்டு) or Ten Lays, is an anthology of ten longer poems in the Sangam literature – the earliest known Tamil literature. They range between about 100 and 800 lin ...

(''Pattupattu''). The songs in the Eighteen Greater Texts anthology are set in the '' Akaval'' style. The Eighteen Greater Texts anthology contains 2,381 poems including the ten larger works belonging to the

collection. These poems are attributed to 473 poets. Sixteen of the 473 poets are responsible for 1,177 of the 2,279 poems for which the name of the author is known. In all, 102 of the poems are anonymous. Notably, the '' pathirruppathu'' collection exclusively collects poetry from the Cheral kings (from Kerala), whereas the other collections contain a mix of poetry patronized by diverse Tamil kings.

Anthology

There is no information available on when these poems were collected or on the identity of the anthologist. These poems have passed through four stages of evolution. The poems were created by the bardic authors between 100 BCE and 200 CE. The poems were collected into the various anthologies. colophons

References

* Zvelebil, K. V. ''Abschnitt. Tamil literature'' (1975) Brill Academic Publishers Sangam literature {{Tamil-stub

Anthology

See also

References