Eelattu Poothanthevanar was one of the earliest known classical

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

(present day

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

) Tamil

poets A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

from the

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

. He hailed from the ancient international port of Manthai (''Manthottam/ Manthoddam'' in Tamil, Manthota in derived Sinhalese) in Ceylon, the ruins of which are in present-day

Mannar District Mannar District ( ''Maṉṉār Māvaṭṭam''; ) is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a Governm ...

, Sri Lanka. His poems were included in the

Tamil language Tamil (, , , also written as ''Tamizhil'' according to linguistic pronunciation) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. It is one of the longest-surviving classical languages in the world,. "Tamil is one of ...

anthologies of the

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil language, Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam''), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil language, Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cā ...

compiled in

Tamilakam Tamilakam () also known as ancient Tamil country as was the geographical region inhabited by the ancient Tamil people, covering the southernmost region of the Indian subcontinent. Tamilakam covered today's Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry, La ...

before 250 CE. Writing in the city of

Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...

, he praises the valour of the contemporaneous King Pasum Poon Pandyan, who, as per the '' Narkudi Velalar Varalaru'', reigned from 275 to 240 BCE. Seven of his poetic verses feature in the '' Akananuṟu'', '' Natriṇai'' and '' Kurunthokai''. Other Sri Lankan Tamil poets whose contemporary work feature in the anthologies include Pūtan Ila Naganar and Marudan Ila Naganar.

Contribution to the Sangam literature

Eelattu Poothanthevanar wrote two Sangam verses, including one each in Akananuru (verse 88) and Kurunthogai (verse 343).

Notes

External links

Sri Lankan article on culture, art and literature
Eelattu Poothanthevanar Sri Lankan Tamil poets Sri Lankan Tamil people Date of death unknown Year of birth unknown Tamil poets 300 BC births {{SriLanka-poet-stub

Contribution to the Sangam literature

See also

Notes

External links