The Sangam Age to Kalabhra Interregnum
The Sangam Age constitutes an important chapter in the history of South India.
the most probable date of the Sangam literature has been fixed between the third century B.C. to third century A.D.
According to Tamil legends, there existed three Sangams (Academy of Tamil poets) in ancient Tamil Nadu popularly called Muchchangam
under the royal patronage of the Pandyas The first Sangam, held at the Then Madurai, was attended by gods and legendary sages but no literary work of this Sangam was available.
The second Sangam was held at Kapadapuram but the all the literary works had perished except Tolkappiyam.
The third Sangam at Madurai was founded by Mudathirumaran.
Sangam Literature
Sangam literature includes Tolkappiyam, Ettutogai, Pattuppattu, Pathinenkilkanakku, and the two epics – Silappathigaram and Manimegalai.
Tolkappiyam authored by Tolkappiyar is the earliest of the Tamil literature.
It is a work on Tamil grammar but it provides information on the political and socioeconomic conditions of the Sangam period
The Ettutogaior Eight Anthologies consist of eight works –
Aingurunooru,
Narrinai,
Aganaooru,
Purananooru,
Kuruntogai,
Kalittogai,
Paripadal and
Padirruppattu.
the Greek authors like Megasthenes, Strabo, Pliny and Ptolemy mention the commercial contacts between the West and South India.
The Asokan inscriptions mention the Chera, Chola and Pandya rulers on the south of the Mauryan empire.
The Tamil country was ruled by three dynasties namely the Chera, Chola and Pandyas during the Sangam Age.
there were cordial relationship between Asoka and sangam rulers
Cheras
ruled over parts of modern Kerala.
capital -Vanji and their important seaports -Tondi and Musiri.
had the palmyra flowers as their garland.
The Pugalur inscription of the first century A.D refers to three generations of Chera rule
Each of the Sangam dynasties had a royal emblem – bow for the Cheras.
Cholas
The Chola kingdom of the Sangam period extended from modern Tiruchi district to southern Andhra Pradesh.
Their capital was first located at Uraiyur and then shifted to Puhar.
Karikala was a famous king of the Sangam Cholas.
Each of the Sangam dynasties had a royal emblem – tiger for the Cholas.
Pandyas
ruled over the present day southern Tamil Nadu.
capital -Madurai.
The earliest kings -Nediyon, Palyagasalai Mudukudumi Peruvaludhi and Mudathirumaran.
The last famous Pandyan king was Uggira Peruvaludhi.
The Pandyan rule during the Sangam Age began to decline due to the influence of the Kalabhras.
royal emblem – carp
SOCIETY AND CULTURE
The ruling class was called arasar.
Each of the Sangam dynasties had a royal emblem – carp for the Pandyas, tiger for the Cholas and bow for the Cheras.
Anthanars played a significant role in the Sangam polity and religion.
Vanigars carried on trade and commerce.
The primary deity of the Sangam period was Seyon or Murugan, who is hailed as Tamil God.
The Hero Stone or Nadu Kal worship was significantin the Sangam period.
The Hero Stone was erected in memory of the bravery shown by the warrior in battle.
There is a plenty of information in the Sangam literature to trace the position of women during the Sangam age. Women poets like Avvaiyar, Nachchellaiyar, and Kakkaipadiniyar flourished in this period.
Karpu or Chaste life was considered the highest virtue of women.
Love marriage was a common practice. Women were allowed to choose their life partners.
The life of widows was miserable.
The practice of Sati was also prevalent in the higher strata of society.
The class of dancers was patronized by the kings and nobles.
Poetry, music and dancing were popular among the people of the Sangam age.
Liberal donations were given to poets by the kings,chieftains and nobles.
The royal courts were crowded with singing bards called Panar and Viraliyar.
The arts of music and dancing were highly developed.
Dancing was performed by Kanigaiyar.
Koothu was the most popular entertainment of the people.
KALABHRA REVOLT
A tribe called Kalabhra hailing from the northern borders seems to have occupied and ruled the central and southern parts of the Tamil country.
Historians have opined that the people Muthuraja and its subsects are the descendants of the Kalabhras who invaded the South Indian peninsula including Ceylon and ruled it over for about 300 years.
Kalabhras, by ruling the Tamil country, changed the prevailing social order.
The Velvikudi inscriptions of the third regnal year of Pandya ruler Nedunjadaiyan (c. 765 – c. 815) say that Pandya ruler Mudukudumi Peruvaludi gave the village of Velvikudi as Brahmadeya (gift to the Brahmins).
They enjoyed it for a long time. Then a Kali king named Kalabhran took possession of the extensive earth, driving away numberless great kings.
The Kalabhra dynasty ruled over entire Tamil country in South Indian between the 3rd and the 6th century C.E.
They ruled the region for several centuries until at the beginning of the seventh century when the Pandias defeated them.
They won over the ancient Chola, Pandya and Chera dynasties and replaced them.
There is little information about their origin and details about their reign since They did not leave any monuments.
The only source of information on them are to be found in Buddhist and Jain literature.
the period of the rule is known as a 'Dark Age' – an interregnum.
Some of the coins feature images such as a seated Jain monk, the Buddhist Bodhisattva Manjushri, or the Swastika symbol, with Prakrit inscriptions in Brahmi script on the other side.
The northern languages, Prakrit first and Sanskrit subsequently, became to some extent the languages of the court and the elite in South Indian lands.
Marches and migrations of groups seem to have marked the later half of this period.
mentioned in some Pali works of the fifth century and in a few later records.
The history of Cholas of Uraiyur (Tiruchirappalli) is exceedingly obscure from 4th to the 9th century, chiefly owing to the occupation of their country by the Kalabhras.
Buddhadatta, the great writer in Pali, belonged to Uraiyur, mentions his contemporary, King Achyutavikranta of the Kalabharakula, as ruling over the Chola country from Kaveripumpattinam.
He was a Buddhist.
Tamil literary tradition refers to an Achyuta who kept the Chera, Chola and Pandya rulers in captivity.
On the basis of the contemporaneity of Buddhadatta with Buddhaghosha, Achyuta may be assigned to the 5th century.
The rule of Kalabhras of South India was ended by the counter invasions of Pandyas, Chalukyas and Pallavas.
By the end of the Sixth century A.D. the Pandyan ruler Kadungon had conquered the southern part of the Tamil country from the Kalabhras.
By the same period, the Pallava king, Simhavishnu had captured Tondaimandalam and Cholamandalam from the Kalabhras.
Thus, the Kalabhra rule in Tamil country came to an end due to the ascendancy of the Pandyas and Pallavas.
After the decline of the Kalabhra rule, Buddhism and Jainism began to decline and Hinduism was revived.
The Pandyan kings had patronized Vaishnavism, Saivism and Jainism.
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