Agattiyam
Agattiyam (Tamil: அகத்தியம்), also transliterated as Akattiyam, according to tradition, was the earliest book on Tamil grammar. It is believed to have been complied in the First Sangam, by Agathiar (Agastya), who is considered to be "father of the Tamil language".[1][2]
The sage Agattiyar, according to Hindu legends, brought the Tamil language and its syntax to the Tamil people from the god Siva.[3]
Tolkappiyar (epithet), the author of Tolkappiyam, which is the oldest extant Tamil grammar, is held to be one of the twelve disciples of Agathiyar, who lived during the Second Sangam.[4]
Mentions in Sangam legends
According to the Sangam legends, Agathiar was a participant in the First Sangam and the Second Sangam. The First Sangam was held at Then Madurai (South Madurai), which was submerged under the sea, under the patronage of a Pandya king called Ma Kirti.[5] Agathiyar convened this session and wrote Agattiyam.
Surviving verses
A few verses from Agattiyam have been quoted in medieval commentaries.[6] However, the authenticity of these verses is uncertain.[7]
See also
References
- ↑ Weiss, Richard S. (2009-02-19). Recipes for Immortality: Healing, Religion, and Community in South India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199715008.
- ↑ Indica. Heras Institute of Indian History and Culture, St. Xavier's College. 1998-01-01.
- ↑ Spuler, Bertold (1970-01-01). Handbook of Oriental Studies. BRILL. ISBN 9004041907.
- ↑ Garg, Gaṅgā Rām (1992-01-01). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 9788170223740.
- ↑ Weiss, Richard S. (2009-02-19). Recipes for Immortality: Healing, Religion, and Community in South India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199715008.
- ↑ David Shulman (2016). Tamil. Harvard University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-674-05992-4.
- ↑ N. Subrahmanian, ed. (1997). Tamil social history. Institute of Asian Studies.
- Mudaliyar, Singaravelu A., Apithana Cintamani, An encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature, (1931) - Reprinted by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi (1983)