Tamil love poetry and poetics

by Takanobu Takahashi

It is generally believed in India that works of art are made on the basis of the normative works. The same is true in the case of Tamil literature of South India: especially the case between the oldest grammar and poetics, Tolkappiyam, and the ancient literature (Sangam literature) of the 1-3 centuries AD, consisting of about 2400 poems of love and war. This book deals with the relationship between them with special focus on love poetry, investigating a large number of its technical terms concerning their original meanings and historical changes. The ancient love poems had a considerable influence on later literature, such as Bhakti literature, epics, and puranas. This is an indispensable work of reference for Tamil love poetry and is also useful for Tamil and Indian literatures.