AlvarsThe Alvars (Āḻvār) were the Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused bhakti (devotion) to the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, in their songs of longing, ecstasy, and service. They are venerated in Vaishnavism, which regards Vishnu as the Ultimate Reality. Many modern academics place the lifetime of the Alvars between the 5th century and 9th century CE. Traditionally, the Alvars are considered to have lived between and . Orthodoxy posits the number of Alvars as ten, though there are other references that include Andal and Madhurakavi Alvar, making the number 12.
CoupletA couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the two lines is end-stopped, implying that there is a grammatical pause at the end of a line of verse. In a run-on (or open) couplet, the meaning of the first line continues to the second. The word "couplet" comes from the French word meaning "two pieces of iron riveted or hinged together".
IndologyIndology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term Indology (in German, Indologie) is often associated with German scholarship, and is used more commonly in departmental titles in German and continental European universities than in the anglophone academy. In the Netherlands, the term Indologie was used to designate the study of Indian history and culture in preparation for colonial service in the Dutch East Indies.
KaveriThe Kaveri (also known as Cauvery, the anglicised name) is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri River rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu district of the state of Karnataka, at an elevation of 1,341 m above mean sea level and flows for about 800 km before its outfall into the Bay of Bengal. It reaches the sea in Poompuhar, in Mayiladuthurai district.
Tamil mythologyTamil mythology refers to the folklore and traditions that are a part of the wider Dravidian pantheon, originating from the Tamil people. This body of mythology is a fusion of elements from Dravidian culture and the parent Indus Valley culture, both of which have been syncretised with mainstream Hinduism. Tamil literature, in tandem with Sanskrit literature and the Sthala puranas of temples, form a major source of information regarding Tamil mythology.
ValayapathiValaiyapadhi (வளையாபதி; ), also spelled Valayapathi, is one of the five great Tamil epics, but one that is almost entirely lost. It is a story of a father who has two wives, abandons one who gives birth to their son, and the son grows up and seeks his real father. The dominant emotion of this epic is love, and its predominant object is the inculcation of Jain principles and doctrines. Palm-leaf manuscripts of the epic likely existed until the 19th-century, but presently only uncertain fragments of the epic are known from commentaries and the 14th-century anthology Purattirattu.
Tamil MuslimTamil Muslims are Tamils who practise Islam. The community is 6 million in India, primarily in the state of Tamil Nadu where 70% of the Muslim community identified themselves as Tamils. In Tamil Nadu, the majority of Tamil-speaking Muslims belong to the Rowther, Marakkayar, Labbai, and Kayalar clans. Other Muslims in the region are descendants of unions between Arab-origin Moorish Muslims and Tamil women, as well as local converts. However, the majority of these individuals are native Tamils who converted influenced by Tajuddin Cheraman Perumal.
Subramania BharatiC. Subramania Bharathi (IPA: ˌsuˈbrəˌmənˈjʌ_ˈbɑːˌrʌθi; born C. Subramaniyan 11 December 1882 – 11 September 1921) was a Tamil writer, poet, journalist, Indian independence activist, social reformer and polyglot. He was bestowed the title "Bharathi" for his excellence in poetry. He was a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry and is considered one of the greatest Tamil literary figures of all time. He is popularly known by his mononymous title "Bharathi/ Bharathiyaar," and also by the other title "Mahakavi Bharathi" ("the great poet Bharathi").
PatiṟṟuppattuThe Patiṟṟuppattu (பதிற்றுப்பத்து, പതിറ്റുപ്പത്ത്, lit. Ten Tens, sometimes spelled Pathitrupathu,) is a classical Tamil poetic work and one of the Eight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) in Sangam literature. A panegyric collection, it contains puram (war and public life) poems. The Chera kings, known as the Cheramal, are the centre of the work. Its invocatory poem is about Maayon, or Perumal (deity) (Vishnu). The Patiṟṟuppattu originally contained ten sections of ten poems, each section dedicated to a decade of rule in ancient Kerala (Cerals, Chera); the first and last sections have been lost.
ArunagirinatharArunagirinaadhar (Aruna-giri-naadhar, , aɾuɳaɡɯɾɯn̪aːdar) was a Tamil Saiva saint-poet who lived during the 13th century in Tamil Nadu, India. In his treatise A History of Indian Literature (1974), Czech Indologist Kamil Zvelebil places Arunagirinathar's period between circa 1370 CE and circa 1450 CE. He was the creator of Thiruppugal, , tiɾupːɯɡaɻ, meaning "Holy Praise" or "Divine Glory"), a book of poems in Tamil in praise of lord Murugan. His poems are known for their lyricism coupled with complex rhymes and rhythmic structures.
