Eight Anthologies

The Eight Anthologies, known as Eṭṭuttokai (எட்டுத்தொகை) or "Eight Collections" in the literature, is a classical Tamil poetic work that forms part of the Eighteen Greater Texts (Patiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku) anthology series of the Sangam Literature. The Eight Anthologies and its companion anthology, the Ten Idylls (Pattuppāṭṭu), is the oldest available Tamil literature. According to Kamil Zvelebil, a scholar of Tamil literature and history, dating these Eight Anthologies or their relative chronology is difficult, but the scholarship so far suggested that the earliest layers were composed sometime between the 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE, while the last layers were completed between 3rd and 5th century CE. The Eight Anthologies consist of 2,371 poems varying from small stanzas of three lines in Ainkurnuru to stanzas of forty lines in Purananuru. The following poems form the Eight Anthologies: Ainkurunuru (ஐங்குறுநூறு) Akananuru (அகநானூறு) Purananuru (புறநானூறு) Kalittokai (கலித்தொகை) Kuruntokai (குறுந்தொகை) Natrinai (நற்றிணை) Paripatal (பரிபாடல்) Pathitrupathu (பதிற்றுப்பத்து) This compilation of eight anthologies into the Ettuttokai super-anthology is historic. It is attested to in a mnemonic Tamil venpa stanza, likely composed sometime at a much later date after the 5th-century. The stanza is found in the colophons of many of the surviving palm-leaf manuscripts, and confirms the cherished status of this Sangam collection in the Tamil history. This stanza aid reads: Original நற்றிணை நல்ல குறுந்தொகை ஐங்குறுநூறு ஒத்த பதிற்றுப்பத்து ஓங்கு பரிபாடல் கற்றறிந்தார் ஏத்தும் கலியோடு அகம்புறம் என்று இத்திறத்த எட்டுத் தொகை Translation: Naṟṟiṇai, good Kuṟuntokai, Aiṅkuṟunūṟu, even Patiṟṟuppattu, high Paripāṭal, along with Kali, Akam, [and] Puṟam praised by learned knowledgeable people, these parts [form] the Eṭṭuttokai Tamil tradition mentions academies of poets that composed classical literature over thousands of years before the common era, a belief that scholars consider a myth. Some scholars date the Sangam literature between c.