History of Agattiyam The tradition and history of Tamil language is over two thousand five hundred years old. The initial recorded period of the Tamil literary works has been identified as the Sangam age of Tamil literature. During this ancient period, several literary masterpieces were composed by renowned Tamil poets and authors. Some of the most prominent works in Tamil literature includes the Eight Anthologies, the five epics, the Ten Idylls, and the two works on Tamil grammar, Tolkappiyam and Agattiyam. According to legends mentioned in the Sangam literature, Agastya was a sage and a linguist who came from the northern parts of India to the Deccan. The advent of this sage greatly influenced the Dravidian people and their languages with the impact of the Sanskrit language. Agastya incorporated Sanskrit into the various Dravidian languages that existed during that era and subsequently created a new language, Tamil. Moreover he also composed the grammar of Tamil language known as Agattiyam. Moreover, it is believed that Agastya wrote the work of grammar at the great city of Madurai on the banks of the Vaigai River. Agastya had twelve disciples and Tolkappiyar was a member of the second Sangam. As the original text of Agattiyam is unavailable, Tolakappiyam is regarded as the earliest extant work of Tamil grammar. Tolakappiyar, a disciple of Agastya, was the writer of Tolakappiyam. |