தமிழ்த் தேசியம்

"To us all towns are one, all men our kin.
Life's good comes not from others' gift, nor ill
Man's pains and pains' relief are from within.
Thus have we seen in visions of the wise !."
- Tamil Poem in Purananuru, circa 500 B.C 

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Home > Tamil Language & Literature > Tamil Ilakkanam including Tolkappiyam: இலக்கணம் - தொல்காப்பியம்

CONTENTS
OF THIS SECTION
Last updated
23/09/07

 tolkAppiyam Text

part 1 - eluttatikaram (letters) tscii - unicode
part 2 - collatikaram (words)tscii - unicode
part 3 - porulatikaram (subject matter) tscii - unicode
All three parts in pdf

Other Tamil grammatical works

Tolkappiyam Commentaries

Tolkapiyar's Literary Theory - T.P.Meenakshisundaram, 1966
Tolakapiyam Reviewed - Dr.Kodumudi Shanmugam, 2003
Tolkappiyam Studies Campus - Dr.K.Loganathan
Tolkaappiyam Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description in English
Tolkappiyam in English at Tamilnool
Tolkappiyam (in English) - Dr.V. Murugan "A new translation, that steers clear of the crippling inadequacies of diction and content of the existing translations. It contains illustrations of the norms and conventions codified by Tolkappiyar. Besides notes on parallels and similarities with the modern Western tradition in grammar and poetics, it maintains the balance between the historicity of the text and its contemporaneity"
Tolkaapiyar Discussion Group
Context- sensitive rules in Tolkappiam - Dr.Gift Siromoney 

Tamil Ilakkanam at Anna Arivalayam
 

 

TAMIL ILAKKANAM (GRAMMATICAL WORKS) INCLUDING TOLKAPIYAM

இலக்கியம் இன்றி இலக்கணம் இன்றே
எள்ளின் றாகில் எண்ணையும் இன்றே
எள்ளினுள் எண்ணைய் எடுப்பது போல்
இலக்கியத்தினின்றும் எடுபடும் இலக்கனம்'


TolkappiyamTamil Literature through the Ages by Professor C.R.Krishnamurthy -

"...The starting point for Thamizh literary works is therefore reckoned to be the third or last Sangam period which is assigned the approximate dates from 500 B.C. - 200 A.D. Literary works of the last Sangam period include TholkAppiam, a text on Thamizh grammar written by TholkAppiar(~ 500 B.C.)...Setting aside the oft repeated but justifiable criticism regarding the lack of evidence of specific dates and authors, it is appropriate to examine the contents of these texts with reference to their style and substance. It is indeed amazing that even prior to the beginning of the Christian era, there did exist a language with rigid grammatical rules which even today serve as authoritative guidelines. The corollary is that Thamizh should have been flourishing long before this time for someone to set out rules and regulations to formalize its usage in prose and poetry..."

Tolkapiyar's Literary Theory - T.P.Meenakshisundaram, 1966 - "Tolkappiyam at least in parts is the earliest work in Tamil. It is a book on phonology, grammar and poetics. Therefore it implies the prior existence of Tamil literature...The most important aspect of this literature is the distinction between what is called akam and puram the exterior or the outer and the interior or the inner. I prefer to call them the poetry of the phenomenon and the poetry of the noumenon. The inner core of truth of human life is akam or Love. There is a rule that in akam poetry no names are to be mentioned... As against this, puram or the poetry of the phenomenon shows the experience of the varying individuals in this world, an experience which can be often dated as belonging to the historical persons...   Ultimately akam and puram are as the inner palm of the hand and its back..."

C.W.Thamotherampillai & Tholkappiyam
  "Thamotharam Pillai followed in the footsteps of Arumuka Navalar, and was also encouraged by him in publishing the grammatical works Tolkappiyam, which is said to be one of the earliest extant works Tamil, and attracted Thamotharam Pillai's attention.  It is primarily a grammatical treatise but includes also a study of the subject matter literature. It is divided into three major parts, eluttu (Letters), col (Words) and porul (Subject-matter). ...Thamotharam Pillai collected and compared different palm-leaf manuscript copies of Tolkappiyam and the commentaries and systematically published them. Collatikaram with the commentaries of Cenavaraiyar and Naccinarkkiniyar was printed in 1868 (2nd ed. 1892, 3rd ed. 1900). This was followed by Porulatikaram in 1885 (2nd ed. 1892) and Eluttatikaram with Naccinakkiniyar's commentary in 1891..."

Other grammatical works -

nEminAtam of kunaveera pandithar tscii - pdf  - unicode
yApparungkalakkArikai of amitacAkarar tscii - pdf - unicode
vaTamalai nikanTu of Iswara Bharathi  tscii - pdf - unicode
cUTAmaNi nikaNTu of maNTala puruTar tscii - pdf - unicode
taNTiyalangkAram of taNTiyAciriyar tscii -  pdf - unicode
nannUl of pavaNanti munivar tscii - pdf - unicode
nannUl of pavaNanti munivar - an ancient versionwith yappu/ciir
tscii  - pdf - unicode
 
  
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