Indian Literature and Texts

The Vedas are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India, forming the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the foundational scriptures of Hinduism.

The term 'varnas' refers to the four broad social categories or classes in ancient Indian society, which were believed to be essential for a stable and functioning society.

The Vedas are the earliest surviving literature of Indian subcontinent. There are four Vedas: the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda, the Yajur Veda and the Atharva Veda. Of these the Rig Veda is the oldest and was composed about 3500 years ago. All the other Vedas are based upon it and consist to a large degree of various hymns from it. It consists of a thousand such hymns of different seers, each hymn averaging around ten verses. The Rig Veda is also the oldest book in Sanskrit or any Indo-European language.

The Sangam literature connotes the ancient Tamil literature and is the earliest known literature of South India. The Tamil tradition and legends link it to three literary gatherings around Madurai (Pandyan capital): the first over 4,440 years, the second over 3,700 years, and the third over 1,850 years before the start of the common era. Hence, Option A is correct.

Tolkappiyam is the earliest extant work of Tamil Literature and linguists. Tolkappiyam derived from the combination of two words 'Tonmai (ancientness) and 'kappiyam' (literature). It comprises three books- the Ezhuttadikaram, the Solladikaram, and the Poruladikaram. It grammatises the use of words and syntaxes and moves into the higher mode of language analysis.

Answer - (B) - Naaladiyar

The term Sangam refers to a literary guild or assembly of poets and scholars who gathered to compile and critique Tamil literature.

Sangam literature refers to the ancient Tamil literature produced during the Sangam period, roughly between 300 BCE and 300 CE. It is distinct from Sanskrit Puranic or Pali Buddhist texts.

Kamban was a medieval Tamil poet who wrote Ramavataram which is the translation of Ramayana and hence called Kamba Ramayanam.

Answer - A - Nanmanikkatikai

Thiru Arutpa is the collection of devotional songs composed by the 19th-century Tamil saint Ramalinga Swamigal, popularly known as Vallalar.

The Sangam literature, describes many kings and dynasties of South India. Poetic compilations by group of poets of different times patronised by many chiefs and kings are, called Sangama. These are, in all, 30,000 lines of poetry arranged in two main groups, Patinenkilkanakku and the Pattupattu. The Sangam literature consists of short and long poems which were composed by a large number of poets in praise of their kings.

Sangam literature or Sangam text depicts the history of ancient Tamil culture. Which includes early Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras. It was written in a verse style. Basically its an anthology of poems composed by various male and female Tamil poets.

All the listed works, including Abhijnanashakuntalam, Meghadutam, Raghuvamsa, Malavikagnimitram, Ritusamhara, and Kumarasambhava, are attributed to the poet Kalidasa.

The earliest known literature works in Tamil were collected and compiled by an academy of scholars known as the Sangam. It was the Saiva Saint Appar who used the word Sangam for the earliest known Tamil literature.