Sangam Literature the Basics - Marutham thinai

Marutham thinai refers to the paddy fields and adjoining lands. It gets its name from the flowering marutham tree which grows in farmlands. 

After the hero and heroine get married and even have a child, the hero leaves the house to live with courtesans. Hence the marutham thinai poems talk about the hero’s infidelity and the heroine’s sorrow and resentment. The subject of the poems is called the uripporul (உரிப்பொருள்), meaning the base characteristic of the poems. Hence in marutham thinai, the  infidelity of the hero and the resentment of the heroine is the uriporul.

The hero leaves and lives with concubine, he plays with concubines in rivers,

Sangam Literature the Basics - Mullai thinai

Mullai thinai refers to the forests and the adjoining lands. It is named after the jasmine flower. Jasmine plants abound in the forests, especially in the rainy season.

Image:Thanks Google

Image: Thanks Google

Typically, the heroine waits for the arrival of the hero, who had left for some job, after having promised to the heroine that he would return before the onset of the rainy season. So when the signs of rainy season show up and the hero hasn’t returned the heroine expects him more and more. The love between the hero and heroine is beautifully depicted as they miss each other and long to be reunited. The hero wishes to finish his job and return swiftly to his sweetheart whereas the heroine waits patiently for the arrival of the hero. These poems absolutely entice the readers' hearts.

Sangam Literature the Basics - Sangam Poems

We saw in Sangam Literature the Basic - Part 1 that the sangam poems were sung during a long period of time, by many poets. Its understood that the poems were sung by ten generations of poets, from various historical analysis. Leaving that aside until later, let me introduce the sangam poems to you. As I said these were written by various poets in various times and this led to the poems to be lost or hidden. So some kings decided to collect and save the poems with the help of some poets. Thus the poems which were found were categorized and recorded.

The shorter poems were collected into anthologies. Anthology is a collection of poems written by different poets following the same literary form. Thus the poems were read, analyzed and grouped into eight anthologies. These are called 'Ettuththogai' which means 'Eight Anthologies'. (ettu - eight, thogai - anthology)

There is a beautiful poem even to remember the names of these anthologies. Look how sweet the poem is!

Sangam Literature the Basics - Kurinji thinai

Kurinji thinai refers to the mountains and adjoining lands. It is named after the flower ‘kurinji’(குறிஞ்சி) which blooms only once in twelve years, in the mountains. What a special name for the thinai!

Kurinji flower: thanks Google

 ‘Kanthal’ (காந்தள்) is another flower which blooms in the mountain slopes and in fact it is the state flower of Tamilnadu. It is the Gloriosa Lily or commonly called the glory lily.

Image: thanks Google

The subject of the kurinji thinai poems is mainly the secret meeting of the lovers, the gossip that starts because of that and the talk about the hero getting married to the heroine. Kurinji thinai’s main sentiment is the love and union of the lovers.