Tamilakam

Transition to Early Medieval Puligree.
Vikramaditya II (733 – 744 CE) had married two daughters of a Haihaiya

India
king. The older daughter, Lokamahadevi built Lokeshvara temple (Virupaksha
temple) at Pattadakal (modern Kaladgi district, Karnataka). Trilokyamahadevi,
the younger sister of Lokamahadevi and the mother of the next Chalukyan ruler,
Kirtivarman built Trilokyeshvara temple. Both were dedicated to Lord Shiva.
The queen-consorts also accompanied the king on military campaigns. The
institutions of concubinage in the royal harem and devadasi in temples were
prevalent.
11.7 TAMILAHAM: SANGAM AGE AND POST-

SANGAM AGE (KALABHRA INTERREGNUM)
The Sangam age roughly lasted for about 600 years, from 300 BCE to 300 CE.
Tamilaham (ancient Tamil country) during this time was ruled by the Cheras,
Cholas and Pandyas. In the post-Sangam age, Kalabhras overthrew the three
dynasties and ruled from c. 3rd to 7th centuries. Tamilaham was classified into
five main physiographical divisions (tinai): kurinji (hilly and mountainous tracts),
mullai (pastoral lands), marudam (extremely fertile agricultural land), neytal
(coastal areas), and palai (desert region). Owing to the rise of distinct economic,
social and cultural configurations in different physiographical units, customs
and institutions which assisted in safeguarding their ways of living came into
existence. Accordingly, endogamy was practiced. In the agricultural regions, the
institution of prostitution (parattamai) was a common feature especially during
the time when the sowed crops were ripening in the farmlands and also during
the period when agricultural lands were left fallow after harvest. In the palai
tinai, the system of matriarchate prevailed for a long duration. The people of this
physiographical division worshipped Korravai, the goddess of war and victory.
A group of male devotees of the goddess called maravar offered her human and
animal sacrifices.
The Sangam age was an age of war. This had vital effects on the nature of their
politics, society, culture, religion, etc. More and more men were required on the
battlefields. Therefore, the birth of a male child was desirable. However, the
birth of a female child was not derided. The poet, Kapilar in Ainkurunooru
writes that in Kurinji, the chieftain worshipped the deity for a daughter. Also,
due to warring chieftains, women were extolled for demonstrating the virtue of
heroism. It was imperative to instill the spirit of heroism in them as well and
encourage them to send their menfolk on the battlefields. Okkur Masattiyar
(poetess) is said to have sent her only young son on the battlefield after she lost
her husband. Girls during this age learnt literature (iyal), music (isai), and drama
(nadagam). Many of them were skilled in music. From Sangam literature, we
find the names of 26 poetesses: Avvaiyar, Pottiyar, Uttiyar, Budappandiyan Devi,
Nannakaiyar, Okkur Masattiyar, etc., to name a few. Avvaiyar was the most
renowned poetess. She had written 58 poems and also ethical works such as
Niti-Venba, Niti-Neri-Vilakkam, Ulaka-Niti, Nanneri, etc.
Some of the important works belonging to the Sangam Age are Tolkapiyyam,
Tirukkural, Madurai Kanji and to the post-Sangam, Silapaddikaram,
Manimekalai, etc. They provide useful information on the position of women
during the time. The social and legal status of women was not equal to those of
men. The practice of self-immolation of widows was prevalent. The nature of
164 society was patriarchal. It was characterized by certain features. One such feature
was the emphasis on the ideal notion of womanhood. The authors of the Sangam Status of Women
literature emphasize on the virtues of a woman. Chastity (karpu) was viewed as
the highest virtue in a woman. This notion continued to be appreciated in the
post-Sangam age as well. Illango Adigal in the Silapadikaram (the earliest epic
poem written in Tamil) regards Kannagi, the wife of Kovalan (the male
protagonist) as the purest of all. The worship of Kannagi as the embodiment of
an ideal wife and womanhood led to the emergence of the cult of Goddess Kannagi
or Pattini (goddess of chastity). Senguttuvan (Red Chera), the greatest Chera
king is believed to have initiated this cult and built the first Pattini temple at his
capital Vanjimanagar.
Though society in the Sangam and the post-Sangam ages venerated chaste ideal
women, yet there was also the presence of prostitutes and the classification within
this profession signified their functionality, relevance and the existence of
dichotomy in society. The aham literature elaborately deals with the courtesans
of Sangam age. They are mentioned in the anthologies on love such as Narrinai,
Ainkurunuru, and Agananuru. They were known as parattaiyar or kanigaiyar.
There were two major categories of courtesans: katal parattai (concubine) and
ceriparattai (public woman). Classical Tamil works for example the
Silapaddikaram and Manimekalai address katal parattaiyar as kanikayar. These
two classes of women did not mingle and resided in separate dwellings. Katal
parattaiyai lived a virtuous life and thus, they were assigned a higher social
standing than ceriparattai.
The marriage rites also became a means of promoting stratification. The

Tolkappiyam elucidates that the rationale behind the emergence of marriage rites
was to ascertain the difference between a married woman and an unmarried one.
With the performance of marriage rites she was endowed with external symbolism
which made the distinction apparent. Of the ornaments which married women
wore, one variety i.e. izhai was very significant and auspicious. This was removed
at the time of the death of her husband as this ornament signified her marital
status. Another classic Tamil work, Tirukkural written by Thiruvalluvar speaks
of a class of women called varavin magalir who were placed outside the ambit
of marriage as they were prostitutes and they also wore the auspicious ornaments
which were specifically worn by married ones. He mentions them as varaivila
maniyizhaiyal (unmarried women wearing the auspicious ornaments).
11.8 RESURGENCE OF THE PANDYAS AND

PALLAVAS
The Cholas, Cheras and Pandyas of the Sangam period were not full-fledged
states but chiefdoms. With the resurfacing of the Pandyas and the emergence of
the Pallavas after the Kalabhra interregnum, a new political structure came into
being in south India. The Pallavas strengthened their position through diplomatic
marriages. Simhavishnu, the founder of the Pallavas of Kanchi through a
matrimonial alliance with the Vishnukundins established friendly relations with
them and thus, gained a political ally against the Chalukyas of Badami.
The rise of the Pallavas in the seventh century in the Tondaimandalam region of
the Tamilaham inaugurated the process of state formation. The reigns of the
Pallava rulers of Kanchi and of the Pandyas witnessed the granting of lands on a
large scale in lieu of cash salaries to a variety of political, military and religious
165

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Transition to Early Medieval Puligree.

Vikramaditya II (733 – 744 CE) had married two daughters of a Haihaiya

11.7 TAMILAHAM: SANGAM AGE AND POST-

The marriage rites also became a means of promoting stratification. The

11.8 RESURGENCE OF THE PANDYAS AND

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