Eight Anthologies in the context of "Kurunthogai"

The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், caṅka ilakkiyam), historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், Sāṉdṟōr Seyyuḷ), connotes the early classical Tamil literature and is the earliest known literature of South India. The Tamil tradition links it to legendary literary gatherings around Madurai in the ancient Pandya kingdom. It is generally accepted by most scholars that the historical Sangam literature era, also known as the Sangam period, spanned from c. 100 BCE to 250 CE, on the basis of linguistic, epigraphic, archaeological, numismatic and historical data; though some scholars give a broader range of 300 BCE to 300 CE.

The Eighteen Greater Texts (Patiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku), along with the Tamil grammar work Tolkappiyam, are collectively considered as Sangam literature. These texts are classified into the Ettuttokai (Eight Anthologies) and Pattupattu (Ten Idylls). They encompass both Akam (interior) themes, focusing on personal emotions and love, and Puram (exterior) themes, emphasizing heroism, ethics, and societal values. Notable works include Akananuru (400 love poems), Purananuru (400 heroic poems), Kurunthogai (short love poems), and Natrinai (poems set in five landscapes). The Pattuppāṭṭu highlights specific regions and rulers, with works like Malaipadukadam and Perumpanarrupadai serving as guides to wealth and prosperity.

The Eighteen Greater Texts, known as Patiṉeṇmēlkaṇakku (Tamil: பதினெண்மேல்கணக்கு) in the literature, is the collection of the oldest surviving Tamil poetry. This collection is considered part of the Sangam Literature and dated approximately between 100 BCE and 200 CE. A series of eighteen major anthologies, it contains the Eight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) and the Ten Idylls (Pattupattu). The songs in the Eighteen Greater Texts anthology are set in the Akaval style.

The Eighteen Greater Texts anthology contains 2,381 poems including the ten larger works belonging to the Ten Idylls collection. These poems are attributed to 473 poets. Sixteen of the 473 poets are responsible for 1,177 of the 2,279 poems for which the name of the author is known. In all, 102 of the poems are anonymous. Notably, the pathirruppathu collection exclusively collects poetry from the Cheral kings (from Kerala), whereas the other collections contain a mix of poetry patronized by diverse Tamil kings.

The Akananuru (Tamil: அகநானூறு, Akanāṉūṟu, literally "four hundred [poems] in the akam genre"), sometimes called Nedunthokai (lit. "anthology of long poems"), is a classical Tamil poetic work and one of the Eight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) in the Sangam literature. It is a collection of 400 love poems composed by 144 poets, except three poems which are by anonymous author(s). The poems range between 13 and 31 lines, and are long enough to include more details of the subject, episode and its context. According to Kamil Zvelebil – a Tamil literature and history scholar, they are "one of the most valuable collections" from ancient Tamil history perspective.

The Akananuru anthology is notable for its mathematical arrangement: the odd number poems are dedicated to palai (arid landscape); poem number ten and its multiples (10, 20, 30, etc., up to 400) are neytal (coastal landscape); poems bearing number 2 and then in increments of 6 followed by 4 (that is number 8, 12, 18, 22, 28, etc.) belong to the kuṟiñci (mountainous landscape); poems bearing number 4 and then in increments of 10 (14, 24, 34, 44, etc.) are mullai (pastoral forests); poems with number 6 and then in increments of 10 (16, 26, 36, etc.) are marutam (riverine farmlands). The anthology was compiled by Uruttiracanman, the son of Maturai Uppurikuti Kilan under the patronage of the Pandyan king Ukkiraperuvaluti. The Akananuru poems offer many valuable cultural insights as well as historically significant evidence and allusions. For example, poem 69, 281 and 375 mention the Maurya Empire, poems 251 and 265 allude to the Nandas, the poem 149 mentions Greek-Romans (Yavanas) as trading gold for pepper through Muziris – an ancient Kerala port near Kochi, and a number of poems echo the Hindu puranic legends about Parasurama, Rama, Krishna and others.

The Purananuru (Tamil: புறநானூறு, Puṟanāṉūṟu, literally "four hundred [poems] in the genre puram"), sometimes called Puram or Purappattu, is a classical Tamil poetic work and traditionally the last of the Eight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) in the Sangam literature. It is a collection of 400 heroic poems about kings, wars and public life, of which two are lost and a few have survived into the modern age in fragments. The collected poems were composed by 157 poets, of which 14 were anonymous and at least 10 were women. This anthology has been variously dated between 1st century BCE and 5th century CE, with Kamil Zvelebil, a Tamil literature scholar, dating predominantly all of the poems of Purananuru sometime between 2nd and 5th century CE. Nevertheless, few poems are dated to the period of 1st century BCE.

The Purananuru anthology is diverse. Of its 400 poems, 138 praise 43 kings – 18 from the Chera dynasty, 13 Chola dynasty kings, and 12 Early Pandya dynasty kings. Another 141 poems praise 48 chieftains. These panegyric poems recite their heroic deeds, as well as another 109 poems that recount deeds of anonymous heroes, likely of older Tamil oral tradition. Some of the poems are gnomic in nature, which have attracted unrealistic attempts to read an ethical message, states Zvelebil. The poetry largely focuses on war, means of war such as horses, heroic deeds, widowhood, hardships, impermanence, and other effects of wars between kingdoms based along the rivers Kaveri, Periyar and Vaigai.

Natrinai (Tamil: நற்றிணை meaning excellent tinai), is a classical work of Tamil literature, and traditionally the first of the Eight Anthologies (Ettuthokai) in Sangam literature. The collection – sometimes spelled as Natrinai or Narrinai – contains both akam (love) and puram (war, public life) category poems. The anthology includes 400 poems, mainly consisting of 9 to 12 lines, with a few ranging from 8 to 13 lines. According to Takanobu Takahashi, a Tamil literature scholar, the Natrinai poems were likely composed between 100–300 CE, based on linguistic features, style, and the dating of their authors. Kamil Zvelebil, another scholar of Tamil literature and history, dates some poems to the 1st century BCE. According to its manuscript colophon, Natrinai was compiled under the patronage of a Pandyan king named Pannatu Tanta Pantiyan Maran Valuti, though the compiler remains anonymous.

The poems are attributed to 175 ancient poets. Two of the poems are credited to the patron king. According to Zvelebil, the collection includes a few Sanskrit loanwords and makes 59 references to historical events. Several lines were later borrowed into renowned post-Sangam Tamil works such as the Tirukkural, Silappatikaram, and Manimekalai. The Tamil legend of Kannagi (or Kannaki), who tore off her breast in protest of her husband's wrongful execution, appears in Natrinai 312.