Middle Tamil in the context of "Tamil-Grantha script"

Manipravalam (Tamil: மணிப்பிரவாளம், romanized: Maṇippiravāḷam, Malayalam: മണിപ്രവാളം, romanized: Maṇipravāḷam) is a macaronic language found in some manuscripts of South India. It is a hybrid language, typically written in the Grantha script, which combines Sanskrit lexicon and Tamil morpho-syntax. According to language scholars Giovanni Ciotti and Marco Franceschini, the blending of Tamil and Sanskrit is evidenced in manuscripts and their colophons over a long period of time, and this ultimately may have contributed to the emergence of Manipravalam. However, the 14th century Sanskrit work Lilatilakam states that Manipravalam is a combination of Tamil and Sanskrit. Generally, it is agreed that it was a combination of Middle Tamil and Sanskrit.

The twelfth century has been described as a watershed moment in the history of Malayalam, where it was finally accepted as a vehicle for literary expression. The two dominant schools in Malayalam writing were the pattu and the manipravalam, the former being influenced by Tamil poetic traditions and the latter designated for Sanskrit influences. Despite their extraneous regulation, the two schools would come to dominate the edifice of Malayalam poetry that they continue to shape its style to this day.

Rajaraja I (Middle Tamil: Rājarāja Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Rājarāja Śōḷa; 3 November 947 – January/February 1014), also known as Rajaraja the Great, was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 to 1014. He was known for his conquests of southern India and the Anuradhapura kingdom of Sri Lanka, as well as increasing Chola influence across the Indian Ocean. Rajaraja's birth name is variously given as Arul Mozhi Varman

Rajaraja's empire encompassed vast territories, including regions of the Pandya country, the Chera country, and northern Sri Lanka. He also extended his influence over strategic islands such as Lakshadweep, Thiladhunmadulu atoll, and parts of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. His conquests were not limited to the south; he also launched successful campaigns against the Western Gangas and the Western Chalukyas, extending Chola authority as far as the Tungabhadra River. In the east, Rajaraja faced fierce opposition from the Telugu Chola king Jata Choda Bhima over control of Vengi. This region held significant strategic importance due to its access to resources and trade routes. The conflict between the two rulers intensified as they vied for dominance in the region, resulting in significant battles and shifting allegiances.

Old Tamil is the form of the Tamil language used from the 3rd century BCE to the seventh century CE, following Proto-Tamil and preceding Middle Tamil. The earliest records in Old Tamil are inscriptions from between the 3rd and 1st century BCE in caves and on pottery, written in the Tamil-Brahmi variant of the Brahmi script. The earliest long text in Old Tamil is the Tolkāppiyam, an early work on Tamil grammar and poetics, whose oldest layers could be as old as the mid-2nd century BCE. Old Tamil preserves many features of Proto-Dravidian, the reconstructed common ancestor of the Dravidian languages, including the inventory of consonants, the syllable structure, and various grammatical features.

Ramanuja ([ɾaːmaːnudʑɐ]; Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmānuja; c. 1077 – 1157, trad. date 1017-1137), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and social reformer. He is one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition in Hinduism. His philosophical foundations for devotional practice were influential in the Bhakti movement.

Ramanuja's guru was Yādava Prakāśa, a scholar who, traditionally, is said to have belonged to the Advaita Vedānta tradition, but probably was a Bhedabheda scholar. Sri Vaishnava tradition holds that Ramanuja disagreed with his guru and the non-dualistic Advaita Vedānta, and instead followed in the footsteps of Tamil Alvārs tradition, the scholars Nāthamuni and Yamunāchārya. Ramanuja is famous as the chief proponent of Vishishtadvaita school of Vedānta, and his disciples were likely authors of texts such as the Shatyayaniya Upanishad. Ramanuja himself wrote influential texts, such as Sanskrit bhāsyas on the Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita.

Kulottunga Chola I (/kʊˈloʊtʊŋɡə/; Middle Tamil: Kulōttuṅka Cōḻaṉ; Classical Sanskrit: Kulottuṅgā Cōḷa; 1025–1122) also spelt Kulothunga (lit. 'The Exalter of His Clan'), born Rajendra Chalukya (Telugu: Rājēndra Cāḷukyuḍu), was a Chola Emperor who reigned from 1070 to 1122 succeeding his cousin Athirajendra Chola. He also served as the Eastern Chalukya monarch from 1061 to 1118, succeeding his father Rajaraja Narendra. He is related to the Chola dynasty through his mother's side and the Eastern Chalukyas through his father's side. His mother, Ammangaidevi, was a Chola princess and the daughter of emperor Rajendra Chola I. His father was king Rajaraja Narendra of the Eastern Chalukya dynasty who was the nephew of Rajendra and maternal grandson of Rajaraja Chola I. According to historian Sailendra Nath Sen, his accession marked the beginning of a new era and ushered in a period of internal peace and benevolent administration. He was succeeded by his son Vikrama Chola.

Kulottunga had diplomatic relations with the northern Indian city Kannauj and also with distant countries like Cambodia, Srivijaya, Khmer, Pagan (Burma), and China. He established Chola overlordship over the Srivijayan province of Kedah in Malay Peninsula. An inscription in a Taoist temple in Guangzhou, dated to 1079, declares Kulottunga, king of Chulien (Chola) to be the supreme chief of the Land of San-fo-tsi (Srivijaya). According to Tan Yeok Seong, the editor of the inscription, Kulottunga ruled both the Chola and Srivijayan kingdoms. In the small Leyden grant that is dated to 1090, the king of Kadaram (Srivijaya) is mentioned as a vassal of Kulottunga. Like his predecessors, Kulottunga was a patron of arts and literature and the much celebrated Tamil poem Kalingattuparani was composed during his rule by poet Jayamkondaan who lived in his court. His records also testify to the highly organised system of fiscal and local administration. During his reign Kulottunga carried out a massive land survey that formed the basis for taxation.