Education in south Tamil Nadu during Sangam Age

Rulars of Pandyan Kingdom were very much interested in

developing literature. It shows how much they gave importance to

the education. The kings had great respect on poets. For instant

one time Thalayalanganattu seruvendra pandiya Neduchelian

had to fall in a mistake. When he felt worry about that, he asked

the poets to nobody should sung about him after incident.

Pandya kings established three tamil sangams or colleges in

their capital at three different periods for the development of

Tamil literature.

The words of Aouvaiyar,

“Pandyan’s country has great tamil,

The lines of an old song,

“The king of seas (Pandyan) has finishless Tamil knowledge,”

The words of Nallur koothanar,

“ The glorious town of great renown in which the Tamil tongue

doth flourish well secure”

and the paripadal lines,

“Tha basin of Tamil Vaigai”

Says how the Tamil reached its zenith in pandyan country

during the early period.

Further the great poets Ilangovadigal Sekkilar125 and kambar

says pandyan country as ‘Senthamilnadu’. It shows the flourish of

Tamil in Pandyan country.

The above evidence show that the people of pandyan country

were mostly educated. That is they learned Tamil well. Some

inscription says the pupils of pandyan kingdom went to schools to

learn and the teachers were called as ‘Palasiriyar” and

‘Kanakkayar’. The teachers were poets they wrote songs.