Question

What was ‘Sangam’ in ancient India?
1. Sangha or Mandal of Tamil poets.
2. Tamil King’s court poets
3. Tamil settlement
4. Mesolithic graves

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : Sangha or Mandal of Tamil poets.

The Correct Answer is Sangha or Mandal of Tamil poets.

• From the 6th century BCE to the 3rd century CE, the Sangam period encompassed ancient Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and parts of Sri Lanka (then known as Tamilakam).
• It was named after the illustrious Madurai-based Sangam academies of poets and scholars.
• The word Tamilakam referred to the entire ancient Tamil-speaking region, roughly corresponding to what is now known as southern India, and included the present-day Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, parts of Andhra Pradesh, parts of Karnataka, and northern Sri Lanka, also known as Eelam.
• There were three Sangam periods, according to Tamil legends: Head Sangam, Middle Sangam, and Last Sangam.
• Historians refer to the last of these as the Sangam age, with the first two being legendary. As a result, it's also known as the Last Sangam Period or the Third Sangam Period.
• Every period's Sangam literature is thought to have been created in three Sangam academies.
• Between 600 BCE and 300 CE, the three Tamil dynasties of Pandya, Chola, and Chera, as well as a few independent chieftains were known as the Velir, ruled Tamilakam.