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Ainkurnuru (ஐங்குறுநூறு) is a book containing five hundred short poems and is part of Ettuthokai, a Sangam literature anthology. The poems in this book were written by numerous authors and were compiled by Kudalur Kizhar at the instance of Chera King Yanaikkatcey Mantaran Ceral Irumporai.

Character of the poems

This book comes under the Agam (subjective) category in its subject matter. Ancient Tamil poems was categorised into the broad categories of Agam(அகம்) - Subjective, dealing with matters of the heart and human emotions, and Puram (புறம்) - Objective, dealing with the tangibles of life such as war, politics, wealth, etc. The poems of this anthology are of the Akaval meter.

These poems deal with the various aspects of the courtship between the hero and the heroine. The poems are set in various landscapes (Thinai - திணை) depending on the mood of the poem. The poem shown as the example in this article is of the Marutham thinai. This is characterised by the mountainous setting and the subject matter of the poem which deals with the hero speaking about his union with his lover .

Authors

Five authors wrote the poems, each contributing one hundred. These authors have been identified as Orampokiyar, Ammuvanaar, Kapilar, Othalandayar and Peyanaar. Perunthevanaar, who translated the Mahabharatham into Tamil, wrote the invocation song at the start of the anthology.

References

• Mudaliyar, Singaravelu A., Apithana Cintamani, An encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature, (1931) - Reprinted by Asian Educational Services, New Delhi (1983)
• http://www.tamilnation.org/literature/anthologies.htm

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