Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c5.998

c5.998

Tamil and Malayālam are the languages of the Southern section. The oldest literature in the Dravidian group is in Tamil. The most ancient form of Tamil is seen in the edicts and stone tables of the 30th century B.C. The most important among them are the Saṅga works. The grammatical work ‘Tolkāppiyam, is the literary grammar of Centamil. Malayālam became an independent language only by the 8th century A.D. The close relation that exists between Tamil and Malayālam is not visible in any other language of the Dravidian group. By examining the inter-relations of the various languages in the Dravidian group, and noting how close or distant the relation is, we can ascertain which languages separated themselves first from the original Dravidian language.