A Catalogue Of The Tamil Books In The Library Of The British Museum

This rare work discusses Tamil literature thoroughly, ordered by the Library of the British Museum. Of all the literatures of India, with the single exception of the Sanskrit, the Tamil is the richest, the oldest, and the most various. It is thus most completely representative of that ancient Dravidian culture which preceded the civilisation of the conquering Aryan immigrants, and doubtless contributed much to the literary and social development of the latter. Hence the oldest surviving works of Tamil literature bear a peculiar character; though it would perhaps be too bold to assert them to be wholly independent of Sanskritic influences, they are both in vocabulary and in literary form distinctly different from the typical products of the classical Sanskrit literature. Tradition traces back the origin of extant Tamil literature and science to the sage Agastyar (Agattiyar), who plays a prominent part in ancient Sanskrit mythology. A grammar of the Tamil language bearing his name, the Agattiyam, was formerly extant, which apparently was based upon the Paninian school of Sanskrit grammar. In religious poetry Tamil literature is remarkably rich. The worship of Siva seems to have been indigenous to the South, though doubtless it has been locally influenced in various degrees by the Saiva cults of the North. The book is the product of extensive research and study of this language.