Which one of the following statements about Sangam literature in ancient South India is correct?

Question

Accepted Answer

The Sangam age refers to that period in the early history of south India when large numbers of poems in Tamil were composed by a number of authors. The term Sangam refers to an assembly or meeting together of Tamil poets. Traditionally, three Sangams or assemblies are believed to have been convened one after the other. All the three Sangams took place at different places under the patronage of the Pandya kings of Madurai. Women in the Sangam period appear to have been educated. This is testified by many poems contributed by women poets to the Sangam literature. Women are also described as engaged in various economic activities such as:  Paddy plantation Cattle rearing Basket-making Spinning  However, the cruel practice of Sati was also prevalent in Tamil society, and it was known as tippayadal. But it was not obligatory as there are references to widows present in society. However, their position was miserable as they were prohibited to decorate themselves or participate in any form of amusement. The class of warriors was an important element in society during the Sangam age. Captains of the army were invested with the title of enadi at a formal ceremony. Civil and military officers were held under both the Cholas and the Pandyas by vellalas or rich peasants. The ruling class was called arasar and its members had marriage relations with the vellalas. Hence option (b) is the correct answer. The rich did not plough land themselves but employed labourers for this purpose. Agricultural operations were generally carried on by the members of the lowest class known as kadaisiyar. We notice sharp social inequalities in the Sangam age. The rich lived in houses of brick and mortar and the poor in huts and humbler structures. In the cities, the rich lived in the upper storey of their house. The Sangam texts refer to many settlements including Kaveripattanam whose flourishing existence is now attested archaeologically. They also speak of the Yavanas (foreigners) coming in their own vessels purchasing pepper with gold and supplying wine and women slaves to the natives. This trade is not known only from Latin and Greek writings but also from archaeological records. The Sangam literature is a very major source of our information for the social, economic and political life of the people living in deltaic Tamil Nadu in the early Christian centuries. Aṇaṅku is a phenomenon of sacred power described in ancient Tamil literature such as the Sangam literature. This sacred magical forces were supposed to inhabit various objects, which eventually determined their association with the society. Source Citation: Class XI NCERT: Ancient India Chapter 3, India Ancient's Past - R.S Sharma: The Dawn of History in the Deep South