Parallel With Sanskrit Literature
It was also the period when ornate Sanskrit literature evolved and shared major features with Tamil literature. The period of Pallava supremacy is characterized by the development of epic poetry. The use of nature to express ideas or feelings is first introduced in Silappatikaram. The two Tamil epics, Silappatikaram and Manimegalai do not use the convention of regarding the land divisions becoming part of description of life among various communities of hero and heroine. The epics mention the evenings and spring season in particular as time and season that aggravates the feelings in those who are separated. These patterns are found only in the later works of Sanskrit by Kalidasa (10th century CE). The epic style of Sanskrit was emulated with characterization of ordinary people like Kovalan and Kannagi, providing an insight into everyday life during the period. Civaka Cintamani emulates Sanskrit court poetry and illustrates the heroics of Civaka, who later becomes a monk. Silappatikaram posts a line of development of long poetic sequence in Tamil literature and downplays points of derivation from Sanskrit contemporary works like Mahakavya. Silappatikaram and Manimegalai thus showed greater specialities compared to its Sanskrit counterparts during the period.
Read more about this topic: The Five Great Epics Of Tamil Literature
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