Sangam Age: Art and Architecture

Sangam Age: Art and Architecture

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• The rich literary sources of the Sangam period provide detailed information on the secular and religious architecture of the age.
• In the Sangam Age, the socio-economic status of individuals determined the type of building they lived in.
  • The poor lived in thatched houses called Kurumbai, made of grasses such as kusa, darbai, and ugam.
  • The affluent sections of society built houses suited to their needs and social status, known as Valamanai and Nagar; palaces with fortifications were built for royal families.
• Architects, known as Noolari Pulavar, consulted available architectural texts while undertaking construction.
  • The earliest form of religious architecture was a simple cell with a wooden plank installed inside — the cell was called Podiyil, and the plank was worshipped as Kantu.
  • The name Podiyil itself suggests a common place where people gathered for religious purposes; deities were painted on the wall and worshipped there.
  • This simple structure had a brick wall and wooden roof. As the number of devotees visiting from distant places grew, it became necessary to construct halls in front of the sanctum.
    • Some of these halls were plastered with stucco and occasionally decorated with pearls and precious gems.
• The development of different religious cults led to an increase in the number of temples, along with changes in the placement of deities — stucco figures came to serve as the presiding deities in the sanctum.
  • The growing contact between temple and society, driven by increasing temple activities such as rituals, religious discourses, and festivals, further expanded the structure of the temple.
• An increase in the number of buildings, both secular and religious, is witnessed in the period between 300 CE and 600 CE — an important development also occurred in the town planning of this period.
  • Puhar is described in the Silappadikaram as a well-planned city.

Madakkoil

• The temple is referred to as Devakulam in the epigraphs and literature of the period, and an enormous increase in the number of religious buildings is noted in the post-Sangam period.
  • Temples are also referred to as Kottam, Niyamam, and Koil in the literature; construction techniques and materials were largely the same for both secular and religious architecture.
• The period from 300 CE to 600 CE was a landmark in the field of architecture. A new concept in the construction of structural temples — the Madakkoil style — was introduced by Kochenganan; it was also called Perunthirukkoil.
  • In this style, the Vimana was constructed on an empty tala (platform), raised to a considerable height.
    • In some cases, this tala had components such as the adhishtana, bitti, and roof, and even niches on the wall.
  • The Madakkoil at Nallur is a good example of this type of structure.
    • Literary sources suggest that nearly seventy such temples were built by Kochenganan in the Thanjavur–Kumbakonam belt.
• These temples were likely built on a raised, empty tala to protect them from torrential rains and resulting floods, since they were constructed of brick, mud, and mortar — materials vulnerable to natural calamities.
  • This led the king to raise the vimana on an empty tala; granite was not yet in use for temple construction, and the materials employed were largely perishable.
  • These temples are popularly known as Yanai Yera Koil, an idea rooted in a mythology associated with the life of Kochenganan, who is counted among the sixty-three Nayanmars.
• The upsurge in religious consciousness in society led to the rise of many temples — both Saivism and Vaishnavism received due patronage, despite the dominance exercised by heterodox religions.

Dance and Music

• Dance and music, which existed largely as folk arts in the Sangam Age, underwent a remarkable transformation in the period between 300 CE and 600 CE.
  • Dance had by then become almost a profession, performed on stage according to established norms.
• The Silappadikaram is a magnificent treatise on dance and music, with relevance to artists of any age.
  • Its chapters — the Arangetru Kadai, Kadaladu Kadai, Vettuvavari, Aichiyar Kuravai, and Kunrakkuravai — preserve a wealth of information on dance.
  • In describing the dance performance of Madavi, the Silappadikaram provides details on the art of dance and music, dance teachers, musicians (both vocal and instrumental), the performance stage, make-up, and other aspects.
• The Manimekalai also contains references to dance and music.
  • Dance required rigorous training and practice before a public performance; teachers called adalasan were engaged to train children in dance.
  • Training began at the age of five, on an auspicious day and time, and continued for a period of seven years — the teacher would assess the disciple’s progress and determine readiness for performance accordingly.
  • All these details are found in the Arangetru Kadai of the Silappadikaram.
• Teachers were expected to have a genuine interest in dance and music, along with a general aesthetic sense.
  • In those days, prostitutes performed dance to entertain the royal household and the affluent sections of society. A text called Nattiyanannul is understood to have guided teachers in training their students.
• The Silappadikaram offers a vivid description of the qualifications expected of a dance teacher — they had to be well versed in all aspects of dance as well as the texts and treatises on dance and music, accomplished in the science of music, and knowledgeable in the methods of playing musical instruments.
  • The teachers themselves were expected to be performers, since dance as an art form is inextricably linked with music.
• The stage, called arangu in Tamil, had a raised platform (dais) measuring 48 x 42, standing 6 feet above ground level, with the ceiling rising 24 feet above the dais.
  • The stage had two openings — one for entrance and one for exit — and three curtains.

Music

• Music, as an art closely associated with dance, also saw remarkable growth during this period.
  • The term Kotti referred to tala (rhythm) in music; the Tirikadugam notes that music set to a tala beat alone is worth listening to, reflecting the advanced state of musical science in this age.
• There were composers and musicians capable of producing heart-rendering music through their melodious voices.
  • Music was passed down through the centuries purely through oral tradition. Prominent musician communities included the Panar, Porunar, Kodiar, Viraliar, and Koothar.
• The performers of nattuvangam — those who sang and played instruments together — played an important role in dance performances.
  • The overall impression created by a danseuse’s performance depended heavily on the theme chosen, along with the musicians and instrumentalists performing the nattuvangam.
• There is no precise way of knowing the musical scales used in ancient Tamilagam, except through treatises on music and living musical traditions, such as hymnal music and folk music.
  • The Silappadikaram is the most important source of information on the art of music, mentioning a number of musical scales and describing certain pans (melodic modes).
• Music is introduced in the Silappadikaram only where relevant to the narrative.
  • Most references to music appear in the Arangetru Kadai (dealing with the debut of the danseuse), Kanalvari, and Aichiyar Kuravai.
  • The Arangetru Kadai narrates the qualifications of the vocal musician, Yaazh player, flutist, drummer, and dance teacher, and mentions the musical instruments used at the debut performance.
    • The technique of playing stringed instruments like the Yaazh is described in Kanalvari; other chapters, too, contain further references to music.
• Music permeated everyday life across Tamil Nadu — cultivators sang particular types of songs suited to the occasion while ploughing the land, and the Mugavai pattu was sung while measuring grain in the field.
• There is a considerable gap of several centuries between the date of the Silappadikaram and its commentaries, the Arumpada Urai and Adiyarkkunallar, making it difficult to date the treatises referenced within them.
  • Some of the pans mentioned in the Silappadikaram likely predate the text itself. Despite these limitations, the commentaries on the Silappadikaram shed valuable light on the past.
• Tamil Nadu never failed to encourage artists from other regions, even in those days.
  • Dancers with their female pairs from Konganam and Karnataka performed at the royal court to entertain the household — both the Kongana Kuttan and Karnataka Kuttan, along with their viralis (female pairs), dressed and performed according to their own regional traditions.

Paintings

• Painting existed as an established art form — the walls and roofs of houses belonging to affluent members of society were painted, as were the palaces of kings and the walls of temples.
• The Tamil word Oviam means “picture,” and the art of painting was called oviakkalai.
  • Kandiipavai, mentioned in the Manimekalai, refers to a painted figure; the Manimekalai also refers to the existence of a treatise on painting called Oviachennool.
• Suitable scenes hung on the stage were called Oviya Elini, while the book on painting itself was known as Oviya Nul.
  • The brush used for painting was called Vattigai.
• The chitra mandapa, mentioned in the Manimekalai, was constructed with the guidance of experts from Yavana, Avanti, and Magadha, and — as its name suggests — the mandapa was adorned with beautiful paintings.
• On the ceilings of houses and palaces, various objects and scenes were painted, usually flowers and creepers.
  • However, there is no concrete surviving evidence of Sangam-era paintings and sculptures. As V.A. Smith observed: “The statues and pictures apparently were executed in perishable materials and have wholly vanished.”