சங்க இலக்கியத்தில் காடுகளும் அதன் சூழல் அமைவுகளும் / Forests and its Environmental Settings in the Context of Sangam Literature

Abstract

The people who lived in the Sangam period had their personal and social lives attached to the green environment of the earth. The poets of the Sangam times narrated the personal lives of people through the living and non–living things of that particular landscape. The poets in their poetry used the animals, birds and plants of the Tamil land. The forest has the combination of the above said three living things. Tholkappiyar calls the landscape of Mullai a place in and around the forest. The forest is not only seen in Mullai alone but also is seen in Kurinchi, Palai, Neithal and Marutham. Mullai is a place where the trees are larger and dense which is called a dense forest. This sort of forest creates a green environment. The green environment is the symbol of the wealth of nature. Such a green environment increased the prosperity of lands. It existed in the Sangam times. The poets of the Sangam Period who recorded the lifestyle of the people also recorded the green environment of the forests. The Sangam poets also recorded the nature of the forest, the importance of the forest, the connection between the five lands and the type of forests in the Sangam literature.

Keywords

• forests
• environmental settings
• sangam literature
• tamil people.