Evolution of Tamil Language and Culture: A Study of Pērāciriyar Urai of Tolkāppiyam

Abstract

Written more than two thousand years back, the language used in Tolkāppiyam is almost impossible for laypeople to read without an elaborate commentary (referred to in Tamil as ‘Urai’). The cultural context of the original text can also be understood only with the aid of Urai. The evolution of the language spanning over two thousand years and the many cultural changes which triggered it can be traced in the Urai written for Tolkāppiyam by the famous scholar Pērāciriyar, who lived in the twelfth century. Pērāciriyar’s contributions make it easier for linguists and etymology scholars to trace how Tamil has evolved in the past two thousand years.