A Comparative Study of Akanaṉūṟu – Humanism of the Female Friend in Kāthā-saptha-sathi

ஒப்பியல் நோக்கில் அகநானூறு - காதாசப்தசதியில் தோழியின் மனிதநேயம்

Abstract

Sangam literature, which is over two thousand years old, provides a clear record of the love life of people in that era. It is explicitly noted that personal names are not mentioned in the Akam (interior) poems. In contrast, the Kāthā-saptha-sathi, which also records the love life of people from an earlier time, occasionally mentions individual names, though typically it follows a conventional pattern of addressing unnamed lovers. Both Sangam literature and Kāthā-saptha-sathi record romantic experiences without specifying names, which allows a broader exploration of human emotions. Based on this observation, the present article seeks to compare the humanism reflected in the female friend in Sangam literature with that of the female friend in Kāthā-saptha-sathi.