Eelattu Poothanthevanar

Eelattu Poothanthevanar
Eelattu Poothanthevanar
Personal details
Born	300 BCE - 300 CE; Mantai, Mannar, Northern Province, Sri Lanka
Occupation	Poet

Eelattu Poothanthevanar (Tamil: ஈழத்துப் பூதன்தேவனார், romanized: Īḻattup Pūtaṉtēvaṉār) was one of the earliest known classical Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka) Tamil poets from the Sangam period. He hailed from the ancient international port of Manthai (Manthottam/ Manthoddam in Tamil, Manthota in derived Sinhalese) in Ceylon, the ruins of which are in present-day Mannar District, Sri Lanka.^[1] His poems were included in the Tamil language anthologies of the Sangam literature compiled in Tamilakam before 250 CE^[2] Writing in the city of Madurai, he praises the valour of the contemporaneous King Pasum Poon Pandyan, who, as per the Narkudi Velalar Varalaru, reigned from 275 to 240 BCE. Seven of his poetic verses feature in the Akananuṟu, Natriṇai and Kurunthokai.^[3]

Other Sri Lankan Tamil poets whose contemporary work feature in the anthologies include and .

Contribution to the Sangam literature[]

Eelattu Poothanthevanar has written two Sangam verses, including one each in Akananuru (verse 88) and Kurunthogai (verse 343).

Notes[]

^ Stokke, K.; Ryntveit, A.K. (2000). "The Struggle for Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka". Growth and Change: A Journal of Urban and Regional Policy. 31 (2): 285–304. doi:10.1111/0017-4815.00129.
^ Sri Lanka - Literature Encarta article reads: "The earliest known Sri Lankan Tamil poet was Eelattu Poothanthevanar, whose poems were included in the Tamil cankam (Sangam) poetry anthologies compiled in southern India before 250 AD." Archived 2009-10-31.
^ Ampikaipākan̲, Caṅkarappiḷḷai; Ambikaipakan, S. (1981-01-01). Eelanadu and the Tamil Sangams: Paper Presented by S. Ambikaipakan at the Fifth International Conference Seminar of Tamil Studies, Madurai.