Question

Discuss people’s social life under Imperial Cholas with reference to:
Literature and Cultural Activities

Answer 1

The Chola era was the ‘Golden Age’ of Tamil literature. Kamban translated the Sanskrit epic ‘Ramayana’ into Tamil in the ninth century AD, it came to be known as Kamban Ramayana. Kamban had translated its earliest Kandas (parts). The later parts (Uttarakhand) were translated by Qttakuttan. Another renowned poet Pugalendi flourished in the 12th century. He wrote Nalavenda, which is based on the love story of Nala and Damayanti. The Buddhist and Jain scholars also made a rich contribution to Tamil literature. The Jain Scholar Amrit Sagar wrote a book on poetics, the art of writing poetry. The Buddhist Scholar Buddhamitra wrote ‘Rasolium’, a grammar book.