சஙக இலககயததல அரசபணபறபலவர படலகளன உளவயல / Psychology of the Songs of the Royal Family Women Poets in Sangam Literature

Sangam literature stands as a resonant proclamation to the world of the thoughtful depth and antiquity of the Tamil language and culture. It is celebrated for its aesthetic excellence and its portrayal of human emotion and psychological insight. Sangam poetry offers a prolific view for multidimensional research. The poets of the Sangam era employed literary strategies that reveal the complex workings of the human psyche, affirming that literature is not only a creative expression but also a manifestation of emotional consciousness. This study argues that the Sangam literature has contributions from royal women poets such as Aathimanthiyar, Devi Perunkoppendu and the women of Pari's court. These royal women poets employed psychological principles long before the formal evolution of psychology as a discipline. Although psychology gained prominence in the West from the 18th century onwards, Sangam texts, which date from 500 BCE to 100 CE, demonstrate the early conceptualisation of psychological and emotional life. Tamil royal women during the Sangam age articulate psychological depth in their poems. This study evaluates Sangam literature within a psychological perspective to explore its underlying cognitive and emotional dimensions. Thus, the paper contends that Tamil literature is far ahead of its time and has incorporated psychological introspection as a core literary element in the Sangam Literature itself.