The Doctrine of the Soul of Ascetics in Agananooru

The soul refers to a part of a person that is connected to the divine and survives after the death of the body. Based on religion and philosophy, the soul is the immaterial aspect of a human being. The soul is considered the inherent part of living beings. Similarly, ancient Tamil people also held various doctrines about the soul of the deceased in their funeral rites and rituals. In Tamil classical literature, the funeral customs of ancient Tamils and the doctrines concerning the soul of the deceased have been recorded by ancient Tamil poets and scholars. This study aims to examine and bring forth the ancient Tamil doctrines about the soul of the deceased through Agananooru, one of the Eight Anthologies (Ettuthokai).