Tamil authors had come down to us in full preservation it is extremely doubtful whether Tamil literature would be as extensive as its Sanskrit compeer. And this has been confirmed by Dr. Caldwell who very truly observes that 'Tamil literature as a whole will not bear a comparison with Sanskrit literature as a whole.'
Of the different branches of knowledge the early Tamils appear to have cultivated only the polite literature. They knew only so much of elementary arithmetic as was absolutely required for trading purposes, and higher mathematics, science, philosophy and theology in which the Indo-Aryans excelled all other civilized nations of antiquity were unknown to the Dravidians. Some Tamil scholars might say that astronomy was not unknown to their ancients and quote,
செஞ் ஞாயிற்றுச் செலவுஞ் ஞாயிற்றுப்
பரிப்பும் பரிப்புச்சூழ்ந்த மண்டிலமும்
வளிதிரிதரு திசையும்
வறிது நிலை இயகாயமு மென்றிவை
சென் றளந்தறிந்தோர் போல வென்று
மினைத்தென் போரு முளரே.—Pur. 30.
One or two of them went even to the length of asserting that ‘Saiva philosophy and religion in its original elements was purely Tamilian'. Mr. Kanakasabhai believes that 'in the ancient Tamil classical works, the terms relating to music, grammar, astronomy and even abstract philosophy are of pure Tamil origin', and that they indicate most
