now pass on to the third, which was by far the most important, and about which we are particularly concerned. Almost all the best Tamil classics we now possess are the productions of this last Sangam. The history of this academy should therefore be fully gone into, as there are ample materials in the shape of innumerable literary traditions, puranas, and casual references. But the difficulties also proportionately increase, because unfortunately no two of them agree. An academy being an association of men of letters, its history cannot be separated from their biographies; and it would be our work in the following pages to collate such of the literary traditions as have any bearing on their lives and to construct a tolerably trustworthy account of this third Sangam.
We shall first give the traditional account mainly as preserved for us in the scholarly commentary on Iraiyanar's Agapporul, and then discuss in detail every point with reference to the latest researches in epigraphy.
The members of this academy were Nakkirar (President), Sittalai-Sattanar, Kalladar, Kapilar, Paranar, Ugra Pandya, Mangudi Maruthanar and fortytwo other scholars. Including them 449 poets obtained the sanction of the senate for their writings. The seat of this Sangam was Uttara (northern) Madura. It was patronized by forty-nine kings from Mudattiru-maran to Ugra Pandya, three of whom were also poets. The classical works of this period
