Teaching

MA — S (A): 11^th Tirumuṟai: Nakkīratēvar [W: 3 LP] [SG/CDL: 4 LP] 

Tuesdays 16:15–17:45, AT1 R-113, from 07.04.2026   Eva Wilden

Nakkīratēvar’s Kayilaipati Kāḷattipati Antāti is the song the poet famously sang for Śiva when the lord finally relented and pulled him out of the academy tank with his own hand. Part of the Tirumuṟai that is not so popular today, the text is written in fairly simple Veṇpā ― a good additional reading for beginners.

MA — SLV (A): Introduction to Classical Tamil B [W: 6 LP] [SG/CDL: 3 LP]

Mondays 14:15–15:45 & Thursdays 16:15–17:45, AT1 R-113, from 13.04.2026    Eva Wilden

The second part of the Tamil introductory class will be devoted to finishing grammar (basically syntax, formulae and metre). The long rest of the term we shall read easier poems from the Kuṟuntokai.

MA — S (A): Puṟanāṉūṟu (Tamil Textual Criticism) [IND 4] [W: 4 LP] [SG/CDL: 3 LP]

Tuesdays 14:15–15:45, AT1 R-113, from 07.04.2026   Eva Wilden

The Puṟam readings will continue last term’s exploration of the fate of women in war zones on the basis of the advancing critical edition of the text. This term we shall read the complete series of girls for whose hand a war is waged (PN 336–354), trying to make sense of the material that is available and to establish text and apparatus.

MA — S (A): Iṟaiyaṉār Akapporuḷ with Nakkīṟaṉ's commentary [W: 4 LP] [SG/CDL: 4 LP]

Mondays 16:15–17:45, AT1 R-113, from 13.04.2026   Leo Nelson-Jones

In this course, students will be introduced to the fundamentals of akam poetics. We will trace the development of different models of akam poetic theory through readings of key theoretical texts such as the Tolkāppiyam Poruḷatikāram and the Iṟaiyaṉār Akapporuḷ, as well illustrative poetic examples.

MA — S (A): Readings in Tamil Traditional Śāstras (grammar, lexicography, metrics) [W: 3 LP] [SG/CDL: 3 LP]

Thursdays 14:15–15:45, AT1 R-113, from 09.04.2026   Jean-Luc Chevillard

In this course, students will be introduced to the Tolkāppiyam. Although often described as a grammatical treatise, it also contains a section on lexicography as well as an exposition of Classical Tamil metrics. This term continues with the iṭaiyiyal, the chapter on particles.

MA — S (A): Cilappatikāram, canto XV [W: 3 LP] [SG/CDL: 3 LP]

Mondays 12:00–13:30, AT1 R-113, from 13.04.2026    Neela Bhaskar

This term will focus on the fifteenth chapter. The story continues with Kōvalaṉ returning to the outskirts of the great city of Madurai, but he is sent back to the city. A herdswoman, Mātari, is asked to take care of Kaṇṇaki.

 MA — S (A): What is a Text? Textual Criticism in Practice: Manuscripts, Scribes, and Editors [W: 3 LP] [SG/CDL: 3 LP]

alternate Wednesdays 14:15–15:45, AT1 R-113, from 08.04.2026    Maanasa Visweswaran

This seminar will examine textual criticism as practiced not only by modern editors but also by scribes. Examples will be taken from a wide variety of texts, and the ways in which scribes from different manuscript traditions emend and annotate the text will be compared.