Agricultural Science in Moral Literature

Abstract

Literature is a mirror reflecting the lives of ancient Tamils. The poets who teach morals to the people have hidden agricultural science concepts in their works. The sophisticated agricultural knowledge of the ancient Tamils, who divided the land including the mountain plantations into forestry, the forest-based land into animal husbandry, the field-based land area into agriculture, and the sea-based land into fisheries, is immeasurable. Our land gave respect to agriculture, as told by Bharathiyar, "Let us pay homage to ploughing and industry". It would not be an exaggeration to say that the agricultural civilization emerged at the same time as the riverine civilization. The ancient Tamils created four social groups based on the occupations they did. The method of tillage followed by Velalars, one of these castes, has evolved into agronomy in modern times. This review article examines the agricultural techniques of the ancient Tamils by showing the shreds of evidence from the "Pathinen Kilkanakku" books.