li's the pragmatic spiritualism of the ancient Tamils, since they have conceived that it is the character of the human soul which is its real ‘belonging’ or “possession’ known as Uri. Based on this fundamental conception they found out, as a result of their long experience and deep reflections, that the mountain and mountainous region is best fitted for love-making and union, that the wood and woody region for endurance (the love-lorn lady patiently waiting during the period of separation for the return of her husband), the desert and deserty region for separation and the cultivated region for love-quarrel (since the male goes astray due to the affluence caused by the wealth of the farms) and the sea and sea-coast region for yearning in separation. Besides these fundamental factors that govern the constitution of Sangam love poetry there is considerable material for critical studies on Geology, Oceanography, Meteorology, Climatology, Plant geography, Animal geography, Commercial geography, Political geography and Human geography. It is interesting to observe that the divisions of land and seasons which are typical to Tamilakam as classified by Tolkāppiyam and as portrayed by Sangam poets have not undergone any change at all and the influence of them on the life of the people can still be realised by the rural folk if not by the ‘civilised’ urban society. Thus we find, how the early Tamils were deeply conscious of the fundamental factors of geography — land, time and things produced by them — which according to them moulded the very character of the human soul. The greatness of ancient Tamil literature is that it had this natural geographical consideration as a prime factor both for classification and elucidation particularly of love-poetry. Such a clear-cut classified geographical basis for ancient love-poetry we do not find even in Sanskrit, not to mention any other literature of any other language of the world. To realise the profound knowledge of the Tamil poets and saints regarding the abiding influence of Physical geography on Bio-geography particularly on Human geography and the wonderful awareness of the same by the ancient Tamil people who were the true sons of Nature one has only to revel in the realms of ancient Tamil literature.
