Tamilmanam International Research Journal of Tamil Studies

Although Tolkappiyam is primarily a grammatical text focused on Tamil prosody, it also explains the origin of letters, how they form words, and how words combine to form phrases. It introduces the concept of punarcci (phonological combination), detailing how a final word (nirutta col) connects with a following word (kurittu varu kilavi), based on the word endings.Tolkappiyam classifies word endings into vowels (uyir), consonants (mey), and kutriyalukaram. Among these, the vowel ‘a’ (akara uyir) plays a significant role in forming akara veetrup punarcci, where it blends with the next word—a process called uyir mayangial. This grammatical pattern is a key focus of the text.

Early Tamil literary works, especially Pazhanthamizh literature, show connections with Tolkappiyam. Among them, Ainkurunuru, a classical agam collection, holds importance. This study compares the punarcci patterns found in Tolkappiyam with those in Ainkurunuru, particularly in the marutham thinai songs. The goal is to identify literary and grammatical parallels, and establish a chronological correlation between the two works. The alignment of Tolkappiyam’s akara veetrup punarcci with that of Ainkurunuru supports the theory of shared linguistic tradition and time period.