Literature is in other countries the bed-rock of history, in India it is often a snare. - K. A. Nilakanta Sastri

There does not exist a single line of Tamil literature written before the Tamils came into contact with, and let us add accepted with genuine appreciation, the Indo-Aryan culture of North Indian origin.

The oldest works now available in Dravidian languages were obviously written long after their contact with Aryan culture , and can afford no clear guidance to the pre- Aryan state of Dravidian culture.

The oldest works now available in Dravidian were written long after their contact with Aryan culture and can afford no clear guidance to the pre- Aryan state of Dravidian culture.