சங்க இலக்கியங்களில் இயற்கைப் பேரிடர் மேலாண்மைச் சிந்தனைகள்: அபாய உணர்வு, முன்னெச்சரிக்கை, சமூகப் பொறுப்பு மற்றும் ஆட்சிச் சிந்தனைகளின் இலக்கியப் பகுப்பாய்வு: Disaster Management Perspectives in Sangam Literature: A Literary Analysis of Risk Awareness, Resource Security, Social Responsibility and Governance

Abstract

This study analyses representations of natural hazards in Sangam literature and examines the related perspectives on risk awareness, water-resource protection, food security, livelihood security and social responsibility. Selected poems from Purananuru, Akananuru, Kuruntokai and Kalithogai were examined through qualitative textual and thematic analysis. Akananuru 53 presents a dry and water-scarce landscape that reflects ecological stress and difficulties in human life. Akananuru 252 employs the image of a large water tank and its guardian in the context of prolonged rain, offering a literary representation that can be read in relation to vigilance and water-resource protection. Purananuru 174 depicts the force of the Kaveri as its waters press against the riverbank, illustrating the dynamic relationship between rivers and their surrounding landscape. Particularly significant is Purananuru 18, which connects water and land with food and human life and associates resource protection with public welfare. These literary representations are not treated as evidence of formal disaster-management institutions in the Sangam period. Instead, modern disaster-management concepts are used only as an analytical framework for interpreting literary perspectives on risk, resource security, food security and social responsibility. The study argues that Sangam literature presents an interconnected understanding of nature, resources, livelihood, society and governance, providing a valuable cultural perspective for interdisciplinary discussions of disaster and environmental studies.

Keywords

• Sangam Literature
• Natural Hazards
• Water Resource Protection
• Food Security
• Social Responsibility