<P> According to the compilers of the Sangam works such as Nakkeeran, the Tamil Sangams were academies, where Tamil poets and authors are said to have gathered periodically to publish their works . The legends claim that the Pandyan dynasty of the mythical cities of "South Madurai", Kapatapuram, and Madurai, patronized the three Sangams . The word "Sangam" is probably of Indo - Aryan origin (and was not used anywhere in the Sangam literature itself), coming from sangha, the Buddhist and Jain term for an assembly of monks . </P> <P> While these claims of the Sangams and the description of sunken land masses Kumari Kandam have been dismissed as frivolous by historiographers, "Sangam literature" is still the preferred term for referring to the collection of Tamil works from the period 200 BC to 200 AD . Noted historians like Kamil Zvelebil have stressed that the use of' Sangam literature' to describe this corpus of literature is a misnomer and Classical literature should be used instead . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Sangam </Th> <Th> Place of Organisation </Th> <Th> Chairman </Th> <Th> Kingdom </Th> <Th> Books </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> First </Td> <Td> Thenmadurai </Td> <Td> Agastya </Td> <Td> Pandiya </Td> <Td> No books survived </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Second </Td> <Td> Kapatapuram </Td> <Td> Earlier - Agastya Later - Tolkāppiyar (a disciple of Agastaya) </Td> <Td> Pandiya </Td> <Td> Tolkāppiyam (author - Tolkāppiyar) </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Third </Td> <Td> Madurai </Td> <Td> Nakkeerar </Td> <Td> Pandiya </Td> <Td> covers entire corpus of Sangam Literature </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Th> Sangam </Th> <Th> Place of Organisation </Th> <Th> Chairman </Th> <Th> Kingdom </Th> <Th> Books </Th> </Tr>

Who is also known as gems of tamil poetry