The Purananuru , one of the oldest extant Tamil anthologies, was compiled almost two thousand years ago, between the first and third centuries C.E. One of the eight Sangam anthologies, it consists of four hundred poems, of more than 150 poets. This translation is the first complete English-language edition of the anthology. One of the few classical works that confronts life without a philosophical facade, making no basic assumptions about karma and the afterlife, The Purananuru has universal appeal. Unique for its freshness and directness of expression, its poems delve into the mysteries of living and dying, despair, love, poverty, and the changeable nature of existence, vividly depicting life in pre-Aryan southern India. Authentic and accessible, this exceptional rendering by a distinguished Tamil scholar and a noted poet will delight scholars and lay readers alike.