Question

which is the earliest example of Tamil literature

Answer 1

The Tholkāppiyam is a work on the grammar of the Tamil language and the earliest extant work of Tamil literature

Answer 2

The Tholkāppiyam (Tamil: தொல்காப்பியம், literally Paleo-literature) is a work on the grammar of the Tamil language and the earliest extant work of Tamil literature[1] and linguistics. It is written in the form of noorpaa or short formulaic compositions and comprises three books – the Ezhuttadikaram ("Eluthu" meaning letter), the Solladikaram ("Sol" meaning word) and the Poruladikaram ("Porul" meaning definition). Each of these books is further divided into nine chapters each. While the exact date of the work is not known, based on linguistic and other evidence, it has been dated variously between the 5th century BCE and the 2nd century CE.