Tamiḻakam (Tamil தமிழகம்) is a Tamil word meaning the Tamil country or the Tamil home. The term was first used in the Purananuru 168.18 as "Thamizhakam". The term has several different connotations:
- In Old Tamil, the term referred to the whole of the Ancient Tamil country, as distinct from the many kingdoms that existed within its boundaries.[1]
- In modern Tamil usage, the word is generally another name for the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
- In an academic context, the word is sometimes used to refer to a cultural area comprising of the two southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala[2] , and the northeast of Sri Lanka, all of which are, culturally speaking, descendants of the ancient Tamil people.
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