'Tolkappiyam', the oldest surviving work of grammar and poetics in its language, was written in:

"Tolkappiyam" is the oldest surviving work of grammar and poetics in the Tamil language.

About the Tolkappiyam:

• It is attributed to Tolkappiyar.
• Its date is debated; scholars place its earliest parts between the 3rd century BCE and the 5th century CE.

It is divided into three books (adhikarams):

• "Ezhuttatikaram": on letters (phonology and orthography).
• "Sollatikaram": on words (morphology and syntax).
• "Porulatikaram": on subject matter (poetics), including the themes of poetry, such as "akam" (love, inner life) and "puram" (war, public life), and the different landscapes (tinai).
• Each book has nine chapters, making 27 chapters in all, with about 1,600 sutras (verses).
• It is not only a grammar but also a guide to literature, prosody and the social life of ancient Tamil people.
• It is important for understanding Sangam literature.

Tamil language and literature:

• Tamil is one of the oldest living languages of the world.
• It was the first language to be declared a "classical language" by the Government of India, in 2004.
• Sangam literature is the earliest Tamil literature.
• "Nannul" (13th century), by Pavanandi, is another important Tamil grammar.

Early literary works in other Dravidian languages:

• Kannada: "Kavirajamarga" (9th century), the earliest available work on poetics.
• Telugu: the "Andhra Mahabharatam" of Nannaya (11th century), the earliest major literary work; Nannaya also wrote a Telugu grammar in Sanskrit.
• Malayalam: "Ramacharitam" (12th-13th century) and the grammar "Lilatilakam" (14th century).

Classical languages of India:

Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), Odia (2014), and Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali (2024), making eleven in all.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam have their own early grammars and literary works, but Tolkappiyam is in Tamil.