22 SOCIAL SCIENTIST3 Agrarian Ulinai Guarding and attacking (Cardiospermum the fortifications Halicacabum) The action of the defenders is sometimes restated separately and referred to by the flower Nocci (Vitex Negundo). 4 Littoral , Tumpai Fight to finish (Leucas Aspera) 5 Dry Vakai Victory (Abi^ia Lebek) This tradition of associating each region with a particular behaviour pattern is seen in the Cankam texts themselves (AN 274; NT 142; GPA 11, 29-31 and 286; MK 270, 285, 300-1, 314, 326; MPK 330, 335). The word that is used to denote this concept is "tinai" (ftSssjr). Tolkappiyar himself never defines the term. Ilampuranar (Ham) of the thirteenth century AD, the earliest of the glossators, tends to interpret the term as meaning '^general theme or content5'.8 Nacciliarkkiniyar (Nac), i another commentator (15-16th century AD) categorically states that the term 'tinai9 means behaviour or conduct.9 Insight to Prehistory Even a passing glance at this tradition would not fail to register in one's mind the immense importance of this concept in the study of socio-literary relationships. To Tolkippiar the literary aspect of the convention is more important than the social and the geographical aspects (Akat 3 and 53). As for the commentators, the social implications of this tradition had no interest at all. Naccinarkiniyar's commentary on Tol Akat. 3 reveals that there had been no tradition of sociological inquiry into this problem. 10 All in all, one finds oneself in complete agreement with Raghava lyengar's comment that "no acceptable cause is shown either in the text or in the commentaries of Tol for assigning the conduct codes to the respective regions".11 But modern scholars did not fail to highlight the social significance of this tradition. Pandit Raghava lyengar in his effort to find the relevance of the behaviour patterns and to establish the regional necessity for each of the behaviour patterns, touches upon the contemporary social needs that would have warranted the development of these conventions.12 That effort does not form a coherent analysis but it is gratifying to note that such a traditional scholar like him was not averse to making sociological inquiries into literature. Scholars with a Western intellectual training have expounded the social and historical significance of the Tinai concept. P T Srinivasa lyengar saw in this concept an illustration of the evolution of civiliza" tion: "All these five kinds of natural regions are found in the Tamil country, though on a small scale and as the South Indian spread from