கலம்பக இலக்கியம் is a type of சிற்றிலக்கியம். It sings the glories of God or the king. How did கலம்பகம் gets its name ? கலவை means mixture; as கலம்பக இலக்கியம் consists of a mixture of different parts, In தொல்காப்பியம் there are two parts - அகம் filial and புறம் (social). A mixture of these two is கலம்பகம்.

நந்திக்கலம்பகம் is the first work in this genre. It was sung in honour of Nandivarman III, a Pallava king. Its author of unknown. The story is Nandivarman is interesting. He had four step brothers but drone them out of the kingdom. One of the brothers became a writer. He became a mendicant and went begging and singing. He used to sing the songs from நந்திக்கலம்பகம். Once a prostitute heard the songs on the death of Nandivarman. The king came to know of this and called the beggar. He was happy to find that it was his own brother. He requested his brother to sing his 100 songs though he was warned that he would have to die on hearing the hundredth song. This was because the king was a great lover of Tamil. As predicted the king died after hearing the last song.

    Shall we now look at the different parts of கலம்பக இலக்கியம் with examples from நந்திக்கலம்பகம்? புயம் or shoulder is a feature; the poem sings the glory of the hero’s beautiful shoulders. Another feature is ஊசல் or swing; The girls who love Nandivarman sing of his greatness, playing on the swings, மறம் or valour is another aspect. When the king seeks the hand of a young girl in marriage, the father refuses, saying that his king Nandivarman was a great warrior and he could not stoop to give his daughter in marriage to a small king.

காலம் or season is another aspect of கலம்பக இலக்கியம். The hero promises the heroine that he will return in the beautiful summer season. Another special feature of the literature is மதங்கியார் or singers and dancers. They dance with seconds, singing the praise of the king. தூது or sending messages is yet another part of கலம்பக இலக்கியம். The hero sends the cloud as a messenger to the heroine. Magic or சம்பிரதம் also forms a part of this genre. பாண் or the ability to compose music is also a feature of this literature. A பாணர் or singer is honoured richly by the king.

நந்திக்கலம்பகம் brings out the generosity, valour, skill and fame of Nandivarman. It has aesthetic beauty as well as excellence in style, similes and metaphors.