Life Style & Culture: The richer classes dwelt in houses of brick and mortar, the wall often bore paintings of divine ﬁgures and pictures of animal life. Royal palaces were surrounded by gardens taste- fully laid out. Houses and palaces were constructed according to rules laid down in the shastra, care being taken to start at an auspicious hour carefully determined before hand. The Nedunalvadai, one of the ‘Ten Idylls’, contains a detailed description of the women’s apartments in the palace of Nedunjeliyan, their walls and pillars and artistic lamps manufac- tured by the Yavanas. This is followed by an account of the equipment of the bedroom in the palace, its ivory bedsteads and superior cushions. High life even in those early days was thus no stranger to reﬁned luxuries. The wife was highly honoured and was held to be the light of the family. The common folk dwelt in humbler structures in the towns and villages, while outcastes and forest tribes lived in huts of sorts, which are also described in the poems. The making of rope charpoys by Pulaiyans and the use of animal skins as mats for lying on deserve to be noted. The Pattinappalai gives a vivid account of the life of the ﬁsher folk of Puhar, the Paradavar, including some of their holiday amusements.