Tiruvalluvar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thiruvalluvar (Tamil: திருவள்ளுவர்) is a celebrated Tamil poet who wrote the Thirukkural, a well known ethical work in Tamil literature. He is claimed by both the Tamils who practice Hinduism and the Tamils who practice Jainism as their own.^[1] Norman Custer considers Thiruvalluvar to be a Jain citing internal textual evidence from Thirukural.^[2]

Image:Thiruvalluvar Statue Kanyakumari.jpg

The statue of Tiruvalluar at Kanyakumari

Thiruvalluvar's period (based on the Thirukkural per se) is between the second century BCE and the eighth century CE. ^[3]

Both Thiruvalluvar's faith and identity are disputed. His disputed identity includes a low-caste Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, crypto-Christian, high-caste Hindu, Brahmin and half-Brahmin. ^[4]

1 Traditional accounts
2 Thirukkural
3 Monuments erected in his honour
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Traditional accounts

There are little or no clues available to trace Thiruvalluvar's background. However, according to one of the legends, Valluvar was the son of a Brahmin father(Bhagavan) and an 'untouchable' mother (Adi). Further, it is said that he was abandoned as a child to be picked up by a Vellala (high non-Brahmin, landowning caste) woman who named him 'Tiru-Valluvar'. Following objections by her neighbours, the Vellala woman too abandoned Valluvar to be picked up this time by a family of Paraiyars(untouchables). It is said that he later moved to Mylapore(part of Chennai, now) where he worked as a weaver. The name Valluvan might have been a common name representing his caste/occupation rather than his proper name. Even today, the people who earn a living by textile weaving trace their ancestry to the caste of Thiruvalluvar. However, the question of whether the author of Thirukkural (Valluvan) is named after his community or vice versa remains unanswered.

The name Thiruvalluvar (ThiruValluvar) consists of Thiru (a polite Tamil word, equivalent to English Mr.) and Valluvar (a polite name for Valluvan, according to Tamil tradition).

There are a few legends abound about the birthplace of Thiruvalluvar. One legend associates him to Madurai, the ancient capital of the Pandya rulers who vigorously promoted Tamil literature. According to another he was born and lived in Mylapore, a part of present day Chennai city and travelled to Madurai to submit his work, the Thirukural, for approval of the king (Pandian) and his college of poets.^[5]

There are, also, traditional stories citing the Tamil Sangam of Madurai (the assembly/conference of eminent scholars and researchers conducted on a regular basis) as the authority through which Thirukkural was introduced to the world. Thiruvalluvar might have spent most part of his life in Madurai because it was under Pandia rulers that many Tamil poets flourished. There are also recent claim by Kanyakumari Historical and Cultural Research Centre (KHCRC) that Valluvar was a king who ruled Valluvanadu in the hilly tracts of Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. ^[6]

[edit] Thirukkural

Main article: Thirukkural

Thirukkural is one of most revered works in the Tamil ^[7] . It consists of 133 athikarams or chapters. Each athikaram consists of 10 kurals (rhyming Tamil couplets) thus making 1330 kurals in total. Each couplet consists of four seers in the first line and three seers in the second. A seer is a single or a combination of more than one Tamil word. The first Kural is Ahara Muthala Ezhuthellam Aathi; Pahavan Muthatrey Ulahu.

Thirukkural is divided into three sections. Section one deals with Aram doing things, with conscience and honor, for the good of the less fortunate, the second discusses Porul realities or facts of life, and the third dwells on Inbam the pleasures that a man and a woman experience in the course of their relationship. There are 38 chapters in the first section, 70 chapters in the second and 25 chapters in the third section.

[edit] Monuments erected in his honour

A monument called Valluvar Kottam was constructed in 1976 in Chennai. The monument includes front hall corridors with walls inscribed with all the 1330 kurals.
A 133 feet tall statue of Thiruvalluvar showing his first three fingers. The statue is carved out of rock and erected at the southern tip of India (Kanyakumari) where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean confluence. The 133 ft denotes Thirukkural's 133 athikarams and the show of three fingers, perhaps, the three themes Aram, Porul, and Inbam.

The architect of the Statue of Thiruvalluvar is South Indian traditional architect Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati.

[edit] See also

Statue of Thiruvalluvar

[edit] References

^ Pillai, MS. {{{title}}}. Asian Education Service. ISBN ISBN 8120609557.
^ Cutler, Norman (1992). "Interpreting Tirukkural: the role of commentary in the creation of a text.". The Journal of the American Oriental Society 122. Retrieved on 20/08/2007.
^ Nagarajan, KV (2005). "Thiruvalluvar's vission: Polity and Economy in Thirukural". History of Political Economy 37 (1): 123-132. Retrieved on 20/08/2007.
^ Blackburn, Stuart (2000). "Corruption and Redemption: The Legend of Valluvar and Tamil Literary History". Modern Asian Studies 34 (2): 449-482. Retrieved on 22nd August 2007.
^ Kanakasabhai. The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago. Asian Education Service, 138. ISBN ISBN 8120601505.
^ "Valluvar lived in Kanyakumari district", Yahoo! News, 26th April 2007. Retrieved on 22nd August 2007. (English)
^ Tamil Nadu seeks national status for 'Thirukkural'

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2007)