Thiruvalluvar
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Thiruvalluvar (Tamil: திருவள்ளுவர்) is one of the greatest Tamil poets who wrote the Thirukkural, one of the greatest ethical works in Tamil literature.
Very little is known conclusively about the life of Thiruvalluvar. As per Tamil tradition and on comparison of the Thirukkural with other writings in Tamil literature during the sangam period, Thiruvalluvar is believed to have lived some time during 30 BCE. While most scholars place him between 100 and 300 BCE, there are a few who consider him to have lived around 600 BCE. He, with the name Valluvan, is said to have been a textile weaver by profession, who led an austere life. His devoted wife was named Vasuki. The combination of the term Thiru (a Tamil word to mean respectful) and his name Valluvar (pluralized by changing 'n' to 'r' as part of the Tamil honorific system), becomes Thiruvalluvar. 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 is named after his community or vice versa, has never been satisfactorily answered.
There are a few legends abound about the birthplace of Thiruvalluvar. According to one he was born and lived in Mylapore, an ancient part of present day Chennai city. Another legend associates him to Madurai, the ancient capital of the Pandya rulers who vigorously promoted Tamil language. Madurai was his place of birth because it was under Pandia rulers that many Tamil poets flourished and one of them being Thiruvalluvar. 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.
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. Though the claim might have been based on research, many questions remain unanswered. For instance, there are evidence that (a place called) Valluvanadu existed in Kerala during the 9th century CE.
Tiruvalluvar's faith is disputed. Many Hindus claim that he was a Hindu, while there are also accounts that he was a Jain[citation needed]. In any case, Tamils consider Tiruvalluvar to be a pragmatist and thought provoker and his work is often referred to as poyyamozhi பொய்யா மொழி (words of wisdom).
Thirukkural
Thirukkural is one of the oldest and most revered works in the Tamil [1] . 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 has been broadly divided into three sections, of which the first 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 dwell on Inbam the pleasures that by a man and 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. In the third section, Thiruvalluvar plays the role of creative artist. But in the first two, we find Thiruvalluvar as a moral philosopher, political scientist, and a thought provoker. Only in the third section, Thiruvalluvar portrays the fascinating aspects of lovers, the Akam tradition which he has inherited from his ancestors. He is said to have been the most influential of all Tamil poets and the most revered.
There is a huge (133 feet tall) statue of Thiruvalluvar showing three fingers carved out of rock on the southern tip of India in Kanyakumari at the confluence of three seas -- the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean. The 133 ft denotes Thirukkural's 133 athikarams and the show of 3 fingers, perhaps, Aram, Porul, and Inbam.
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