Thiruvalluvar (Tamil: ????????????) was a celebrated Tamil poet who wrote the Thirukkural, a work on ethics in Tamil literature. The time period of Thiruvalluvar's existence has been based on mostly linguistic evidences rather than archeological evidences since none such has been determined. His period has been estimated to be between 200 BC and 10 BC. The name Thiruvalluvar (ThiruValluvar) consists of Thiru (a polite Tamil word, similar to Mr)[1] and Valluvar (a polite name for Valluvan, according to Tamil tradition). There are a few legends about the birth of Thiruvalluvar who could be a Jain samanar Saint or a Hindu. But no evidence is/was available about his religion [Kamatchi Srinivasan "Kural Kuram Samayam", Thirukkural Publications, Madurai Kamaraj University, 1979]. 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 an
...d traveled to Madurai to submit his work, the Thirukural, for approval of the king (Pandian) and his college of poets. His wife is named Vasuki.[2] There are, also, more 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 the Pandia rulers that many Tamil poets flourished. There is also the 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.[3] Thirukkural is one of most revered ancient works in the Tamil [4] . Kural is considered as 'World common faith' , as it shows the way for human morals and betterment in life. The Kural has been translated into most languages, likely next only to the Bible, Qur'an and Gita . . The Latin translation of Thirukkural made by Constanzo Beschi in 1730 did much to make known to European intellectuals the richness and beauty of Oriental Tamil literature. Thirukkural is a cir formed by combining the two words Thiru and Kural, i.e. Thiru + Kural = Thirukkural. Thirukkural is divided into three sections. Section one deals with Aram doing things, with conscience and honor, Section two discusses Porul realities or facts of life, and the Section three dwells on Inbam the worldly pleasures. The First section has 38 chapters, Second has 70 chapters and the Third 25 chapters. Each Chapters consists of 10 couplets or kurals thus making 1330 couplets in total. There is a 133 feet tall statue of Saint Thiruvalluvar erected at the southern tip of Indian subcontinent (Kanyakumari) where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean confluence. The 133 ft denotes Thirukkural's 133 Chapters or athikarams and the show of three fingers, to denote the three themes Aram, Porul, and Inbam ie the Sections on Morals, Wealth and Rejoice.
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