2018-03-16 Fri

Thiruvalluvar is one of the Tamil poet and philosopher who was supposed to have lived in between the c.300 BCE to 700 CE. His one of the outstanding ancient work is ‘Tirukkural’. It has 1330 couplets, divided into 133 sections of 10 couplets each. It is considered as significant literary work as it reveals information about ethics, politics, economics and love. A part of this text also talks about the Jain moral code and strong ascetics like vegetarianism and nonviolence. Due to its historical importance, this text has been translated into several languages and had been widely studied by the European scholars.

Thiruvalluvar is also credited with the writing of texts on medicine, Gnana Vettiyan, and Pancharathnam. These have contributed to Tamil science, literature and ayurvedic medicines. He is celebrated and appreciated in Tamil Nadu. Many temples like memorials and statues are built to honour him. His seated statue is also seen outside the SOAS, University of London. To commemorate this great poet, India Post issued a stamp of Thiruvalluvar having the face value of 15 Naya Paisa.

Picture Courtesy: Mintage World